Heart of the Hill Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon
⏳ Drinking Window
Typically best enjoyed 5–15 years from the vintage release.
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
Grilled ribeye steak, roasted rosemary lamb chops, braised beef short ribs
✨ Technical Specifications
The Heart of the Hill Vineyard, nestled in the warm, sun-drenched slopes of the Red Mountain AVA, is legendary for producing some of Washington State's most powerful and concentrated Cabernet Sauvignon. Planted by the pioneering Williams family, this vineyard benefits from intense daytime heat, sweeping winds, and quick-draining gravelly soils, forcing the vines to struggle and produce small, thick-skinned berries. Columbia Crest's Reserve expression from this celebrated site showcases the winery's ability to harness Red Mountain's formidable structure. Crafted in limited quantities, the wine undergoes meticulous oak aging to soften the robust, muscular tannins characteristic of the appellation, resulting in a dark, brooding, and deeply complex masterpiece that honors the rugged beauty of the Columbia Valley.
🍾 About the Producer
Established in 1982 by Ste. Michelle Wine Estates, Columbia Crest was the pioneer winery founded within what is now the acclaimed Horse Heaven Hills AVA of eastern Washington. Situated along the benchlands above the Columbia River, the estate takes full advantage of a semi-arid, rain-shadowed microclimate marked by intense summer sunshine, constant river breezes that deter frost and pests, and fast-draining, wind-blown Warden silt loam soils. Initial plantings in 1978 and early winemaking under founding cellar master Doug Gore established the winery's benchmark status for reliable varietal purity and commercial scale. The production regimen bridges large-scale precision with small-lot barrel fermentation and French and American oak aging. Columbia Crest cemented its reputation when its 2005 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon won Wine Spectator's Wine of the Year. Today, the estate produces tiered selections ranging from the everyday Two Vines and Grand Estates labels to vineyard-driven Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay expressions.
🍇 Grapes
Cabernet Sauvignon