The 2007 Champoux Vineyard is a bit more deeply colored. A blend of 52% Cabernet Franc, 21% Merlot, 19% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 8% Petit Verdot, it is also denser, richer, more plush, and longer in the finish. Give it 4-6 years of additional cellaring and drink it from 2014 to 2027. Andrew Will, located on Vashon Island, a short ferry-ride from Seattle, is where Chris Camarda fashions his blended, Bordeaux-style wines. Without prompting Camarda told me (as he did Lettie Teague in a Wall Street Journal interview) that business has been very difficult, that he is cutting production, and that in the 2008 vintage he has fashioned two varietal wines that can sell within the range that American wine consumers are willing to spend. That said, the current releases of Andrew Will wines from the 2007 vintage are as good as or better than anything Camarda has done before.Tel. (206) 463-9227; www.andrewwill.com

A unique version of Andrew Will’s Champoux, this is more than half Cabernet Franc, with Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot filling in the rest. Thick and tannic, yet perfectly ripe and almost silky, it coats the palate with black cherry, graphite, slate and a bit of chalk. All that said, the fruit more than holds its own against the terroir’s minerality. Drink this with your best steak, and give it plenty of breathing time.——P.G.(8/1/2010)—— 95