Winemaker Notes
Crushed blackberries greet the nose with a minty freshness intertwined with warming vanillins and rich umami undertones. The broad entry is filled with a medley of crushed berries and stone fruits. The palate is firm but elegantly structured, promising enjoyment from now well into the years ahead. Layers of nocino, cocoa, and Oolong tea bring further intricacies to the dark fruits, leading into a full and drawn-out finish.
Blend: 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Merlot
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
The varietal calling card of this Cabernet Sauvignon (with 13% Merlot) from throughout the Columbia Valley is its savoury core. Aromatics of bay leaf, eucalyptus and whispers of roasted hatch pepper mark an elegance accompanying this wine's depth and apparent longevity. The savoury, dried garrigue and lavender notes envelope red and black fruits across the palate as black cherry flesh and perfectly picked blackberries are met with a prominent streak of graphite. Delicious and built to cellar.
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Vinous
The 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon opens in the glass with a balsamic tinge, giving way to mentholated herbs and musky blackcurrants. It is silky smooth yet lifted in feel with sweet inner herbal tones and masses of ripe dark red fruits. This finishes structured and long yet still quite fresh.
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Wine Spectator
Refined and attractively structured, with expressive black cherry and currant flavors laced with hints of tobacco and cedar as this finishes with fine-grained tannins. Drink now through 2031.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Showing more of the savory side of the variety, the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon is explosive in earthy black fruit, cedar, and pencil shavings. There's a tension of firm tannin with a touch of grip on the full-bodied palate, the oak well-integrated.
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.