Doubleback

Drew Bledsoe is a Walla Walla native, with deep family roots in the community that predated his 14-year NFL career as quarterback for the New England Patriots, Buffalo Bills, and Dallas Cowboys (1993 to 2006). On his retirement from football, Bledsoe and his wife Maura returned to Walla Walla and launched Doubleback with the explicit goal of producing world-class estate Cabernet Sauvignon, releasing an inaugural 2007 vintage. The estate name refers to Drew's doubling back to his hometown after the football career took him across the country for nearly two decades. The very first vintage earned a spot on Wine Spectator's Top 100 List, an unusually visible debut for a new Walla Walla winery, and established Doubleback as a serious estate from the outset. The project was officially launched as a winery operation in 2008 following the inaugural vintage.

• Drew Bledsoe is a Walla Walla native; played NFL quarterback from 1993 to 2006 (Patriots, Bills, Cowboys)
• Doubleback's inaugural vintage was 2007 and the winery launched in 2008, on Drew and Maura Bledsoe's return to Walla Walla after his retirement
• Estate name refers to Drew's doubling back to his hometown after the NFL career
• Inaugural 2007 vintage placed on Wine Spectator's Top 100 List

The Doubleback cellar program was established by Chris Figgins of Leonetti Cellar, who served as the early consulting winemaker and applied the same Bordeaux-influenced approach that had built Leonetti's reputation as one of Washington's foundational Cabernet estates. Figgins helped Bledsoe shape the estate's stylistic identity around restrained, classically-built Walla Walla Cabernet Sauvignon. Josh McDaniels, who had trained under Figgins for nearly a decade at Figgins Family Wine Estates, was recruited by Bledsoe in 2015 to take over day-to-day winemaking; he has since expanded his role to CEO and Director of Winemaking, an unusual combined position that reflects the project's integrated operational structure. McDaniels also serves as winemaker across the broader Bledsoe Wine Estates portfolio (Bledsoe Family Winery and Bledsoe McDaniels), though each brand maintains its own stylistic identity and price positioning. The Figgins-trained background continues to inform the Doubleback approach: French oak aging with measured new-barrel use, careful site selection across the five estate vineyards, and a focus on elegance and varietal expression rather than overt power.

• Chris Figgins of Leonetti Cellar served as the early consulting winemaker and established the cellar program
• Josh McDaniels (trained by Figgins for nearly a decade) joined Doubleback in 2015; now serves as CEO and Director of Winemaking
• McDaniels also oversees winemaking across Bledsoe Family Winery and Bledsoe McDaniels under the broader Bledsoe Wine Estates umbrella
• Cellar approach: French oak aging with measured new-barrel use, restrained Bordeaux-influenced Cabernet style emphasizing elegance over power

Doubleback farms five estate vineyards across the Walla Walla Valley AVA, each representing a distinct soil series, elevation, aspect, and micro-climate. McQueen was the first planting, established by Bledsoe in 2007 on the southern reaches of the valley. Bob Healy followed, then Flying B in the flood deposits overlaying basalt river rock, and Schafer in the foothills of the Blue Mountains. The estate also farms LeFore, a parcel in the Rocks District of Milton-Freewater, the basalt-cobble sub-AVA on the Oregon side of the state line known for its distinctive savory red wines. The breadth of estate sites across the valley gives the winemaking team meaningful blending flexibility: the flagship Walla Walla Valley Cabernet Sauvignon draws from across the estate holdings, while the Estate Reserve is composed from the most expressive parcels in any given vintage (the 2023 Estate Reserve was nearly 80 percent McQueen, while the 2022 Estate Reserve was led by Schafer at 48 percent and McQueen at 45 percent).

• Five estate vineyards across the Walla Walla Valley AVA: McQueen (first planting, 2007, southern reaches), Bob Healy, LeFore (Rocks District of Milton-Freewater), Flying B (basalt river rock), Schafer (Blue Mountains foothills)
• Each site represents distinct soil, elevation, aspect, and micro-climate
• Flagship Walla Walla Valley Cabernet Sauvignon draws from across the estate holdings
• Estate Reserve composed from the most expressive parcels in any given vintage (2023: nearly 80% McQueen; 2022: Schafer 48%, McQueen 45%)

Doubleback maintains a deliberately small portfolio focused on Cabernet Sauvignon from the Walla Walla Valley. The flagship Walla Walla Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is the largest-production wine, blended from across the five estate vineyards and built in the elegant, restrained Bordeaux-influenced style that has defined the estate since the inaugural release. The Estate Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon is the top bottling, a small-production wine composed from the most expressive parcels in any given vintage (typically the McQueen and Schafer sites) and offered as the estate's prestige tier. The lineup is rounded out by a small-production Walla Walla Valley Merlot. All Doubleback wines are offered on an allocated basis exclusively to list members; the project does not pursue large-volume open-market distribution.

• Walla Walla Valley Cabernet Sauvignon (flagship): blended across the five estate vineyards in restrained Bordeaux-influenced style
• Estate Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon: small-production prestige tier composed from the most expressive parcels in any given vintage
• Walla Walla Valley Merlot: rounds out the deliberately small Cabernet-focused lineup
• Wines offered on allocated basis exclusively to list members; no large-volume open-market distribution

Doubleback sits within the broader Bledsoe Wine Estates umbrella, which encompasses three distinct brands with separate identities, price positions, and stylistic registers. Doubleback is the Cabernet-focused estate prestige tier (Walla Walla Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, Estate Reserve, Merlot). Bledsoe Family Winery is the separate accessibly-priced brand explicitly created so the Bledsoes could make wines their friends could afford, with a lineup that includes the Stolen Horse Syrah (Walla Walla blend from LeFore, Schafer, and Flying B sites), Elizabeth Chardonnay (sourced from the Coulee estate in the Willamette Valley), Flying B Cabernet Sauvignon, Healy Rosé, and the Bledsoe Family Red Wine. Bledsoe McDaniels is the third brand focused on boundary-pushing Pinot Noir and Syrah. Josh McDaniels serves as winemaker across all three labels, but the brands are distinct from one another in pricing, sourcing, and stylistic identity. For drinkers tracking the Walla Walla Cabernet conversation, Doubleback specifically (not Bledsoe Family or Bledsoe McDaniels) is the estate Cabernet program that sits alongside Leonetti, Pepper Bridge, and L'Ecole No. 41 at the appellation's serious Bordeaux-style level.

• Bledsoe Wine Estates umbrella encompasses three distinct brands: Doubleback (Cabernet prestige), Bledsoe Family Winery (accessibly-priced), Bledsoe McDaniels (Pinot Noir and Syrah)
• Bledsoe Family Winery is a separate brand from Doubleback; includes Stolen Horse Syrah, Elizabeth Chardonnay, Flying B Cabernet, Healy Rosé
• Josh McDaniels serves as winemaker across all three brands; each maintains distinct identity, sourcing, and pricing
• Doubleback specifically sits in the modern Walla Walla Bordeaux-style Cabernet conversation alongside Leonetti, Pepper Bridge, and L'Ecole No. 41