"Half Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest equal measures Merlot and Cabernet Franc, the Tamarack 2009 Ciel du Cheval Vineyard Reserve displays a strongly black tea-like combination of smokiness and tannic chew, allied to very ripe, lightly cooked cassis, elderberry, and (oddly enough but stimulatingly) rhubarb. Any tendency for this prime Red Mountain fruit to go overboard in sheer ripeness or to rear too formidable a tannic head is neutralized by the sheer energy and tart-edged primary juiciness that Coleman has managed to capture and that proudly proclaim “Advantage Washington!” Iodine, salt and stone add savory intrigue to a long, rich yet vibrant finish. Look for ten or a dozen years of impressive, persistently sensually-rewarding evolution. - DS"

- Wine Advocate (Issue#204, December 2012), 94 pts

Richly aromatic, on the strength of the nose alone this could pass for something from Napa’s Rutherford Bench. The blue and purple fruit notes and dusty tannins all say California, but the laser-like definition, minerality and natural acidity prove it’s Washington fruit all the way. Strikingly dense and complex, with decades of life ahead.

Tamarack Ciel du Cheval Vineyard Reserve 2009 is made from 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot and 25% Cabernet Franc

Crushed gently and dropped by gravity into 1.5 ton bins, cold soaked 72 hours, then inoculated with a variety of yeasts, hand punched and pressed directly to barrel where the wine finished both primary and secondary fermentations.

Ciel du Cheval Vineyard located in the Red Mountain Appellation was the first vineyard planted on Red Mountain in 1975. Owner Jim Holmes farms the vineyard on this revered site and credits the success of Ciel du Cheval, which is French for Horse Heaven, to “dirt and climate, climate and dirt.”

The wine spent 22 months on 75% new French oak with the remaining 25% second vintage French oak. Select barrels from the best forests of Taransaud, Boutes, Quintessance, and Vicard cooperages.

Dark and chocolatey, spiced with pretty notes of allspice and clove, this wine is round and rich, bursting with ripe berries, combined with an earthy complexity and a velvety finish.