Wine & Spirits - December 2020 - 77

YEAR'S BEST US CABERNETS & BLENDS
90 | Alder Ridge

$40

2015 Horse Heaven Hills Cabernet Sauvignon ^ Notes of tobacco and black plum lead
in this quiet bottle-aged red from the Alder
Ridge Vineyard overlooking the Columbia
River. It tastes of black plum, black tea and
black pepper, plush and generous. -P.J.C. §
521956

90 | Browne

anced, the wine well-made and well-priced
for burger night. -P.J.C. §

R E D M O U N TA I N

$30

2017 Horse Heaven Hills Site Series Cabernet Sauvignon ^ This is minty, with peppery
plum and tobacco scents. The flavors are
delivered with savory firmness, the tannins
plucky, firmly planted for a steak. -P.J.C. §
518811

90 | Canoe Ridge

$26

2016 Horse Heaven Hills Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon (Best Buy) ^ Scents of clove,
incense and dark fruit lead in this posh and
well-priced cabernet. It feels compact, with
an inky core of fig flavor limned with cinna-
mon, and tannins that come in waves, some
dusty, some grippy; for corned beef. -P.J.C.
(W&S 2/20; 2,000 cases) §

521941

95 | Ambassador Wines
of Washington

90 | H3

$15

90 | Jolete

$45

2018 Horse Heaven Hills (Best Buy) ^
Smooth in all facets, this blend of syrah,
merlot and cabernet sauvignon has scents
of warm raspberries and strawberries, with
a mentholated tobacco-like spice. It's sapid
and persistent, the dark-cherry flavors deliv-
ering a mineral tang. For barbecue. -P.J.C. §
519311
2017 Horse Heaven Hills Cabernet Sauvignon ^ With its high-toned herbaceous scent,
this cabernet won't be for everyone. Its fresh
herb notes bring brightness to the jammy fla-
vors, emphasizing the lean, firm texture. For
steak. (W&S 4/20; 320 cases) -P.J.C. §
521947
$16

2018 Horse Heaven Hills The Expedition Canoe Ridge Vineyard Cabernet
Sauvignon (Best Buy) ^ This wine's flavors
of mocha and ripe cherries have a cedary
edge. The oak frame is pronounced but bal-

$38

2017 Red Mountain Envoy (Best Buy) ^
Envoy is assembled from components of
this winery's main Red Mountain vineyard.
More than half merlot, with 25 percent cab-
ernet sauvignon, the rest cabernet franc,
malbec and petit verdot, it gives a good rea-
son to be bullish on Washington merlot. It's
as bright as a red plum in July, a luminous
red that looks as succulent in the glass as it
turns out to be in flavor. It feels sleek and
fine, the plummy fruit scented with notes of
tobacco, tomato leaf and a hint of caramel.
The saturating texture is precise and molli-
fying, pleasingly medium-bodied for a Red
Mountain wine. -P.J.C. §
521351

95 | DeLille Cellars

521971

88 | Canoe Ridge

521938

$70

2017 Red Mountain Four Flags Cabernet
Sauvignon ^ Four Flags brings together two
of Red Mountain's iconic vineyard sources,
Klipsun and Ciel du Cheval, with two younger
estates, Grand Ciel and Upchurch Vineyards.
When first poured it feels like a Red Moun-
tain brute: big, burly, a touch thick, quite
possibly over the top. But air brings savory
touches to all that fruited expanse, notes of
violet, briar and green olive all serving to
shine a light into the wine's brooding depths.
With a good acid lift and tannins, it will per-
form at its peak with an herb-rubbed steak.
-P.J.C. (W&S 10/20; 1,575 cases) §
522006

94 | Cadence

$60

2017 Red Mountain Cara Mia Vineyard
Camerata ^ There's no denying Red Moun-
tain's power in this wine, in its mass and
tannic payload. But over the course of three
days, the wine gets more streamlined and
sleek, the juicy dark-fruit flavors leavened by
mint and cedar, all delivered with tannins of
uncanny precision and grace. -P.J.C. §

94 | Ambassador Wines
of Washington

$42

94 | Col Solare

$95

94 | Col Solare

$150

94 | DeLille Cellars

$160

2017 Red Mountain Estate Cabernet
Sauvignon (Best Buy) ^ This is a Red Moun-
tain anomaly: Rather than exhibiting the
burly dark-blue fruit profile of most vine-
yards in the AVA, this one is definitively red
fruited, with lifted black-cherry flavors. It's
compact and poised at once, succulent and
balanced, for grilled meats. -P.J.C. §
521346
2017 Red Mountain Collector's Society
Cabernet Sauvignon ^ This seductive caber-
net leads with scents of cedar, lavender and
iron filings, and dark blueberry flavor that
leaves no doubt as to where this wine was
grown. Nor does its structure, dense and
vinous. The dichotomy between fruit and
savor delivers an attractive tension, ideal for
venison. -P.J.C. (W&S 10/20; 154 cases) §
521341
2017 Red Mountain Tenuta Cabernet
Sauvignon ^ Col Solare's estate wine is all Red
Mountain in execution and flavor intensity.
When first poured it's all wood, too, cedar
and graham cracker, the sumptuous barrel
notes framing classically dark, dense berry
sweetness. Five days after I'd first opened
the bottle, the wine didn't seem to relent,
but became progressively more elegant,
even as the tannins retained their ironlike
grip. Cellar. -P.J.C. (W&S 10/20; 150 cases) §
521354
2016 Red Mountain Grand Ciel Cabernet
Sauvignon ^ This wine went through a two-
week cold soak and nearly two years in barrel
before bottling, so perhaps it's not surpris-
ing that it takes time for the flavors to arrive
after uncorking it. It's massive and a touch
blocky, with scents of cedar plank and pine
tips adorning the dark purple fruit, propelled
by a dark balsamic sweetness and grounded
by firm fine-boned tannins. For a steak.
-P.J.C. (W&S 10/20; 188 cases) §
521492
WINE & SPIRITS

DECEMBER 2020

77
https://www.ambassadorwinery.com/product/2017-Estate-Cabernet-Sauvignon1?pageID=6127B220-B915-0882-BC07-DE34676E659F&sortBy=DisplayOrder&maxRows=12& https://www.ambassadorwinery.com/product/2017-Envoy?pageID=612F660B-961F-52D7-A772-FD8EE87BBB35&sortBy=DisplayOrder&maxRows=12& https://www.h3wines.com/
Wine & Spirits - December 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Wine & Spirits - December 2020
