BUYING GUIDE - Wine Enthusiast
BUYING GUIDE - Wine Enthusiast
BUYING GUIDE - Wine Enthusiast
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Gewürztraminer grape, suggesting orange, perfume<br />
and spice. It’s sweet enough to serve with a fruit-based<br />
dessert, though not sugary in any way. —P.G.<br />
abv: NA Price: $17<br />
87<br />
Treveri Cellars NV Extra Brut (Columbia<br />
Valley). Treveri is a new Washington state sparkling<br />
wine producer that offers a full lineup of traditional<br />
method bubbly. This Extra Brut has clean, tart flavors<br />
of melon and citrus, fresh and crisply defined. —P.G.<br />
abv: NA Price: $14<br />
CABERNETS & BLENDS<br />
95<br />
Dunham 2007 XIII Cabernet Sauvignon<br />
(Columbia Valley). For full review see page<br />
3. Editors’ Choice.<br />
abv: 14.1% Price: $45<br />
93<br />
Dusted Valley 2008 V.R. Special Cabernet<br />
Sauvignon (Walla Walla Valley). Pure Cabernet<br />
Sauvignon, deep and sappy, with the dark, licorice<br />
and coffee-infused complexity of Walla Walla’s best<br />
bottles. Sharp and young, with a potent, liquorous finish,<br />
this explosive bottle of cassis-driven fruit should cellar<br />
well for a decade or more. Cellar Selection. —P.G.<br />
abv: 15.3% Price: $53<br />
92<br />
Dunham 2008 Lewis Vineyard Cabernet<br />
Sauvignon (Columbia Valley). For full review<br />
see page 5. Cellar Selection.<br />
abv: 14.1% Price: $75<br />
92<br />
JM Cellars 2009 Tre (Columbia Valley). A<br />
slight name change in 2009 for what previously<br />
was labeled Tre Fanciulli. It is still a blend of old vine<br />
Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Syrah, clean and pure<br />
with pretty cherry fruit. It’s focused and full-bodied, a<br />
bit blocky, but perfectly balanced and drinking nicely<br />
already. —P.G.<br />
abv: 14.4% Price: $45<br />
92<br />
Smasne Cellars 2008 Upland Vineyard<br />
Old Vine Cabernet Sauvignon (Snipes<br />
Mountain District). This drinks ripe, though the alcohol<br />
is under 14%. Deep and chewy flavors of black<br />
cherry and cassis, hinting at raisin and prune, anchor<br />
a substantial wine with muscle and verve. Spicy and<br />
chocolaty, this opens up nicely over the course of several<br />
hours. —P.G.<br />
abv: 13.5% Price: $42<br />
91<br />
Dusted Valley 2009 Wallywood Red (Columbia<br />
Valley). This is a GSM blend—about<br />
two-thirds Syrah—loaded with juicy acidity. The sappy,<br />
deep raspberry fruit sinks into the palate, racy and<br />
penetrating. It suggests that this is a wine to cellar for<br />
awhile. At the moment it suddenly hits a hard stop—<br />
a wall of slate and graphite. Cellar Selection. —P.G.<br />
abv: 14.7% Price: $42<br />
91<br />
JM Cellars 2009 Longevity Red (Columbia<br />
Valley). All six Bordeaux grapes—yes, including<br />
Carmenère—are in this fruity blend, aged for<br />
21 months in 80% new French oak and 20% once-used<br />
French oak. Plums and cherries, a distinctive whiff of<br />
cola, and highlights of cinnamon spice all come togeth-<br />
60 | WINE ENTHUSIAST | BEST OF YEAR 2011<br />
er. Tannins are round, almost silky, and the wine fades<br />
in a graceful finish. —P.G.<br />
abv: 14.3% Price: $42<br />
91<br />
Robert O. Smasne 2009 Carl Reserve<br />
(Columbia Valley). This Rhône-style red<br />
blend plays out broadly across the full palate, filling the<br />
mouth with tangy flavors of mixed berries and plums.<br />
Generously applied oak brings on a wash of baking spices,<br />
coconut and cinnamon, giving a sweetness to the<br />
moderate tannins. —P.G.<br />
abv: 14.3% Price: $68<br />
90<br />
Robert O. Smasne 2008 Owens Reserve<br />
(Columbia Valley). A raisiny and ultraripe<br />
Bordeaux-style blend, two-thirds Cabernet Sauvignon.<br />
It has apparently been given a lot of time in heavilytoasted<br />
barrels, and the layers of smoke, espresso, cinnamon<br />
and tobacco dominate. A wine for those who like<br />
the blockbuster, oaky style. —P.G.<br />
abv: 14.2% Price: $75<br />
90<br />
Smasne Cellars 2008 County Line Red<br />
(Columbia Valley). A standout in a flight of<br />
more expensive wines, this five-grape blend leans heavily<br />
on the Bordeaux varietals, with a bit of Syrah as well.<br />
Firm and complex, its black cherry, cassis and plum fruit<br />
flavors are nicely accented by baking spices and red licorice.<br />
The balance is perfect; the finish carries a suggestion<br />
of dried leaf. Editors’ Choice. —P.G.<br />
