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| Northwest Wine Fan Col Solare Vertical Tasting Saturday - June 27, 2009 |
| The Northwest Wine Fan Tasting Panel recently gathered for a special vertical tasting event. Carolyn and I have been big fans of Col Solare for years and have assembled a vertical dating from their first vintage in 1995 to the current vintage, 2005. Wine Spectator, unbeknownst to us, had just issued their Washington report issue which highlights Col Solare. This previously scheduled evening along with Wine Spectator's timely article was an opportunity to see how some of these Red Mountain wines have fared over the years. It is always an adventure when you decide to collect a vertical of wine. When is the right time to drink it? Will all of the wines show well? You just don't know for sure. Such is the fun and adventure of getting a group of friends together for a vertical tasting. I have to say this Col Solare tasting turned out way above our expectations! All of the wines were wonderful with the 95, 96 and 97 showing amazingly well for their age. They were still young and vibrant with many more years ahead of them. The 2003 and 2005 Col Solare showed what powerhouse wines can be made from Red Mountain AVA fruit. Below you will find the original Wine Spectator reviews from Harvey Steiman along with our tasting notes and ratings from the evening. All wines were decanted the night before the tasting. The 1995 (Col Solare's first vintage), 1996 and 1997 were poured through a Vinturi into decanter and immediately placed back in bottle and sealed for the following evening. The other two vintages tasted (2003 and 2005) were decanted the same, but left in decanter for two hours before placing back in bottle. The wines (of course) were not tasted blind. We hope you enjoy our vertical tasting adventure. After reading about the wine and the food we prepared for this special evening, don't forget to visit the link to our review of Col Solare Winery |
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| Carolyn's Stuffed Mushrooms Stuffed with roasted red peppers, cheese and fresh garden herbs. Carolyn's Tuscan Bean and Tuna Salad Spanish Tuna, Cannellini beans, tomato, red onion, capers and fresh garden herbs. |
| Kevin and Wendy's Tuscan Pepper Poppers Sweet peppers sliced in half lengthwise, stuffed with Cheese, Red Onion, Cilantro, Italian Parsley and Tomato. Topped with a dollop of Sour Cream. |
| Chip's Asiago Cheese Dip A warm pot of Cheese Dip with Mushrooms, Green Onions and Sour Cream served with Sliced Bread. |
| Tim's Barbequed Tri-Tip Seasoned with an Italian salt blend, thinly sliced on toasted baguette. Alternated with green and red pesto with red and yellow roasted peppers. Garnished with fresh garden chives. |
| Gary and Connie's Bruschetta Grilled bread with Farmers Market Tomatoes, Basil and Olive Oil. |
| Lance's Skillet cooked Chicken Breasts Rolled and stuffed with Pork and Mushrooms. Sliced to bite size portions and garnished with fresh garden Rosemary. |
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| In honor of our tasting and a nod to of course Col Solare, Chateau Ste Michelle and Marchesi Antinori each Founding Wine Club Member prepared a dish to go along with our Col Solare Tasting. Our evening started with a Vino Frizzante of Non Vintage Loutine Riouolo Prosecco which paired well with Carolyn's Tuscan Bean and Tuna Salad. A great start for us before delving in to the powerful yet balanced and wonderfully structured wines of Col Solare |
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| 1995 Col Solare Rated 89 Points originally by Wine Spectator they found the wine "Rich in flavor but remarkably light, with deftly balanced currant, blackberry and slightly herbal flavors in a supple if somewhat narrow frame. Elegant and graceful, with soft tannins. Drink now through 2005." The 95 Col Solare seemed the most delicate of the group. It showed good fruit, with a touch of nutmeg. More subtle, probably due to the 13.5% alcohol, the 1995 seemed like a starting point to us. We pretty much agreed with Wine Spectator's tasting notes on this one. We rate this 90 Points. |
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| 1997 Col Solare Rated 90 Points by Wine Spectator. "Rich, round and distinctive for its earthy, meaty overtones around a supple core of berry, currant and floral flavors. The firmly tannic finish enriches and expands, echoing fruit and spice with flair. Best after 2002." The 1997 was not as complex as the 96, but seemed a more rounded wine, showing currant and spice, with a slightly hot finish. We all felt that the lower alcohol content (13.5%) on these first three wines definitely was a plus for both ageability and the finesse they all showed. We rate the 97 at 90 Points. |
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| 1996 Col Solare Rated 92 Points and highly recommended originally by Wine Spectator they found this wine "displays remarkable density of flavor on a sleek frame. A smooth and generous wine, its black raspberry, cherry currant and coffee flavors wrap themselves seductively in a blanket of fine-grained tannins. Lasts and lasts on the finish. Best after 2001." The 1996 was our pick of the older vintages! Nobody would have guessed this wine was 13 years old. A much bigger wine than the 1995, showing lots of the black raspberry and coffee notes mentioned in Wine Spectator's review. This will show well for many more years. We rate it 94 Points. |
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| 2003 Col Solare Rated 90 Points by Wine Spectator. "Firm in texture, with generous blueberry and currant fruit pushing through the layer of chewy tannins, persisting as hints of minerality and spice weave through the finely balanced finish. Best from 2008 through 2013." OK! We're now with a younger Col Solare showing 14.1% alcohol, which is about right for the vintage. A lot of "Big Reds" from Washington came off a little hot and very ripe in this vintage. The 2003 Solare was no different. We still were able to enjoy the berries, but also picked up hints of chocolate and loads of spice. Not sure this wine is quite ready yet. A big wine. We rate it 89 Points. |
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| 2005 Col Solare Rated 93 Points by Wine Spectator. "Supple, generous, long and distinctive for its spicy, smoky blackberry, cherry and plum flavors, expanding beautifully on the long, expressive finish. Has impressive persistence. Best from 2009 through 2015." Wow! The 2 hours of decanting really opened this bottle of wine up for maximum enjoyment. By far the favorite of the evening, even with the relatively high alcohol content of 14.5%. This even impressed our "Francophile" member Lance. A huge wine, perfectly structured and balanced. The fruit and spice notes were wonderful and the finish on this wine just sailed on and on. Lance disagreed with Mr. Steiman's Pauillac comparison, but he, as we all did, thought this was a top rate Washington "Big Red." We rate it 95 Points. |
| And There Was Food of Course |
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| Now that you have read about the wine... Click on the picture to your right to read our review of Col Solare Winery |
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