Thank you Catie at Through The Walla Walla Grape Vine for hosting this month's WBW! You picked a good grape and state to blog about as this is my husband, Mike's, favorite state for Cabernet. Since his favorite wine is Columbia Crest Grand Estates Cabernet Sauvignon and you mentioning that we should at least try to find another wine besides Columbia Crest or Ste. Michelle, I was on a mission. Funny thing though, after bringing home 2 wines from Washington State, I sat down to do my homework on them and discovered that both wines are a part of the Ste. Michelle Group! Oh well, I tried!
Our favorite of the two was a 2003 Red Diamond Cabernet Sauvignon from Patterson, Washington. An interesting thing about this wine is that I cannot find any information about the wine itself. No information on their website regarding the 2003 vintage. In fact they state the Cabernet was not introduced until 2004. I have a bottle of 2003 sitting in front of me! Their 2004 vintage is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc. So I am assuming the 2003 was of a similar blend. On opening this bottle, we found nice aromas of berries and dark cherries, and a hint of dark plum. These flavors followed through on the palate. The tannins were soft and balanced, so it made for a nice finish. Mike said, "OK, but not as good as Columbia Crest!" I had to agree.
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Our other venture brought us to the 2004 14 Hands Cabernet Sauvignon also from Patterson, Washington, (Nice label). It is comprised of 99% Cabernet Sauvignon and 1 % Merlot grapes. It has 13.5% alcohol. When we popped the cork on this one, we got a "whiff" of berries and dark plum fruit, but it was not a powerful "whiff". On the palate it tasted more like a Merlot than a Cabernet. We were wondering if the labels got mixed up during bottling! It was a nice, soft, fruity wine. No heavy tannins at all. We paired both of these wines with grilled steak, and like Mike keeps saying, "OK, but not as good as Columbia Crest!" I had to agree.
At this point, yes, I could review Columbia Crest Grand Estates, but that was not on my mission list. So I will save it for another post. But I will say for $10.99-$13.99, Columbia Crest Grand Estates is the better buy. The 2003 Red Diamond and the 2004 14 Hands both came in at a price of $9.99, which is not a bad price for those wines, although I am not sure I would purchase again.
Thank you again Catie for hosting WBW #34. I am always up for good adventures in the wine world! We surely enjoyed and had fun with this one.
Cheers From Deb and Mike!
3 comments:
I take it Mike likes "Colombia Crest"? ;)
Yes, actually that is the only wine he drinks at home, unless I "twist his arm" to taste something new. Then he always goes back to his Columbia Crest!
If you want great and not just good(Columbia Crest) Washington Cabernet, hunt down a bottle of either Gordon Brothers (Columbia Valley) Cabernet or Kiona (Red Mountain) Cabernet. Gordon Brothers makes big, bold reds in Pasco, WA. They are one of only 12 WA wineries to use only estate-grown fruit in their wines. Kiona, on the other hand, is simply one of the pioneer wineries of WA. Kiona's complex, Bordeaux-styled Cabs laid the foundation for all the other great wineries in the Columbia Valley.
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