The 2004 Champoux Vineyard is 44% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Cabernet Franc, 22% Merlot, and 9% Petit Verdot. It spent 21 months in 35% new French oak. Less marked by oak and more complex than the Sorella bottling, it has a splendid bouquet of cedar, tobacco, vanilla, leather, cassis, and black currants. This is followed by a concentrated, dense wine with gobs of flavor, a velvety texture, excellent integration of oak, tannin, and acidity, and a seamless, 60+ second finish. It will evolve in the cellar for 5-7 years but is difficult to resist now. Chris Camarda’s Andrew Will Cellars began in 1989 and currently produces 4300 cases of predominantly Bordeaux-style blends. They reflect Carmada’s interpretation of each vineyard’s terroir.Tel. (206) 463-9227; www.andrewwill.com

Champoux comes out tops in the ’04 vintage for Andrew Will. This wine has the stuffing missing from the rest, with tight, chewy young fruit that has good weight and extract. There’s a hint of dried wild herb and the stiff tannins that often mark this vineyard’s wines. ——P.G.(12/31/2006)—— 90