Winemaker Notes
Blend: 96% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Cabernet Franc, 2% Malbec
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Blackberry, mulberry, clove, hazelnut and mint chocolate on the nose. It’s medium-to full-bodied with firm, tight-grained tannins and crisp acidity. Fresh and bright with flavorful layers of berries and spice.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Coming from the Columbia Valley and aged 20 months in 25% new French oak, the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon has a classic nose of darker currants, tobacco, scorched earth, and cedar. Beautifully textured, medium-bodied, and balanced, it's a great value in high quality Cabernet Sauvignon that will keep for 7-8 years or more.
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Wine Enthusiast
The aromas bring notes of roasted coffee bean, vanilla, chocolate and cherry. Rich, ripe, hedonistic flavors follow, mixing fruit and barrel. It hits the gong hard, needing some time to fully settle in.
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Wine Spectator
Rich but not weighty, with elegantly structured black cherry, mocha java and spice flavors that glide on the lingering 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.