Columbia Crest Cab named world's best vino for 2009
Why just have a fine Washington wine with your holiday dinner when you can have the finest wine in the world and still drink locally?
Wine Spectator magazine has named Columbia Crest 2005 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon as the #1 wine in the world for 2009. The 2009 vintage beat out 17,000 other wines considered for the annual list of the top 100 wines in the world.
The final selection was based on such attributes as a wine's quality, value, availability and excitement.
Wine Spectator has been making a list of the top 100 wines in the world for 21 years and this is the first time a Washington wine has topped the list.
The 2001 vintage of the same wine came in at #30 in 2004.
A label of Woodinille based Chateau Ste. Michelle, Columbia Crest was founded in 1983 and is based in Paterson, in eastern Washington.
Comments
Good luck! That stuff is rare now and will become even rarer still once this new gets out. You can find it for about 100 bucks a bottle right now if you're willing to buy from auctions and such...
Congratulations! So often local luminaries are not given their fair share of kudos by media here - I hope everyone realizes what a sensational honor this is for these hard-working, award-winning, always striving and achieving beyond excellence folks at Columbia Crest!
While it is nice to see local recognition, it was not named the "Best" wine in the world -- Wine Spectator named it their "top" wine, which in the Wine Spectator world means that price and availability are major factors (and something they call an "x" factor) in addition to the score.
In other words, if it is cheap and available everywhere, it ranks higher than one that might taste better. This is why you didn't see Cayuse's Bionic Frog or Cote Bonneville's Cab in the list -- although they were scored higher (i.e. "better tasting" according to Wine Spectator).
This is why the Top 100 list is widely viewed as a marketing ploy...
Hey Scrooge, you're about a month too early for the party. This is historic news, not only for Columbia Crest, but for the entire Washington wine industry. While this wine costs far less than most overpriced boutique bottles, I don't know too many people who would consider $30 "cheap." With a 95-rating, it's considered "Classic, a great wine" by Wine Spectator's definition. The fact that it costs far less that comparably rated wines makes it all the more appealing to the majority of wine drinkers. Chill out and enjoy the good news!
You're probably right. It's likely that the '95 vintage is going to be hard to find now (after the #1 rating), and retailers who still have it are likely to jack up the price. However, I've had both the '95 and '96 vintages of this wine. I actually prefer the '96 and can still find it at or near its original price. Grab it while you can!
Featured Businesses
Latest Discussions
Local Listings
Local Real Estate Agents
