This month’s Virtual Tasting is tonight and will be the 2007 Columbia Crest H3 Cabernet. This wine is widely available and retails for $15. Note that the H3 Cabernet recently had a vintage change, so some of you may still see the 2006 vintage on the shelves.
As usual, I will be opening the wine about 7pm Pacific Time and updating this post with my thoughts every 20 minutes or so. I will also be tweeting @wawinereport and using the hashtag #virtualtasting.
Please join us in trying this wine and posting your comments or tweeting your thoughts on the wine. To follow the comment thread on the post click on “Subscribe by email” in the bottom right in the Comments section.
7:00pm Update: And we’re off!
First some background for newcomers on what Virtual Tastings are all about. There is nothing I enjoy more than drinking and talking about wine with other people. I love hearing people’s thoughts on wine. I find I learn a great deal this way. Everyone has a different palate. While I am always interested to hear what people get in terms of aromas and flavors, I am most interested in hearing whether people like the wine or not. Their general impressions. My friends often make fun of me (mock me?) for saying “Can we talk about this wine?” in the midst of a group discussion. For me, this social aspect of wine drinking is a big part of the fun. For this reason, each month I select a specific wine and blog about it on a specific date and time and ask people to join in. In an ideal world, I would get us all in a room and we would try this wine together. Perhaps someday our avatars will meet in Second Life and we will sit down at a virtual table together. Until that time, we will share wine ‘virtually’ with comments, tweets, or whatever medium we can find. I hope you will share your thoughts.
7:10 Update: Some background on the winery. Columbia Crest was founded in 1983. At over 1.7 million cases per year, the winery is by a good stretch Washington’s largest wine producer. The winery, whose first release was in 1985, is located in Paterson, Washington in the southern part of the state near the Columbia River. Part of Ste. Michelle Wine Estates, Columbia Crest is not only the state’s largest producer, it is also one of its most acclaimed. The winery’s 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve wine was recently named Wine Spectator’s 2009 ‘Wine of the Year.’
Columbia Crest has four basic tiers of wine. The Two Vines is their value brand which constitutes the vast bulk of their production. These wines are priced under $10 and are good daily drinkers. Next up is the Grand Estates at $12 which consistently offers value far above its price point. About two years back the winery added the H3 label, one of which is tonight’s Virtual Tasting wine. The wine is named after the Horse Heaven Hills AVA where the winery is located. These wines are priced around $18. Columbia Crest recently took the H3 label to nationwide distribution. Finally, at the top tier are their Reserve Wines generally priced about $30. At each tier, Columbia Crest offers good wine at exceptional values.
Ray Einberger serves as winemaker for Columbia Crest. Einberger joined Columbia Crest in 1993 and assumed the head winemaker position in 2002. Einberger had previously worked as part of the Opus One winemaking team as well as Silverado Vineyards and Round Hill Cellars – now Rutherford Ranch Winery – in Napa Valley.
On to the wine….
7:25 Update: Popped and poured. The wine is at 66 degrees. The bottle has a natural cork that is very lightly colored. The wine, however, has a dark, rich color. The nose shows a lot of cedar and spice with layers of black cherry beneath. I like the nose. Time for a taste…
7:40 Update: I like the nose but also find it fairly closed at the moment so I popped the wine into a decanter. A brief word about decanting wine. The purpose of decanting is to expose the wine to oxygen. This has a variety of effects that I won’t go in to at the moment. All I want to say here is that you don’t necessarily need to have a decanter to decant a wine. Pouring it in to any vessel (assuming you can get it out!) will have the desired effect.
More thoughts on the nose. A bit of dust and powdered chocolate. On the taste, my immediate thought is to be quite impressed. The taste is round with a smooth entry that builds up to a crescendo on the mid-palate. Fairly dry with a healthy dose of tannins that are still well-balanced. The wine is not as big and fruity on the taste as I imagined it might be. Personally, I am enjoying this about it.
