Comments on: A Wine for Tonight: 2006 Columbia Crest Grand Estates Cabernet Sauvignon

By: Keith

Keith — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 22:32:16 +0000

Congrats to you for discovering that Columbia Crest offers four distinct tiers within the master brand – each intended to appeal to a unique consumer or occasion and all designed to over-deliver on the QPR. Ray Einberger and his team at Crest get a lot of quality mileage out of the Grand Estate tier, but the discerning drinker will appreciate that AVA – and in some casea vineyard – specificity of the H3 and Reserve wines.

H3 was developed to carry a $15+ price point, so finding it below $13 anywhere on a regular basis makes it a steal among WA wines.

The Reserves are Ray’s pride and joy and he receives more flexibility to craft “his” wines in this tier, through vineyard sourcing, fruit selection (hand-picked fruit in this tier), and a barrel regime that rises to the standard of a true reserve-class product. The Walter Clore normally gets top-notch fruit among the Reserves, so it’s a good idea to keep it on your shopping list in anticipation of the next vintage. For those of you who enjoy WA syrah, the Crest Reserve is among the most authentic examples of the intersection of WA fruit, classic winemaking, and a winemaker who has a passion for the grape. The winemaker adds a touch of viognier to this wine to build aromatics and it’s the smallest production Reserve wine offered by Crest – excepting a few wines available only at the winery itself in Paterson.

Enjoy.

By: Kori

Kori — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 22:21:26 +0000

Don,
You are exactly right; Columbia Crest makes some great wines at great prices across all of their lines…Two Vines, Grand Estates, H3, and Reserve. I’ll have to keep my eye out for the Walter Clore next time I’m at Costco.

Lia,
So glad to hear you’re enjoying the new series. I’m excited about it too!

Mark,
Glad you like this new series. Excellent point about Columbia Crest’s consistency and reliability. Yes, I’ve had their Shiraz. In fact, the 2003 Two Vines Shiraz won one of our tasting dinners last year. Here’s the post from that dinner: http://winepeeps.com/2008/02/11/wine-tasting-dinner-washington-syrah/

Cheers!

By: Mark

Mark — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 14:03:14 +0000

Couldn’t agree with you more Kori and I love your new Thursday topic. Columbia Crest is definitely a name that everyday wine drinkers should remember. Outstanding consistency and reliability year after year. Don made some good points in his comment as well. On another note, for some reason very few people are aware that Columbia Crest also makes a very good and again inexpensive Shiraz. Have you had an opportunity to try their Shiraz?

By: Lia Johnson

Lia Johnson — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 22:15:48 +0000

This new addition is right up our alley! Can’t wait to read these articles every week. By the way, Kyle and I would love to catch up with you guys

By: Don

Don — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:12:26 +0000

I tend to overlook the Grand Estates line (my bad!) because Columbia Crest’s Two Vines Vineyard 10 Red is such an awesome blend (Syrah, Cabernet Franc, Sangiovese, Grenache, Mouvedre) and inexpensive (regularly $6 on sale), and for a mere buck more than the GE, you can get Columbia Crest’s H3 Merlot ($10 at Costco; $11-12 elsewhere). The latter might actually make me a merlot drinker again.
BTW, CC’s Walter Clore Reserve, which you reviewed in September, is an absolute steal at Costco for $20 (elsewhere, around $30).