Sagelands Vineyard

This wine is a great way to drink the superb Washington State 2003 vintage on a regular basis. It uses all five Bordeaux red grapes from four different appellations in eastern Washington, which mean that it’s an excellent example of how important blending is to Washington State reds. The wine is full of flavor and style, and the winery made almost 25,000 cases of it. Best of all, it costs just $13.

The aromas feature black plums and dark red cherries, well married with lightly toasted oak that lifts the aromas rather than weighing them down. The aromas become flavors in your mouth, and the wine also conveys an immediate impression of completeness. The texture is raw silk, and the American oak is moderately in evidence mostly as a consistently warming quality around the cool dense core of ripe fruit. The wine comes full circle to reprise the aromas in the finish.

Reviewed May 23, 2007 by Thom Elkjer.