2015 DeLille Cellars Four Flags Cabernet Sauvignon Red Mountain 750 ml

Wine Access First: DeLille’s Iconic Four Flags Cabernet

Robert Parker Jr. once dubbed DeLille Cellars the “Lafite-Rothschild of Washington State.” It should come as no surprise then, that DeLille’s legendary winemaker, Chris Upchurch has crafted over 70 wines earning scores between 93-97 points from Parker. Wine Access clients have swooned over cases of Upchurch’s delicious Red blends, but they’ve never got a crack at the iconic Four Flags Cabernet Sauvignon—until now.

Comprised of 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from four of Washington’s top sites—Grand Cru Red Mountain vineyards: Ciel du Cheval, Grand Ciel, Upchurch, and Klipsun—the 2015 Four Flags earned 94 points from Jeb Dunnuck who called it “a rich, powerful wine that offers boatloads of ripe black cherries, crushed violets, incense, and Asian spice aromatics.” To find a mountain-grown Cabernet of this quality in Napa Valley you would have to pay double the price. As such, this Red Mountain stunner is an absolute steal at $58.00.

What makes the 2015 Four Flags so incredible begins, inevitably, with the vineyards. To put it in perspective, the four sites chosen to comprise the 2015, all from Red Mountain in southern Washington, are not only amongst the greatest in the state, but compete with the best in the world.

Klipsun Vineyard sits on 120 acres on the southwest slope of Red Mountain and was named by Wine & Spirits Magazine as one of the top 25 vineyards in the world. Grand Ciel Vineyard, owned by Delille, and farmed to the most rigorous standards offers Cabernet of tremendous concentration as well as complexity owing to the extended hangtime the grapes experience during the growing season. Ciel du Cheval Vineyard is all about power and rugged mountain tannins, contributing much of the grip and structure that will allow the 2015 to improve for two decades. Lastly, and certainly not least, is Upchurch’s own eponymous vineyard, which is of incredible quality and has produced six Cabernet Sauvignons rated 95 points or more by Parker in only eight years of production.

With world-class fruit at his fingertips, Upchurch crafted a masterpiece which captured Washington’s Red Mountain in all of its boldness and complexity, while harkening to Bordeaux’s exceptional 2009 vintage. In his 94-point review, Jeb Dunnuck, called the 2015 Four Flags “Rich, full-bodied, supple, and impressively concentrated.” Cabernet collectors, don’t hesitate.