Northwest Cellars 2015 Kiona Vineyard Carménère, Red Mountain, $48

In the past, Robert Delf has made this fascinating red Bordeaux variety an important part of his Cadenza program. With this lot of Carménère from the Williams family’s Kiona Vineyard, Northwest Cellars has rightfully showcased a handful of barrels as a vineyard-designated expression of Carm. Half of the barrels were new French oak, which appear to have been for texture because the wood stays in the shadows of the classic notes of black cherry, dusty sage and tobacco with white pepper. There’s an inkiness to the structure with that’s cellar-worthy and allows for a finish of blackcurrant skins and bittersweet chocolate. Delf has earned 12 career Platinum Awards from Wine Press Northwest magazine, and two of those have been for Carménère. With this bottling earning a double gold medal — a unanimous vote for gold — at the 2020 Washington State Wine Competition, the 2015 edition will be in the running for Platinum this fall. As a result of a flood in its building near Totem Lake, Northwest Cellars has temporarily moved three doors down, but ample parking remains just the same. And online reservations are still required for tasting.

Rating: Outstanding!

Production: 138 cases

Alcohol: 14.1%

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