2015 Clos de Betz offers the highest percentage of Merlot for this wine to date, at 75%. More often the final blend contains closer to 65% Merlot, and the higher than normal percentage reflects our success with the variety this vintage. The wine's color shows the additional Merlot with shades of ruby red and plum.
The aromas of 2015 Clos de Betz lead with spices of cardomom and five-spice. Red fruit aromas of black cherry, pomegranate, and raspberry flavors are complimented by cedar and sassafras notes. A very long Malolactic fermentation, which lasted into April, endowed our Merlot lots with unusually silky textures. The integration of tannins has lent this notable finish.
Pairs well with smoked and cured meats, and cave-aged cheeses.
"Sleek and lilting, with elegantly complex red currant, dusky spice and tobacco flavors that build structure and polish toward refined tannins. Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot. Drink now through 2031. —Tim FISH."
- Wine Spectator (Insider January 4th 2023), 94 pts
Bob and Cathy Betz crushed their first vintage of Betz Family Wine in 1997 with the help of volunteer friends, producing 150 cases of wine in the warehouse district of ...
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"Possessing even more Merlot than the 2014, the 2015 Clos de Betz is 75% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Petit Verdot brought up in a mix of barrels. Its chocolatey plum, tobacco leaf, licorice and damp earth aromatics give way to a medium to full-bodied, polished, pretty style on the palate that shines for its elegance and freshness. - Jeb Dunnuck"
"(the pH here is a bit higher than usual at 3.85): Bright, dark red. Musky red berries, leather, mocha and spices on the rather wild nose. Rich, spicy and quite dry on the palate; a bit clenched and unforthcoming in the early going, showing little easy sweetness but finishing with a rather suave tannic spine. There's nothing tough or tart about the back end of this wine, which hints at spices and black olive. Needs time to blossom in the bottle. The Ciel du Cheval Merlot for this wine was harvested on August 26 in 2015. - Stephen Tanzer"
"Possessing the highest percentage of Merlot ever for the cuvee (at least until the 2015), the 2014 Clos de Betz is 71% Merlot, 19% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Petit Verdot that’s just under half from Red Mountain fruit and the rest from Columbia Valley sites. Notes of cassis, licorice, damp herbs, chocolate and earth all flow to a medium to full-bodied, supple, elegant and incredibly polished 2014 that needs 2-3 years of bottle age and will keep for 10-15 years. - Jeb Dunnuck"
"Bright, dark red-ruby. Alluring floral lift to the aromas of blackberry, cassis, Bing cherry, sweet spices and anise. Sweet, plush wine with great sex appeal to its intense, pliant flavors of amarena cherry, flint and spicy oak. Really remarkable--and not at all stewed--for Merlot from a hot year; Betz noted that he picked these vines early, "with tension and vitality." Finishes very long and smooth, with suave, perfectly supported tannins dusting the front teeth. A great, velvety Merlot-based wine from Washington. Betz adds some Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot to wine "to provide more structure, nuance and color.. - Stephen Tanzer"
"The only other 2013 reviewed on this go around (most were reviewed last year), the 2013 Clos de Betz checks in as a blend of 63% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon and 22% Petit Verdot, mostly from Red Mountain and Yakima Valley, that spent 19 months in French oak. Sexy, supple, perfumed and beautifully complex, with notes of currants, dried flowers and an almost garrigue like perfume, this full-bodied beauty is already impossible to resist, yet will absolutely cruise for another 10-15 years. - Jeb Dunnuck"
"This wine is a blend of Merlot (63%), a whopping 22% Petit Verdot and 15% Cabernet Sauvignon. Aromas of smoke, cedar, dried herbs, licorice, pencil lead, crushed flowers and red and black berries are followed by soft, plump fruit flavors. It brings an undeniable warm vintage appeal but with a compelling sense of elegance and balance."
"Just over two-thirds Merlot with the rest Cabernet Sauvignon and a pinch of Petit Verdot, this thoroughly delicious wine opens with a complex assortment of aromas, including incense, toast, crushed flowers, spice, bay leaf, licorice and red and black fruit. The palate is deft but brings waves of layered fruit flavors that show great density and richness. It’s hedonistic but doesn’t sacrifice one iota of balance. It drinks best at 62 degrees."
"Coffee, sassafras and tobacco notes add depth to the soft-textured cherry and licorice flavors in this supple, expressive style. Finishes with gentle intensity. Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot. Drink now through 2020."
Wine Enthusiast (July 2014), 93 pts + Cellar Selection
"Good bright, deep red. Redcurrant, cocoa powder and musky tobacco on the nose. Gentle and creamy in the mouth for 2011, with harmonious ripe acidity framing the sweet red berry, cherry and cocoa powder flavors. This floral merlot-based wine is supported by firm acids and tannins but comes across as quite feminine in style. Betz notes that 2011 was a very good year for merlot. -ST"
"This right bank style blend is comprised of 67% Merlot, 28% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Petit Verdot. This wine begins with aromas anise red cherry smoke and pencil shavings. There is a nice vegetal character at play, typical of the vintage. Flavors of red cherry red currant spicebox and anise persist. This is a delicious and lithe effort in this cold vintage. This is a long-ager. (Best 2016-2030) - OB"
"Looking at the Bordeaux-styled releases from barrel, the 2011 Clos de Betz is the estate's take on a right bank Bordeaux and will be a blend of roughly 63% Merlot, 27% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Petit Verdot. Lacking the weight of the 2010, it is a softly textured, elegant effort that has notions of flowers, black fruit, pepper and incense to go with a medium to full-bodied, balanced mouthfeel. Already reasonably approachable, it will be interesting to see how this shows from bottle; if it puts on weight, the score and drink window will be conservative. - JD"
"Fresh and vibrant, focusing the juicy currant and plum flavors into a bright beam that propels the lingering finish. Shades of crème fraîche and white pepper add interest. Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot. Best from 2014 through 2020.—H.S"
"Diversely-sourced – its Merlot blended with 35% Cabernet Sauvignon– the Betz 2010 Clos de Betz emphasizes black pepper, pungently resinous herbs, and arbor vitae, characteristics I imagine are in part a reflection of its 7% of Petit Verdot, that grape being demonstrably (I’m tempted to say notoriously ) efficacious. Cassis, huckleberry, and walnut offer bitter-edged but sappy fruit satisfaction; a crushed stone undertone adds a sense of intrigue; and mineral salts savory saliva-inducement in a gripping, palate-staining finish. This ought to be worth following for at least the better part of a decade."