Col Solare releases first Red Mountain vintage

Col Solare, the landmark winery on Red Mountain in Washington state, has released the first-ever Red Mountain-designated vintage of its flagship wine the 2011 Col Solare Red Blend. This limited-production bottling of just 2,500 cases is now available at the Col Solare estate winery, at the Col Solare Bottega in Woodinville, Wash., at select restaurants and retailers, and from the winery's website.

For more information or to purchase Col Solare, please visit: http://www.colsolare.com/shop

An equal partnership between Washington state's founding winery, Chateau Ste. Michelle, and the first family of Italian wine, Marchesi Antinori, Col Solare was launched in 1995 to produce the premier Cabernet Sauvignon-based wine from Washington state.

The partnership purchased land on Red Mountain a small appellation in south central Washington state renowned for Cabernet Sauvignon and established their own estate vineyard and winery there in 2006. Since then, Col Solare has been steadily evolving to its current Red Mountain designation.

• With the 2009 vintage, fruit from the young estate vineyard, then in just its third leaf, began to play an important role in the blend for Col Solare, comprising 13% of the blend. Overall, Red Mountain contributed 42% of the final blend for the 2009 vintage.
• With the 2010 vintage, the contribution of the estate vineyard jumps to 48% of the blend, with Red Mountain comprising 69% of the blend for this vintage.
• For the newly-released 2011 vintage, the estate vineyard makes up 87% of the blend, while Red Mountain contributes 89% of the final blend.
• Each subsequent vintage of Col Solare will also carry the Red Mountain designation, which requires that at least 85% of each wine be sourced from Red Mountain.

About Red Mountain

At just 4,040 acres of total land area, Red Mountain is the smallest appellation in Washington state. The vineyards of the Red Mountain appellation, currently totaling approximately 1,200 acres, occupy the southwest-facing slope of Red Mountain itself, which lies at the eastern edge of the Yakima Valley and is also contained by the larger Columbia Valley. Red Mountain is also consistently one of the warmest and driest appellations in Washington state, with daytime temperatures during the growing season typically near 100F and average annual rainfall of just six to nine inches.

Red Mountain is increasingly being recognized by prominent wine critics and journalists as one of the world's premier growing regions for red wine grapes, most notably Cabernet Sauvignon. Most recently, Red Mountain was nominated for Wine Region of the Year by Wine Enthusiast magazine for 2014. Wines made from Red Mountain grapes are routinely among the highest-scoring, most sought-after wines in the world.

Quotes

"The 2011 vintage of Col Solare shows a wonderful combination of concentration and power together with elegance and polish," said Darel Allwine, winemaker for Col Solare. "This is exactly the wine profile that attracted us to Red Mountain in the first place, and it's so exciting to finally see 'Red Mountain' on the label," said Allwine.

"We're thrilled to be realizing the vision we've shared with the Antinori family since we started Col Solare together almost 20 years ago," said Ted Baseler, President and CEO of Ste. Michelle Wine Estates. "Red Mountain is a very special place, and we're proud to help bring greater recognition for this outstanding winegrowing region with the Red Mountain designation for Col Solare," said Baseler.

Critical Acclaim for Col Solare

2011 vintage 92 points, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate (June 30, 2014)
2010 vintage 94+ points, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate (June 30, 2014)
2009 vintage 93+ points, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate (June 28, 2013)
2008 vintage 93 points, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate (June 28, 2013)
2007 vintage 94 points, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate (June 28, 2013)
2006 vintage 93 points, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate (October 31, 2009)
2005 vintage 94 points, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate (June 30, 2008)

About Col Solare

Col Solare is an equal partnership between two influential wine producers who are recognized leaders in their respective regions: Washington state's Chateau Ste. Michelle and Italy's Marchesi Antinori. From the inaugural 1995 vintage, the mission of Col Solare has been to unite these two unique viticultural and winemaking cultures to produce a world-class Cabernet Sauvignon-based wine from Washington state's very best vineyard sites. With the planting of the Col Solare estate vineyard on Red Mountain in 2007, the vision of the partners has evolved to focus on showcasing the Cabernet Sauvignon of this renowned appellation and, ultimately, the specific fruit of the estate vineyard. With the 2009 vintage, fruit from the estate vineyard plays an important role in the Col Solare blend for the first time and, beginning with the 2011 vintage, all future vintages of Col Solare will carry the Red Mountain designation. For more information on Col Solare, please visit http://www.colsolare.com/

About Ste. Michelle Wine Estates

Ste. Michelle Wine Estates is the third largest premium wine company in the U.S. The company, located outside of Seattle, Wash., has a distinguished history that dates back 80 years to 1934. Wines under the Ste. Michelle label were first introduced in 1967, and since that time the company has expanded its vineyard holdings to more than 3,700 acres in Washington and California. Today its 'String of Pearls' wine portfolio represents owned or imported brands that demonstrate the producers' unwavering commitment to creating distinctive, high quality wines from authentic estate vineyards. For more information on Ste. Michelle Wine Estates, please visit http://www.smwe.com/

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