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The Octavian Cellars McKinley Springs Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2022 is a $15.69 Costco wine (.69 could mean a winery special). It is a single-vineyard wine from the Horse Heaven Hills AVA of the Columbia Valley in Washington State.
The Story
The producer of the Cabernet Sauvignon is N W Wine Company from Oregon, which make Hyland Estate and Westmont brands of Oregon wine, they also produce custom brand, this is a custom brand.
The McKinley Springs Vineyard is an estate vineyard owned by the Andrews Family, which operates McKinley Springs Winery. The Andrews family have farmed in Horse Heaven Hills for over 80 years and planted their first vineyard in 1980.
The Horse Heaven Hills AVA is located in south-central Washington, running along 50 miles of the Columbia River. There has been a total of five 100-point wines produced in the Columbia Valley, and all of them are from Horse Heaven Hills. the area got its name when the early settlers found horses that had escaped from the Spanish Conquistadors flourishing in the rolling hills.
As a custom wine made specifically for Costco, there are no production notes. We do not have information on the Oak program, but we do know this is a sub-$20 single vineyard wine sourced from a premium vineyard. The alcohol content is balanced, for today’s climate, 13.9%.
The Octavian Cellars McKinley Springs Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2022 Tasting Notes
The color is a dark black cherry red. The nose is ripe black and red berries and has a light herbal scent, pepper, faint dark chocolate, dried strawberry, and a floral edge. The Octavian Cellars McKinley Springs Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2022 has bright flavors and is nicely complex and long-lasting.
This Cabernet Sauvignon tastes like blackberry, dark chocolate, a splash of raspberry, black pepper, plum, orange zest, interesting spice, cooling blueberry, and very faint bell pepper.
The tannins are in the mix but are sweet. the acidity provides the backbone for the flavors to fully unfold.
The Summary
- The Octavian Cellars McKinley Springs Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2022 is an excellent, very sippable, well-priced wine.
- Columbia Valey wines tend to be very approachable, with excellent fruit and solid structure, and this wine holds to that standard.
- This is a very good Costco-exclusive wine.
