BUYING GUIDE - Wine Enthusiast Magazine
BUYING GUIDE - Wine Enthusiast Magazine
BUYING GUIDE - Wine Enthusiast Magazine
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89<br />
Fidelitas 2006 Optu Red <strong>Wine</strong><br />
(Columbia Valley); $40. The Optu<br />
red is packaged in a supremely heavy, oversized<br />
glass bottle, suggesting that this is the winery’s<br />
prestige blend, as does the name, Latin for “the<br />
best.” Big, full, rich, ripe, round, fleshy and forward,<br />
this is a no-wait red that should be consumed<br />
as soon as possible. —P.G.<br />
89<br />
L’Ecole No. 41 2007 Cabernet<br />
Sauvignon (Columbia Valley); $30.<br />
The fruit for this Columbia Valley Cabernet<br />
Sauvignon is sourced from a dozen different vineyards,<br />
blended into a firm, purely varietal example<br />
of Washington Cabernet Sauvignon. The rich<br />
aromatics of black fruits, baking spices, dust, and<br />
cocoa powder roll into a full-flavored midpalate,<br />
enhanced with a light floral component. —P.G.<br />
88<br />
Fidelitas 2007 Champoux Vineyard<br />
Cabernet Sauvignon (Horse<br />
Heaven Hills); $50. Smooth, ripe, and scented<br />
with a mix of raisins, cherry compote and baking<br />
spices, this forward, fruity Cabernet Sauvignon<br />
reaches almost 15% alcohol. If this level of fruit<br />
ripeness is your preference, this is the wine to<br />
buy. The finishing tannins are chewy and the<br />
wine shows noticeable alcoholic burn. —P.G.<br />
88<br />
Glencorrie 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon<br />
(Walla Walla); $40. Dusty<br />
scents conjure up cocoa powder, red and black<br />
fruits, and dried herbs. Forward and broadly<br />
fruity, it’s immediately appealing and ready to<br />
drink. There’s a sprinkling of pepper, along with a<br />
subtle earthiness. —P.G.<br />
88<br />
Milbrandt 2007 The Estates Cabernet<br />
Sauvignon (Wahluke Slope);<br />
$25. This wine has muscle and grip; it’s a densely<br />
layered Cabernet, based upon cassis and loam,<br />
with firm, muscular tannins. At the moment it<br />
does not extend its power into the finish, but<br />
rather it seems to stop short. Try giving it extra<br />
breathing time. —P.G.<br />
87<br />
Glencorrie 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon<br />
(Columbia Valley); $35. This<br />
100% Cabernet Sauvignon was aged in a 50/50<br />
mix of French and American oak. It is still quite<br />
astringent, tannic, and herbal, needing more bottle<br />
age to meld the somewhat harsh barrel flavors.<br />
The tart fruit flavors combine rhubarb and<br />
raspberries, black cherry and cassis. —P.G.<br />
87<br />
Glencorrie 2007 Cuvee Marquis<br />
(Columbia Valley); $45. A forward,<br />
well-constructed wine with a nice balance of fruit,<br />
acid and tannin. Ripe and scented with fresh<br />
herbs and dried leaves, this is a pleasant red for<br />
near-term drinking enjoyment. —P.G.<br />
87<br />
Market Vineyards 2007 Arbitrage<br />
Cabernet Sauvignon (Columbia<br />
Valley); $49. Soft and approachable, this seems<br />
more like a generic red than a pure Cabernet<br />
Sauvignon. It’s quite ripe, ready to drink, and certainly<br />
smooth. What is not there is any particular<br />
varietal character or sense of place. This is a<br />
medium-bodied red that could be from anywhere.<br />
—P.G.<br />
85<br />
Market Vineyards 2007 Basis<br />
Points Meritage Red (Columbia<br />
Valley); $39. Like the other reds from this new<br />
project, this is a pleasant, generic red wine. No<br />
blend is indicated; this has a very soft, almost artificially<br />
manipulated mouthfeel. It could be a $10<br />
blend from anywhere. Perfectly drinkable, with a<br />
