One of the stunning places to taste wine in Washington, Chandler Reach is a gorgeous property located outside of Benton City, Washington in the Columbia Valley. The winery focuses on their estate grown fruit, and was started in 1997 on a trip to Italy where the owners saw opportunity on launching a winery between Richland and Prosser off I-82. Len Parris panned his vineyard in1999 with starts off from the famous Ciel du Cheval vineyard. The Chandler Reach winery has a beautiful Tuscan style villa overlooking the valley and Yakima river. Having tasted there for more than a decade, this is one of the great Washington spots to go tasting in Eastern Washington.
Most of their wines show impressive fruit and structure. They have received considerable recognition for their red wines, especially their Cabernet Franc and their Monte Regalo, a Cabernet blend. They have a very solid lineup of wines as many of their current releases have had extensive bottle time. Look to the 2012 Chandler Reach Syrah (WWB, 90) which has marvelous structure and ripeness. The best wine that I tried was their 2013 Chandler Reach ‘Perris Reserve’ Cabernet Sauvignon (WWB, 91) which has gorgeous dark fruit flavors and great tension. Check out more about Chandler Reach wines at http://www.chandlerreach.com/#estate-winery Here are the new releases by Chandler Reach.
2016 Chandler Reach Pinot Grigio- Sourced from the Columbia Valley, this wine begins with aromatics of pink grapefruit, white peach and suggestions of cut grass. The palate is lithe as the wine shows off flavors of green apple and cut grass with a touch of Key lime. This is a lovely effort. Drink 2017-2020- 89
2012 Chandler Reach Syrah- This solid Syrah is sourced from Block 6 in the estate vineyard. The wine begins with aromas of milk chocolate, baking spices and black plum. The palate is plush as the wine showcases black cherry, milk chocolate and baking spice flavors that connect with some nice structure. Drink 2017-2022- 90
2011 Chandler Reach ‘Ventoso’ Red Wine- The name of this wine means ‘windy’ in Italian and is 100% estate sourced Merlot. This begins with aromas of red cherry, prune and baking spices. Poised and balanced, this wine reveals orange rind, red cherry and pomegranate flavors. This is a bit lean but poised and an excellent effort from this cold vintage. Drink 2017-2022- 89
2010 Chandler Reach ‘Corella’ Red Wine- This wine is a blend of 75% Sangiovese, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Merlot. The wine begins with aromas of red cherry, red currant and sage. This has nice poise as the wine delivers bright red fruit flavors with some nice tension. Drink 2017-2022- 89
2011 Chandler Reach ‘Monte Regalo’ Red Wine- This great value, cold vintage red wine is a blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Cabernet Franc and 10% Merlot. The wine opens with a bright bouquet of red cherry, dill and sage with a touch of black currant. The mouthfeel is inviting and plush, as the wine delivers black cherry, black tea and red currant flavors that sit alongside some nice minerality. This is another outstanding effort from this winery. Drink 2017-2024- 89
2013 Chandler Reach ‘Perris Reserve’ Cabernet Sauvignon- Inky and brooding, the wine begins with aromas of Chinese black tea, tar and creme de cassis with black olive. The silky mouthfeel impresses. Baking spices, black tea, black cherry and sagebrush flavors impress. This is an outstanding effort by Chandler Reach. Drink 2017-2025- 91