Best Buy! Juan Muñoz Oca’s team in Washington state's Horse Heaven Hills continues to follow its game plan with this style of Chardonnay, which offers astounding layers - regardless of the price point. Nearly 80 percent of these huge lots spent nine months in a variety of barrels, with weekly hand-stirring of the lees. The nose is quite giving with vanilla, apple blossom and … [Read more...] about Columbia Crest 2013 Grand Estates Chardonnay, Columbia Valley, $12
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Mercer Canyons 2014 Chardonnay, Columbia Valley, $13
Best Buy! Jessica Munnell pulls from vineyards in three distinct growing regions in Washington — historic Sagemoor along the Columbia River near the Hanford Reach, Zephyr Ridge at the southern edge of the Horse Heaven Hills and Sunnyside Vineyard in a warmer section of the Yakima Valley — for this remarkably complex Chardonnay. Aromas of peach, honeydew melon, dried pineapple, … [Read more...] about Mercer Canyons 2014 Chardonnay, Columbia Valley, $13
Lone Birch 2013 Syrah, Yakima Valley, $13
Best Buy! Airfield Estates winemaker Marcus Miller launched this second label with the 2009 vintage, and he uses it to showcase the award-winning bounty from his family’s four-generation farm near Prosser, Wash. Syrah is a newcomer to the lineup, and he juices it up with a splash of Grenache (4%). It’s presented in a fruit-forward fashion with aromas of blackberry, dark … [Read more...] about Lone Birch 2013 Syrah, Yakima Valley, $13
Columbia Crest 2013 Grand Estates Cabernet Sauvignon, Columbia Valley, $12
Best Buy! Cab remains the king of wines and the wine of kings, but you don’t need to pay a king’s ransom for one of Washington state’s easiest drinking - and widely available - examples of Cabernet Sauvignon. Alluring aromas of smoky and dusty oak run alongside black currant, pomegranate, tar, coffee and black pepper. On the pour, there’s remarkable balance with black cherry, … [Read more...] about Columbia Crest 2013 Grand Estates Cabernet Sauvignon, Columbia Valley, $12
Henry Estate Winery 2014 Pinot Gris, Umpqua Valley, $15
Best Buy! This historic Roseburg, Ore., property creates this Pinot Gris in a way that throws a tasty curveball. The nose is definitely Oregon in style with its crisp aromas of lemon, starfruit, lemon peel and flint and with a hint of quinine. That profile would seem to hint at a bone-dry Pinot Gris, which is not the case. Instead, the flavors are akin to a fruit cocktail with … [Read more...] about Henry Estate Winery 2014 Pinot Gris, Umpqua Valley, $15