by Jenise » Wed Oct 23, 2013 5:58 pm
Bob and I shared a bottle of this last night, our first experience with this producer who has some 40 year old vineyards on Snipes Mountain. It's Yakima, but 700 to 1300 feet elevation vs. the hot lowlands that produce Washington's juggier wines. After my first couple sips I told Bob, "If you can memorize this flavor, you'll always be able to nail a Washington Cabernet blind." And I meant that. This is the flavor that wine from nowhere else tastes like, whether that be bad or good, and in this case it's very good because this wine has all the good parts right and none of the bad parts associated with modern, domestic people-pleasers. For instance, it's only 13.7% alcohol. I honestly can't remember the last time I saw an under-14% Washington red, except for the 20-plus year old bottles a friend sometimes brings from his father's cellar. And neither is it extracted nor lavishly oaked as is the usual modern WA style. Too, it's quite dry--there's no residual sugar. So that aside, what is a typical Washington cabernet? It's black and blue: blackberries are the first flavor to hit to your palate, followed by coffee and finally tangy blueberries in the finish. And delightfully, it drinks as well with food as it does on it's own. This is a very nice wine, and at a pretty nice price: $30 locally.
My wine shopping and I have never had a problem. Just a perpetual race between the bankruptcy court and Hell.--Rogov
