Doubleback

Drew Bledsoe got his start at quarterback at Walla Walla High School, played for Washington State University, and was selected number one overall in the 1993 NFL draft by the New England Patriots. His 14-year NFL career took him to the Patriots, the Buffalo Bills and the Dallas Cowboys. During that career, the Patriots wine guys would host blind tasting parties, and Bledsoe would throw Walla Walla wines such as Pepper Bridge, Leonetti and L'Ecole No. 41 into the mix of Bordeaux and California wines. Upon his retirement in 2007 he returned to Walla Walla to plant his original estate vineyard, McQueen, on the southern end of the Walla Walla Valley AVA. In 2008 Drew and his wife, Maura, launched Doubleback as an estate-focused winery, the name a reference to his return home. In September 2008 the first Doubleback bottling was slated to be a 2007 Cabernet-based blend made from purchased fruit by consulting winemaker Chris Figgins of Leonetti. Doubleback is a small, family owned winery; its new home on the southern edge of Walla Walla was completed in 2018.

• Drew Bledsoe: Walla Walla native; selected number one overall by the New England Patriots in the 1993 NFL draft; 14-year NFL career with the Patriots, Bills and Cowboys
• 2007: Bledsoe retires from the NFL and plants the McQueen estate vineyard
• 2008: Drew and Maura Bledsoe launch Doubleback; the name is a reference to his return home
• 2018: the winery's new home on the southern edge of Walla Walla is completed
• Small and family owned

Josh McDaniels is CEO and Director of Winemaking at Doubleback and a partner in Bledsoe Wine Estates. Born and raised in Walla Walla, he first worked in wine at Leonetti Cellar, studied at the Institute of Enology and Viticulture in Walla Walla while working under his long-time mentor Chris Figgins of Leonetti, interned in Argentina at Paul Hobbs' Vina Cobos Winery, and earned a bachelor's and a master's degree in business administration from Washington State University. Bledsoe hired him away from Figgins Family Wine Estates, where he had trained for almost a decade under Chris Figgins. The team also includes Joe Woolsey (Associate Winemaker), Joshua Roznowski (Viticulturist), Pedro Lara (Vineyard Manager) and Guy Vallerga (CFO). Each estate vineyard is farmed by its own farming crew.

• Josh McDaniels: CEO and Director of Winemaking; partner in Bledsoe Wine Estates
• Joe Woolsey: Associate Winemaker
• Joshua Roznowski: Viticulturist; Pedro Lara: Vineyard Manager
• Guy Vallerga: CFO

Doubleback farms five estate vineyards within the Walla Walla Valley, each representing a unique soil series, elevation, aspect and micro-climate; all five are certified sustainable through LIVE. McQueen, the original estate vineyard, was planted in spring 2007 on a ridgeline of fractured basalt and was the first vineyard planted in the Sevein development on the Oregon side of the Walla Walla Valley AVA; it takes its name from Bledsoe's middle name. Bob Healy, the second Doubleback vineyard in the Sevein development and one of Doubleback's warmest vineyard sites, is planted to Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec. LeFore, on the eastern side of the Rocks District of Milton-Freewater, a sub-AVA of the Walla Walla Valley, was originally planted in the late 1990s; Doubleback first started with the site in 2009, and Bledsoe purchased it in 2017. Flying B, planted in 2018, surrounds the winery, with flood sediments over river cobbles. Schafer, the newest estate, lies at Mill Creek directly next to Leonetti's Mill Creek Upland Vineyard, in the foothills of the Blue Mountains.

• McQueen: 23 acres planted, 50 acres total; 1,200 to 1,440 feet; wind-blown glacial loess over fractured basalt; planted spring 2007
• Bob Healy: 9.7 acres planted, 28 acres total; 1,170 to 1,370 feet; Walla Walla silt loams; planted 2007
• LeFore: 26 acres planted, 30 acres total; 940 feet; very cobbly loam; planted late 1990s
• Flying B: 11 acres planted, 48.5 acres total; Walla Walla silt loam over cobblestone; planted 2018
• Schafer: 15 acres planted, 20 acres total; 1,390 to 1,450 feet; Mill Creek; planted 2007

The winery on Powerline Road in Walla Walla was completed in 2018, and 2018 was the first season crushed there. The 14,000-square-foot building has a gravity-flow fermentation system and concrete fermentors, and its siding reuses wood from two 100-year-old barns in Ellensburg, Washington. In 2018 it housed the barrel cellar for both Doubleback and its sister label Bledsoe Family Winery. The team welcomes mailing list customers through reservations.

