2005 Spring Valley Frederick

Instead of watching the playoff game last Saturday, my wife and I decided to visit the new Costco store in town. Good timing ... it was practically empty.

I saw a case of the 2005 Spring Valley Frederick there and decided I needed to taste this wine, which Costco sells at a 20+% discount off the winery price of $50. The wine is a blend of 54% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot, and it is aged 20 months in French oak (56% new). The label states 15.5% ABV, but the description on their web site (http://www.springvalleyvineyard.com/) states 15.9% ABV. I found this wine to be young and grippy right out of the bottle, and much more approachable after 2 hours of decanting; smoother front end after 24 hours. The wine delivers concentrated dark fruit on the palate, but I found its finish was dominated by oak and alcohol.

-- Clark

[Jenise]

Clark, thanks for the note. I've been very curious about the Spring Valley wines and heard them spoken of hereabouts with some reverence, but those alcohol levels keep me from taking the plunge. The vicarious experience of 'tasting' your bottle through this note just reassured me that it's wise to maintain that stance.

I tried a different vintage of this, maybe 2001, I'm not sure right now. The oak was more of a detriment than the heat for me. Big time new oak.

... but those alcohol levels keep me from taking the plunge.

This wine is not their only alcohol monster. I organized a WA Syrah tasting 3-4 months ago, and the host donated a bottle of 2004 Spring Valley Nina Lee Walla Walla Syrah ($48) to the lineup. The flavors were huge and rich, but at 16.1% ABV, it was easy to identify it in the 8-bottle blind tasting. -- Clark