2016 Columbia Crest Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve Stonetree Vineyard - Clone specific

Community Tasting Notes (1) Avg Score: 92 points

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View Josch48's profile
  • Report Issue

  9/30/2023 - Josch48 Likes this wine: 92 Points

  Columbia Crest has a dizzingly number of expressions of Washington State Cabernet Sauvignon, from many growing regions from West to East, and almost too many specific sub areas and vineyards, not to mention other red varietals and interesting blends of these Vitis Vinifera cast of characters. I begin by stating my extreme bias toward, it seems, the never ending variety of their delicious offerings, in particular their Reserve labeled reds, and especially the Walter Clore wines we have ordered through our membership in their wine club.
  This beauty is no exception to the aforementioned enjoyment and appreciation I have had with every iteration of these wines I have sampled.
  This 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, Clone 5 (there is a paucity of information regarding this and other stated clones of Washington State Cabernet Sauvignon varietals enlisted by Columbia Crest winemakers), has an impenetrabley dark black cherry, almost black squid ink, color to the rim, and the seductive nose has sweet, slightly smokey aromas of intensely extracted blue and black fruit, laced with vanilla, pencil box (an antiquated reference, for those of you who may have had one in the distant past), and a peripheral corona of the sweet perfume from the robust level of 15.5% ABV.
  The mouthfeel is supple and viscous, with sweet (almost too sweet sans food) blueberry, black cherry and blackberry flavors that spread over the palate levels like a lackadaisical tsunami, flowing well past the finish, lingering for minutes.
  This wine proclaims it’s youth, and will likely evolve over the next ten years. This Cabernet Sauvignon does border on the fortified wine category in that the character is, although not unidimensional, lacking, again sans food, in layers of the flavor profile, and the sweetness is just to the point of being cloying. It is delicious and does possess an underlying base of acidity that buoys the flavors and eschews flabbiness in fruit that had been allowed an extended hang time.
  Light, non spicy Asian dumplings, salad, cheese, olives, bread and carrots do not appreciably curb the wine’s endearing intensity (not a personally perceived deficit), but a meal of hearty vegetarian savory content, grilled or barbecued meats or Italian cuisine, would compliment and sufficiently mollify the wine, but at this stage of the wine’s development, certainly would not tame it.

  Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment

Professional reviews have copyrights and you can view them here for your personal use only as private content. To view pro reviews you must either subscribe to a pre-integrated publication or manually enter reviews below. Learn more.