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col solare

Solare, oh, oh…

Col Solare 1995 Red (Columbia Valley) – Served blind, with guesses all over the map, but nothing approaching the target. It’s crisp, with dill-infused blueberries and walnut-tinged tannin. It would be OK for a cheapo red, which of course it’s not, and it’s clearly falling apart rather rapidly. A failure. (2/08)

Col Solare 1996 Red (Columbia Valley) – Also served blind, with similarly wild guesses no nearer the mark (but no one appears to think it’s the same wine as the previous version). My favorite assessment: “it smells like wood that’s soaking in water.” And indeed it does, plus minty chocolate, grass, and abrasive tannin. A slightly more coherent failure. (2/08)

Col Solare 2004 (Columbia Valley) – 80% cabernet sauvignon, 17% merlot, 2% cabernet franc, 1% petit verdot. Cedar and smoke, with simple fruit. Long and relatively balanced, supported by good structure, but it dries out on the finish. It’s as if the wine just gives up. (9/07)