Wine & Spirits - December 2019 - 60

YEAR'S BEST US CABERNETS & BLENDS
93 | Klipsun

$150

2016 Red Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon ^
A packed Red Mountain wine, this is the first
release from the Terlato wine group since it
purchased Klipsun Vineyard from David and
Patricia Gelles in 2017. This debut leads with
rich and tarry oak scents, along with notes of
pencil lead, tobacco leaf and purple berries.
The flavors are powerful and silky at once,
filling out after days open, the tannic grip
growing more refined and elegant with air.
It has the stuffing to age, or pour with a blackand-blue steak. (450 cases) -P.J.C.
517225

93 | Swiftwater Cellars

518657

$30

2017 Red Mountain Larger Than Life
Cabernet Sauvignon (Best Buy) ^ LTL, a
new brand from DeLille's Chris Upchurch,
is off to a running start with this cabernet,
with rich and powerful Red Mountain character, dark notes of black plum and chocolatey, fine-grained tannins. It over delivers
for the price, especially with lamb shoulder.
(925 cases) -P.J.C.
518156

92 | Canvasback

$84

2016 Red Mountain Grand Passage Cabernet Sauvignon ^ This wine marks the fifth
vintage for Duckhorn's Canvasback brand.
It's leavened by 10 percent merlot, and 20
months in oak barrels, 80 percent new. Warm
and spicy, with scents of anise and carrot
cake, there's dense fruit here-macerated
plum and fig-with just enough juicy acidity to drive the wine through a gripping, powerful, oak-framed finish. (300 cases) -P.J.C.
518057

WINE & SPIRITS

$75

2016 Red Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon ^
Wildly powerful and monolithic, this develops a warm glow of fruit to pierce the darkness, like a light beam in a mine shaft. The
violet and purple fruit flavors are focused and
concentrated, the texture sleek and guided
by sumptuous oak to a long finish. It's built
for the long haul. (W&S 10/19) -P.J.C.

$50

2016 Red Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon ^
As thick as Mexican chocolate, although not
as spicy, this massive cabernet is sourced
from three Red Mountain vineyards: Heart
of the Hill, Klipsun and Quintessence. It's
powerful, loaded with notes of tanbark, black
fig and superripe black plum. With long, sinuous tannins, it's concentrated and enveloping, for steak. (W&S 8/19; 387 cases) -P.J.C.

93 | Upchurch

92 | Col Solare

DECEMBER 2019

S N I P E S M O U N TA I N
516204

94 | DeLille Cellars

$90

2016 Snipes Mountain Harrison Hill ^
Since 1994, DeLille has been working with
fruit from Harrison Hill, a vineyard within
the relatively new Snipes Mountain AVA, an
anomalous anticline of gravel and loess at the
southern end of the Yakima Valley. The cabernet sauvignon in this blend (64 percent)
was planted in 1962; the merlot and cabernet
franc in the mid-1990s. In 2016, the vineyard
produced a wine with a loose-limbed radiance, as if a summer's day is glinting off its
surface, with flavors less about fruit than an
easy cedary savor. It's thoroughly satisfying
now, but will reward cellaring. (W&S 6/19;
400 cases) -P.J.C.

WAHLUKE SLOPE

518588

92 | Columbia Winery

$45

90 | Andrew Will

$64

2016 Red Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon ^
This cabernet is part of an AVA series Columbia debuted recently. It smells of crushed
plums and violets, chewy and dark, monolithic in the middle but balanced in the end,
with a red-fruited grip for smoked pork.
(1,092 cases) -P.J.C.
518127
2014 Red Mountain Ciel du Cheval Vineyard ^ Like Will's wine from Champoux (also
recommended here), this 2014 feels tawny
and reserved. A blend of merlot and cabernet franc, it's a big, powerful red, with savory
scents of creosote, tobacco and amaro, formidable tannins and mouthwatering acidity.
Decant and pour with an Asian-style braised
pork shoulder. (W&S 10/19) -P.J.C.
516122

90 | Hedges

$40

90 | Sparkman Cellars

$65

518589

91 | Columbia Winery

$40

2016 Wahluke Slope Element ^ Essentially
merlot (all 98 percent of it), there's a Wahluke warmth to the vinous scents of cedar,
tanbark, graham and cherry pie. Its flavors
are as dark as newsprint, with a smoky intensity that gives way to a subtle baking spice
savor. Decant for steak. (719 cases) -P.J.C.

WALL A WALL A VALLEY

2015 Red Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon ^
Plum, dried and fresh, laced with tobacco
and salted caramel, makes for a cab that's
traditional, if a little backward. The fruit
takes its time to arrive, broad and lined with
cedar, and wood tannins inform the finish.
Decant; for smoked duck. (W&S 6/19; 936
cases) -P.J.C.
516886
2015 Red Mountain Kingpin Cabernet
Sauvignon ^ The cabernet comes from Klipsun, with a small amount of petit verdot from
Olsen. It starts out powerful and dark, with a
heady, almost ashy, scent, like figs roasted in
a fire. The flavors are sleek and pure, that ash
component lending complexity and depth,
with the ripeness and grip for smoked pork
ribs. (W&S 8/19; 337 cases) -P.J.C.

516724

94 | L'Ecole No 41

$55

2016 Walla Walla Valley Apogee Pepper Bridge Vineyard ^ The 2016 Apogee is
a blend of 60 percent cabernet sauvignon
and 25 percent merlot, the rest malbec and
cabernet franc. The cabernet gives the wine
some heft while the merlot and other variet-

https://www.columbiawinery.com/our-wines/tasting-room-wines/2016-red-mountain-cabernet-sauvignon https://www.columbiawinery.com/our-wines/tasting-room-wines/2016-element-red-blend https://www.upchurchvineyard.com/collections/wines https://www.lecole.com/wine/2016-apogee/

Wine & Spirits - December 2019

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