Winery - Cathedral Ridge
* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
The Dampier Vineyard, on the Washington side of the Columbia Gorge AVA, is the source for this fruit. It’s an interesting wine, light but penetrating, with a mix of strawberry, rhubarb and wild cherry fruit flavor, buttressed by vivid acidity. Clean and fresh, with a chance to develop in bottle for a few more years.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Sweaty and pruney in the nose, this hot and disjointed wine could be almost any red grape; there’s no varietal character. It’s volatile and thins out quickly, leaving green tannins in the back of the mouth.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Stewed and vegetal, with hard, bitter tannins. This does not taste as if the grapes ripened sufficiently, and the extraction is such that green, bitter tannins are the main flavor.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Very pale for a Zin, this delivers more flavor than you might expect. It’s very spicy and peppery, and the fruit has a strong herbal/rhubarb streak, but it’s firm and shows some alcoholic heat (14.6% is the official figure) as well.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Disjointed from the start, this wine never pulls itself together. Cracker, oily fruit, overripe apples, and some burn in the finish.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
From the Columbia Valley AVA in Oregon, this is quite different from Willamette Valley Pinot Noir. It’s a warmer, drier climate, and the wine has tighter flavors, with sharp tannins. There’s cherry fruit and chocolate from barrel aging, with a hard, slightly bitter finish.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
An unusual combination of flavors that are searingly tart and yet seem to have a sugary core, this is scented with honeysuckle and orange blossom, and opens out quickly into a fruitbowl of ripe, tangy flavors. Apples, pears, oranges, candied lemons, even a hint of papaya are all in the mix. But be ready for some tongue-tangling acidity.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
The winery mentions neutral oak barrels, though the immediate aromatic impression is still on the toasty/oaky side. The fruit comes up more slowly, along with residual CO2 that gives a spritzy mouthfeel. Yeasty, light and tart, with green apples the strongest fruit flavor.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
A three-grape rosé, this blends Pinot Gris, Merlot and Syrah to make a mahogany/copper-colored wine with a soft, spicy character. It was barrel-aged in neutral oak. There is a good mix of stone fruit flavors, though some of the grapes may have been a little too ripe, and the wine’s finish reflects that, with just a hint of rot.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Yes, that is the correct spelling, as shown on the wine’s label. A blend of 10% Merlot, 56% Syrah, and 34% Cabernet Sauvignon, this is dark, plum-colored and dusty with scents of plum and prune. Soft and moving quickly into midlife, it drinks like an older wine, with soft tannins and a hint of supple leather.
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