Washington Red Wine

This is a splendid rendition of Chateau Ste. Michelle's mainstay Cabernet, rich and round, with a sophisticated mix of grapes, including Malbec, Cab Franc, Petit Verdot and Syrah. Dark fruit flavors of black cherry and cassis create a lush center, and the wine is more evolved and smoother, with less obvious oak and barrel flavor, than the pricier Cabs from Ste. Michelle.

Light and silky, with pretty boysenberry and spice flavors that linger on the finish. Drink now. 65,000 cases made.

The flagship wine of the estate, the HFE Red Mountain consistently displays dense color, firm tannins, and well-defined acidity. Always a majority blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, this wine is suitable for drinking upon release, but will reward those with the patience to age it. This wine represents all vineyard blocks farmed within the Hedges Family Estate vineyard portfolio. A true chateau-production bottling, the HFE Red Mountain is the epitome of classic style, and one that represents the Terroir of the Red Mountain AVA in a pure and elegant form.
(from producer's website)

Incorporating a mere 2% of Merlot (from Palengat Vineyard) and dominated by fruit from Champoux, with strong assists from Red Mountain's Klipsun and Tapteil, Quilceda Creek's 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon perpetuates the deeply toasted nuttiness, bittersweet herbal intensity, and above all chocolate and dark berry confiture familiar from its stable mates. But here there are liberal sprinklings of baking spices; headily decadent floral garlands; and high-toned suggestions of fruit distillate - kirsch, framboise, sloe - to add complexity and allure. As with the other Quilceda 2009s, torrefaction and richness are not purchased at the expense of vivacity, as this flagship Cabernet positively courses with energy, leaving the tongue aquiver. The sheer palate-staining finishing intensity of berry concentrate brings some realization of the tannin underlying this powerful Cabernet, but given how mouth-coating and sweetly rich it is, no obvious sense of grain let alone roughness can be detected. I suspect this will have two decade's solid aging potential.