For years I’ve unabashedly been a sucker for one of the finest stops on Red Mountain. Col Solare is one that I have bought extensively for my personal collection. The consistency of the wine is one that my friends and I particularly have admired for now several decades. Col Solare is a historic partnership between the Antinori family and Chateau Ste. Michelle. One of the state’s most beautiful wineries, Col Solare is a must-visit with sweeping views spanning the Columbia Valley. Their first vintage was back 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. I have tasted every vintage of this wine and current winemaker Stephanie Cohen joined me for a very special Zoom tasting and vertical of this amazing wine. Cohen trained under her predecessor, Darell Allwine. Allwine made some incredible wines for years, as did his predecessor, Marcus Notaro. The first wine of the tasting was made by Notaro, the 2009 Col Solare and during that time and they were in the process of finding vineyards from around Red Mountain. Col Solare was made of 100% Cabernet Sauvignon in 2011 and was entirely Red Mountain fruit driven with the 2012 vintage.
With the 2019 vintage there were many changes in the vineyard to mirror what the Antinoris were doing with their estates. This also came with a heavy shift in price point for the Col Solare, bumped up from $85.00 to $150.00 SRP. Their 2019 was a seriously impressive effort considering the obvious challenges at harvest. “We changed the yields so they are lower and we want intensity of flavor from that change” said winemaker Stephanie Cohen. “Will and Darel did a great job managing the tannins from this vintage” she said. “We did a lot of work blending the wine and we did a lot of zoom blendings because of the Pandemic which made it hard sending samples to Italy. It was a fun process” Cohen said. The wine showed good depth and concentration from this year that was marred by a freeze event in mid-October.
The 2020 wine was the first harvest that Cohen joined the team. “Early April we were in full bud break and we had fabulous growing conditions. Then of course we all know about the smoke event in 2020 but I think that Red Mountain fared well. I am really excited about the wine that we made, still great red fruit but on the palate there is good density.” There were a few lots removed due to smoke impact. “2020 is a big wine and I think that I prefer more elegant wines like the 2019 but with some time the 2020 will get there” said Cohen.
She described 2021 as “hard with the heat of the vintage and it was tough managing tannins. But 2021 is a big wine. 2022 might be more like the 2016 vintage for me” she said. 2022 also marked the first vintage that Cohen was head winemaker. The 2021 Col Solare (OB, 95) is a total masterclass, showing brilliantly now and has gobs of richness and flavor density — really showing off the warmth of this vintage. Learn more about these famed wines at colsolare.com and here are my reviews of this incredible retrospective tasting of Col Solare.
2009 Col Solare Red Wine- The 2009 Col Solare is a stunning, warm vintage wine that combines 73% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc, 2% Malbec. This is very mature wine that is drinking in a great spot now. This displays a smooth mouthfeel, with prune and tobacco leaf alongside light tannins, and coffee ground undertones. Drink now. Drink 2024-2028- 92
2014 Col Solare Red Wine- A great wine from this hot vintage, the 2014 Col Solare is soaring in the glass — a silky combination of 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, with 9% Cabernet Franc, 4% Merlot and the remainder Syrah. The wine shows a velvety texture, offering scorched earth on the nose with pencil lead, dark chocolate shavings and creme de violette. Soft and very approachable now, this is drinking marvelously right now. Drink 2024-2030- 94
2018 Col Solare Red Wine- From my personal collection, the 2018 Col Solare is a flat-out delicious bottling that still has a long life in front of it. On the nose this takes on classic scorched earth tones alongside pipe tobacco leaf, dark chocolate shavings and tar notes. The palate is plush and refined with soft tannins and a generous core of black fruit flavors, with herbal accents. A totally stunning wine, enjoy over the next ten plus years to come. Drink 2024-2036- 95
2019 Col Solare Red Wine- What is a fabulous wine made in this cooler vintage, the 2019 Col Solare is nearly all Cabernet Sauvignon with 5% Cabernet Franc blended in. beautiful bouquet takes on layers of tar, black currants, black plum, violets and scorched earth notes. The palate is plush with a seamless texture and shows some lovely weight. Nicely poised, this beautifully perfumed wine is drinking marvelously now. Drink 2023-2035- 94
2020 Col Solare Red Wine- A great wine from a tough vintage, the 100% varietal 2020 Col Solare Red Wine. This comes off round and smooth with good viscosity and underlying verve. Generous black fruits combine with chocolate pie, espresso grounds and shades of black licorice on the palate. This is really well-done. Drink 2024-2032- 93
2021 Col Solare Red Wine- A dense and delicious wine from this warm vintage, the 2021 Col Solare has 5% Cabernet Franc blended in. This wine is nearly all Quintessence Vineyard with the remainder coming from the Col Solare estate vineyard. Very inky at its core, the 2021 opens with a gorgeous bouquet of allspice dusted black currant alongside cassis, Turkish coffee and suggestions of tar. This has incredible poise and concentration, with loamy soil character. This is an absolutely gorgeous wine that is already drinking beautifully. Drink 2024-2040- 95