Produce of 82% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc, 6% Merlot, 1% Malbec and 1% Petit Verdot fruit from sustainably farmed vines on the estate vineyards of Pepper Bridge, Summit View, Octave, Goff, Seven Hills and Les Collines in the Walla Walla Valley. We've been following this wine for some half dozen vintages or so now and are only growing more fond — oh, we'll get to the tasting note, but geez, one whiff and one can almost smell plump juicy colored-up berries hanging on the vine, giddily awaiting their transformation into even happier stuff; medium deep ruby in color with aromas redolent of fresh pulpy ripe berry fruit; fresh and vibrant on the tongue, too, with a kind of sense of urgency (drink me already ya' silly) with gentle but vivid tannins carrying bags of juicy berry flavor; then warming and mouthwatering to the finish. Really, really good stuff from Walla Walla, Washington.

Produce of 94% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Petit Verdot and 2% Malbec fruit from the Southwind, Dionysus and Stone Tree vineyards in Columbia Valley. Deep ruby in color with discreet claret-like aromas suggesting, among other things, cassis, spiced plum, pencil shavings and a good winegrowing earth; cool on entry, firm yet pliant in texture, holding its shape well with a discreet burst and intensity of flavor carried long and fresh and deep by vivid fine-grained jittery tannins.

D2 takes its name from the grand route du vin that winds through the Médoc and passes by the great chateaux in Bordeaux. And D2 in this 2017 vintage is a blend of four of the fab five Bordeaux varietals of 66% Merlot, 29% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot from 15 different Columbia Valley vineyards including Red Willow, Harrison Hill, Ciel du Cheval, Klipsun, Boushey, duBrul, Upchurch and Grand Ciel; deep ruby red in color with just a whole panoply of alluring aromas suggestive of fleshy blackberry, blueberry, cherry, currant, pomegranate (we remind ourselves, it is made from grapes), shaved dark chocolate, pencil shavings, dusty vineyard floor and more; slippery smooth on entry with a cool sophistication and gently building tannins that hold it all together long and warm to the finish. D2-licious!

A partnership between Chateau Ste. Michelle of Washington state and Marchesi Antinori of Toscana, Italia, Col Solare is Italian for 'shining hill' (actually, Red Mountain, in Yakima Valley, Columbia Valley, Washington state). Produce now of 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from their own estate vineyards on Red Mountain, with a healthy chunk of fruit from Shaw/Quintessence Vineyard, an admixture from Corliss Red Mountain Vineyard and Kiona Heart of the Hill Vineyard, and just a skosh from Klipsun Vineyard. Deep dense midnight ruby in color with ripe pitted fruit aromas suggestive of black cherry and spiced plum, shaved dark chocolate, a parched vineyard floor and good old-fashioned (graphite) pencil shavings; cool on entry, suave and sophisticated on the tongue, rich, warming, with refined polished tannins, and all the while firm in flavors that last long and ring true to the promise of the first whiffs. Regularly $70.00 the bottle, on sale now at: