Cascade Brewing
Cristom
Mt. Jefferson Cuvée Eola-Amity Hills Pinot Noir 2019
Produced since 1994 and named for Mt. Jefferson in the Cascade Range that is east of Cristom Vineyards and visible from their tasting room. From a blend of estate vineyard grapes, the wine is Ruby with aromas of red berries, floral and spice. On the palate flavors of fresh cherry with tea and cola notes, clean and vibrant. Fine soft tannins, long finish, carrying fruit and ending with a soft spice character. Very nice, great value!! — 4 years ago
Rocca di Montegrossi
Toscana IGT Sangiovese Rosato 2020
The 2020 Rosato (Sangiovese) displays sweet melon and spring flowers offset by a twang of zesty citrus and flint. It’s silky-smooth, with a pleasant inner sweetness as notes of young strawberry and cherry cascade across the palate, all of which taper off wonderfully fresh. $17.00 (Eric Guido, Vinous, May 2021) — 5 years ago
Cascade Cliffs
Syrah
You can count on consistently solid Syrahs from Cascade Cliffs. Super fruit forward with a bit of a bite. Think this will be great with laying down for a few years. Really like it! Old world element. — 5 years ago
Pierre Boisson
Bourgogne Blanc Chardonnay 2017
The 2017 Pierre Boisson Blanc is wonderfully fresh, yet enriched by notes of hazelnut and dried peaches, as a mix of smoky minerals and floral tones add further depths. On the palate, an intense display of sizzling acids, minerals and citrus-tinged green apple cascade across the senses while tugging at the cheeks. The finish is medium in length and remarkably fresh, resonating of tart orchard fruits and mouth watering acidity. — 6 years ago
Antica Terra
Ceras Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2013
It’s usually a good sign when the winemaker can articulate what the wine is about like this: “Ceras is Botanica’s counterpoint. Its color is more purple than red. It is more about minerals and herbs than fruit and flowers. It is a focused and elegant distillation of rock rather than an opulent cascade of fruit. It is an expression of the geology that lays beneath our land, the tart blue fruits of the coast range and the tender herbs that one finds amongst the trees and mushrooms of the Northwest forest.”
Her 2013 Ceras is yet another example of Maggie Harrison’s sorcery over the vines at Antica Terra. The focus and intensity of flavor is off the charts, yet it maintains an almost ethereal weightlessness, only emphasizing the layer of silk that separates you from the wine. The pungent rock is so on point and distinctive it instantly reminded me of the scent of lichen growing on rocks, which I experienced in Colorado when I was 7 or 8 years old. This sets the stage for the level of complexity exhibited. The fruit has both an extraordinarily high level of purity and yet the woven tapestry of herbs and spices and even fruit blending are impossible not to notice. The key being that nothing is forced.
The nuance of complexity only being noticed when desired is nearly an impossible feat. I can’t help but recall James Conaway quoting Andy Beckstoffer in his recently released book: Napa at Last Light: America’s Eden in an Age of Calamity. “If a wine was a model with a chipped tooth, you’d have to give her something to compensate with. If she needs better shoulders, better breasts, give her some. But her real charm is in how she carries the defect.”
