Winemaker Notes
Blend: 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Petit Verdot
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2008 The Bully Cabernet Sauvignon contains 15% Petit Verdot and was aged in 100% new French oak. Fragrant aromas of sandalwood, exotic spices, violets, earthy minerals, and assorted black fruits are followed by a sweetly-fruited, plush, layered wine with outstanding volume and balance. This lengthy effort will benefit from another 2-3 years of cellaring and will deliver prime drinking through 2023.
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Wine Spectator
Soft and ripe, with an open feel to the sassafras-accented blackberry and currant fruit. The ripe flavors linger persistently on the gentle 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.