The Airfield Estates 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon – from vines planted in 1989 – nicely integrates arbor vita, piquant fruit pit, and stone or pencil lead elements into a satisfyingly sappy matrix of sweetly ripe mulberry and purple plum. A hint of salt offers welcome saliva inducement to what after bottling ought to be worth following 2-3 years. Airfield estates – named for a former military base on its site – is an example of a Washington winery that opened with the intention of being entirely an estate-bottler, showcasing fruit from a location farmed by Mike Miller since 1968 (“when nobody but Canadian home winemakers wanted Washington grapes,” he’s not the first to tell me, “but later, for a long time, we were able to sell most of our crop to Ste Michelle”). An interesting recent innovation is use of reflective tarp on the vineyard surface. Son Marcus – originally trained in business – has interned internationally and since 2005 taken over the cellar. The Millers make 27 different wines (and manage to keep coming up with clever aeronautic allusions for labeling them), choosing to emphasize in our tasting 2010 vintage reds that have been bottled since. While most of the wines I tasted on this occasion could be at least marginally recommended, herbaceous, bitter, and drying elements were sometime problematic. This is an enthusiastic, open, and articulate father-son team, so one can anticipate improvements.Tel. (509) 786-7401

Airfield’s Cabernet Sauvignon shows a little more muscle than its Merlot, with raspberries and spice holding down the center and tannins in better balance. It’s not a big wine, but solidly made, with some interesting black olive flavors in the finish.——P.G.(12/31/2008)—— 85

This unusual wine is half 2005, half 2006 Cab, and includes 10% Syrah. It’s lively and broad, with plenty of smooth and creamy chocolate filling in around spicy raspberry and red currant fruit.——P.G.(5/1/2008)—— 88