Columbia Crest H3 Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 Wine Review

Smooth Cabernet from Horse Heaven Hills, Washington State

The 2007 H3 Cabernet from Columbia Crest is a wine that is easy to love.

 The H3 label is most obviously named for the Horse Heaven Hills American Viticultural Area in which Columbia Crest planted its estate vineyards more than two decades ago. The H3’s were debuted in 2008 to good reviews.

What makes Columbia Crest’s H3 so Special?

“Vineyards in the Horse Heaven Hills are unique because they are comprised of diverse microclimates that produce different fruit structures with underlying uniform characteristics,” said Columbia Crest winemaker Ray Einberger in a press release. “For example, the cooler-climate vineyards produce fruit with mineral undertones, while fruit from the warmer climate vineyards contain slight earth and dust elements. These variances allow me to blend wines that capture the true essence of the AVA in the bottle.”

I don’t really think I want a dust flavored wine, but I do have a fondness for Columbia Crest, so I am quite open to tasting this Cabernet Sauvignon.

The color is rich and dark and can only hint at the beauty which is to follow. 

I found the nose to be very interesting; more spicy than I would assume for a Cab, a refreshing woodsy pine, deep cherry and maybe a bit of…rose? Still, the big test is always the taste.

The 2007 H3 Cabernet is One Word:  Smooth

 It is an intense fruit forward flavor as promised.  A very pleasing balance of berry and earth, yet something else still that I can’t put my finger on. This is smooth and silky, so very drinkable, but with a great mouth feel and nice tannin structure.  It’s not too huge which Cabernets can tend to be sometimes, and it’s not too dry either. Drinkable, so very drinkable. In fact, pour me some more?

With a Wine Spectator Rating of 90 and a sale price of $13.00, Columbia Crest’s H3 is worth stocking up on! Because, really, one bottle isn’t enough for this wine.

Tags: Columbia Crest H3 Cabernet Sauvignon 2007, Columbia Crest winemaker, Horse Heaven Hills, Washington State wines

This entry was posted on Friday, November 13th, 2009 at 2:30 pm and is filed under Washington Wines. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.  Email This Post