Winemaker Notes
This supple, bold Cabernet Sauvignon is loaded with red and black fruit flavors as well as plum, mocha and cedar notes in the nose. Its texture is quite refined and shows great structure across the palate, imparting a long, ample finish that was developed in part from the use of new French Oak barrels.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
The aromas are brooding, with notes of coffee, cherry, vanilla and sweet spices. Layered, rich, intense chocolate and cherry flavors follow. It’s hedonism in a glass, with plenty of structure to support it all. Editors’ Choice.
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Wine Spectator
Precise and sleekly built, with blackberry, espresso and spice flavors that build tension toward refined tannins.
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James Suckling
Black fruit, cassis, walnut, praline and hints of black truffle on the nose. It’s medium-to full-bodied with firm, supple tannins. Juicy and ripe with good structure and weight. Slightly candied finish. Drink or hold.
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.