Winemaker Notes
Blend: 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Petit Verdot, 3% Syrah
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Barrel notes of vanilla and spice take the lead in this aromatically brooding wine, followed by dried herbs and dark fruit. The flavors are pitch black, coating the palate from end to end with layers of fruit, tannins that go the distance and a graphite-filled finish that lingers. It will drink best from 2020–2027.
Cellar Selection -
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
One of the stars of the lineup (yet also one of the most expensive as well), the 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon Old Vines checks in as 87% Cabernet, 10% Petit Verdot and 3% Syrah, from vines planted in the 1970s, that spent 20 months in 100% new French oak barrels. Big, rich, chocolaty and concentrated, with tons of blackcurrant, singed toast, vanilla bean and smoked herbs, it has full-bodied richness, building tannin and the overall balance and purity to evolve gracefully for 10-15 years.
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.