Spice Cabinet Vineyard Reserve Malbec
⏳ wine.drinking_window
Typically best enjoyed 5–10 years from vintage release.
🍽️ wine.food_pairings
Grilled ribeye steak, roasted lamb chops, strong blue cheese
✨ wine.spec_sheet
The Spice Cabinet Vineyard, nestled in the Horse Heaven Hills AVA of Washington State, is a prized estate parcel for Columbia Crest. Sloping gently toward the Columbia River, this unique vineyard benefits from a warm microclimate, cooling river breezes, and quick-draining soils that stress the vines, resulting in small, concentrated berries. The vineyard earned its evocative name from the distinctive, exotic spice notes—such as clove, anise, and cracked black pepper—that the terroir naturally imparts to the grapes. This Reserve Malbec showcases the grape's expressive Washington profile, combining intense dark fruit flavors with the signature herbal complexity of the site. It is typically fermented in small lots and aged in select oak barrels to refine its velvety tannins and rich, robust structure.
🍾 wine.about_producer
Established in 1983 in Paterson, Washington, along the banks of the Columbia River, Columbia Crest is one of the Pacific Northwest's most significant and celebrated wineries. Owned by Ste. Michelle Wine Estates, the winery operates a state-of-the-art facility in the Columbia Valley, combining modern gravity-flow techniques with traditional oak barrel aging. Columbia Crest is renowned for delivering exceptional quality and value, showcasing the region's unique terroir through its Grand Estates, H3, and Two Vines series. Their signature expressions include robust Cabernet Sauvignon, velvety Merlot, and the prestigious Walter Clore Private Reserve, which honors the pioneer of Washington viticulture. This dedication to craft has cemented their reputation as a benchmark producer of Washington State wine on the global stage.