Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Stoneridge Vineyard sports a medium ruby, mostly opaque color to go with classic graphite, dried earth, tobacco leaf and currant fruit. It's full-bodied, silky, pure and polished, with a hint of chocolate and oak on the finish. With a seamless texture, fine tannin and a great, great texture, drink it over the coming 10-15 years.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Revealing aromas of minty cassis, plums and sweet soil, the 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Stoneridge Vineyard is medium to full-bodied, nicely concentrated but quite youthfully tight-knit, concluding with a firm, chalky finish that renders it somewhat inscrutable. Its promising raw materials argue for several years in the cellar before approaching it.
Rating: 92+
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.