Winemaker Notes
Collusion Cabernet has nothing to hide! Dark as night, this red evokes notes of red currants and sweet tobacco, wrapped around a core of plum, red berry, and silky-smooth tannins.
Pour it behind closed doors alongside nicely-salted grilled New York Strips.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A powerful, stalwart wine that’s sturdy in structure, nicely filled out with red and black fruit and full-bodied without overdoing it. Oak spices from French and American barrels add some cocoa, vanilla bean and cinnamon accents. Made from 75% cabernet sauvignon with portions of malbec, syrah, petit verdot and cabernet franc. Drink now or hold.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon Collusion is good at any price point. At this price point, it's exceptionally good, showing a shy nose of cooler-climate, red-fruited personality, from currant and cassis to cedar, tobacco leaf, and graphite. The tannins are approachable in their youth, providing structure without getting in the way of drinking pleasure. This is a great house wine or by the glass pour.
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.