Winemaker Notes
A concentrated, full-bodied wine with dark fruit aromas and flavorful layers of black cherry, wild blackberry, and fresh plum on the palate. Refined tannins give the wine its silky texture, with dark fruit flavors stretching across a long, rich finish.
Blend: 99% Cabernet Sauvignon, 1% Merlot
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
A blend of estate Stillwater Creek Cabernet with vineyards across the Columbia Valley gives a wine that delivers wonderful aromas of black tea leaves, tobacco and ripe bing cherries. The palate is balanced with savoury notes of stone and earth intertwined with red and blue berry fruits, cinnamon spice and white pepper—a well-priced, nicely representative Washington Cabernet.
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James Suckling
Dark cherries, currants, sweet spices, nut shell and moist earth. Medium- to full-bodied, firm and chocolaty on the palate with a chewy grip of tannins and juicy dark-fruited core. Spiced finish with sweet fruity notes.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Made with just 1% Merlot, the 2020 Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon reveals a classic nose that is fresh, juicy, ripe and attractive. This beauty is poised, powerful, robust and complex, punching well above its weight. Concluding with a delightfully long finish, it exceeds expectations, not only in terms of quality but price as well.
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.