"Fresh and vibrant, this features a layer of fine tannins underlying the blackberry, licorice and floral flavors, lingering easily on the expressive, graceful finish. Best from 2015 through 2020. - H.S"
Wine Spectator's Insider (May 22nd 2013), 91 pts
Go To Betz Family Pere de Famille
"Bright red-ruby. High-pitched aromas of blackberry, redcurrant, dried mint and thyme. Densely packed, tactile and sweet but youthfully bound-up, with brisk acidity giving terrific cut and precision to the wine's dark fruit and spearmint flavors. Finishes with strong tannic spine and a terrific structure for aging. As young as this cabernet is, with its inner-mouth perfume it's showier today than the Clos de Betz. I'd wait at least five years on this one. Interestingly, Bob Betz told me that the latest pickers got prunes in 2010 waiting for their pHs to go up and acids to come down. "Still, October saved the vintage," he added. (The 2009 Pere de Famille, which I rated 93(+?) last year, had gained in fullness and pliancy with another year in bottle, and merited 94 points. But the 2010 should show an even more eventful evolution in bottle.)"
Steven Tanzer
"Diversely-sourced, and blended with 8% Merlot and 6% Petit Verdot, the Betz 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon Pere de Famille leads with classic aromatic expressions of its star player: cedar box, juniper berry, arbor vitae, cassis, blackberry, and dark tobacco, all of which reprise on a luscious, savory palate underlain by ultra-fine tannin and possessed of vibratory energy. The sheer abundance of primary juiciness here – like the energetic ping to its enervating, reverberative finish – strikes me as especially typical of the best marriages of cepage and terroir, which happens to be precisely what Betz is wistfully referring to as “something that happens with Cabernet in Washington.” Something indeed! I would go easy on this for a few years and look forward to at least a decade of high performance."
Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate (Issue #205), 95 pts
"As good as any Père de Famille to date, this brilliantly crafted wine jumps from the glass immediately with a rainbow of blue, purple and black fruits. The scents and flavors are dense and seamless, the tannins polished and graceful, and the barrel aging puts the last dabs of paint on a winemaking masterpiece."
- Wine Enthusiast (July 1st 2014), 97 pts + #6 in the 2014 Top 100 Cellar Selection in the Wine Enthusiast Magazine
- Wine Spectator (June 30th 2014), 91 pts
"Made from 88% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Petit Verdot and 3% Merlot that comes mostly from Red Mountain, the 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon Pere de Famille is slightly more reserved and backwards, with notions of dried spices, cured meats, black currant, spring flowers and tobacco leaf reluctantly emerging from the glass. Medium to full-bodied, with solid concentration, especially in the vintage, it has ample tannin that emerge on the mid-palate and focus the finish. It also needs another 2-3 years in the cellar and will have 10-12 years of total longevity at a minimum.
As always, my visit with Bob Betz and Tyson Schiffner at Betz Family Winery (which has been owned by the Griessel family since 2011) is always one of the highlights of my trip through Washington. For the tasting at the domaine, we focused on the 2012s (I tasted the 2011s from bottle at my office in Colorado), and they are easily some of the greatest wines I’ve tasted from this estate to date. While these wines always have considerable structure and focused profiles, these 2012 have an extra dimension of depth and texture, and should not be missed!"
- Jeb Dunnuck
- Wine Advocate (Issue #213, June 2014), 92 pts
"Intriguing scents focus upon chamomile and Mediterranean herbs, while the fruit flavors are wild and brambly. Cherry candy and red licorice play broadly across the palate, lingering through a beautifully balanced and extended finish."
- Wine Enthusiast (July 2014), 95 pts
