The Hansen family has Viognier planted at two of its three vineyards — Cougar Hills and Noble Rock — and their program with this Rhône variety ranks among the best on the West Coast. That’s exemplified by the essentially annual return of a gold medal or better from the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition in Sonoma. Scents of white peach, nectarine and orange Creamsicle … [Read more...] about Cougar Crest Estate Winery 2022 Estate Viognier, Walla Walla Valley $24
platinum awards
Gehringer Brothers Estate Winery 2022 Ehrenfelser, Okanagan Valley $16.99
Best Buy! The Gehringer family’s involvement in the historic Becker Project by Geisenheim viticulturist Helmut Becker in the 1980s led to their extended plantings of Ehrenfelser, a cross of Riesling and Silvaner developed by Becker. Here is Gehringer’s 18th Platinum with that early-ripening variety that survived the Okanagan Valley’s historic killing freeze of a year ago. The … [Read more...] about Gehringer Brothers Estate Winery 2022 Ehrenfelser, Okanagan Valley $16.99
Skagit Crest Vineyard & Winery 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon, Horse Heaven Hills $28
Two years ago, Chuck Jackson went Platinum in consecutive vintages for work with Pinot Noir. Here, the product of the Boeing Wine & Beer Club followed up his 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon with a unanimous vote of Platinum for their one-barrel bottling of Martinez Vineyard old-vine Cab from the 2019 vintage. Its profile is complex, layered and fun as strawberry shortcake, cherry … [Read more...] about Skagit Crest Vineyard & Winery 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon, Horse Heaven Hills $28
LA FRENZ Winery 2022 Freedom 75 Vineyard Estate Riesling 21B, Naramata Bench $21.50
Best Buy! These pioneers on British Columbia’s Naramata Bench have now earned 24 career Platinums from our panels, and a whopping nine of those have been of the unanimous variety. Remarkably, this is only the second time that the Martin family has received a Platinum for Riesling. They planted Freedom 75 across the road from their winery in 2011, and clone 21B is credited to … [Read more...] about LA FRENZ Winery 2022 Freedom 75 Vineyard Estate Riesling 21B, Naramata Bench $21.50
Clearwater Canyon Cellars 2021 Heritage Series Louis Delsol Cabernet Sauvignon, Lewis-Clark Valley $36
The story of Louis Delsol, the Frenchman who established the Lewis-Clark Valley’s first vineyard in 1872, continues to be retold in delicious fashion by the Umikers. Coco Umiker works with Cabernet Sauvignon grown by her husband, Karl, as well as two other L-C Valley sites — Arnett Vineyard and Rock n’ J Vineyard. Its theme of blackberry cobbler, muscovado sugar, forest floor, … [Read more...] about Clearwater Canyon Cellars 2021 Heritage Series Louis Delsol Cabernet Sauvignon, Lewis-Clark Valley $36