Three Beauties

It was a blind tasting and I guessed a mix of Napa and Washington cabernets. Wrong I was. They were all Washington wines and there were three beauties that are not to be missed, but I recommend waiting at least 3 or 4 years before you pull their corks.  Below are the unanimous top wines of the evening:

  • apogee%2003.jpg2003 L’Ecole No. 41, Apogee, Pepper Bridge Vineyard, Walla Walla Vineyard (47% cabernet sauvignon, 45% merlot, 5% malbec, 3% cabernet franc) Frankly I love this wine. There is a incredible combination of elegance and power trapped in this bottle that would seem to defy the laws of physics. A case of this wine is going into my cellar for sure. This is one of those wines that are difficult to drink because you can’t get your nose out of the glass. No brooding monster here, but a silky beauty that will only get better and better, but is pretty damn good right now. (My wine of the night)
  • 2003 Carriage House, Côte Bonneville, DuBrul Vineyard (cabernet sauvignon 77%, cabernet franc 13%, merlot 10%)  This just blew the other wines it its flight away and it was a very good flight of wines. The balance of this wine is almost perfect with aromatics and textures that are completely seductive. Perfectly structured for aging and anyone with the patience will be well rewarded. (everybody else’s wine of the night)
  • 2003 Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon - With all the hype you almost want to not like this wine, but alas it’s great. This is a big brooding wine that should not be drunk for at least five (if not more) years.  Even with all this intensity you can just feel the complexity lurking in the background waiting to explode. It’s too bad, but with the scores this wine got, you can believe that 90% (or more) of the bottles already have their corks pulled.  What a waste, because someday this will be a truly astounding wine.