8:00 Update: Background on Horse Heaven Hills…
Horse Heaven Hills received AVA status in 2005. The AVA has 8,400 planted acres and comprises approximately one quarter of the grapes planted in Washington. The AVA has more than 25 vineyards. Perhaps the most acclaimed of these is Champoux Vineyard whose fruit goes in to some of the state’s best wines. Elevations in the Horse Heaven Hills AVA range from 200 feet to 1,800 feet above sea level. The area was named by a cowboy who, in the mid-1800s, proclaimed it “Horse Heaven.”
8:20 Update: After a bit of time in the decanter, nose hasn’t evolved quite as much as I thought it might. That said, I am still enjoying it. There is some type of spice that I just can’t place. Time to start ripping apart the spice cabinet. A slightly smoky underlayer. Taste has filled out a bit.
8:45 Update: Just off a Skype session with some Virtual Tasters…
Time for some background information on the wine from the winery:
“Grapes were crushed at 20% whole-berry to retain fruit quality. Fermentation lasted 6-10 days on the skins to extract optimum fruit and structural components. The wine was barrel aged in 40% new American and French oak, and 60% older oak for 14-18 months. The wine was racked at three month and six month intervals during the 14-18 month barrel aging period.”
The winery also provides the following technical information:
* Total acidity: 0.54 g/100ml
* pH: 3.74
* Alcohol: 14.5%
9:00 Update: Some tasting notes from the internet….
From winemaker Ray Einberger: “This intense, fruit-forward Cabernet Sauvignon delivers aromas of cherries and huckleberry jam, with a perfect balance of earthy tannins, great focus in the mid-palate and a soft, smooth cocoa finish.”
From the major publications, Wine Spectator writes “Polished and silky in texture, with ripe blackberry, currant and mint flavors that keep sailing through the long, expressive finish. The tannins are beautifully integrated. Best from 2011 through 2017. 30,000 cases made. –HS, 90 pts”. No reviews yet from Wine Enthusiast or Wine Advocate.
On CellarTracker, this wine has received an average of 87 points and a median of 86 points in 6 tasting notes left by members of the community.
Next up, some final thoughts.
9:15 Update: Final update but feel free to keep the comments coming.
Some final thoughts on this wine. Overall, I truly enjoyed this wine. The nose is engaging and the taste is beautifully balanced with acid, tannins, and fruit. The finish is the only thing that leaves me a bit wanting. It’s not bad by any means. It just leaves me wanting a bit more.
I purchased the wine from Pete’s Bellevue for $12. It retails for $15. I’m having a tough time off the top of my head thinking of other Washington cabernets that could stand up against this wine at this price point. Let me know if you can, and I will see if I can scare something up. Once again, Columbia Crest showing why it is the leader for quality and value in the state.
If you didn’t have a chance to taste the wine tonight, feel free to try it at any point and get your thoughts up. Thanks to everyone who participated this month. We’ll do it all again next month. Let me know if you have any suggestions on the wine. Thanks to the reader who suggested this wine.
I am going to open my H3 and follow your lead.
cityroute16, excellent. I am pouring the wine as I type this. Actually, I am asking someone else to pour the wine as I type this. Thanks for joining us.
Reporting for duty: popped and poured. Steaks a'broilin'.
Mr. LaRosee, welcome!
I've got several decanters-my favorite is the Dollar Store glass pitcher. Nice gripping handle and a wide mouth. And if it breaks-it was a dollar!
Raspberries, cedar on the nose. Gunpowder or maybe match stick as well. Interesting and good but not huge nose.
Palate is great at the mid-palate with lots of tannins that I think will chill out with some decanting time. Finish could be longer though based on the immense mid-palate. Also a tiny bit bitter on the side of the tongue.
I expected more fruit on the palate based on the nose, but it is surprising dry and sucks the saliva right out of your mouth.
cityroute16, very good call on the inexpensive decanter. I need to find the same for wine glasses. just had another casualty on Saturday bringing the troops down to a pretty low level.
Spent a lot of time on the nose because it kept changing. Started with raspberry and cherry, and then moved to cherry tobacco. Sweet chocolate followed on, and finally, after a few minutes, oddly oranges. Discussion suggested the sour citrus aroma might be a result of sulphur or acid, but it's still very pleasant.
