Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
A wine that I would put up there with the crème de la crème of Washington State Cabernet is the 2012 Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon from Corliss, which is insanely good and does everything right. It is made from 97% Cabernet and 3% Petit Verdot that spent 28 months in 70% new French oak. It’s saturated ruby/purple color is followed by fabulous notes of crème de cassis, toasted spice, chocolate and tobacco leaves. These give way to a full-bodied, seamless and layered 2012 that has fabulous purity and freshness, a big, rich mid-palate and sweet tannin that emerge on the finish, all suggesting it will have a long life. Forget bottles for 4-5 years and drink over the following two decades. Bravo!
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Wine Enthusiast
The vanilla, wood spice, anise, coffee and minced cherry aromas are still tightly wound but provide promise. Dark chocolate and cherry flavors stretch-out on the finish.
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.