2011 The Widowmaker

The 2011 The Widowmaker is a beauty. One of the top Cabernet Sauvignons in the vintage, it offers up classic red and black currant fruit, earth, smoked meats and spice to go with a medium to full-bodied, elegant, seamless texture on the palate that carries masses of beautifully polished tannin. Aged 18 months in 50-60% new French oak, it’s a relatively forward vintage for this cuvee (which is the norm for the vintage) that can be enjoyed anytime over the coming 15 years or more. Enough can’t be said about the quality coming from this estate, and Christophe Baron, who’s assisted by Elizabeth Bourcier, produces, in this reviewer’s opinion, some of the most distinctive and exciting wines on the planet. As I said last year, there’s no secret here, and Christophe simply has fantastic terroir, works his ass off in the vineyard (everything is farmed biodynamically), and then gets out of the way in the cellar. Looking at the vintages reviewed here, his 2011s (which come from the lowest yields ever at this estate) check in at the top of the vintage and have uncommon richness and depth. Stating that it was the coolest vintage of his career, Christophe loves the European style of the wines and feels they’ll reward 5-7 years of cellaring. As a group, they show superb aromatics, medium to full-bodied richness and fresh, lively characters. In contrast, the 2012s are flamboyant and decadent, with awesome textures, beautiful purity of fruit and brilliant underlying structure. To my palate, 2012 is up there with finest vintage from this team to date. 2012 is possibly the best vintage I’ve ever tasted from Christophe. Across the board, the wines shows incredible aromatics, awesome purity and full-bodied richness and concentration. Tel. (509) 526-0686; www.cayusevineyards.com