Winery - Hightower Cellars
* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
This well-crafted red wine is supple and smooth. It opens with scents of violets and berries, fills in with round, lush berry and cherry fruit flavors, then applies a wash of milk chocolate to the tannins.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
This is an interesting mix of fruit from Walla Walla, Red Mountain and Columbia Valley vineyards. Scents of alfalfa and spice lead into a loose-knit, engaging wine with a chalky, tannic finish. Another year or two will help smooth it out.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
I like the firm core of cassis, cherry and plum; it says Cabernet loud and clear. A bit monolithic, but it transitions cleanly to well-managed tannins and makes a smooth landing.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
A smooth, full-bodied wine that really showcases what Washington Merlot is all about. Plummy and sweet, the fleshy fruit hints at raspberry preserves, leading to a silky, chocolate and vanilla finish.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
This is a smooth blend of Red Mountain and Horse Heaven Hills Merlot, with a generous (18%) supplement of Cabernet Sauvignon. It’s consistent with previous efforts and reminiscent of Reininger—satiny smooth, glossy and somewhat impenetrable. The tightly wound fruits taste of ripe raspberry, and the bright acidity adds intensity to the toasty, coffee-inflected finish. The wine is dense, supple and extracted, with hints of spice, herb, lemon thyme and citrusy high tones.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Dark, dense, ripe and oaky, this ramps up the oak flavors to higher levels, with rich layers of smoke, cedar, honey and butterscotch wrapped into the spicy, sweet fruit. As the wine ages and opens up the lovely cherry/cassis core fruit should come into the spotlight. Call it a Washington take on ripe, high-octane California reds.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
A 50/50 Cab/Merlot blend from Pepper Bridge, this is quite tight and reductive but grudgingly opens out. It’s a stiff, hard wine, layered with blueberry, raspberry and cassis, and annotated with baker’s chocolate and anise. Dark and unyielding, it has the muscle and authority to age for another six or eight years. There’s a hint of green tea in the chewy tannins.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Smooth, rich and chocolaty, it falls into a satiny style that is ripe, but not jammy. It hits your mouth in all the right spots, and certainly brings the tastes that consumers love right to front and center: sweet fruit and rich chocolate.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Smooth, hard and glossy, with tightly wound fruits dappled with light herbs. The mix of plum, cherry, coffee and earth is perfectly balanced, and the wine shows good density and extract. Grapes are from Red Mountain, Walla Walla and Horse Heaven.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Mostly Red Mountain fruit, this Bordeaux blend also includes about a third of the grapes from Alder Ridge in the Horse Heaven Hills, and a splash of Merlot from Pepper Bridge in Walla Walla. It follows the Hightower style of pretty fruit, ripe tannins and lots of chocolaty notes. In this excellent vintage it retains just a hint of fresh rosemary and black pepper, which contributes some snap to the finish.
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