Winemaker Notes
This dark, full-bodied Cabernet Sauvignon is packed with cassis, blackberry, dark cocoa and warm vanilla notes in the nose. It lingers across the palate, imparting a long, polished finish that was developed in part from aging in new French oak barrels.
Blend: 92% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Merlot, 2% Malbec, 1% Cabernet Franc
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
Tightly wound, its blueberry, plum and crème brûlée flavors riding aristocratically over a layer of refined tannins. The finish persists and expands as it hints at mineral and wet earth. Best from 2013 through 2018.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The Cabernet Sauvignon Columbia Valley is Januik Winery’s best selling SKU from year to year. The 2008 is composed of 45% Champoux Vineyard fruit which may explain its popularity. Blended with some Cabernet Franc and Malbec, it offers up an alluring nose of cedar, spice box, tobacco, black currant and blackberry. This leads to a wine with savory flavors, good depth, and enough structure to evolve for 2-3 years. It will drink nicely from 2013 to 2023.
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.