Earlier this year I was in Bend Oregon for a wine event.  I didn’t have much free time, but one stop was mandatory for someone who loves wine & football as much as I do.  I had to check out the Bend tasting room for Bledsoe Family Winery which is a second label for Drew Bledsoe’s Doubleback Wines.

The main Doubleback is in Walla Walla Washington, but Bledsoe & his family live in Bend, so they wanted a tasting room there as well.

Doubleback is an interesting name for a winery & there’s an interesting reason behind it.  Drew Bledsoe grew up there & was an All-American Quarterback at Washington State University.  In 2007 he opened a winery & felt like he was doubling back to his roots in Walla Walla.

For anyone who reads this & doesn’t know who Drew Bledsoe is, here’s a recap of his football career.  At Washington State he started as a true freshman in 1990 & eventually won PAC-10 Offensive Player of the Year as a junior in 1992.  That was enough for him to skip his senior year & enter the NFL draft. 

He was drafted #1 overall by the New England Patriots.  The Patriots had the first pick due to their terrible season the year prior with only 2 wins.  They only improved to 5 wins in 1993.  They started slow in 1994, but caught fire toward the end of the season & finished 10-6 & made the playoffs for the first time in 8 years.  They lost their first playoff game to the Cleveland Browns, then coached by Bill Belichick. Bledsoe led the league in passing yards that year & was the youngest player ever named to the Pro Bowl. He would make the Pro Bowl 3 more times in his career.

The team regressed in 1995, but in 1996 they made it to the Super Bowl.  They lost to the Packers 35-21, which some attribute to their coach Bill Parcells already having decided to quit to coach the New York Jets.

Bledsoe continued to perform at a high level & in 2001 he signed the highest paying contract in NFL history at the time for 10 years & $103 million.

That was a high point of a season of incredible challenges for Bledsoe.  During the second game of the year Bledsoe was trying to get out of bounds & was hit by Moe Lewis of the Jets & was knocked out of the game.  His backup, Tom Brady, drafted in the 6^th round the year before finished the game.  It was initially believed that Bledsoe “just” had a concussion.  Unfortunately, it was much worse. He was rushed to the hospital where it was discovered that the hit had also caused internal bleeding due to a sheared artery.  Bledsoe was bleeding a pint of blood an hour. If the team doctors hadn’t insisted that Bledsoe go to the hospital, he might have died.

Brady was able to start a winning streak with the team & Bledsoe did not regain the starting job.  He did however come in during the AFC Championship game after an injury to Brady & helped lead the Patriots to a win over Pittsburgh & a spot in the Super Bowl.  Brady was able to play in the Super Bowl & led a last-minute drive that won the game & earned him the Most Valuable Player award. 

Prior to the next season Bledsoe was traded to the division rival Buffalo Bills. Trading a player of his caliber to a division rival was an unusual move.  Bledsoe was the starter there from 2002-2004.  He was cut when they decided to start their 2004 1^st round pick J.P Losman.

Bledsoe signed with the Dallas Cowboys, then coached by his old coach Bill Parcells.  He had an excellent year in 2005, but his play fell off in 2006 & he was replaced by Tony Romo.  The following year Bledsoe retired.

By most measuring sticks his career was a success.  When he retired, he was ranked fifth in NFL history in pass attempts (6,717) and completions (3,839), seventh in passing yards (44,611), and thirteenth in touchdown passes (251).  He still shares the record for most completions in a single game with 45 & he owns the record for most touchdowns in overtime with 4.  He was named to the Patriots All-1990’s team & to the Patriots Hall of Fame.

Success on the football field doesn’t always lead to success with a winery, but Bledsoe has done a fantastic job with Doubleback & Bledsoe Family Winery.  He made a great choice at wine maker with Josh McDaniels.  McDaniels  started with the prestigious Leonetti Cellar Winery under Chris Figgins & worked for 10 years for Figgins at Figgins Family Wine Estates producing high quality wine.  Since joining Doubleback, Josh has been named a “Game Changer of Washington Wine”, a “Washington Prodigy”, and a “Top 40 Under 40 Tastemakers of America” from Wine Enthusiast magazine.

