2011 Coho Cabernet Sauvignon Summit Vine Ranch Diamond Mountain
This bottle's arriving into a peak plateau. Nose of lapin cherry with graphite and vitamins, same on palate. Mouth-filling, silky tannins, nice finish. Drink or hold thru 2025.
2018 Lauren Ashton Cellars Cuvée Meline Columbia Valley Sémillon-Sauvignon Blanc
Pretty floral nose and lightly grapefruity on the palate. Lots of zing and complexity.
2016 DeLille Cellars Malbec Cabernet Sauvignon Quintessence Red Mountain
71% malbec, 29% CS. Very blue-purple with raw, grapey, carb-mac kind of flavors. Possibly some VA, wouldn't have been surprised to wake up to it next morning and find it turning into vinegar (none was left, it was brought by a guest who finished it). Not at all ready to drink, and a disappointment from a winery I never expect to disappoint. Drunk alongside a $6 '16 Portteus malbec that showed what a good young malbec can be.
2016 Waterbrook Sauvignon Blanc/b]
Not much varietal character--a bit watery with a mildly bitter (alcohol) finish. A disappointing wine from a winery I always expect to disappoint.
[b]2018 Milbrandt Vineyards Pinot Grigio Ancient Lakes of Columbia Valley
Here on the other hand is a value brand that gets it right. $11 American white wines don't get any better than this. Excellent intensity and body with lemon, cassaba melon, pears and a hint of grass on the crisp finish.
1998 Cape d'Estaing Cabernet Sauvignon Kangaroo Island
Heart sunk when the cork fell into four million pieces when first poked with a corkscrew, but this was one of those amazing bottles where the wine itself was still good. Decent color with an orange hue appropriate to age, it showed full-on red cherry, tobacco, gunpowder and leather notes--advanced secondary but not yet tertiary. Bottles with better corks should be able to cruise here for some time to come. 2025 should be no problem.
2018 Karma Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc Lake Chelan
Very light, both in color, body and varietal typicity. Refreshing on a hot day but way overpriced at $33 (winery).
2017 Portteus Bistro Red Rattlesnake Hills Red Blend
50% cabernet, 30% sangio, 20% zin. Purchased while camping in eastern Washington: enjoyed this the day after opening a '15. Brighter and more focused, which seems to be more about the vintage than the extra two years in bottle. Still a great wine for $10--there's no better value in this state. God bless Paul Portteus.
2015 Portteus Bistro Red Rattlesnake Hills Red Blend
Nabbed a bottle of this at a tiny little mom n' pop store while out camping and where the other options were all CSM or laboratory wines like Apothic-this or that. A true oasis: a completely correct, balanced, non-spoofulated malbec-merlot blend made by a real winemaker that paired perfectly with a grilled steak. For only $10!!!
2018 Duckpond Chardonnay, Columbia Valley
When Duck Pond came on the market in the 90's, ITB friends quickly dubbed it Duck Pee to address the difference between the marketing hype and the wine in their glass. As a brand it's improved a lot since then, and this wine is perfectly fine if you like tropical, vanilla-oak style that bears no resemblance to PNW chardonnay. Pass!