2021 Cabernet Sauvignon, Columbia Valley

So many times we have said that no two vintages are the same, and that was certainly the case with the vintage of 2021, which was by far the first of its kind. It started out as a relatively warm growing season resulting in an early bud break. The season was moving along with nothing unusual until the end of June, when a heat dome settled in on Washington and Oregon. Temperatures reaching 118°F in some locations, and 115°F on the west side of the Cascade mountains were unheard of and stifling. In general, when temperatures continue to climb above 100°F, the vines will slow their development to conserve water and energy. Because the vines were further along in their growth cycle when the heat set in, berry and cluster sizes were smaller than usual. While this resulted in a smaller crop, flavor was abundant.

To produce this wine, we select from all of our Cabernet lots those barrels that have softer tannins and a more gentle structure. We don’t go outside of our usual vineyard sources to purchase lower-priced fruit to make this wine. Instead, we blend together the barrels that are more approachable earlier in the aging process. The resulting blend combines fruit from the White Bluffs, Horse Heaven Hills, and Red Mountain viticultural areas, all of which are in the greater Columbia Valley AVA.

This is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, with classic Cabernet characters. It is a full-bodied, generous wine, with richness and complexity that over delivers quality for its price. Generally speaking, this wine is sold to our distributors and offered as a wine-by-the-glass selection in restaurants and wine bars. John Abbott, Winemaker