Doubleback was an immediate success with Wine Spectator naming them to their Top 100 Wines list on their very first vintage!  The wines (all using sustainably farmed grapes) have continued to show high quality & prices have risen & availability can be low.  They have an allocation waitlist on their website.  While you will find their wine in some restaurants & very few retailers, I believe that most of the wine is sold direct to consumer.

I had an enjoyable tasting at Bledsoe Family Wines. Maddi helped me & was knowledgeable & friendly. Here’s what I tried.

Elizabeth Chardonnay $49 (Walla Walla AVA)

This has green fruit with prominent green apple notes.  It almost has a Chablis like character, but the riper guava notes show the warmer climate & riper fruit.  The wine is aged for 6 months on lees, which helps give it a rounded creamy mouthfeel without coming across as a big flabby Chardonnay.  Portions of the wine go into new oak, portions into neutral oak, & the rest ages in stainless steel.  This is worth a try.

Healy rose’ of Syrah $39 (Walla Walla AVA)

This has good mouth feel, which isn’t something you always say about rose’ wine.  This likely comes from a combination of sur lie aging & the use of neutral barrels.  It has some light fruit on the nose, although I wouldn’t call it aromatic.  What really works for me with this wine is the dried cherry flavor that lingers on the palate. It has been a hot summer & this wine would help with a hot day.

Bledsoe Family Wine Blend $65 (Walla Walla AVA)

This comes in a 1 liter bottle rather than a 750 ml.  It has a swing top seal rather than a cork.

It is a blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Syrah, 10% Merlot, & 5% Petit Verdot.  It was aged for 15 months in 40% new and 60% neutral French oak barrels.

It has big black fruit with a bit of crunchy red fruit as well.  There is plenty of spice to the wine likely from both the fruit & the oak.  It has moderate tannins that make it easy to drink.  It also has a long spicy finish.  This could be a crowd pleaser.  I would say it would make a great everyday wine except that I can’t spend $65 on my everyday wine!

Petit Verdot $55 (Walla Walla AVA)

75% Petit Verdot with 25% Cabernet Franc. Aged in 34% new French oak for 18 months.

My first note on this wine was “Pretty much beautiful.”  That’s not exactly a technical description, but it’s really what you need to know about the wine.  It is a delicious wine.  On both the nose & the palate it shows violets & herbs.  Blackberry & blueberry notes show more prominently on the palate.  It is a very soft wine with absolutely velvety tannins.  It has a long finish that lingers for some time.  I bought a bottle to take home & I think it was a bargain for the price.

Stolen Horse Syrah $69 (Walla Walla AVA)

97% Syrah co-fermented with 3% Viognier.  Aged for 16 months in 38% new French oak and Stockinger foudres.

This is a wine for Syrah lovers, particularly those who like Northern Rhone examples.  It’s a big, meaty wine.  On the nose it shows smoke.  On the palate the smoke continues with teriyaki notes, meaty notes, & plenty of black pepper.  The black pepper lingers on the long finish.  This was another wine I had to take home.

Doubleback Cabernet Sauvignon 2020 $150 (Walla Walla AVA)

87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Petit Verdot, 3% Merlot

Aged 22 months in 87% new French oak barrels, Italian concrete, and neutral French oak barrels.

Probably the most famous wine from Doubleback is the Doubleback Cabernet Sauvignon.  They don’t sample it at the Bend location, but I bought a bottle to try at home. 

It shows blackberry & black fruit & the fruit is dense & concentrated.  It has integrated tannins, but they are still huge!  They are essentially sweet tannins, which keeps them from being too aggressive despite their structure.  This leads me to believe that this wine will age extremely well.

This is a very clean & precise wine, but as it opens up you start tasting tertiary notes like pencil lead & herbs.  As it sits in the glass, nice dusty notes appear as the wine opens up.  The wine has a long spicy/vanilla finish.

While this is absolutely an enjoyable wine now, I believe that it will be better in 5-10 years as it matures.  It’s a wine that will show well for 20 plus years.

That’s it.  I had a great visit.  Sadly, I didn’t get to meet Drew Bledsoe, but I tried some great wines & packed a few in my suitcase for the flight home.  You can’t ask for much more than that for a relatively quick drop in tasting.  I highly recommend a visit if you are in the area.