Liked the palate, even though it was not at all what I expected, given the rich, varying fruity nose. The tannins did a good job of taking all of the moisture out of my mouth and leaving nothing but a very interesting tight woody/tobacco-y taste sensation. I look forward to tasting it now that it's been in the decanter for a while.
We liked this wine quite a lot, as well. It wasn't as big as we expected – but found that it was both pleasantly complex enough to be interesting, and still very drinkable.
LI, interesting call on the gunpowder. There is something back there at the tail end of the nose that I can't quite put my finger (or nostrils) on. That might be it. I agree on the mid-palate.
krt, definitely a fairly dry wine with a fair amount of tannins.
Mac, thanks for the comment. Definitely a complex, drinkable wine at this price point.
I've liked the nose. I confess I am not as knowledgeable when it comes to descriptive terms, but it seems to be fruit forward with a hint of chocolate that might be more milk than dark.
cityroute16, no need for descriptors! It's all about what you like. For me, I think "Do I like the nose? Does the nose make me want to drink the wine? When I taste the wine, does the taste match what I was expecting? If so/if not, in a good way, in a bad way etc. That said, there is definitely some chocolate on the nose of this beast. Don't get as much on the taste.
What this wine lacks in depth it makes up for with balance. Even the finish seems respectable, though somewhat one-dimensional.
The nose for me is a bit of oak, some cedar, bacon (Mmmm), olive brine (It actaully goes really nicely with Katamala olives), and just a little bit of new boot leather. There is a tack shop in the town I grew up in that smelled a little like some components of this wine. Stick your nose in a spankin' new Tony Llama someday.
The palate starts smooth and vibrant and works into a really bright midpalate, gobs of bing cherry and strawberry, and then into a finish that's not mind blowing but pretty darn good for the price. Again, the balance just seems right.
I really like this wine.
I agree this wine has a great taste. Columbia Crest has always been a favorite. Price-wise, they are "pound-for-pound" at the top of my list.
Josh, I totally agree on the balance (and also on the finish). I'll check out the Tony Llamas. I'm trying to think of a Washington cab I have enjoyed more (or as much) at this price point.
@SPS: Me, too. I can only really recall Cabs that are produced with a $30+ price tag in mind. With a good many 2nd labels coming online, maybe we'll see some efforts in the coming vintage that will rival Einberger's H3. In the meantime this one's hard to top.
Bottoms up, boys!
I agree with both cityroute and Josh! Chocolate for sure, but didn't get it before. Think it was what was cedar before. Taste has completely balanced out. Before I thought it was huge on the mid-palate and and the finish was too small. Now the mid-palate is big but the finish does not diminish whatsoever. More and more it is better and better!
Coming in a little late here and agree with what many others have said. On initial pour, oak notes were a little obtrusive but resolved with air. Good balance of fruit and barrel, acid and tannin; overall impressed and think this has potential to get better with a few months/years.
PZ, thanks for the comment. Never too late! I agree that this wine will have some life to it over the next several years. Nicely balanced.
Next day reply here (like to take time to reflect and edit a bit).
Initially, I quite liked the nose – it had a little floral and earthy thing going on. However, I was not impressed with the taste. I wasn't getting any fruit or distinctive flavors I could describe. I was getting a little more bitterness in the middle that was a bit distracting and was thinking it might be a sulfite condition. At that point, it would be a wine I would drink, but probably not buy again.
However, after it opened (about an hour), it seemed to smooth out quite a bit, and I began getting into it. I would have had trouble guessing it was a cab initially, but now the flavors started coming through. I like the fact that it was still subtle without the big, in-your-face fruit. The finish was still a little shorter than I like, but well balanced. I would buy this wine versus many others in this price range and am very curious how it might taste with more bottle ageing.
Anon, nothing wrong with a little reflection. As a 2007, I thought it was drinking pretty well but definitely needed a bit of time to get going. I think another 3-6 months of age would definitely help its cause. Thanks for the comment.
I thought this wine was a great value – I purchased it for a mere $10 and it was a really nice, smooth wine that would be tough to beat at that price point. What struck me the most was that this wine was cakey and chocolately – I agree with the person who commented that you might not initially peg this wine as a cab.
Kimberly, for $10, this wine is a steal. Thanks for the comment!