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, Dallas Cowboys, and a final season with the Cowboys. After retiring in 2006, Bledsoe and his wife Maura returned to Walla Walla and launched Doubleback in 2007 with the explicit goal of producing world-class estate Cabernet Sauvignon from the Walla Walla Valley. 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 project's first vintage earned a Wine Spectator Top 100 spot, an unusually visible debut for a new Walla Walla winery, and established Doubleback as a serious estate from the outset.

• Drew Bledsoe is a Walla Walla native; played NFL quarterback from 1993 to 2006
• Doubleback launched in 2007 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 vintage placed on Wine Spectator's Top 100 list

Doubleback is described as an estate-focused project, with vineyard sources concentrated in the Walla Walla Valley AVA on both the Washington and Oregon sides of the state line. The estate's deliberate focus on Cabernet Sauvignon, with smaller programs in Merlot, Syrah, and Chardonnay under the Drew Bledsoe Signature Series, distinguishes the project from broader Walla Walla portfolios. The location on the southern edge of Walla Walla puts the winery within easy access of both the Pepper Bridge and Seven Hills vineyards areas and the Rocks District further south, giving the cellar the breadth of source sites that the appellation's serious red-wine programs typically require. Bledsoe Wine Estates, a sister project, extends the family's interests into additional Washington and Oregon ventures.

• Estate-focused vineyard sourcing within the Walla Walla Valley AVA
• Cabernet Sauvignon is the flagship variety; smaller programs in Merlot, Syrah, and Chardonnay under the Drew Bledsoe Signature Series
• Located on the southern edge of Walla Walla, within easy access of Pepper Bridge, Seven Hills, and Rocks District sources
• Sister project Bledsoe Wine Estates extends the family's interests into additional Washington and Oregon ventures

Josh McDaniels serves as CEO and Director of Winemaking at Doubleback, having been recruited by Drew Bledsoe from Figgins Family Wine Estates, where he had trained under Chris Figgins for nearly a decade. The Figgins-trained background informs the cellar approach: classical Bordeaux-influenced Cabernet Sauvignon work, careful site selection, and aging in French oak with measured new-barrel use. McDaniels has extended his role from winemaker into the broader CEO function, an unusual combination that reflects the project's relatively small commercial scale and integrated approach. The wines have built a consistent track record of high scores from US critics across multiple vintages.

• Josh McDaniels serves as CEO and Director of Winemaking
• Recruited from Figgins Family Wine Estates, where he trained under Chris Figgins for nearly a decade
• Cellar approach: classical Bordeaux-influenced Cabernet Sauvignon work with French oak aging and measured new-barrel use
• Consistent high US critic scores across multiple vintages of the flagship Cabernet Sauvignon

Doubleback occupies a distinctive position in Walla Walla as one of the projects launched by a public figure that has nonetheless built credible critical reputation on the strength of the wines themselves. Drew Bledsoe's NFL profile gave the project early visibility, but the Wine Spectator Top 100 placement of the inaugural vintage and the consistent track record since have established the estate as a serious Walla Walla Cabernet Sauvignon producer rather than a celebrity vanity project. For drinkers tracking the appellation's Bordeaux-style red programs, Doubleback sits comfortably in the same conversation as Pepper Bridge, Leonetti, and L'Ecole No. 41 at the appellation level.

• Public-figure-launched project that has nonetheless built credible critical reputation through the wines themselves
• Wine Spectator Top 100 placement of the inaugural vintage established serious credentials from the outset
• Sits in the modern Walla Walla Bordeaux-style conversation alongside Pepper Bridge, Leonetti, and L'Ecole No. 41
• Estate-focused project with deliberate Cabernet Sauvignon emphasis distinguishes it from broader Walla Walla portfolios