28. Wautoma Wines 2010 El Prat, Columbia Valley, $28
The first release from this new winery in the heart of Washington wine country is an instant classic. Owner/winemaker Jessica Munnell is a graduate of the University of Ste. Michelle and now is the head winemaker at Mercer Estates in Prosser. This is her own side project. The wine is a blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon from Wautoma Springs Vineyard and 40% Malbec from Stone Tree Vineyard. The name “El Prat” is Catalan for “The Prairie” and also is the name of the Barcelona airport. The wine opens with alluring aromas of sandalwood, vanilla bean, huckleberry and French roast coffee, followed by plush flavors of black cherry, plum and blueberry. Everything is backed with velvety tannins and right-on acidity. Enjoy with grilled meats or a hearty Italian dish.
Production: 241 cases
Alcohol: 14.5%
Lists such as this are nice. But I content that wines with a production of less then 250 cases should not be included. There are wines here with microscopic production levels. That just amounts to teasing the vast majority of the readers.
Jim,
A valid point. I would contend that highlighting even small-production wines gives wine lovers an idea about what wineries to visit or wines to try.
Additionally, this is a bit of a slippery slope. Do we also exclude wines based on price point because they are accessible primarily to those only able to afford them?
We went into this with the thought of picking out the very best wines we tasted in 2013. During the process, we didn’t look at price point or production level. As a result, we also ended up with a lot of wines in which tens of thousands of cases were produced (in addition to small-production wines).