abv: 13.5% Price: $19<br />
89<br />
Airfield Estates 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon<br />
(Yakima Valley). This young winery<br />
has made huge strides with its red wines, as this 100%<br />
Cabernet Sauvignon demonstrates. Young, tight, tart,<br />
and expressive, it takes the cranberry and cassis components<br />
from cool-vintage, cool-climate grapes, and turns<br />
them into a complete and complex wine. High acid,<br />
with well-integrated nuances of mushroom, earth, and<br />
smoke. —P.G.<br />
abv: 14.6% Price: $25<br />
89<br />
Lullaby 2008 Lalayee Red (Walla Walla<br />
Valley). This 50-50 Merlot-Cabernet Sauvignon<br />
blend is soft upon entry, with delicate, pretty fruit<br />
flavors of raspberry and wild plum. Gentle accents hint<br />
at buttery caramel and sweet cracker through a wellbalanced<br />
finish. A light touch is evident throughout.<br />
—P.G.<br />
abv: 14.1% Price: $45<br />
88<br />
Airfield Estates 2009 Aviator Red (Yakima<br />
Valley). Light and balanced, this five grape<br />
Bordeaux-style blend does not try to overreach. The<br />
fruit is clean and delicate, pale cherry set amidst dried<br />
leaves, tobacco, and muted tannins. Plenty of acid keeps<br />
it lively, but everything is in focus and proportionate.<br />
—P.G.<br />
abv: 14.5% Price: $35<br />
88<br />
Dusted Valley 2008 Stone Tree Vineyard<br />
BFM Red (Wahluke Slope). This amped-up<br />
vintage of the Merlot-dominated, BFM Bordeaux-style<br />
red tops 15% alcohol, but seems a bit contrived. Aggressive<br />
vanilla and tobacco flavors cover up the nuanced<br />
highlights found in past BFM vintages, and the base of<br />
black cherry fruit carries a root beer finish. Not that it<br />
isn’t a tasty drink—it is—it’s just less interesting than<br />
before. —P.G.<br />
abv: 15.3% Price: $53<br />
88<br />
Farm Boy 2009 Red (Columbia Valley). A<br />
go-to red blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah<br />
and Malbec, Farm Boy is one of Robert Smasne’s many<br />
ventures. A fruity mix of cherries and plums, with wellintegrated<br />
streaks of clean earth, milk chocolate, and a<br />
whiff of Bourbon barrel. —P.G.<br />
abv: 13.9% Price: $15<br />
88<br />
Steppe Cellars 2008 StoneTree Vineyard<br />
(Wahluke Slope). Pretty, supple purple fruits<br />
infuse this interesting blend of Tempranillo, Grenache<br />
and Mourvèdre. No one grape dominates; the flavors<br />
are smoothly integrated and well-matched, with an undercoating<br />
of smoke, licorice, pastis and coffee. Nicely<br />
polished tannins. —P.G.<br />
abv: 14.6% Price: $28<br />
88<br />
Stottle 2008 Reserve (Columbia Valley).<br />
An unusual blend of Sangiovese, Nebbiolo and<br />
Barbera, aged two and a half years in French oak, yields<br />
a pleasing wine with light berry fruit anchoring a spicy<br />
center. The barrel notes add toast and cracker, nicely<br />
balanced, and there remains a suggestion of yeasty<br />
dough as well. —P.G.<br />
abv: 13.8% Price: $34<br />
87<br />
Dusted Valley 2009 Squirrel Tooth Alice<br />
Red (Columbia Valley). A Rhône-style red<br />
blend, with tart boysenberry and blueberry fruit. Sappy<br />
and forward, with light tannins and moderate acidity.<br />
—P.G.<br />
abv: 15.2% Price: $39<br />
86<br />
Steppe Cellars 2008 Artemisia (Columbia<br />
Valley). A Bordeaux-style blend, this initially<br />
hides its fruit in a wash of sharp-toned barrel<br />
scents. Tart berry flavors come in with a hint of sweetness,<br />
along with some volatility and heat. The wine<br />
should benefit from further bottle age. —P.G.<br />
abv: 14.5% Price: $28<br />
MERLOT<br />
91<br />
Dunham 2008 Lewis Vineyard Merlot<br />
(Columbia Valley). Firm raspberry fruit, tight<br />
and concentrated, is swathed in a generous coat of deliciously<br />
toasty oak. Tart and youthful, the wine’s depth<br />
comes through as it breathes open in the glass, adding<br />
licorice, coffee grounds, and buttered nuts to the toasty<br />
finish. —P.G.<br />
abv: 14.4% Price: $75<br />
90<br />
Airfield Estates 2009 Merlot (Yakima Valley).<br />
This is all Merlot, tight and toasty, with<br />
generous black fruits compacted into a dense core. This<br />
one needs more bottle age, and/or substantial decanting<br />
time, but it shows excellent depth and polish already.<br />
Editors’ Choice. —P.G.<br />
abv: 15.1% Price: $25<br />
90<br />
Hightower 2008 Merlot (Columbia Valley).<br />
This is 100% Merlot, and all Red Moun-