Winemaker Notes
Classic ripe Cabernet Sauvignon aromas fill this richly perfumed wine. Fragrant currant and black berry, mocha and sweet French oak tones harmonize with mineral tones in this powerful reserve old vine Cabernet. Long flavors and powerful structure come from low yielding vines and fully extracted winestyle. Fragrant and able to delight now, it will age for years to come, like the many vintages before.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
This offers a fresh array of bright red berries, as well as a floral edge to the nose. Quite dense and concentrated in the mouth with slightly tangy acidity that holds boysenberry and mulberry flavors fresh. Smooth yet defined tannins. Drink or hold.
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Wine Spectator
Combines power and grace, with a deeply structured core wrapped in expressive blackberry, licorice and smoked pepper flavors. Drink now through 2027.
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Wine Enthusiast
Fresh herb, green pepper and roasted coffee bean aromas are out front. Ripe black fruit and herb flavors follow. Coffee notes linger on the finish. It’s a rich, hedonistic, high octane example of the variety.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2016 Protagonist Conner Lee Vineyard wafts from the glass with ripe, lavish black cherry, dark plum and a soft dusty cocoa aroma with a concentrated core of purple flowers, herbs and wet rocks. Full-bodied, the wine is rich and open on the palate, with a faint herbal center enveloped by dense, chewy fruit with a balanced tannic grip. It ends with a long finish, delivering pleasure along the way. The total production is 3,650 six-packs.
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.