After years of winemaking for friends and family, father and son team Mike and Ryan Seal, along with Ryan’s childhood friend Scott, founded Sigillo Cellars in 2010 (an Italian translation of their last name). “Our belief is wine should be experienced,” says Mike Seal, head winemaker.
He opened the winery’s first tasting room in the historic Sunset Theater in the heart of downtown Snoqualmie, offering light food fare, live entertainment and outdoor seating area with views of Mount Si.
In 2017 they opened a second tasting room in The Wine Cellar, a complex of six tasting rooms in Leavenworth, where you can taste their portfolio of solidly crafted Bordeaux and Rhône varietals.
The wines we reviewed below are superb versions that demonstrate finesse and attention to detail in the cellar.
Visit: 8086 Railroad Ave SE, Snoqualmie or 217 9th St, Ste F, Leavenworth, www.sigillocellars.com
Sigillo Cellars 2014 Red Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon, $38
Editor’s Choice – Outstanding (91-94 pts.)
Well built, elegant and powerful, with dense flavors of marionberry and blackberry, cassis and fig. Smoky notes waft through the sinewy, fine tannins and fresh acidity surges through the finish.
Sigillo Cellars 2015 Rattlesnake Hills Syrah, $32
Editor’s Choice – Outstanding (91-94 pts.)
Rich and luscious, offering smoky aromas and harmonious flavors of red and black berries, plum skin and licorice with underpinnings of loamy earth and grilled herbs. There’s solid heft to the finely integrated tannins that hold sway on the uptempo finish.
Sigillo Cellars 2016 Lonesome Spring Vineyard Viognier, $22
Editor’s Choice – Outstanding (91-94 pts.)
There’s huge appeal to this crisp and refreshing style, nimble yet complex, delivering vibrant flavors of lemon grass, grapefruit, pineapple and honeysuckle backed by limestone minerality that extends the satisfying finish.