Columbia Valley

This producer makes wine in Oregon, New Zealand, and for Bordeaux varietals, in Washington.  It is a lighter styled Cab that makes for easy drinking.  Ruby in color, mostly clear and bright.  The nose is tight at first but opens to show dust, cherries and black cherries.  Medium bodied.  On the palate, this is clean with cassis and a slight sweetness to it.  Moderate finish.  It would work better with food.  Roasted chicken would be a nice choice.  Drink over the next five to eight years.  

This is a blend of 50% cabernet sauvignon, 48% merlot and 2% malbec.  Purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose is dusty with cassis, cherries and an herbal note that a friend called pickle juice.  I found it more like sage.  Medium bodied.  On the palate, this has some cassis and some cherries.  Moderate depth.  Shorter finish.  It's a nice wine if not profound.  It probably would be better with some food.  Roasted chicken or duck would work well.  Drink over the next five years.  

This is mostly Merlot with  18% Cabernet Sauvignon and 9% Cabernet Franc.  This is a very accessible and easy to drink wine that has nice ripeness to it.  Purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose has cherries, chocolate and a slight char.  Medium bodied.  On the palate, this is delicious.  Easy to drink.  Moderate depth. Nice texture.  Cassis and black cherries.  Nice finish.  This drinks great on its own and would work well with foods with a tangy/sweet BBQ sauce.  Drink over the next few years.  

In a recent tasting of Washington wines, this was the groups Wine Of The Night.  Pretty impressive for a wine that was purchased for $20.  It is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon.  Deep purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose has cedar, plums, cassis and dark chocolate.  Medium to full bodied.  Medium tannins.  Some depth and complexity.  Juicy acidity.  On the palate, lots of cassis, some black cherries and a bit of char and ash.  Tasty.  This is drinking well now and is the kind of wine that would be popular at a party.  It drinks well on its own and would be a nice choice with burgers, ribs

This is a blend of 80% Sauvignon Blanc, 19% Chardonnay and 1% Marsanne from Washington state.  Yellow gold in color, clear and bright.  The nose is smoky with some peach offerings.  Medium bodied.  Slight tannins.  Low acidity.  Very round and easy to drink texture.  On the palate, some peach and some apple.  A bit of bitter almond on the finish.  Overall, an easy drinking wine that provides nice value.  It drinks very well on its own and will work with lighter foods.  Drink over the next year.  

This is drinking well and at maturity (although no hurry).  Purple in color, ruby at the rim, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose has black cherries, iron, slight tobacco and slight iodine.  Medium to full bodied.  Light tannins.  On the palate, this has black cherry fruit with underlying tobacco and a bit of that iron note.  Good acidity.  Nice finish.  Drink over the next five to seven years.  This will work better with food.  Roasted chicken or vegetables would work well.

This is one of the best values in Washington Wine.  From what used to be young vines in the Champoux Vineyard, these vines are no longer young.  Purple in color, ruby at the rim.  The nose has cassis, plums and black cherries with spice and slight char.  Full bodied.  On the palate, this is getting closer to peak.  Great fruits (Cassis and black cherries) with underlying scorched earth.  Complex, it unwinds in the glass.  Nice finish.  No hurry on this, it should drink great for the next ten to twelve years.  It drinks nicely on its own but will work better with food.  Roast Turkey would wo

This is a Cabernet from Washington state.  It actually also has 4% Merlot.  Purple in color, a bit of ruby at the rim.  Opaque and bright.  The nose is very nice with black cherries, plums, some baking spice and a slight liqueur note.  Full bodied but not over blown.  On the palate, this has juicy black cherries, plums, slight blueberries with some underlying char and a bit of minerality.  Good balance.  Nice finish.  This is drinking well now but should go another seven to ten years.  It will work on its own but probably better with food.  It went well with pasta but would work well with r

This is a "Bordeaux Blanc" styles wine from Washington state.  It is 69% Sauvignon Blanc and 31% Semillon.  Very impressive and a dead ringer for a Bordeaux white in style and quality.  Light golden in color.  The nose has apples, wax, sweet herbs, minerality and a touch of cedar.  Light to medium bodied.  Nice texture.  On the palate, apples, slight citrus, wax with underlying minerality.  Fresh and lively.  Good acidity.  Long finish.  Versatile.  This drinks great on its own and will work with with sea food, pork or fowl and also spicy Asian foods.  Drink over the next few years for its

This is 95% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Merlot from Washington state.  It is a nice value in Cabernet.  Deep garnet in color, clear and bright.  The nose has cassis and an ash quality that is interesting.  Medium bodied.  On the palate, nice cassis fruit.  Medium tannins.  Nice finish.  This is a solid, easy drinking wine that will work well with steaks, roasted chicken or all but the lightest foods.  Drink over the next three to five years.