Winemaker Notes
In order to soften the wine and add complexity to it, Castle Rock aged this full-bodied wine for 18 months in French oak barrels. On the palate, it offers concentrated flavors of cassis, Blackberry, black cherry and ripe plum, with a hint of light oak, and its finish is smooth and harmonious.
It makes an excellent accompaniment to beef, lamb, and game dishes and a variety of cheeses.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
Lively, generous and well-built, with expressive blackberry, black olive and bitter chocolate flavors. Drink now through 2022.
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.