"Quintessentially Waters; unmistakably Forgotten Hills"

Waters Winery Prelude White Wine Columbia Valley 2010 $30
Rating: * (Excellent) A perfumed wine with lemon drop, white peaches, melon, and floral notes. Palate is perfumed and full of fruit flavors with a rounded mouthfeel. Lingers on the finish. 60% Roussanne and 40% Viognier. Alder Ridge and Old Stones Vineyards. 75% aged in French neutral oak; 25% in stainless steel. 13.5% alcohol. 175 cases produced. Previously reviewed November 18, 2011

Waters Winery Interlude Red Wine Columbia Valley 2009 $36
Rating: * (Excellent) Aromas of cherry and green olive. The palate is deliciously fresh, full of cherry flavors, bright acidity, and restrained use of oak. A sleek, stylistic wine with a lot of hang time on the finish. 55% Merlot, 44% Cabernet Sauvignon and 1% Petit Verdot. Cold Creek, Canoe Ridge, and Seven Hills vineyards. Aged in French oak (25% new). 14.5% alcohol. 1,550 cases produced.

Waters Winery Cappella Red Wine Walla Walla Valley 2009 $40
Rating: ** (Exceptional) Beautifully aromatic with high toned floral notes, cigar box, raspberries, and blue fruit, and soft herbal tones. The palate is clean and pure, textured and perfumed with soft, mouth coating tannins and a long, long finish. 60% Cabernet Franc (Old Stones), 40% Merlot (Seven Hills). Aged 11 months in neutral French oak. 14.2% alcohol. 188 cases produced.

Waters Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Columbia Valley 2007 $50
Rating: * (Excellent) Abundant savory notes on a wine with whiffs of iodine, olives, and mineral. The palate is restrained with tart red fruit flavors and an acid etched finish. While the 2008 Cabernet will have more commercial appeal, this is the wine to put alongside your dinner. 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. Cold Creek and Pepper Bridge vineyards. Aged two years in French oak (35% new). 14.5% alcohol. 359 cases produced.

Waters Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Columbia Valley 2008 $50
Rating: ** (Exceptional) An alluring wine with baking spices along with floral notes, pencil lead, and high toned red fruit. The palate is deliciously rich with tart cranberry flavors and a weaving finish. 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. Cold Creek, Windrow, and Pepper Bridge vineyards. Aged in French oak (40% new). 14.5% alcohol. 450 cases produced.

Waters Winery Loess Syrah Walla Walla Valley 2009 $45
Rating: * (Excellent) Rises up from the glass with smoke, floral notes, brambly fruit, iron, and orange peel. The palate has great depth and intensity with a rounded feel and bright acidity. As good a Loess vineyard Syrah as the winery has made. 90% Syrah, 10% Viognier. Aged in second fill French oak. 14.1% alcohol. 190 cases produced.

Waters Winery Forgotten Hills Syrah Walla Walla Valley 2009 $65
Rating: ** (Exceptional) After declassifying all of the fruit from the 2008 vintage, Waters Forgotten Hills Syrah returns as a tour de force with the 2009 release. The wine leaps up from the glass with crushed violets, red fruit, smoke, braised meat, iron ore, and earthy funk. The palate is broad and textured, displaying tremendous depth and intensity along with the winery’s trademark bright acidity. Sails on and on at the finish. Quintessentially Waters; unmistakably Forgotten Hills. As good – perhaps better? – than the heralded 2007 vintage release and more than worth the wait. 100% Syrah. Aged in French oak (25% new). 14.4% alcohol. 514 cases produced.

21 Grams Red Wine Columbia Valley 2008 $125
Rating: ** (Exceptional) Quite distinct from previous vintages, this wine reveals savory notes of soy and iodine along with licorice, green olive, and kisses of chocolate in a jumble of red and black fruit. The palate has plush, rich fruit flavors with ripe tannins and restrained oak accents. Lingers on and on. 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14 % Merlot and 10% Petit Verdot. Cold Creek, Seven Hills, Sagemoor, Portteus, Va Piano, and Phinney Hill. Aged in French oak (50% new). 14.6% alcohol. 100 cases produced.