One of the great wine destinations in Eastern Washington, Col Solare is perched high atop Red Mountain with sweeping views of the Columbia Valley. Col Solare is a historic partnership between Chateau Ste. Michelle and the Antinori Family that began with their first vintage in 1995, as Col Solare’s mission has been to amalgamate these two distinct viticultural and winemaking backgrounds to create a fantastic Cabernet Sauvignon-based red wine from choice Red Mountain fruit. Each year Col Solare crafts one of the best red blends in the state. The talented winemaking team is highly focused. Both winemaker Darell Allwine and assistant winemaker Will Wiles are truly talented and you can taste the level of dedication and commitment in the glass.
Col Solare now has a host of wines that they craft from their estate. Their signature blend, the Col Solare, is typically made from around 70 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, depending on the vintage, and their second wine is called Shining Hill. They now offer a number of wine club wines under their ‘Component Collection’ label. The new 2016 Col Solare Red Wine (WWB, 94) is dense, chewy and is marvelous in its youth. This stunning wine will have a long life in the cellar. Even better was their new wine, the 2016 col Solare ‘Tenuta’ Cabernet Sauvignon (WWB, 95) which is massive and has an incredible texture and mouthfeel. Learn more about these beautiful wines at https://www.colsolare.com Here are great new Col Solare wines.
2016 Col Solare Red Wine- The 2016 Col Solare Red Wine is a scintillating new release by this historic winery, perched high on Red Mountain. The nose is beautiful with green bell pepper and sagebrush tones with copious dark fruits that all mingle together in the glass. The palate has wonderful richness but also great elegance. Suggestions of white pepper with hints of sweet pipe tobacco, cassis, mocha and tar with dark chocolate tones all round out this seriously good palate. Gorgeous now, this stunning release will cellar well for decades. Drink 2020-2038- 94
2016 Col Solare ‘Component Collection’ Syrah- The 2016 ‘Component Collection; Syrah is another stunning release from this storied partnership between the Antinori Family and Chateau Ste. Michelle. Inky in the glass, this shows gorgeous milk chlorate with violet, tar and graphite aromas that all come together in the glass. The palate is full of power, showing good acidity with intense dark fruit flavors that mingle with minerals, milk chocolate and shades of kirsch cordial. Fabulous in its youth, this beautiful wine will cellar well for the next ten to fifteen years. Drink 2019-2033- 93
2016 Col Solare ‘Component Collection’ Cabernet Franc- The 2016 ‘Component Collection’ Cabernet Franc is a beautiful wine that shows great typicity and heat of the vintage. Lovely vegetal tones collide with chocolate, coffee grounds and shades of dark cherry on the nose. The combination of freshness and weight is outstanding. Dark and blue fruits mingle on the palate with minerals and chocolate undertones. Fabulous in its youth, this fantastic new bottling will cellar well for the next ten to fifteen years. Drink 2019-2033- 93
2016 Col Solare ‘Component Collection’ Merlot- The 2016 Col Solare ‘Component Collection’ Merlot is another gorgeous release by the talented winemaking team at Col Solare. Dill with red cherry preserves and mocha all mingle brightly on the nose. The palate is silky smooth, producing a wonderful combination of mouthfeel and freshness. Dense dark fruits connect with chocolate and sagebrush undertones on the palate. This is seriously good in its youth and will have a long life in the cellar. Drink 2019-2035- 94
2016 Col Solare ‘Component Collection’ Malbec- The 2016 2016 Col Solare ‘Component Collection’ Malbec is a hedonistic and decadent treat in its youth. Dense and chewy on the palate, with intense bluyebeyr cordial, dark chocolate shaving, coffee ground and tar flavors, this is truly one of the best Malbec bottlings in the state. With serious verve and weight, this fantastic bottling will cellar well for the next fifteen plus years. Drink 2019-2035- 94
2016 Col Solare ‘Component Collection’ Red Wine- Always changing each year the 2016 Col Solare ‘Component Collection’ Red Wine is a silky blend of mainly Cabernet Sauvignon (57%) with smaller portions Cabernet Franc (37%) and Carmenere (7%). There is a great sense of elegance to this wine as the soft tannins and silky mouthfeel effortlessly glide across the mid-palate. The seamless quality of the wine really shines through as this incredible effort will cellar well for decades. Drink 2019-2038- 94
2016 Col Solare ‘Tenuta’ Cabernet Sauvignon- The 2016 Col Solare ‘Tenuta’ Cabernet Sauvingon is a new wine made by Col Solare. Placed in a massive bottle, the ‘Tenuta’ utilizes Cabernet Sauvignon clone 2, 6 and 10. The nose has lovely herbal tones that mingle with the chocolate, sagebrush and copious dark fruits that all mingle nicely in the glass. The texture imparted here is absolutely outstanding. Dense, decadent and downright delicious, the wine delivers massive dark fruit flavors with toasty oak, graphite, creosote and suggestions of chocolate covered espresso bean. A simply fabulous effort, the 2016 ‘Tenuta’ Cabernet Sauvignon will be exceedingly long lived. Drink 2019-2040- 95