Winery - Columbia Winery
* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Tightly wound, layered and lightly herbal, with nuanced flavors that show as much stone and earth as fruit. The balance is excellent and the tannins are proportionate, but don’t look for the high octane, sappy fruit that comes with most Washington Syrah. This is almost steely, with tart wild berry flavors and an earthy base.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
A David Lake “Signature Series” Chardonnay that’s classy and built to age. Zippy pineapple fruit is framed by crisp, assertive acids and is polished with a bit of new French oak. It opens up beautifully in the glass, suggesting a protracted evolution ahead.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Viognier can do well in Washington, but this bottle, despite its David Lake Signature Series pedigree, seems to miss the mark. The fruit is buried in new oak, which reduces its flavors to citrus and buttered popcorn, and leaves the finish hard and tannic.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
This is one of Columbia’s strengths, turning out perfectly crafted white wines at budget prices. The Gewürz is off-dry, rich and roundly fruity, loaded with mouthfilling, lipsmacking flavors. Chill it to cut the sweetness and you have the perfect wine for spicy noodle dishes.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Pinot Gris is starting to have a presence in Washington, and the straightforward, citrus-flavored fruit shown here suggests a middle-of-the-road style. It’s a tart, palate-cleaning wine with a hint of citrus-rind bitterness in the finish.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
This is a rarity—100% Sémillon, showing the woolly, woody side of the grape, with bone-dry styling and nice, creamy hints of bean and vanilla. Complex and suited to shellfish, this is a sleek, textural, very fine effort.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
This is a blend of 85% Cab Sauvignon, 9% Cab Franc and 9% Merlot, and benefits from the mingling of the three. It is nicely woven together, with supple cassis, berry and mineral streaks, and nice tannins.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Good, ripe, smooth and quite toasty, this shows classic black cherry fruit wrapped in sweet, chocolaty tannins. It needs more time to integrate the wood into the fruit, but it is balanced and well-crafted, and given adequate air time, drinking well already.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
The winery holds back the Otis bottling, which has proven itself an exceptionally long-lived wine over the past two decades. This is now beginning to integrate the distinctive Otis range of herbs, spices and old viney fruit. Tart, leafy and minerally, it has a persistent, elusive power that unfolds over time. —P.G.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
This is the budget Syrah bottling from Columbia, and in this forward, fruity vintage it is a real deal. The sweet and supple core of fruit is limned with toasty oak, and the wine remains muscular and strong through the finish. Don’t look for complexity—but full, ripe, balanced flavors are here in abundance. Best Buy. —P.G.
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