Chateau Ste. Michelle, Columbia Valley (Washington) 2009

Chateau Ste. Michelle is–trust me–among the handful of wine producers in the United States that is esteemed most highly by those who taste and write about wine for a living. If you’ve never tasted a Ste. Michelle wine that really lit you up and showed you why the operation is so highly regarded, this might be the one for the job. Brilliantly built to last, but also uncanny it its immediate appeal, this shows fruit that is at once polished in texture but undergirded with terrific power and drive. Generously treated to some of the world’s best oak, it was nevertheless pulled out of it before the wood overwhelmed the gorgeous fruit, and was finished (or “raised,” as the French would say with the term elevage) tastefully in every respect. One last word: I understand if you don’t have the funds to pony up for a wine in this price category, so if you still want to learn what the buzz about Ste. Michelle is about, I could also show you a $10 Dry Riesling from them that would light you up too…which is pretty damned impressive. Platinum Award winner at the 2013 San Diego International Wine Competition.