After reading his book, I can tell you I’m definitely not certain whether you can accept his quotes verbatim. One thing is certain, though, Maggie Harrison’s Antica Terra wines carry the defect like no other. — 8 years ago
Azienda Agricola San Salvatore
Campania Falanghina 2021
Sweet smoke, mint and freshly sliced yellow apple make for a pretty bouquet as the 2021 Falanghina slowly blossoms in the glass. Its silky textures soothe the palate, as ripe orchard fruits and spice cascade throughout. This finishes with a grippy tension. Saline minerals and citrus rind pucker the cheeks. There’s a lot of character and layers packed into the crisp Falanghina. Perhaps some cellaring will reveal further depths. (Eric Guido, Vinous, June 2023) — 3 years ago
Cascade Heights
Columbia Valley Merlot 2018
Smooth, moderate on palate, dark in color. — 4 years ago
Tenuta Le Potazzine
Le Potazzine Rosso di Montalcino Sangiovese 2019
The 2019 Rosso di Montalcino continues to captivate with a display of dusty black cherries, roses and crushed stone. It’s soft and pliant in feel, yet there’s a core of saline-minerality that stimulates the senses, as tart red berries cascade across the palate, and sweet tannins settle in toward the close. This has evolved wonderfully in bottle over the last nine months, finishing lightly structured yet still so pleasurable today. (Eric Guido, Vinous, January 2022)
— 4 years ago
Cascade Mountain Vineyards
Heavenly Daze Red Blend
This is an AMAZING dessert wine. It's fruity and citrusy and sweet (but not sticky sweet), and it has a nice undertone of vanilla that comes through. — 5 years ago
Domaine Saint Préfert
Réserve Auguste Favier Châteauneuf-du-Pape Red Rhone Blend 2010
The 2010 Auguste Favier Reserve is drop dead gorgeous with it’s fresh and bright ripe strawberry tones, giving way to zesty red florals, sweet smoke, white pepper and dusty cedar. It’s velvety on the palate, yet not weighty, instead poised and remarkably fresh, as red and blue fruits cascade across the senses over a core of brisk acids, leaving a mineral twang with savory spiciness. The finish is long and structured, with youthful tannins still holding something back for the years to come, yet still so alive and focused on purity of fruit. The 2010 is worth checking in on, but don’t forget to keep a stash in your cellar for at least the next five to ten years. Wow. — 6 years ago
Lucien Crochet
Le Chêne Marchand Sancerre Sauvignon Blanc 2016
The bouquet on the 2016 Lucien Crochet Sancerre Le Chene Marchand showed a beautiful mix of young mango with wet stone, chalk dust, lime zest and hints of dried savory herbs. On the palate, I found rich weighty textures which were perfectly offset by zesty acidity and spice as a cascade of minerals, green apple, with hints of honey, lime and inner floral tones coated the senses. The finish was long as slightly oily textures slowly faded from the palate, leaving a coating of green citrus, with minerals and residual mouthwatering acidity. It's amazing now but I know this will only get better with a few years in the cellar. — 8 years ago
Manni Nössing
Valle Isarco / Eisacktaler Sylvaner 2021
More savory than sweet, the 2021 Sylvaner lifts up with a cascade of dried flowers and gingery spice offset by a cooling air of dusty stone. Like tapping a mountain spring, this flows across the palate with a mineral-laden blend of crisp orchard fruit and citrus lifted by cooling acidity. The 2021 takes on a tropical air through the finish yet is tart, puckering the cheeks with residual tension as pretty inner florals and young kiwi echo throughout. This is a gorgeous style of Nossing’s Sylvaner. (Eric Guido, Vinous, May 2023) — 3 years ago
Ciacci Piccolomini d'Aragona
Rosso di Montalcino Sangiovese 2019
A cooling whiff of minty herbs gives way to dusty cherry and sweet rosy florals as the 2019 Rosso di Montalcino unfolds in the glass. It’s pure and vibrant on the palate, with a cascade of bright wild berry fruits, herbs and minerals. There’s admirable length and a subtle tug of tannin that frames the experience nicely, as this tapers off with a lasting note of hard red candies. (Eric Guido, Vinous, January 2022)
— 4 years ago
Methode Sauvage
Iruai Shasta-Cascade Trousseau Blend 2019
Very Beaujolais-like. Lots of juicy pomegranate, blueberry, cranberry, and a bit of grape. Rose and violet potpourri, vintage lipstick, crushed oyster shell minerality. Bright, lifted, and very pretty with subtle chalky tannins. (This review is for the 2019 Iruai Shasta-Cascade) — 6 years ago
Gran Moraine
Yamhill - Carlton Cascade Pinot Noir 2010
Oregon Pinot burgundy style - terrific — 7 years ago
Delectable Wine
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The 2022 Rosso di Montalcino is cool-toned and fresh, with a cascade of perfumed florals, white smoke and dried strawberries forming its bouquet. It is soft-textured and round, with vibrant acidity and juicy wild-berry fruits that cascade throughout. Violet and lavender tones linger as the 2022 finishes spicy and spry with a gentle tug of fine tannin. (Eric Guido, Vinous, September 2024)
— 2 years ago