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Stoller Family Estate Dundee Hills Reserve Chardonnay 2015

Stoller Family Estate Dundee Hills Reserve Chardonnay 2015

Stoller’s 2015 Dundee Hills Reserve Chardonnay is awash in Asian pear, lemon curd, granulated honey, and white flowers. The palate is delicate, with French oak so well integrated, it almost feels like a stainless ferment. Almost. Extended lees contact has graced this sustainably-grown Chardonnay with a silky, seamless texture that is as complex as it […]

Louis M. Martini Sonoma County Cabernet Sauvignon 2013

Louis M. Martini Sonoma County Cabernet Sauvignon 2013

One of Napa Valley’s best kept secrets, Louis M. Martini’s 2013 Sonoma Cabernet Sauvignon is brimming with juicy blackberries, blackcurrants, and cassis. Leather, dried leaves, and trail dust along with an attractive top note of vanilla round out the nose. It’s sleek and softly textured on the palate with fine tannins and a medium+ finish. […]

Murrieta’s Well The Spur 2014

Murrieta's Well The Spur Red Blend 2014

Better on the second day, I recommend decanting on opening — a ripe blend of 48% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Petite Sirah, 18% Merlot, 8% Petit Verdot, and 6% Cabernet Franc from Livermore Valley — the 2014 Murietta’s Well ‘The Spur’ opens with notes of blueberry, black raspberry, black cherry, and blackcurrants couched in dark layers […]

Col Solare Cabernet Sauvignon 2014

Col Solare Cabernet Sauvignon 2013 & 2014

2014 marked Col Solare’s 20th vintage, giving the winery ample reason to celebrate the enduring partnership between Chateau Ste. Michelle and Marchesi Antinori. A warmer, riper vintage than 2013, this memorable Red Mountain Cabernet is all about power and sinewy concentration, with black cherry, cassis, blackcurrant, dark chocolate shavings and espresso rippling across this wine’s […]

Col Solare Cabernet Sauvignon 2013

Col Solare Cabernet Sauvignon 2013 & 2014

An auspicious collaboration between Chateau Ste. Michelle and Marchesi Antinori, Col Solare is one of the preeminent wineries in Washington State’s Red Mountain AVA. The 2013 Cabernet is elegantly robed in layers of black cherry and blackcurrant, crushed lavender, violets, sweet tobacco, and pencil shavings. It’s sumptuous yet precise, offering acidic lift and polished, supple […]

Tendril Wine Cellars White Label Chardonnay 2014

Tendril Wine Cellars White Label Chardonnay 2014

From winemaker Tony Rynders, his 2014 White Label Chardonnay shows his skill in crafting wines with stunning precision and grace. Classic aromas of d’Anjou pear and yellow apple are rendered more complex by layers of lemon curd, pastry cream, allspice, white flowers, and toast. Aged fifteen months in 30% new French Oak, Rynders shows us […]

Au Contraire Pinot Noir 2014

Au Contraire Pinot Noir 2014

The 2014 Au Contraire Pinot Noir is vastly more charming than I expected it to be given the price point. A well-crafted Pinot for less than $25.00 is a rarity and this bottle exceeds expectations. Swoon-worthy aromas of seedy raspberry, black cherry, underbrush, dried rose petal, and warm spice surge from the glass. In the […]

Chateau Ste. Michelle Cabernet Sauvignon 2014

Château Ste. Michelle Cabernet Sauvignon 2014

It’s an odd thing to taste Pacific Northwest wines halfway around the world at a wine show in Romania—but then, life is full of interesting surprises and it was even more fun to see how our domestic wines are received in Europe. Château Ste. Michelle is one of Washington’s State’s founding wineries, it’s also the […]

Spring Valley Vineyard Katherine Corkrum Cabernet Franc 2013

Spring Valley Vineyard Katherine Corkrum Cabernet Franc 2013

The 2013 Spring Valley Vineyard Katherine Corkrum offers more complexity than I tend to find in Washington State Cabernet Franc. It’s a wellspring of mulberries and pie cherries neatly hemmed in by dried orange peel, baking spices and subtle, dusty earthiness. On the palate, it’s medium-bodied, with velvety tannins and delightfully spice and white-pepper-laden finish […]

Spring Valley Vineyard Frederick 2013

Spring Valley Vineyard Frederick 2013

A Bordeaux-style blend of 57% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Merlot, 22% Cabernet Franc, 5% Petit Verdot, 3% Malbec, the 2013 Spring Valley Vineyard Frederic offers sumptuous fruit on the nose and palate. Twenty months in new French oak has further graced it with a balanced, well-integrated toast profile of vanilla and pencil shavings lending structure to […]

CHRISTINE HAVENS
McMinnville, OR

christine@christine-havens.com