2007 Chateau Col Solare Red

Starting the tasting and a blend of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc that comes from a variety of vineyards (about 30% in Red Mountain and the balance from the Columbia Valley) and was aged 22 months in mostly new French oak, the 2007 Col Solare is a superb effort that offers up notions of cassis, cedar, lead pencil, tar and dried herb as well as a full-bodied, supple and polished texture. A classic Washington State Bordeaux blend, it stays classy and balanced, and shows the quality of the 2007 vintage. It’s also worth noting that there were 11,000 cases of this wine produced! Hats off to the Col Solare team – this is a beauty. Drink now-2022. A partnership with the Antinori Family, Col Solare fashions two cuvees: their top Col Solare Proprietary Red – which is more and more becoming a Cabernet Sauvignon-dominated blend – and a Shinning Hill release which functions as a second wine, a la Bordeaux. While the 2007 and 2008 vintages were sourced from a wide range of vineyards, roughly 30% being Red Mountain fruit, the estate is moving more and more towards their estate Col Solare vineyard (purchased in 2005 with 29 acres under vine) and Red Mountain fruit, with 64% being from Red Mountain in 2010 and close to 90% (mostly from their estate vineyard) in 2011. All of the wines are aged in 100% new, mostly French oak, with the most recent 2011 seeing 100% French and previous vintages having roughly 5-10% American oak utilized for aging. The wines are classic Washington State Bordeaux blends that have ample fruit and texture as well as solid freshness and sound underlying structure. Tel. (509) 588-6806