2005 Col Solare Shining Hill

Col Solare, located in the Red Mountain appellation of eastern Washington, is a partnership between Marchesi Antinori of Tuscany and Chateau Ste. Michelle, one of Washington’s leading wine producers. Col Solare’s first vintage was 1995, and each year it makes just one wine, always a Cabernet Sauvignon blend. The 2007 vintage, for instance, is 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc. Col Solare has consistently won compliments from reviewers. Wine Advocate awarded the 2005 vintage 94 pts and called it “reminiscent of a top level Pauillac.”

Washington State, with 59,000 vineyard acres, is the second largest producer of wine in the United States. Wine was made in the state as early as the mid-19th century, but Prohibition and, later, restrictive state laws killed the wine making business in the 20th century until the 1960s, when laws changed and large and small producers started making wines. An influential horticulturalist and agriculture professor name Walter J. Clore studied various grape clones in the 1960s to find the best ones for Washington, and by the 1970s Yakima Valley, Walla Walla and Columbia Valley had all become important grape growing areas. The best vineyards in the state are east of the Cascade Mountain range, where hot dry summers and cold winters are conducive to successful viticulture. Numerous grape varieties are grown, with Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, Chardonnay, Riesling and Sauvignon Blanc at the head of the list.