Tasting the Wines of Washington’s Columbia Winery with Winemaker Sean Hails, 2014 Releases
Though we’re only a few hundred miles away, here in California we honestly don’t see many wines from Washington state. And yet, after California, Washington has the 2nd largest number of wineries in the country.
Columbia is one of them. Not to be confused with Columbia Crest, Columbia recently became part of the Gallo empire, rebranded and relabeled its bottles, and hired Sean Hails to oversee the operation. With a focus on affordable bottlings (plus a large number of unique offerings sold only in the winery’s tasting room), Columbia seems to be keeping quality high and prices low.
I recently dined with winemaker Hails at Sausailto’s Murray Circle, where we tasted through the 2012 vintage of three of the company’s flagship wines, all bargains at $14 a bottle. Thoughts follow.
2012 Columbia Winery Chardonnay Columbia Valley – 89% chardonnay with some semillon and chenin blanc. This is a crisp wine with apple and lemon notes, some baking spice, and good acid. Really well made all around, with the fruit doing most of the talking. A-
2012 Columbia Winery Merlot Columbia Valley – 85% merlot, plus cabernet and syrah. Licorice and some smoke on the nose, but the body is all fruit, with well-integrated tannins and a simple blackberry/strawberry/raspberry character to it. Simple, well-honed finish. A-
2012 Columbia Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Columbia Valley – 86% cabernet sauvignon, with touches of petit verdot, syrah, and malbec. The only wine not totally ready to drink here, it’s thick with tannin and tight but offers some jammy fruit, tempered with dusty notes of charcoal. This is a simpler wine but one which can handle food well. B+
2012 Columbia Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Columbia Valley
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