BUYING GUIDE - Wine Enthusiast Magazine

BUYING I GUIDE
94
Stevens 2007 XY Reserve Cabernet
Sauvignon (Yakima Valley);
$42. Top lots from Sheridan, Dineen and Meek
vineyard grapes go into this reserve. This is always
the most thick and dense of the Stevens wines,
and the tannins, though very well managed, are
chewy and substantial. They dominate this young
wine, but the stacked and subtle layers of red and
black fruits, leaf and forest floor materials, moist
earth and ashes keep the flavors complex and
interesting. This wine absolutely must be
decanted, and can be cellared almost indefinitely.
Cellar Selection. —P.G.
93
Corliss Estates 2005 Cabernet
Sauvignon (Columbia Valley); $75.
More than the tight and tannic 2005 Corliss Red,
this Cabernet Sauvignon is immediately fragrant
and open, with a mix of sweet fruit and sweet oak.
Black cherry, cassis, subtle notes of lavender, and
a foundation of wet stone are all nicely balanced
and surprisingly elegant, given the relatively high
(15.1%) alcohol. This wine seems now to be
entering its prime time—it benefits from decanting,
and will cellar well, but should probably be
consumed within the next 2–8 years. —P.G.
93
L’Ecole No. 41 2007 Cabernet
Sauvignon (Walla Walla); $40. This
is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from an all-star collection
of Walla Walla vineyards. It shows excellent
structure and depth, with plenty of herbal
character. The black fruits are abundant, spicy
and sharp; this is a young wine from a great vintage
than needs more bottle age. The layering,
though still tight and compact, suggests that with
cellaring this will evolve into Bordeaux-like complexity,
with a mix of herb, mineral, leaf and berry
flavors. The barrel flavors (40% new) are subtle
and elegant. Cellar Selection. —P.G.
92
Corliss Estates 2005 Red Wine
(Columbia Valley); $65. Though it is
five years old and just being released, this thick,
tannic and rich Bordeaux blend still requires
decanting, cellaring, and/or extensive breathing
time. A full day after first being tasted, it came
together for me; the initial, aggressively herbal
character is equally matched to ripe black cherry
fruit and massive tannins. The nose suggests
sweet cherry, but the palate leans more to the
herbal side, with flavors of earth, stem and leaf,
and there is a green tea residual flavor that
infuses the finish. A wine to cellar and to savor
with a fine steak. Cellar Selection. —P.G.
92
L’Ecole No. 41 2007 Seven Hills
Vineyard Estate Perigee (Walla
Walla); $50. Tart and leafy, this is still resolving
into a fully integrated wine. It already shows balance
and depth, with a mix of plum, fig, black
cherry and cassis fruit, a streak of sweet chocolate
and hints of baking spice. From a great vintage,
this has the balance and stuffing to age, but if you
can’t keep your hands off it, decant. —P.G.
92
Stevens 2007 424 Red Blend
(Yakima Valley); $33. Immediately
appealing, this blend of 39% Cab Franc, 36%
Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Merlot, and 9% Petit
Verdot really expands the midpalate, without sacrificing
the overall muscularity and density that
are the hallmarks of Stevens reds. The best 424 to
date, this brings Petit Verdot into the blend for
the first time, expanding the floral aromatics and
deepening the tannins. Fruits are a complex mix
of black cherry, blackberry and raisin, with
licorice streaking into the finish. —P.G.
91
Cadaretta 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon
(Columbia Valley); $40.
Cadaretta’s largest production red is drinking
beautifully in this exceptional vintage. It seems
to be moving into midlife softness, with a wellintegrated
blend of plums, cassis and black cherries,
highlighted with clove and coffee. Complex
and detailed, its tannins are grainy and dark,
adding heft and gravitas to the fruit. —P.G.
91
Fidelitas 2007 Ciel du Cheval Vineyard
Cabernet Sauvignon (Red
Mountain); $55. From a vineyard sited near
the winery, this is the most supple, balanced and
evenly detailed of the 2007 red wines from Fidélitas.
The lightly muscled, compact fruit flavors
bring black cherry, cassis, and plum together, with
a strong minerality providing subtext. A suggestion
of smoke suffuses the finish. —P.G.
91
L’Ecole No. 41 2007 Pepper Bridge
Vineyard Apogee (Walla Walla);
$50. First to arrive, straight to your awaiting
nose, are complex aromatics, with a mix of floral
and spicy highlights that surround the black and
purple fruits with exotic nuances. The fruit is nigh
perfect—ripe, round, forward and loaded with
plummy, sweet berries. It gathers strength in the
core, holds, and then expands into a finish dusted
with cocoa and coffee. —P.G.
91
Tranche 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon
(Columbia Valley); $35. From a
6 2 | W I N E E N T H U S I A S T | D E C E M B E R 1 , 2 0 1 0
hard-edged vintage, this Bordeaux blend is just
beginning to open up, but has a firm structure
and a steely spine. The aromas are strongly varietal,
with a mix of fresh herbs and sharp tannins.
The fruit is subtle, black cherry and cassis,
threaded with smoke. Cellar Selection. —P.G.
90
Cadaretta 2006 Springboard
(Columbia Valley); $50. A limitedproduction
Bordeaux blend, this is a
vineyard/barrel selection by now-departed
Cadaretta winemaker Virginie Bourgue. It’s silky
and deep, with penetrating black fruits and
toasted, roasted coffee barrel flavors. Seductive
and smooth, this is an elegant wine that warrants
cellaring. —P.G.
90
Davenport Cellars 2007 Continuity
Red Wine (Columbia Valley);
$24. Smooth, seductive, toasty and rich on the
nose, this blend of all five Bordeaux varieties is
not a big wine, but drinking extremely well at the
moment, with a precise balance of fruit, earth and
barrel that sets up seductively in the mouth, and
stays there. Excellent length and fullness. —P.G.
90
Fidelitas 2007 Red Mountain Vineyard
Red Wine (Red Mountain);
$50. This single-vineyard blend is drinking very
well. There is an unusual minty spice underlying
the cassis and cherry fruit, and it provides a nice
line for the flavors as they weave across the
palate. This wine is among the best balanced of
the 2007 reds from Fidélitas, and shows some
well-managed herbs and baking spice flavors
along with soft, light tannins. —P.G.
90
Nefarious Cellars 2008 Riverbend
Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon
(Wahluke Slope); $30. A fine companion to
the winery’s Cabernet Franc, also sourced from
this exceptional vineyard, this pure Cabernet
Sauvignon has a lighter mouthfeel, with plum and
Bing cherry fruit front and center. Tannins are
polished and smooth, and the nuances of toast
and herb show up gently in the finish. —P.G.
89
Davenport Cellars 2007 R.H.D.
Red Wine (Columbia Valley); $24.
This is three fifths Merlot, with the other four
Bordeaux grapes filling out the rest. 100%
French oak was used, half new, and the near-
15% alcohol shows in a bit of burn in the finish.
Toasty, smoky, laden with roasted coffee and bitter
chocolate notes, this is a wine to pair with a
grilled steak. —P.G.