Winemaker Notes
Artist Series is the ultimate sculpted wine created by blending amazing Washington fruit. Drawing from our estate vineyards, Canoe Ridge Estate gives elegance, structure and fine-grained tannins while Cold Creek vineyard lends concentrated, old vine intensity. This year, we also included grapes from Indian Wells Vineyard for a touch of that "New World" opulence. The 2007 vintage delivered power yet seamless tannins. The blend is 56% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Merlot, 6% Malbec and 1% Petit Verdot.
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Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
For thoughts on Chateau Ste Michelle’s uniqueness and recent evolution, consult my extensive April, 2013 text designed to introduce recent tasting notes. Bitter-edged herbs, licorice, and smoky black tea are the predominant accompaniments to sappy dark berry fruit in Ste Michelle’s 2007 Meritage Artist Series, on whose substantial, finely-tannic palate deep notes of dark chocolate and potting soil emerge. Petit Verdot can be pretty darned efficacious, so I suspect that its 5% share may go some way toward explaining the wine’s strongly pungent herbal cast. It finishes with intensity and persistence...
One of the world’s most classic and popular styles of red wine, Bordeaux-inspired blends have spread from their homeland in France to nearly every corner of the New World. Typically based on either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot and supported by Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, the best of these are densely hued, fragrant, full of fruit and boast a structure that begs for cellar time. Somm Secret—Blends from Bordeaux are generally earthier compared to those from the New World, which tend to be fruit-dominant.
A large and geographically diverse AVA capable of producing a wide variety of wine styles, the Columbia Valley AVA is home to 99% of Washington state’s total vineyard area. A small section of the AVA even extends into northern Oregon!
Because of its size, it is necessarily divided into several distinctive sub-AVAs, including Walla Walla Valley and Yakima Valley—which are both further split into smaller, noteworthy appellations. A region this size will of course have varied microclimates, but on the whole it experiences extreme winters and long, hot, dry summers. Frost is a common risk during winter and spring. The towering Cascade mountain range creates a rain shadow, keeping the valley relatively rain-free throughout the entire year, necessitating irrigation from the Columbia River. The lack of humidity combined with sandy soils allows for vines to be grown on their own rootstock, as phylloxera is not a serious concern.
Red wines make up the majority of production in the Columbia Valley. Cabernet Sauvignon is the dominant variety here, where it produces wines with a pleasant balance of dark fruit and herbs. Wines made from Merlot are typically supple, with sweet red fruit and sometimes a hint of chocolate or mint. Syrah tends to be savory and Old-World-leaning, with a wide range of possible fruit flavors and plenty of spice. The most planted white varieties are Chardonnay and Riesling. These range in style from citrus and green apple dominant in cooler sites, to riper, fleshier wines with stone fruit flavors coming from the warmer vineyards.