Brothers
Reserve Collection

Before we could connect the dots around what made us different—and why the grapes and wines from Copeland Vineyard were different—we knew we just bloody loved Merlot from that spot. We drank F’ing Merlove, and we weren’t going to shy away from it.

The Blend is the first BROS wine we ever made. Back in the day, it was the only BROS and it was Cabernet Sauvignon based. When we expanded the brand, Pat and I looked at each other while tasting barrels and said, “F-it. Let’s make the Blend Merlot based and still charge about $70 a bottle—in Zillah. It’s that good.” So we did. And we heard about it until people tried it. Then we still heard about it, but differently.

The Blend is just as complicated to trial, if not more so, than the single varietals. The Merlot is grown specifically to be the predominant variety. We begin with more barrels than we will ultimately need and treat every barrel as its own entity. Then we add every potential barrel of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Syrah. That is the daunting fun.

A well-made Merlot-based blend needs a different kind of sex appeal. Powerful yet elegant. Soft enough to enjoy now, but big enough to age. Sexy, approachable, complicated and simple at the same time. This vintage and this blend did exactly that.

Cabernet Franc is, to us, the star of the Rattlesnake Hills. It is our favorite variety, and we learned early that it is a bit more difficult viticulturally than Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon. When grown correctly, it is one of the prettiest varieties on the planet.

I once had the pleasure of talking with the late, great David Lake, MW—I was maybe 23—about Cabernet Franc. He mentioned the nuance people immediately search for in the great ones: pyrazines are needed, but there is a fine line between not enough and atrocious. When you find it, hold on, because it is beautiful.

Maybe that is why we revere it. It has to be right, or it just ain’t right. Between the knowledge gained from being farmers first and having the old guard of Washington winemakers as mentors, this is where BROS Cabernet Franc starts and ends.

The 2022 did that and then some. We started with four barrels—three new and one third-fill—all French oak, and blended to 3.2 finished barrels. Five blind samples were all incredible, but the best combined suppleness, acid, finesse, structure, beautiful tannins and just enough of the “guy in the corner” personality to know it was Cabernet Franc.

One of the common comments we used to hear in the tasting room before BROS was, “This is a lighter Cab.” Our response was always, “But is it?” Inevitably, the customer would realize it was big—it just took a second to hit.

Cabernet Sauvignon from Copeland Vineyard is not blunt force through the center palate. It travels, lingers and does not go away. Then the tannins arrive, and you realize you could use a piece of red meat or a good conversation, but you are not fatigued by it. This is where we realized we are more France West than California North.

When we expanded BROS, we knew exactly which rows of Cabernet Sauvignon to use. Copeland Vineyard told us. Those vines always looked slightly different, the fruit ripened differently, and the finished wines took longer to become bottle-ready.

During trials, I am looking for depth, elegance, acid, tannins, weight and subtlety. It cannot be overpowering or fatiguing. Basically, I cannot need a beer after tasting it. I want to know I can have it at a Michelin Star or on my tailgate.

We began with seven barrels as individual entities and blended to the equivalent of 3.2 barrels. The final wine was not our initial favorite, but we kept returning to it. It continued evolving in the glass. It became an experience. That was when we paused and said, “We need to listen to the glass. If it is doing this now, it will do it over time in the bottle.”