Winemaker Notes
#66 Wine Spectator Top 100 of 2023
Métier Cabernet Sauvignon is an inviting, smooth wine with black cherry and plum aromas pouring from the glass. Flavors of bold dark fruits and charming notes of baking spice combine with a juicy mid-palate and pleasantly firm, dry finish.
Best paired in the company of family and friends, Métier offers a balance of structure and approachability that can accompany a wide variety of foods.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
A terrific value that would probably run you three times the price if it was from Napa, the 2021 Metier Cabernet Sauvignon has textbook leafy herbs, tobacco, and darker currant fruits in a medium-bodied, elegant, balanced package. It has classic Cabernet herbal, floral, spicy notes and is well worth drinking any time over the coming decade or so.
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James Suckling
Structured and deep, this full-bodied wine is saturated in black fruits and blueberries, dark chocolate and light oak spices. For an affordable price range it packs a lot of depth, and can age for several years.
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Wine Spectator
Offers good energy and refined flavors of blackberry, dusky spices and black olive that build structure toward medium-grained tannins. Drink now through 2031.
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Wine Enthusiast
A smooth as silk mouthfeel and velvety tannins make this one easy-sipping Cabernet Sauvignon. Dark plum and red apple aromas are flanked by spicy bursts of cloves and juniper berries. Flavors of ripe blackberries, black tea and dark chocolate lead to a long 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.