Columbia Gorge vintner Robb Bell and Sonoma winemaker Michael Sebastiani show their dedication to Merlot in Oregon with this vineyard-designate project with Reid Vineyard, up the Columbia River near The Dalles. Their approach for 22 months with a blend of barrels creates aromas of blackberry and cherry juice with Sunsweet Dried Plums and pink peppercorns. On the palate, there’s … [Read more...] about Cathedral Ridge Winery 2013 Reid Vineyard Merlot, Columbia Valley, $32
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Mercer Estates 2015 Reserve Chardonnay, Horse Heaven Hills, $29
Previous vintages saw Jessica Munnell dedicate her reserve Chardonnay to Zephyr Ridge Vineyard, but the maturation of young Eagle & Plow Vineyard - now the Mercer family’s largest planting - deems it worthy of playing a role in this program. Half of the lots involved new French oak barrels for 10 months, and half of the casks went through malolactic fermentation. That … [Read more...] about Mercer Estates 2015 Reserve Chardonnay, Horse Heaven Hills, $29
Buty Winery 2013 Phinny Hill Vineyard Columbia Rediviva Red Wine, Horse Heaven Hills
Chris Dowsett could offer this proprietary red blend as "Cabernet Sauvignon" for founder Nina Buty, even though he continues to use Syrah (15%) — just the variety — to flesh out this. And it was the Syrah that was harvested first from the Beightol family’s prized vineyard near Champoux Vineyard during the first week in October. The Cab came in a week later. Both lots went back … [Read more...] about Buty Winery 2013 Phinny Hill Vineyard Columbia Rediviva Red Wine, Horse Heaven Hills
Avennia 2014 Discovery Vineyard Le Corbeau Syrah, Horse Heaven Hills, $50
Milo and Kay May established their vineyard in 2005 overlooking the Crow Butte Park and the Columbia River west of Paterson, Wash., and their grapes are featured in Passing Time’s heralded wines. Chris Peterson makes the wines for those two retired quarterbacks, so knows as well as anyone how delicious the Mays grapes are. This bottling under the brand he owns with ex-Microsoft … [Read more...] about Avennia 2014 Discovery Vineyard Le Corbeau Syrah, Horse Heaven Hills, $50
Truth Teller Winery 2014 Wisdom Red Wine, Yakima Valley, $35
Texan transplant Chris Loeliger used the 2016 Tri-Cities Wine Festival to showcase his blending talents by earning a series of gold medals, and this blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (57%), Merlot (19%), Cabernet Franc (19%) and Petit Verdot indeed brings balance and finesse. He relied on the Williams family for fruit from their Kiona and Heart of the Hill vineyards on Red Mountain, … [Read more...] about Truth Teller Winery 2014 Wisdom Red Wine, Yakima Valley, $35