The 2006 Walter Clore Private Reserve is composed of 66% Merlot and 34% Cabernet Sauvignon aged for 30 months in new French oak. It exhibits notes of pain grille, pencil lead, damp earth, herbs, and balsamic. This leads to a full-bodied, ripe, layered wine with excellent depth, concentration, and length. Give it 3-4 years to fully blossom and drink it from 2013 to 2026. Columbia Crest, part of the Ste. Michelle Wine Estates, is Washington’s largest winery. It produces mammoth amounts of wine (2,000,000+ cases) at a remarkably high level of quality. A visit to the cellars reveals brilliant organization, high morale, and a sense of personal involvement by the staff that undoubtedly adds value to the finished wine.Tel. (509) 875-2061; www.columbia-crest.com

Solid and straightforward, it shows ripe cherry fruit, light hints of dried leaf and cocoa, and a sturdy, though one-dimensional, core.——P.G.(12/31/2009)—— 88