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Washington Wines

This Pacific Northwest region of the US has recently made significant advances in its international wine presence. With its dense Cabernet Sauvignons and lush, plummy Merlots, Washington State’s production of quality wines has bloomed over the last couple of decades. Located just north of Oregon, Washington’s inland AVAs have experienced the most success due to the Cascade Mountains protection from the marine influence of the Pacific Ocean and the Puget Sound. While Washington has 11 defined AVAs, the Columbia Valley is by far the biggest and most prolific. Covering almost a third of the state, and even creeping over the state line into Oregon, it encompasses several smaller AVAs, including Horse Heaven Hills, Wahluke Slope, Walla Walla and Yakima Valley. The greatest Washington State wines have been described as having the structure and finesse of the Old World while displaying the flashy and ripe fruit of the New World. While red wines from Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot are the most notable, Chardonnay and Riesling have proven to be the favored white varieties, creating dependable wines with plenty of vibrant fruit and crisp acidity. Recently, Washington wine trends have begun to favor the production of Syrah-dominant reds. These powerful, Rhône-styled bottlings are packed with smoked meat, tapenade and black fruit flavors. To find some great wines from Washington State, be sure to visit our Washington State Wine Reviews.

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Charles Smith 2006 Royal City Syrah (Columbia Valley (WA))

Price $80

In 2005 Charles Smith introduced three high-end Syrahs. In 2006 Smith has made a wine better than each of these, by combining them into a single wine—Royal City Syrah. Rich scents of purple fruit, smoked meat, cedar, lead pencil, moist earth and so on proclaim a wine with genuine gravitas. There is nothing missing, from the first sniff to the last sip, the wine… — P.G. (12/1/2009)

Cayuse 2008 Bionic Frog Syrah (Walla Walla Valley)

Price $80

Score Chasers: USA 2011

Initially a rather subdued Frog; as if it has been tamed down. Then, suddenly, There’s a plush core of blackberry fruit, and the classic Cayuse funkiness is there, drenched in liquid rocks and cured meat and drying tannins. It’s all in proportion and a fine reflection of the steely vintage. As it opens gracefully you discover that it is a stunningly refined Frog… — P.G. (11/1/2011)

Charles Smith 2007 Royal City Stoneridge Vineyard Syrah (Columbia Valley (WA))

Cellar Selection
Online Exclusive

Price $140

Top 100 Cellar Selections 2011

Score Chasers: USA 2011

Depth and texture dominate; it’s all whole-cluster fruit, aged in new barriques. This fine follow-up to the 2006 features a little more delicacy, with a lovely floral component and some earth. The depth is astonishing in the weight and texture and the way the wine plays out across the palate. The finish never ends: a glorious mix of black cherry, earth, herb, spice… — P.G. (2/1/2011)

Quilceda Creek 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon (Columbia Valley (WA))

Editors' Choice

Price $125

The flagship wine from Quilceda Creek offers exotic scents of plum, cassis, loam, coffee and pine sap, a rich and evocative blend. The wine delivers all that is promised and more; it is deep and dense with flavor, polished, focused and persistent. Vanilla, espresso, fine tannins, luscious acids and cascading fruits. — P.G. (2/1/2012)

Pirouette 2008 Red Wine (Columbia Valley (WA))

Cellar Selection

Price $50

A stunning Pirouette—63% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot, 9% Cab Franc and 6% Petit Verdot. Full and magnificently rich, it is loaded with dense and thrilling fruit flavors of black cherry and cassis. A streak of iron and a hint of citrus keep the wine evolving through a long, beautifully balanced finish. Retasted after being open for 24 hours, the wine was as fresh… — P.G. (2/1/2012)

Leonetti Cellar 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon (Walla Walla Valley (WA))

Editors' Choice
Online Exclusive

Price $85

Enthusiast 100 2011

Score Chasers: USA 2011

Dense, aromatic, layered and rich, this wine explodes from the glass with scents and flavors of concentrated berries, cassis, black cherry, and more. The vines have reached a mature stage that amplifies the fruit and keeps the generous barrel flavors in perfect balance. The barrel notes roll on in a chorus of toasty accents, and the finish is as good in the last… — P.G. (9/1/2011)

Cayuse 2008 En Cerise Vineyard Syrah (Walla Walla Valley)

Online Exclusive

Price $70

A subtle, complex, utterly distinctive mix of flavors, with opening streaks of butter cookie, then mushroom broth, tightly wound berry fruit, earthy coffee grounds and even darker streaks of espresso and smoke and licorice. It is deeply layered with flavors that just keep piling on. Amazing wine. — P.G. (11/1/2011)

Charles Smith 2007 Heart Stoneridge Vineyard Syrah (Columbia Valley (WA))

Cellar Selection
Online Exclusive

Price $120

This initially tastes like young fruit, herbal, with a lot of stem and flower flavors, but with some heat at 16% alcohol. Nonetheless it’s delicious, compact, enormously fruity, focused and flat out amazing. A perfect mix of flesh, fruit, earth, and typicity from this unique vineyard. — P.G. (2/1/2011)

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2009 Occasio

Occasio has made a restrained and elegant Cabernet, alluring in its cola…

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