Best Buy! Canoe Ridge Vineyard has given “The Expedition” title to its wines, playing off the ridgetop site named by Lewis and Clark after they noted in 1805 that it looked like an overturned canoe. The winery’s 2014 Merlot from the Horse Heaven Hills offers a hint of pepper, then blackberries and mint in its nose. On the tongue, flavors of blackberries and black currants emerge, followed quickly by blackberries and then grippy tannins and AVA’s typical minerality on the finish. Luckily, we 21st century travelers don’t need a several-day canoe trip downriver to find our share of Canoe Ridge. It’s just a short drive to the nearest wine shop or grocery story for this “Best Buy.” This earned a gold medal at the 2016 Cascadia Wine Competition.
Rating: Outstanding!
Production: 7,500 cases
Alcohol: 13.8%
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