Winemaker Notes
Blend: 96% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Petit Verdot
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
The gem in the lineup is the 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Old Vines, undeniably the most classic and age-worthy in the lineup. Blackcurrants, charcoal, graphite, and chocolate notes, as well as ample minerality, all emerge from this full-bodied, rich, concentrated effort. It needs 2-4 years of bottle age but is a beautiful wine with a long life ahead of it.
Rating: 95+ -
James Suckling
A firm and silky red with blackberry and blueberry character. Hints of hazelnuts, too. Full- bodied, reserved and focused. Love the tar undertones. Drink or hold. But better in 2020.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Old Vines is a deep, rich and beautifully textured effort that gives up tons of chocolate, dark fruit, licorice, roasted herbs and hints of spice. It's a ripe, broad, textured and concentrated effort that has tons to love. It's my favorite in this stacked lineup. The blend here is 96% Cabernet Sauvignon and 4% Petit Verdot, and it’s going to have 2-3 decades of life.
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Wine Enthusiast
One of the state's best bottles year after year, this delivers herb, blackberry, woodspice and vanilla bean aromas. The palate is tightly wound and impeccably balanced, with a mixture of fruit and barrel flavors that show depth. Made with the future in mind, it will be best from 2025–2032.
Cellar Selection -
Decanter
Slick and polished with toasty oak nicely framing powerful Cabernet fruit. Refined core of lush, layered black fruit lined with grippy tannins and a lingering oaky 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.