Description
Including 11% Merlot, the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Columbia Valley reveals a ruby/purple color as well as beautiful notes of crème de cassis, white flowers, lead pencil, and classy oak. Beautifully textured, medium-bodied, and elegant on the palate, it has ripe tannins and a great finish. It’s another classic, layered release from this estate that can be drunk today or cellared for 10-15 years.
94 Pts – Vinous
Bright medium ruby. Sexy perfumed lift to the aromas of cassis, black cherry, raspberry, mocha, menthol, licorice and violet. Wonderfully broad and mouthfilling but conveys an impression of weightlessness; all in finesse but there’s no shortage of stuffing here. Intense flavors of red and darker fruits, milk chocolate and spices show a clever light hand with the oak (70% new French). Richer and more pliant than the 2015 version, and also better balanced. The very long, slowly mounting finish saturates the palate with a complex perfume of fruits, flowers and spices and noble tannins. Like the Merlot, this is not an obvious powerhouse but a classy, utterly seamless wine with a light touch.
94 Pts – Wine Spectator
Offers finesse and structure, with elegantly expressive blackberry, basil and black olive flavors that build richness toward polished tannins. Drink now through 2028.
93 Pts – James Suckling
Attractive dark plums and berries make for an attractive nose that carries a sense of ripe fruit with freshness intact. The palate follows suit with a sleek, rich serving of blackberries and blackcurrants, framed in smooth-honed tannins. Drink or hold
93 Pts – Jeb Dunnuck
Including 11% Merlot, the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Columbia Valley reveals a ruby/purple color as well as beautiful notes of crème de cassis, white flowers, lead pencil, and classy oak. Beautifully textured, medium-bodied, and elegant on the palate, it has ripe tannins and a great finish. It’s another classic, layered release from this estate that can be drunk today or cellared for 10-15 years.
91 Pts – Wine Advocate
The 2016 Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon begins with a bold and expressive nose of blackberries and a tight core of dark fruit. Medium to full-bodied, flavors of dusty black plum, cassis and currant integrate seamlessly with oak tones of vanilla and soft sawdust, showing a rich complexity across the mid-palate. The wine lingers with well-structured tannins that are still lively and slightly grippy on the long finish.
88 Pts – Wine Enthusiast
The aromas are reticent, with notes of plum, almond skin, coffee, dried cherry, vanilla and dark chocolate. Plum and flavors, focused in the middle follow, tapering toward the edges follow. The concentration seems quite light initially, fleshing out a bit over time. Lightly grainy tannins wrap it all together.
