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My Rating (circle) :
Date Printed: 6/17/2013
Hedges Family Estate CMS Red Blend 2005
Hedges Family Estate CMS Red Blend 2005
 (search item no. 90180)
Wine Enthusiast rating: 88 points
PRICE ON 6/17/2013: $10.99

ratings pedigree (past vintages):
2008 Wine Enthusiast rating: 88 points
2007 Wine Enthusiast rating: 89 points
2004 Wine Enthusiast rating: 88 points
2001 Wine Enthusiast rating: 89 points

Winemaker's Notes:

 Blend: 49% Cabernet Sauvignon, 47% Merlot, 4% Syrah

CMS Red displays sweet toasted oak (caramel and butterscotch with hints of cedar, vanilla, cinnamon and clove spice), ripe red and dark fruit and earthy/herb aromas. Lively raspberry and blackberry fruit, toasted oak, caramel, hints of vanilla, clove, earth and herbs on the palate. Firm but balanced tannins, medium body, caramelly sweetness, nice acidity and a long finish. This Cabernet, Merlot, Syrah blend is a fantastic compliment to almost any food and is a fantastic value for the quality!

A joy to drink now, but the racy acidity and firm but balanced tannins should make this wine one that will improve over the next two to six years.

My Notes:

Additional wines from Hedges Family Estate:

About Hedges Family Estate:

 It was 1986 when Washington native Tom Hedges found his first employment in the wine industry marketing American wines in Taiwan. From that humble beginning, Hedges Cellars, then a "virtual" winery, found its first customer: the government of Sweden. Tom and his wife Anne-Marie marketed their Cabernet/Merlot blend to foreign buyers exclusively for two years before going domestic and opening up North American distribution. Still without their own winery, they took a chance buying acreage on an obscure little hill called Red Mountain.

The Hedges have concentrated their efforts on Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, and the concept of terroir since their first vintage in 1987. With Anne-Marie Hedges' roots and childhood in the Champagne region of France, it was only natural that a French-style chateau would be built on the slopes of Red Mountain amongst their vines.

Brother Pete Hedges joined the winery as General Manager, becoming head Winemaker in 2002. Son Christophe and his wife Maggie began working for the winery soon thereafter and Hedges Cellars became Hedges Family Estate.

Our future direction is clear: we will continue to work as a family to unite farming, winemaking, and the promotion of our wines and the Red Mountain AVA.