Lot 164 | 2018 Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 750ml

Lot 164 | 2018 Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 750ml

GOLD MEDAL -92 Points - LA International Wine Competition 2022

Up for grabs today is Lot 164, a $70/bottle, Reserve-designated Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon primarily from the very well-regarded, 40+-year-old-vines of Cold Creek Vineyard, one of Washington States oldest vineyard sites. Small quantities of Cabernet from Olsen Estate (Wahluke Slope AVA) and and Stone Tree (Yakima Valley AVA) populate a small portion of the blend as well.

The winemaker is, I think its fair to say, a cult "rockstar" winemaker known for pioneering lower-alcohol yet still dynamic wines in the region (this Cab weighs in at 14.2%) as well as one of the few winemakers to whom the Leonetti's sell fruit.

The source winery itself is a sibling to the producer behind Lots 131, 147 and 162 and part of the complicated, 30-wine purchase I made last Fall in Walla Walla (there were two wineries involved). Lot 164 was bottled February 19th but I missed the very critical "week-after-bottling" to finalize tasting notes and have just been waiting for them to come around in the bottle before release.

And, while the wineries may be "siblings" in a sense, they, like siblings, have different personalities. The style here is clearly terroir-driven and, despite the relatively low-alcohol, very densely-packed akin to a high-end Bordeaux.

Inky, deep garnet in the glass. The bouquet is still pretty locked up even after 8-months in bottle (the tale of 2018!) but, after a couple days open in the bottle, the aromatics start to lift with spring rain on violets, brambled black raspberry, pencil shavings and seasoned spruce hardwood managing to escape this densely-packed yet elegant bouquet. The palate is tightly wound, as you can imagine, reticently offering hints of purple fruit over graphitic minerality. Smooth and elegant on the finish with fine, tight-grained french oak tannins stretching out over excellent, if unrevealing, length. Definitely a wine to leave untouched for a year or so.

88% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Petite Verdot
22% New French Oak
14.2% alc.
200 cases available


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