Willamette Valley winemaker Sarah Cabot crafts her wines in Dundee for Seattle-based Precept, pours them in Portland’s Pearl District and created this Chardonnay in a complex reserve style. The layered nose opens with butterscotch candy then peach preserves, green apple, lime and cotton candy. There’s just a lick of butterscotch on the entry, giving way to a rush of citrus … [Read more...] about Battle Creek Cellars 2022 Unconditional Surrender Reserve Chardonnay, Oregon, $24.99
Oregon
Arenness Cellars 2020 Les Collines Vineyard su_m Cabernet Sauvignon Walla Walla Valley, $48
Portland winemaker Robert Bailey continues to focus his thoughtful gaze on Cabernet Sauvignon grown in storied sites east of the Cascades. Les Collines — a venerable site in the Blue Mountain foothills south of Walla Walla — fits that approach. This single lot of juice is both block and clone specific, Clone 8 from Block 45, and it spent two years in a neutral barrel. He … [Read more...] about Arenness Cellars 2020 Les Collines Vineyard su_m Cabernet Sauvignon Walla Walla Valley, $48
Aquilini Wines 2023 Sauvignon Blanc, Red Mountain, $30
When the Aquilini family launched its wine program, they brought on famed Napa winemaker Philippe Melka as a consultant. He’s one of the few cult producers of Sauvignon Blanc in the U.S., and the white Bordeaux also has a storied past on Red Mountain, so it makes sense that Aquilini has quickly developed a remarkable program. This spent six months in neutral French barriques, … [Read more...] about Aquilini Wines 2023 Sauvignon Blanc, Red Mountain, $30
Cathedral Ridge Winery 2018 Rhett’s Red Reserve. Columbia Valley $46
Longtime consulting winemaker Michael Sebastiani helps Cathedral Ridge owner Robb Bell to pay a delicious tribute to his faithful hunting dog with this Barbera-based blend. This Hood River producer has been producing some of the Northwest’s best stand-alone examples of Barbera — whether it be from Bolton Vineyard in the Gorge or McKinley Springs in the Horse Heaven Hills — so … [Read more...] about Cathedral Ridge Winery 2018 Rhett’s Red Reserve. Columbia Valley $46
King Estate Winery 2022 Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley $30
Last fall, the 2021 vintage of winemaker/co-CEO Brent Stone’s flagship Pinot Noir for the King family picked up a Double Platinum. Despite the “heart-stopping frost” of April 15 the following vintage, the 2022 seems poised to earn another Platinum — which would be the 11th time for King Estate to receive a Platinum during Great Northwest Wine’s year-end smackdown of gold-medal … [Read more...] about King Estate Winery 2022 Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley $30