Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine & Spirits
Black as ink, with black-cherry scents, this has a whiff of clove and violet that gives the wine some initial lift. But mostly, it’s dark and brooding, like plums modestly spiced with anise. A big, heavy wine with pitch-dark tannins, this needs cellar time, then double-decant it for steak.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Offering up aromas of sweet cassis fruit, cigar tobacco and rich spices, the 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Canoe Ridge Estate Vineyard is medium-bodied, supple and velvety, with good balance and a generous core of fruit, concluding with an attractively savory finish. It's a success.
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.