Wine & Spirits - Winter 2023 - 58

US Cabernet & Blends
91 | Canoe Ridge
$48
2021 Horse Heaven Hills Summit Series
Block Zero Cabernet Sauvignon ^ Spicy with
cinnamon stick and close scents, this turns
dark and juicy in its black cherry flavors,
with the crowd-pleasing velvety texture for
braised beef. -P.J.C. (158 cases) §
90 | Beckstone
$25
2020 Horse Heaven Hills Cabernet Sauvignon
(BEST BUY) ^ A dark spice note gives
way to scents of candied plums and a hint of
prune. The flavors are heady without being
heavy, grippy and firm, with the heft for pork
shoulder. -P.J.C. (2,000 cases) §
90 | Browne Family
$40
2020 Columbia Valley Bitner Estate Cabernet
Sauvignon ^ Leading with scents of
graphite, soy and balsamic, this is dark as
India ink on the palate. It's sleek and well
made, with grippy, grainy tannins, for your
next wagyu burger. -P.J.C. §
90 | Canoe Ridge
$20
2020 Horse Heaven Hills The Explorer
Cabernet Sauvignon (BEST BUY) ^ This is classic
and generous, a straight-ahead cabernet
with scents of black cherry and tobacco,
flavors of plum and caramelly oak. It has a
pleasing texture for wine at this price, firm
with enough acidity to delineate the compact
tannins. Decant it for chicken fricassée.
-P.J.C. (4,247 cases) §
89 | Be Human
$17
2020 Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
(BEST BUY) ^ This leads with scents of
mocha and black plum, it's carob-like depth
of fruit marked by coffee'd tannins, with a
graininess and grip for barbecue -P.J.C. §
89 | Christopher Michael $14
2022 Horse Heaven Hills Cabernet Sauvignon
(BEST BUY) ^ Lifted and red fruited, with
a high-toned cherry note that becomes juicy
and acid-driven on the palate as it opens with
air. Pair it with a smashburger. -P.J.C. §
88 | Cataclysm
88 | Radius
$16
2020 Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
(BEST BUY) ^ This leads with Christmas
spices, its cherry-plum fruit soft, its furry tannins
marking the pure fruit flavors. -P.J.C. §
$12
2021 Columbia Valley Reserve Cabernet
Sauvignon (BEST BUY) ^ Charry, with hints of
iron and smoke, this tart red has an anchochile
grip of tannin, to pour with carne asada.
-P.J.C. (1500 cases) §
58
WINE & SPIR IT S
94 | Canvasback
$44
2020 Red Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon ^
For this bottling Canvasback draws from its
estate sources on Red Mountain and from
purchased fruit from its neighbors. The wine
immediately gives the impression of elegance
and reserve from the first sip, with dusty
scents of windblown loess, tanbark, and purple
plum. The attack is brisk and exceedingly
firm, the flavors of clove and cocoa, the mass
of Red Mountain tannins crossing the palate
like a heavy wave; yet the finish feels sleek
and precise, the wave coating the mouth and
then receding. Decant for steak. -P.J.C. §
93 | Aquilini
$175
2019 Red Mountain Eroe Cabernet Sauvignon
^ This is a massive wine, so a little slowmoving
and quiet at first, all Red Mountain
breadth. It begins to open with air, filling
in with cellar scents of carob, caramel and
molasses. An impressive cabernet, this is
weighty and big shouldered, setting you back
on your heels with a dark stream of fruit and
a proper wallop of tannins, even as the texture
of those tannins is redolent of grape
skins, chewy and lean. -P.J.C. (229 cases) §
93 | Canvasback
$74
2020 Red Mountain Ciel du Cheval Vineyard
Cabernet Sauvignon ^ From one of
Red Mountain's oldest and most prestigious
vineyards, this is powerful and radiant in its
sunny intensity. The flavors are primary with
plenty of dark cherry and plum, adorned by
burnished wood notes from the sumptuous
oak. The wine stays in the middle register,
delicious and inviting, the texture elegant
and sleek, the oak tannins receding with air.
This feels like it's on a good path for aging.
-P.J.C. (244 cases) §
RED MOUNTAIN
93 | Canvasback
$88
2020 Red Mountain Grand Passage Cabernet
Sauvignon ^ From the get-go this seems
built to age. It's slow to rouse out of its grainy
tobacco note and high-toned, sun-warmed
fruit. With air, the structure loosens, delivering
carob and plum flavors with a juicy balance,
angled nicely against black pepper tannins
that ward off the mass. It has the heat
and weight for steak. -P.J.C. (474 cases) §
93 | Columbia Crest
$45
2020 Red Mountain Reserve Heart of the
Hill Cabernet Sauvignon ^ This venerable
Kiona vineyard is interpreted nicely here,
showing a foresty, tanbark top note. The flavors
are vibrant despite a broad, fleshy texture,
the wine's intensity softening with air. It
remains on point, lively through the massive
tannins, full of energy in the finish. -P.J.C.
(200 cases) §
93 | DeLille Cellars
$80
2020 Red Mountain Four Flags Cabernet
Sauvignon ^ Always one of DeLille's more
robust bottlings, this blends fruit from four
Red Mountain powerhouses-Klipsun, Ciel
du Cheval, Upchurch and Grand Ciel vineyards.
It's a monolith with very discernable
parts, scents of tar, licorice, violet candy, flavors
of cola and sassafras. The fruit has rootcellar
depth, clove and cassis, earthy and ageable.
If you open it now, decant it for a ribeye.
-P.J.C. (1,600 cases) §
93 | Kiona
$85
2019 Red Mountain Heart of the Hill
Cabernet Sauvignon ^ Kiona's mid-slope
vineyard, planted in 2006, delivered a 2019
that's all cocoa and blackberries at first pass.
It hints at the scents of violets, cola, clove and
black fig that develop with air. The flavors are
silky and bright, fine-boned considering the
source, with a slightly herbal edge to counterbalance
the dark mass of fruit beautifully,
finishing on grippy, weighty tannins. -P.J.C.
(290 cases) §
92 | Canvasback
$74
2020 Red Mountain Longwinds Vineyard
Cabernet Sauvignon ^ This is pretty-a word
not typically applicable to Red Mountain
wines. It's well made, lightly oaked, with
scents of pepper, chili, clove and orange
zest. The flavors come in lean and on point,
limned with a potpourri edge and firm,
grippy tannins, needing cellar time. -P.J.C.
(192 cases) §
W INTER 2023
https://www.duckhornwineshop.com/product/2020-canvasback-red-mountain-washington-state-cabernet-sauvignon
Wine & Spirits - Winter 2023

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