Wine & Spirits:  Rated as Exceptional examples of their type. "Spice—a hint of tobacco, a hint of milk chocolate—gives way to a ripe set of fruit flavors in this big-shouldered, thoroughly seductive red. The texture is driven by fine, peppery tannins, which stem the tide of ripe, plummy fruit, giving the wine a touch of elegance even as it remains irresistible. It's drinking beautifully now; a by-the-case buy." Jun 2011

Winery:  "Our goal with the Columbia Valley Cabernet is to highlight concentrated Washington red fruit in an accessible style. This is our inviting Cab with plenty of complexity and structure with silky tannins. It’s also very versatile with food--try it with beef, pork or pasta.”

Wired For Wine:  "Big-shouldered, thoroughly seductive and irresistible"; this Chateau Ste. Michelle Cabernet Sauvignon sounds like our kind of man, um, wine. It is stupendously food friendly, so we say start the festivities with full glasses and bite-sized pieces of duck sausage, green onion, and fresh tomato pizza.  The ripe, red fruit, fine tannins, spice and tobacco notes in this beautifully structured Cabernet make it a dream come true for holiday beef, lamb, and game dishes, and as they say at Wine & Spirits, it is a "by-the-case buy". We highly recommend a mustard seed-crusted standing rib roast with roasted balsamic onions.  Together, these two are heavenly.  Roasted leg of lamb with a classic Italian anchovy and rosemary paste rubbed all over it meshes well with the savory side of this Chateau Ste. Michelle.  A simple choice which will showcase the fine tannins of this Washington red is grilled rib-eyes with a mound of Stilton butter on top. For the last course you'll want to top off the glasses and maybe offer your favorite potent cheese.  Us?  We'll have the deep, dark chocolate cake with fleur de sel caramel whipped cream on top.  A big piece...

Size:  750ml; cork
Varietal:  77% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Syrah, 7% Merlot, 3% Mourvedre, 2% Petit Verdot, 1% Malbec, 1% Grenache
Alcohol:  13.5%
Aging:  16 months in American and French oak, 32% new
Region:  Columbia Valley, Washington