Best Buy! The well-chronicled rosé project from this storied Richland, Wash., producer has qualified for the Platinum Awards virtually every year for more than a decade by virtue of its string of gold medals at the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition. By year’s end, Rob Griffin’s team doesn’t often enter this judging, but when they do submit, it goes Platinum. This is the … [Read more...] about Barnard Griffin Winery 2022 Rosé of Sangiovese, Columbia Valley $15
Outstanding
Bayernmoor Cellars 2019 Bayernmoor Vineyard Estate Reserve Pinot Noir, Puget Sound $65
A product of just his third commercial vintage, Snohomish County winemaker/ attorney Larry Harris used this blend of Dijon clone 777 and the early ripening Précoce clone (33%) for what proved to be one of the top Pinot Noirs of the 24th annual Platinum Awards. It’s a nuanced and complex example that opens with ripe red fruit, dried red rose petals, cedar and a pinch of herbs. … [Read more...] about Bayernmoor Cellars 2019 Bayernmoor Vineyard Estate Reserve Pinot Noir, Puget Sound $65
Mercer Estates Winery 2018 Small Lot Merlot, Horse Heaven Hills $32
Of the six Platinum awards collected by the Mercer family last fall, three of those were for Merlot, including this Double Platinum from a vintage that some critics have called the best of since 2012. The 20 months in French oak and a dose of Petit Verdot (9%) provide baking spice and heft to an experience that swirls around notes of anise, clove, chili pepper and fruitiness of … [Read more...] about Mercer Estates Winery 2018 Small Lot Merlot, Horse Heaven Hills $32
Chris Daniel Winery 2019 Sangiovese, Columbia Valley $32
In 2024, the Stewart family will celebrate the 10th anniversary of their Quincy, Wash., winery, which is led by their son, Chris, a winemaker in Napa. Of his 14 career Platinum Awards, this is his first with the Italian grape, and this two-barrel lot resulted in the highest-scoring Sangiovese of this year’s tasting. It’s redolent of raspberry purée and black cherry, backed by … [Read more...] about Chris Daniel Winery 2019 Sangiovese, Columbia Valley $32
Clearwater Canyon Cellars 2021 Phinny Hill Vineyard Coco’s Reserve Spice Market, Washington $38
The Queen of the Platinum — Coco Umiker — has spotlighted the Beightol family’s Phinny Hill Vineyard in Washington’s Horse Heaven Hills for nine of her 46 career Platinums. Her latest is for this stunning Bordeaux blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (56%), Carménère (42%) and Merlot. It’s heady stuff with aromas of dark cherry, cigar box and leather precede a palate of fig, strawberry … [Read more...] about Clearwater Canyon Cellars 2021 Phinny Hill Vineyard Coco’s Reserve Spice Market, Washington $38