United States · Washington · Columbia Basin, eastern Washington
Columbia Valley AVA
Ripe yet fresh New World Cabernet: full blackberry and cassis fruit with firm, sometimes chewy tannin, savoury herb and earth notes, and a lift of acidity from the big diurnal swing.
Terroir
Free-draining wind-blown loess over sand, gravel, and basalt bedrock, much of it laid down or reworked by the Ice Age Missoula Floods. The sandy soils are hostile to phylloxera, so most vines are grown own-rooted rather than grafted.
A vast, arid high-desert basin in the rain shadow of the Cascade Range, drained by the Columbia River. It receives under about 10 inches of rain a year, so nearly all vineyards are irrigated; the many sub-AVAs (Walla Walla, Red Mountain, Yakima Valley and others) sit inside it.
At around 46°N the growing season delivers very long summer daylight, while the continental climate swings to cold nights. Long sun-filled days ripen Cabernet fully, and the sharp day-to-night drop preserves acidity and colour, giving wines both ripe fruit and freshness. Winters can be cold enough to pose freeze risk, another reason the phylloxera-free sands and own-rooted vines matter.
Structure tendencies
- body
- medium-plus to full
- tannin
- medium-plus
- acidity
- medium-plus
- alcohol
- high
- finish
- medium-plus to long
tendencies in prose, as read by critics/consensus — not measured ordinals
Classic descriptors
cassis
in your cellar: 12 bottlesLes Forts de Latour 2017Château Pontet-Canet 2021Château Feytit-Clinet 2015Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste 2016Château Léoville-Poyferré 2005Château Léoville-Poyferré 2010Mayacamas Mt. Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon 2019L'Ecole No. 41 Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2020Château Gloria 2022Château Gloria 2020Château Laroque 2022Château Pontet-Canet 2022blackberry
in your cellar: 11 bottlesLes Forts de Latour 2017Château Pontet-Canet 2021Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste 2016Château Léoville-Poyferré 2005Château Léoville-Poyferré 2010Mayacamas Mt. Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon 2019L'Ecole No. 41 Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2020Château Larmande 2005Château Gloria 2022Château Gloria 2020Château Pontet-Canet 2022black cherry
in your cellar: 15 bottlesLes Forts de Latour 2017Château Pontet-Canet 2021Château Feytit-Clinet 2015Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste 2016Château Léoville-Poyferré 2005Château Léoville-Poyferré 2010Mayacamas Mt. Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon 2019L'Ecole No. 41 Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2020Château Larmande 2005Bodegas Manzanos Gran Reserva Rioja 2015Château Gloria 2020Château Laroque 2022Castelgiocondo Brunello di Montalcino 2010Massolino Barolo 2016Château Pontet-Canet 2022violet
in your cellar: 13 bottlesLes Forts de Latour 2017Château Pontet-Canet 2021Château Feytit-Clinet 2015Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste 2016Château Léoville-Poyferré 2010Mayacamas Mt. Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon 2019L'Ecole No. 41 Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2020Bodegas Manzanos Gran Reserva Rioja 2015Château Gloria 2022Château Laroque 2022Castelgiocondo Brunello di Montalcino 2010Massolino Barolo 2016Château Pontet-Canet 2022mint
in your cellar: 10 bottlesLes Forts de Latour 2017Château Pontet-Canet 2021Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste 2016Château Léoville-Poyferré 2005Château Léoville-Poyferré 2010Mayacamas Mt. Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon 2019L'Ecole No. 41 Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2020Château Gloria 2022Château Gloria 2020Château Pontet-Canet 2022graphite
in your cellar: 12 bottlesLes Forts de Latour 2017Château Pontet-Canet 2021Château Feytit-Clinet 2015Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste 2016Château Léoville-Poyferré 2005Château Léoville-Poyferré 2010Mayacamas Mt. Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon 2019L'Ecole No. 41 Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2020Château Gloria 2022Château Gloria 2020Château Laroque 2022Château Pontet-Canet 2022wet earth
in your cellar: 3 bottlesChâteau Feytit-Clinet 2015Château Léoville-Poyferré 2010L'Ecole No. 41 Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2020dark chocolate
in your cellar: 11 bottlesLes Forts de Latour 2017Château Pontet-Canet 2021Château Feytit-Clinet 2015Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste 2016Mayacamas Mt. Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon 2019L'Ecole No. 41 Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2020Château Larmande 2005Bodegas Manzanos Gran Reserva Rioja 2015Château Gloria 2022Château Gloria 2020Château Pontet-Canet 2022mocha
in your cellar: 9 bottlesChâteau Pontet-Canet 2021Château Feytit-Clinet 2015Château Léoville-Poyferré 2005Mayacamas Mt. Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon 2019L'Ecole No. 41 Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2020Château Larmande 2005Château Gloria 2020Château Laroque 2022Château Pontet-Canet 2022cedar
in your cellar: 9 bottlesLes Forts de Latour 2017Château Pontet-Canet 2021Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste 2016Château Léoville-Poyferré 2005Château Léoville-Poyferré 2010L'Ecole No. 41 Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2020Château Gloria 2022Castelgiocondo Brunello di Montalcino 2010Château Pontet-Canet 2022tobacco
in your cellar: 13 bottlesLes Forts de Latour 2017Château Pontet-Canet 2021Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste 2016Château Léoville-Poyferré 2005Château Léoville-Poyferré 2010Mayacamas Mt. Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon 2019Château Larmande 2005Bodegas Manzanos Gran Reserva Rioja 2015Château Gloria 2022Château Gloria 2020Castelgiocondo Brunello di Montalcino 2010Massolino Barolo 2016Château Pontet-Canet 2022Washington Cabernet is often described as sitting between Napa richness and Bordeaux structure — ripe dark fruit with a savoury, herbal, mineral edge. Any 'graphite' or 'earth' note is a classical tasting association, not literal soil-to-glass transfer (see docs/wine-pedagogy.md §3).
Classification
The United States uses no growth or estate ranking; place is defined by American Viticultural Areas (AVAs). Established in 1984, Columbia Valley is Washington's largest AVA and its overarching regional appellation, encompassing the great majority of the state's vineyards and numerous nested sub-AVAs. A 'Columbia Valley' bottling is typically blended across several vineyards within this broad area.