Col Solare Cabernet Sauvignon 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
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 […]
Chateau 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
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
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 […]
Spring Valley Vineyard Nina Lee 2012
Co-fermented with 1% Viognier, Spring Valley Vineyard’s 2012 Nina Lee Syrah opens with a lilting topnote of dried violet that floats above weightier aromas of blackberry cobbler and black cherry. The wine’s namesake, a nod to the family’s enduring history in Walla Walla, Nina Lee was the wife of Frederick Corkrum. After meeting following her […]
Spring Valley Vineyard Sharilee Petit Verdot 2012
Aged 19 months in 100% neutral oak, the 2012 Spring Valley Vineyard Sharilee Petit Verdot is within it’s drinking window, the nose a confluence of fleshy plum and ripe blackberries underscored by spice and a subtle top note of wild fennel. On the palate, the structure is particularly lovely—velvety tannins frame out a plush, black-fruited […]
Waters Loess Vineyard Syrah 2012
Co-fermented with 4% Viognier, Waters 2012 Loess Syrah is crafted from fruit sourced from Leonetti Cellars estate vineyard. Earth, Italian plum, and blackberry reduction weave through seductive notes of brûléed turbinado sugar, earth, and charcuterie. It’s a sumptuous, well structured wine, framed in moderate toast with enough acidic lift to maintain balance. A meandering, lengthy […]
Figgins Walla Walla Valley Estate Red 2011
While the exquisite 2010 Figgins Estate Red merited points well above 95, and the 2012 showed off its pedigree and sumptuous velvety elegance, the 2011 vintage is a good effort in one of the more difficult recent vintages in Walla Walla Valley. As expected, the profile is lighter and leaner on the nose and palate. […]
Canvasback Red Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon 2014
Canvasback is Duckhorn Vineyards latest project in Washington State. The winery has partnered with legendary Washington vineyard manager Dick Boushey in sourcing some of Red Mountain’s best fruit, certainly, the results speak for themselves. Seductive aromas of blackcurrant, cassis, blueberry pie, and anise slowly unfurl. In the mouth, even distribution of fine tannins and sweet […]