The rich, concentrated Washington red fruit for this easy, accessible style of Cabernet Sauvignon is produced by Chateau Ste. Michelle, the founding winery of Washington State. The palate delivers complexity and structure, with its robust blackcurrant and plum flavours, and soft, silky tannins. A wine to savour on its own or with a mouth-watering rare fillet steak.Blue cheese, beef, veal, and dark chocolate all pair well with this Cabernet. It is a wine that can cope with robust flavours like mustard, paprika, rosemary, thyme, cloves and ginger.Sourced from Columbia Valley vineyards in eastern Washington including our Cold Creek, Canoe Ridge Estate and Indian Wells vineyards. Columbia Valley vineyards lie in the rain shadow of the Cascade Mountains and receive just 6-8 inches of rainfall annually. Warm, sunny days and cool evening temperatures create ideal conditions for intense aroma and flavor development in the ripening grapes.The ripe grapes were de-stemmed and inoculated with various strains of yeast to maximise complexity. Gentle pump-overs during fermentation were used to extract colour and flavour and to produce soft, supple tannins. The wine was then oak aged for 14 months.