The Wine Knows

Col Solare on Washington's Red Mountain has produced a sole wine per vintage since starting the Opus One-like operation in 1994, a Cab-based blend that retails for $70. That will change with the release of a second label called Shining Hill.

Col Solare is the international collaboration between Ste. Michelle Wine Estates of Woodinville, Wash., and Marchese Antinori of Tuscany. A year ago, the new $6 million winery opened on Red Mountain.

While tasting 2007 samples from Cold Creek and Klipsun vineyards Friday, I asked resident winemaker Marcus Notaro what he does with any barrels that don't quite fit the blend. I figured such barrels would end up at one of Ste. Michelle's other wineries, such as Chateau Ste. Michelle, Columbia Crest or Snoqualmie.

Notaro said that while that has been the practice, the winery now is releasing a second wine at Col Solare. In essence, Col Solare has created a program in the classic European tradition of "declassifying" barrels that don't fit into the final blend.

We have seen many wineries start this program with great success in recent years. Quilceda Creek has a more affordable red blend, as does Woodward Canyon with its Nelms Road line. One favorite is the Firehouse Red created by Ron Coleman at Tamarack Cellars in Walla Walla. Typically, these "second" wines are delicious and can be fantastic bargains. There's never anything wrong with the wine; instead, a barrel's profile just might not bring an element to a blend that the winemaker is looking for.

The name "Col Solare" means "Shining Hill" in Italian, so that is a natural name for this second label, which will be released this summer. Just 500 cases from the 2005 vintage will be released - and only at the tasting room. No price has been set, but I'd wager it will be in the $35 range, a nice entry point for consumers who don't normally drop $70 for a red blend.

Tasting room? Most folk (me included) didn't realize Col Solare is open to the public by appointment. A $25 fee includes a tasting through two vintages of Col Solare and a private tour of the facility. About 250 people took advantage of this last year.

And about those '07 barrel samples: They were just as I expected. The Cold Creek Cab was sauve and spicy, while the Klipsun Cab was loaded with fruit and tannin. The two together make up just a small part of the blend, but I can see where the Klipsun fruit will fill in a lot of backbone for the rest of the wine.