2017 Desert Wind Cabernet Sauvignon Estate Grown Wahluke Slope Columbia Valley 750 ml

Lately, it seems like every up-and-coming West Coast wine region gets dubbed “the next Napa,” or some endless variation on that theme.

Since there’s only one Napa, we typically view such statements with a healthy dose of skepticism. But when it comes to the awesomely dark and muscular Cabernets emerging from Washington’s Wahluke Slope—a celebrated sub-appellation of the wider Columbia Valley AVA—we admit the region might deserve a comparison to the top of California’s class.

Pour yourself a generous glass of this lush, complex 2017 Cabernet from Desert Wind Winery, one of Wahluke’s top producers, and you’ll quickly see what we mean. With its seductive aromas of blackberry, roasted espresso, and cedar, it delivers an ideal introduction to the area’s dark-fruited opulence.

Among Washington’s warmest zones, where vines tested by the bone-dry climate yield intense grapes whose flavors light up every taste bud on your tongue, the area’s deep, gravelly soils function as an ideal incubator for fully loaded reds that drip with full-bodied intensity and concentration.

This opulent, mouth-coating Cab was grown on Desert Wind’s sustainably farmed estate vineyard, a 540-acre parcel located in the heart of the AVA that first planted in 1992. It balances Wahluke’s explosive richness and power with a freshness that speaks to the site’s prime position at the foot of the Saddle Mountains, which enjoy the cooling influence of the Columbia River.

With supple tannins that glide into a silky finish accented by a mouthwatering wash of spearmint and cocoa nibs, this is estate-grown Washington Cab at its finest—one that deserves any lofty comparison you might throw at it.