bit of heat in the finish. —P.G.<br />
83<br />
Cave B 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon<br />
(Columbia Valley); $25. Thin, tannic,<br />
and chewy, this includes 21% Merlot in the blend<br />
and spent 22 months in barrel. A hard, unyielding<br />
wine, with marginal ripeness. —P.G.<br />
MERLOT<br />
93<br />
Stevens 2008 Merlot (Yakima Valley);<br />
$28. As in past vintages, this is half<br />
DuBrul and half Meek vineyard fruit. It’s a far<br />
cry from what most consumers would think of as<br />
Merlot—this is a stiff, tannic, muscular wine, with<br />
a deep earthiness that speaks of rich loam and<br />
ancient rock. It strikes me as more typical of Malbec.<br />
The tannins are firm and dense, and the<br />
fruits are black as coal and laced with tar and<br />
smoke. Cellar Selection. —P.G.<br />
91<br />
Dumas Station 2007 Merlot (Walla<br />
Walla); $26. This Right Bank-styled<br />
blend includes 19% Cabernet Franc and 5% Petit<br />
Verdot. Despite its high (15.3%) alcohol, it’s a<br />
meaty, complex wine that drinks much lighter.<br />
The berry/cherry fruit flavors are woven into a<br />
tapestry of earth, herb and spice, smooth and<br />
detailed, and the wine has a mouth-pleasing<br />
seamless quality that invites another sip, and<br />
another. —P.G.<br />
91<br />
L’Ecole No. 41 2007 Merlot<br />
(Columbia Valley); $28. This is a<br />
beautiful wine from the nose on out. Complex<br />
and aromatic, it has Italian-style tobacco scents,<br />
fresh acidity, leafy highlights, and undertones of<br />
tar, licorice and clove, all wrapped around tart,<br />
pie cherry fruit. —P.G.<br />
89<br />
Fidelitas 2007 Red Mountain Vineyard<br />
Merlot (Columbia Valley);<br />
$45. Pure Merlot, from the Red Mountain vineyard,<br />
this displays that AVA’s stiff, hard-edged tannins,<br />
keeping the fruit pinned down into a<br />
compact core. Cassis and black cherry, iron filings<br />
and some tar are all carefully balanced.<br />
There’s plenty of muscle for further aging, and a<br />
hint of heat in the finish. —P.G.<br />
88<br />
Fidelitas 2007 Champoux Vineyard<br />
Merlot (Horse Heaven Hills);<br />
$50. Champoux is one of Washington’s most<br />
revered vineyards, known especially for the rich,<br />
black cherry fruit on display here. However, this<br />
wine seems to be aging rather quickly, the flavors<br />
turning soft and leafy in the midpalate, and the<br />
wine’s rim hinting at the beginning tones of brick.<br />
It’s drinking nicely, and should be consumed near<br />
term for best enjoyment. —P.G.<br />
88<br />
Glencorrie 2007 Stillwater Creek<br />
Merlot (Columbia Valley); $40.<br />
Smooth, round and forward, this appealing Merlot<br />
offers black cherry and fig fruits, a coating of<br />
dark chocolate, and a hint of fragrant mint. It<br />
spent 21 months in barrel, 40% new French<br />
oak. —P.G.<br />
88<br />
Market Vineyards 2007 Benchmark<br />
Merlot (Columbia Valley);<br />
$35. Smooth and rich, this is a nice mix of ripe<br />
purple fruits and expensive new oak. It’s soft and<br />
seamless, ready to drink right now, with all the<br />
vanilla and butterscotch flavors that lovers of big<br />
red wines look for. It fades in the finish, leaving a<br />
slightly bitter, medicinal aftertaste. —P.G.<br />
88<br />
Milbrandt 2007 The Estates Merlot<br />
(Wahluke Slope); $25. Tight and<br />
nicely constructed, this is not afraid to show its<br />
herbal side. Tannins are earthy and firm, the fruit<br />
tight and focused, and the wine might benefit<br />
from a few more years in the bottle. What’s<br />
already there is cassis, tar and earth, finishing<br />
with a light but balanced fade. —P.G.<br />
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