COL SOLARE
Location: United States, Washington State, Columbia Valley
When two world famous wineries merge, great things can happen. Col Solare was created when the Antinori family (one of the most famous families of Tuscany) and Chateau St. Michelle came together to form a winery. Starting with their first vintage in 1995, Col Solare’s mission has been to amalgamate these two distinct viticultural and winemaking backgrounds to create a fantastic Cabernet Sauvignon-based red wine from choice Red Mountain fruit. The result is one of the finest and most consistent Washington Red blend.
Col Solare makes only two wines. Their signature blend, Col Solare, is typically made from around 70 percent Cabernet, depending on the vintage. Their second wine is called Shining Hill and is better than many Washington winery's first wines. In my past few visits to the winery I have been able to sample multiple vintages of Col Solare. The 2006 and 2007 vintages continue to impress, even though they’re approaching the 10 year mark. The big recent heavyhitter is the 2012 which should be on the shelves currently. Below are the wines we recently tasted from Col Solare, one of Washington's best.
Vintage | Wine Name | Color | Rating |
2000 | COL SOLARE Red Wine, Columbia Valley | 92 | |
2005 | COL SOLARE Red Wine, Columbia Valley | 95 | |
2006 | COL SOLARE Red Wine, Columbia Valley | 95 | |
2007 | COL SOLARE Red Wine, Columbia Valley | 95 | |
2008 | COL SOLARE Red Wine, Columbia Valley | 93 | |
2009 | COL SOLARE Red Wine, Columbia Valley | 94 | |
2012 | COL SOLARE Red Wine, Columbia Valley | 94 | |
2013 | COL SOLARE Red Wine, Columbia Valley | 94 | |
2014 | COL SOLARE Red Wine, Columbia Valley | 95 | |
2015 | COL SOLARE Cabernet Franc 'Component Collection' | 94 | |
2012 | COL SOLARE Malbec 'Component Collection' | 94 | |
2015 | COL SOLARE Red Wine 'Component Collection' | 95 | |
2014 | COL SOLARE Red Wine 'Collector's Society' | 94 | |
2012 | COL SOLARE Syrah 'Component Collection' | 94 |