Winemaker Notes
This wine has a generous nose of spicy oak and cedar integrated with ripe black fruits and cherry. A sweet, rich mouth feel begins with cassis and ripe black berry leading towards chocolate and mocha. The finish is complex, generous and long. While this wine can be enjoyed now it will definitely benefit from additional cellaring and with proper storage should develop for eight years or more.
This 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon was produced from grapes grown primarily at Champoux, Sagemoor, Klipsun and Tapteil Vineyards. These four vineyards are some of the most highly regarded properties in Washington State and produce fantastic wines in their own right. In blend, they produce extraordinary wine.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
From an idyllic vintage with even fruit set, the 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon Artist Series is in its peak drinking window and showing beautifully. It comes from the Champoux, Sagemoor, Klipsun and Tapteil vineyards and was matured for 20 months, mainly in new French oak. It has a deep garnet color and complex aromas of dried plums, dark chocolate, desiccated violets and iron. It floods the mouth with chocolaty fruit and powerful, powdery tannins. Its fresh acidity is still well integrated, and it has a very long, layered 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.