Sagelands Vineyards

Sagelands was the first stop on our whirlwind tour of the Rattlesnake Hills AVA outside of Yakima. It was a in a beautiful setting. The tasting room was very nice but a little corporate. Think Chateau Ste. Michelle's hipper younger brother. Other than Silver Lake, this is probably the largest winery in the area. They do about 80,000 cases of wine a year. That sounds like a lot. But just remember that Chateau Ste. Michelle does 60,000 cases of riesling a year.

The winery always get very good reviews of their Bordeaux varietals, so I was excited to try them. First we started off with the whites. There was an unremarkable pinot gris. It had an ok nose, but taste flat and slightly vegetal. Next was a merlot rose. It was good, but not outstanding. Next we had their riesling. 2006 is their first riesling vintage, and I must say they did a very good job. It was fairly full bodied for a riesling. There was quite a bit of residual sugar over 2%, but it was balanced by tons of acid that kept it crisp and vibrant.

Next we moved on to the reds. I started with a malbec. I don't drink very much of this varietal, but I'm starting to think I should. It was quite floral with the smells and taste of blueberries. It was lightly oaky with soft tannins and a good acid, plus a pleasant taste of dill. We then tried the three cabernets they had. One single vineyard from Horse Heaven Hills, one single vineyard from Wahluke Slope, and their four corners blend (which also contains some merlot and malbec). They were all tasty, but since I can get the four corners blend anywhere I decided on a single vineyard and preferred the one from Wahluke Slope.