• 3853 Powerline Road, Walla Walla, WA 99362
• Completed 2018; 14,000 square feet; gravity-flow fermentation system and concrete fermentors
• Mailing list customers visit by reservation

Doubleback makes three wines, all from the Walla Walla Valley appellation: a Cabernet Sauvignon, an Estate Reserve and a Merlot. Its wine library lists Cabernet Sauvignon vintages from 2011, Estate Reserve vintages from 2015 and Merlot vintages from 2020. The 2023 Cabernet Sauvignon is 96% Cabernet Sauvignon and 4% Malbec from the McQueen, Schafer and LeFore estates, aged 22 months in 57% new and 43% neutral French oak barrels, oak foudre and concrete tulips; 3,395 cases were produced. The 2023 Estate Reserve, almost 80% from McQueen, is 94% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Malbec and 2% Petit Verdot, aged 22 months in 55% new and 45% neutral French oak barrels; 682 cases were produced. The 2022 Estate Reserve was the first to come predominantly from Schafer (48%), ahead of McQueen (45%), with the remainder from LeFore. The 2023 Merlot, 91% Merlot and 9% Cabernet Franc, comes predominantly from Schafer and was aged 16 months in 65% new French oak barrels and 2,000 liter Stockinger ovals; 659 cases were produced. The Estate Reserve and the Merlot are VIP exclusives, and all Doubleback wines are offered in very limited releases exclusively to list members.

• Cabernet Sauvignon (2023): 96% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Malbec; 3,395 cases; McQueen, Schafer and LeFore
• Estate Reserve (2023): 94% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Malbec, 2% Petit Verdot; 682 cases; almost 80% McQueen
• Merlot (2023): 91% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Franc; 659 cases; predominantly Schafer
• Allocated in very limited releases exclusively to list members

The 2007 Doubleback Cabernet Sauvignon Walla Walla Valley, the winery's first vintage, ranked No. 54 on Wine Spectator's Top 100 list published in 2010, with a score of 95 points.

• 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon Walla Walla Valley: No. 54 on Wine Spectator's Top 100 (2010), 95 points

Doubleback presents itself as an estate focused winery crafting Cabernet Sauvignon 'in an elegant, true to varietal way.' In Josh McDaniels' tasting note, the 2023 Estate Reserve 'is all about finesse over power.'

Doubleback belongs to the family of wineries that make up Bledsoe Wine Estates, alongside Bledsoe Family Winery, which makes accessible varietals, and Bledsoe|McDaniels, which makes Pinot Noir and Syrah. Bledsoe|McDaniels launched in 2019 as a partnership between Drew Bledsoe and Josh McDaniels, focused on Willamette Valley Pinot Noir and Walla Walla Syrah.

• Bledsoe Wine Estates: Doubleback, Bledsoe Family Winery, Bledsoe|McDaniels
• Bledsoe|McDaniels: launched 2019; Willamette Valley Pinot Noir and Walla Walla Syrah

Primary sources (producer's own site): https://doubleback.com/, https://doubleback.com/about-us/our-story, https://doubleback.com/about-us/the-team, https://doubleback.com/vineyards, https://doubleback.com/wines, https://doubleback.com/wines/cabernet-sauvignon/2023, https://doubleback.com/wines/estate-reserve/2023, https://doubleback.com/wines/merlot/2023, https://doubleback.com/allocation, https://doubleback.com/about-us/the-team/drew-bledsoe, https://doubleback.com/about-us/the-team/josh-mcdaniels, https://doubleback.com/wines/estate-reserve/2022, https://doubleback.com/contact. Sister-brand site (Bledsoe Wine Estates, linked from the producer's site): https://bledsoefamilywinery.com/our-story. Secondary sources: Wine Spectator (Robert Taylor, Sep 25, 2008; Unfiltered, Nov 15, 2018; Unfiltered, Aug 20, 2019; Feb 29, 2020 issue; Top 100 at a Glance, 2010) and the Washington State Wine Commission (washingtonwine.org). Last verified 2026-10-18. Where the producer's site and a secondary source disagree, the producer's site governs.