Winemaker Notes
Pairs well with a rack of lamb or lamb chops, grill them with a little black pepper and red wine. Linguica stuffed smoked pork loin with black beans pair amazingly with this wine also. The easy go-to meal is a grilled free range beef patty or portabello mushroom with a bit of blue cheese on great bread.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
A straight up classic beauty, the 2013 Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon from Abeja is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon that was raised in small barrels. It offers loads of cassis, blackberries, earth and hints of leafy herbs in its medium to full-bodied, concentrated and impeccably balanced style. It has the fruit and texture to drink nicely today, yet it should keep for two decades.
Washington produces so many exciting wines, and that definitely includes Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. With over 10,000 acres under vine, Cabernet Sauvignon is now the most widely-grown varietal in the state. Terrific examples hail from sub-appellations like Red Mountain, Wahluke Slope, Horse Heaven Hills and Walla Walla Valley. One of the fascinations of these Columbia Valley Cabs is that they so often seem to have one foot in the New World and one in the Old. Representing the former are characteristics like the ripe, forward fruit that results from long sunny days during the growing season (up to two hours longer than in much of California). Old World similarities include an undeniable brightness from acidity, as well as notes of herbs, graphite and a dusty, sometimes gravelly minerality.
Whether you’re looking for a budget bottle for everyday enjoyment, or a stellar, world-class wine with tremendous aging potential, Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon wines can deliver the goods! Among the many fine options are bottles from Columbia Crest, Chateau Ste. Michelle, L’ecole #41, Quilceda Creek and Leonetti.