Horizon’s Edge Winery 2012 Late Harvest Estate Muscat Canelli, Rattlesnake Hills, $14
Best Buy! David Padgett continues to display his deft touch with stickies from his vineyard near Zillah, Wash., and this bottling of one of the planet’s oldest varieties represents about 15 percent of his total production. Huge aromas of dried papaya, dried pineapple and dried apricot include rosewater, clove and fennel. The flavors are reminiscent of a Mango Lassi with its intense tropical fruit and spice, presented in viscous approach and finished with clove and honeysuckle. There’s an abundance of residual sugar (10%), but there’s ample acidity to provide balance. For a dessert wine of such quality, this is a heckuva deal and darn fun to drink. It also earned a gold medal at the 2014 Capital Food & Wine Festival Wine Competition.
Rating: Outstanding!
Production: 210 cases
Alcohol: 13.2%
Thank you for the info on $15 and under wines. I’ve been a red wine fan for most of my adult life and now that I’m retired I must be frugal with wine costs. I appreciate the information, especially because I want to support Washington wines.
Mike, thanks for the note. These are simply some of the wines we’ve tasted in recent weeks. Look for brands such as Columbia Crest, 14 Hands, Washington Hills, Waterbrook and Hogue and you’ll find a fair number of wines in that nice price range (reds and whites).