I haven’t had too much exposure to the wines of Washington state, but the ones I have tried I have enjoyed. It’s
an area I must explore more of for sure. I was introduced to the Col Solare Winery and was intrigued by the story since it’s a partnership of
2 prominent figures in the wine industry: Piero Antinori of the famous Marchesi Antinori family of Tuscany and Ted Baseler of Chateau St. Michelle Wine Estates.
If you’re not familiar with the Antinori family they are best known for their production of Sassicaia and Tignanello
introduced in the 70’s. They integrated a number of elements into
their winemaking, which was unheard of at the time like international
grapes like cabernet sauvignon and use of barriques.
What brought Piero Antinori to WA? He journeyed there in 1992 encouraged by St. Michelle’s consultant at the time, Andre Tchelistcheff, a historical winemaker in California’s wine industry post Prohibition. He felt a lot of old world characteristics that appealed to him therefore encouraging the beginning the partnership of what we see today with Col Solare.
The Winery
Col Solare is located in the Red Mountain AVA (American Viticultual
Area) of the Columbia Valley in Washington. The winery’s primary focus
is on cabernet sauvignon, but they also have planted some of the bordeaux varietals like syrah, merlot and cabernet franc along with some carmenere and malbec.
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| Copyright of Col Solare |
Red Mountain is named after the color of the red toned grass that grows in this area. Previously
an eddy from the time of Missoula floods, the combination of soils and
climate provides a great area for the production of cabernet sauvignon.
It’s the warmest wine appellation of WA state therefore producing wines that are full, ripe and aromatic.
The
Antinori’s influence of orientation, spacing and density of the grapes
was made similar to their vineyards in the region of Tuscany and
Umbria. I haven’t been out to this winery myself, but the pictures of
their radial pattern orientation of the vineyards emulating rays of
sunshine from the winery itself is stunning.
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| Copyright of Col Solare |
The Wine
Col Solare stands for shining hill. This is where my Italian language lessons over the years pay off: Col as in colline, hills, and sole
for sun. This wine was first released in 1995 and later in 2007 the
partnership found the perfect site for them to establish their new
winery and vineyards where they could combine old and new world style
and traditions. The 2014 Col Solare is produced of 85% cabernet
sauvignon, 9% cabernet franc, 4% merlot and 2% syrah. This is a celebratory vintage for them as it celebrates their 20th
vintage. Deep in color, this is an intense, full bodied wine with
structure and complex characteristics of black cherries, cassis,
chocolate notes and baking spices. This wine is bold, but also has
elegance at the same time. ABV 14.5% SRP $75 (not inexpensive on the
pockets, but a special wine indeed)*This wine was provided as a sample, but opinions are always my own.
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