Tasting notes by Charles Smith: Stop and savour this.
Intense, concentrated, dynamic, lemon peel, grapefruit, passion fruit.
Deeper still are lovely aromas of hay, flint, oyster shells and graham crackers.
Amazing and fascinating! I'm sure there is much more to discover if we think about it more.
Vineyards The vineyard is located in the Sunset Vineyards Ancient Lakes AVA, near the town of Quincy, on one of the many ridges of the Coulee canyons formed by the Missoula Flood.
The thin limestone soils and altitudes of over 400m create the typical terroir of the Ancient Lakes that characterises the region's style of white grapes.
2021 was one of the warmest vintages ever in Washington State.
Good weather and mild temperatures led to early bud break and the warmest June on record, resulting in very small berries.
The subsequent veraison and the start of ripening was smooth and even, resulting in a beautiful, long ripening period and a harvest of fantastic, incredibly concentrated fruit.
Overall, 2021 was a distinctive and beautiful vintage, producing fantastic wines to enjoy now and into the future.
Founded in Walla Walla, Washington, winemaker Charles Smith is the only person to have won Winemaker of the Year from both Wine Enthusiast (2014) and Food & Wine (2009).
His wines have received 141 ratings of 95 or above and 588 ratings of 90 or above from major wine publications such as Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, Wine Spectator and Wine Enthusiast, and continue to receive further acclaim.
The brand was started with a singular vision: to create the best value Cabernet Sauvignon in America.
“How is it made?” Traditional winemaking.
Natural fermentation.
Barrel aged.
And bottled without filtration or fining.
In other words, it is the same technique used for making wine in very small quantities, by hand, but on a larger scale.
The wine is clearly conveyed in black.
"This is Cabernet Sauvignon.
"The CS label identifies the wine as made by Charles Smith.
They also produce limited edition single vineyard, single expression and Bordeaux varietal wines.
and a Loire-style single-vineyard Sauvignon Blanc.
This is the latest chapter in the story of Charles Smith and his wines.