Luke Wines house spotlight
Luke Wines on camera in the Wahluke Slope house film. Peter Devison made this 2019 Reserve Cabernet from Weinbau and Southwind.
The market on this bottle
Wine-Searcher tracks this 2019 Luke Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon Wahluke Slope, Washington across the open market. Their published U.S. low is $33.02 and the average is $33.02. Our slash is $33.00.
2019 Luke Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon Wahluke Slope, Washington
Peter Devison's 257-case Reserve, Weinbau Cabernet after 20 months French oak, a 93-point 2019 you can open at thirty-three dollars.
The 2019 Reserve is 85 percent Cabernet Sauvignon with Merlot and Malbec from Weinbau and Southwind: cassis, dark cherry, pressed herbs, and baking spice, now $19.
The Luke Cabernet that only exists when the vineyard earns it
Reserve is not a second label. Peter Devison bottled 257 cases of the 2019 from Weinbau and Southwind, hand-harvested, 16 to 18 days on skins, 50 percent spontaneous ferment, then 20 months in 100 percent French oak, all second fill. Wine Enthusiast 93 from Sean Sullivan: dark chocolate, cocoa, blackberry, cinnamon, licorice, density without overweight, best after 2026. This is the bottle that puts Luke's small-lot Cabernet on a steak table.
The house
Luke Wines is Peter Devison's Wahluke Slope project. The Reserve is the small-lot Cabernet when Weinbau and Southwind justify a separate bottling.
The wine
85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot, 7% Malbec. Hand-harvested, 16 to 18 days on skins, 20 months second-fill French oak. 14.8% ABV. 257 cases.
The scores
Wine Enthusiast 93, Sean Sullivan: hedonistic, proportioned, a long life, best after 2026. Decant if drinking sooner.
The drinker
Cassis and cocoa first. Decant 30 to 45 minutes. Serve 60 to 64 F. Ribeye or short ribs.
Cassis and cocoa, then herbs, toast, and layered tannin
Devison opens on intense cassis, black currant, dark cherry, and pressed herbs, then blackberry preserves, grilled toast, and baking spice. The palate is approachable but serious, broad-shouldered, with fine-grained layered tannin. Sean Sullivan found dark chocolate, cocoa, blackberry, cinnamon, and licorice, density and depth that never get overweight.
Devison called 2019 an amazing vintage for this Reserve: power and depth, tannins fine enough to drink, structure enough to cellar 5 to 8 years. Weinbau does the heavy lifting. Southwind fills the frame.
Cassis, black currant, dark cherry, pressed herbs, blackberry preserves, cocoa, cinnamon, licorice.
Full, 14.8% ABV, fine-grained layered tannin, 20 months second-fill French oak.
Toast, baking spice, a long dark-fruited close. Decant 30 to 45 minutes. Serve 60 to 64 F.
Hand harvest, a mixed ferment, then 20 months of second-fill French oak
All fruit was hand-harvested in late September to mid-October and processed quickly to keep cool. Lightly crushed, fermented in stainless bins and barrel, 16 to 18 days on skins, 50 percent spontaneous. Then 20 months in 100 percent French oak, all second fill. Cabernet from Weinbau and Southwind sets cassis and structure. Merlot and Malbec fill the middle. Second-fill barrels season without a new-oak costume.
257 cases. 14.8% alcohol, pH 3.82, 5.2 g/L acidity. Peter Devison.
Serve 60 to 64 F. Thirty to 45 minutes of air. Sean Sullivan wanted 2026. It is already in that window.
The same Luke house, a smaller Cabernet idea
The table Cabernet is the volume bottle. Reserve is what Devison bottles when Weinbau and Southwind justify 257 cases and two years of French oak.
Luke Wines built its name on consistent Wahluke Slope Cabernet and Merlot. The Reserve is the quieter, denser chapter.
Weinbau keeps appearing on the serious sheets. Southwind joins it here. Second-fill French oak is the seasoning, not the speech.
The 2019 is that idea after years in bottle: cassis, cocoa, fine tannin, a 93-point Washington Reserve at thirty-three dollars.
Ribeye, or a slow short-rib pot
Reserve Cabernet wants browned fat or collagen. A butter-basted ribeye is the steakhouse plate. Short ribs are the Saturday pot.
Two plates. One butter-basted ribeye. One pot of red-wine short ribs.
Decant 30 to 45 minutes. Serve 60 to 64 F. Use large stems. Air is for cocoa and the layered tannin.
Butter-Basted Rib Eye Steaks
A skillet ribeye, coarse salt, and a hard crust. Reserve Cabernet's classic landing.
Why it works: Beef fat softens fine-grained tannin. Char pulls cassis, cocoa, and toast through the French oak.
View Recipe for butter-basted rib eye steaks (opens in a new tab)
Red Wine-Braised Short Ribs
A slow braise when the 2019 is the whole table wine.
Why it works: The reduced sauce mirrors dark fruit. Collagen meets the Reserve frame.
View Recipe for red wine braised short ribs (opens in a new tab)Put this Luke Reserve in the cart
Peter Devison, Wine Enthusiast 93, 257 cases, Weinbau Cabernet. Thirty-three dollars.
Put it in the cart. This is the small-lot Luke Cabernet for a steak night, not the volume bottle.
