Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon Artist Series is straight up terrific, with tons of black currants, plums and spice to go with background smoked herbs and toasted bread nuances. Incorporating 11% Petit Verdot and 2% Cabernet Franc, aged 20 months in 50% new French oak, this full-bodied, rich, layered beauty has a great mid-palate, a silky texture and ripe tannin, all suggesting it will have a graceful evolution. Give bottles 2-3 years and enjoy over the following 10-15.
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Wine Enthusiast
The variety quickly announces itself with aromas of dark cherry and dried herbs followed by generous barrel accents. The black-fruit flavors are rich but maintain balance, with a persistence that impresses.
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Wine Spectator
Firm in texture, with a roasted red pepper edge to the dark berry and herb flavors, coming together on the harmonious finish. Has presence and length. Best from 2018 through 2023. 3,773 cases made.
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.