Winery - Snoqualmie
* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Continuing the expansion of this former budget brand into premium territory, this reserve Merlot makes a nice complement to owner Stimson Lane’s runaway success with Columbia Crest. If CC is the big, brawny, masculine Merlot, Snoqualmie is more elegant, restrained and feminine. Ripe fruit suggests strawberry preserves, and the wine is balanced, full and flavorful.
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Snoqualmie Merlot - 2000
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
The blend includes 5% Viognier, an interesting choice that brings in floral scents and provides counterweight to the ramped up oaky seasonings. It’s a curious mix that doesn’t quite knit together, but makes for a more complex wine than you would expect. There’s some sweet spice in the finish.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
With full ripeness, density and concentration, this keeps its superb balance at just 10.8% alcohol and 5% residual sugar. The dynamic tension plays out beautifully, and doesn’t veer into any sort of sugary slackness. This has the sort of weight and complexity you would expect in a $30 wine.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
A lovely effort, with round, spicy fruit and a pleasing lushness in the midpalate. Lemon tea and hints of sweet honey are backed with enough acid to give it plenty of grip. All in all, it’s a very good Washington imitation of a Spatlëse.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Rosebud vineyard is now in its 25th vintage, and its grapes go into many of Snoqualmie’s best efforts. This 100% varietal Cabernet Sauvignon is nicely defined, a mix of spicy berry and citrus. Flavors are set up on firm acids and the alcohol is a sensible 13.2 percent; no insane levels of sugar or extraction here. The oak flavors, a mix of new American barrels, French oak inserts and older, neutral barrels, deliver the goods. The finish is as smooth as coffee gelato, with shavings of bitter chocolate set on top. 3,000 cases produced.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Tasty fresh fruit, leaning toward grapefruit and pineapple, peach and lemon. Zesty and forward, it refreshes rather than fatigues the palate, and is perfect for sipping on a spring afternoon. Best Buy.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Lightly herbal, tight and dry, this is pure Cabernet from a warm year. Nonetheless it is austere almost to the point of metallic, and the fruit carries a lot of herbal notes, with a hint of green bean.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
The blend is roughly two thirds Cabernet Sauvignon and one third Merlot, the color is dark and rich, and the nose inviting. Spice and tobacco, vanilla and moist earth surround black cherry fruit, with tart and lightly drying tannins. Not a big wine, but well-crafted, smooth and supple.
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* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Here’s another delicious riesling, this one sweet and penetrating, with surprisingly deep and protracted flavors of candied orange peel, lemon peel and grapefruit. Drink this lovely wine with fruit-driven desserts, or chill it and sip it all by itself.
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