Review:
2009 Wine Advocate - 90 points - The purple-colored 2009 Artz Vineyard is a blend of 41% Cabernet Franc, 35% Merlot, and 24% Cabernet Sauvignon aged for 18 months in 32% new French oak. Herbs, incense, clove, violets, and black currant aromas are followed by a savory, incipiently complex, nicely balanced wine that could have used slightly greater depth and concentration. Drink this suave effort through 2019. - Jay Miller
2008 Vintage Tasting Notes
2008 Wine Advocate - 92 points - Deep purple in color, it delivers an expressive nose of pain grillé, mineral, sage, incense, lavender, and black currant. Round, concentrated, and the most complex of these offerings, this mouth-filling wine will evolve for another 4-5 years and drink well through 2028."
2007 Vintage Tasting Notes
2007 Wine Advocate - 92+ points - Earth and mineral notes are accompanied by cinnamon, clove, sage, black cherry, and black currant. Medium to full-bodied, it exhibits an elegant personality, excellent intensity, plenty of sweet fruit, and a lengthy finish. Give it 2-3 years of additional cellaring and drink it from 2012 to 2022."
Deep garnet. Silky fore-palate; firm, fine tannins mid-palate. Bright and juicy. Anise, Italian herbs, tobacco, blueberry, and hints of dried orange peel.
39% Cabernet Franc, 36% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon
2006 Vintage Tasting Notes
The 06 has gorgeous and heady scents of baking spice-shaded black berries and blueberries make you want to dive in. There's an explosive core of blueberry and cassis fruit, with rosemary highlights. Sweet anise emerges and carries through the plush finish. Tim did an excellent job taming the burly tannins of Red Mountain, producing a red with near universal appeal.
2006 Wine Advocate - 90+ points - Purple colored with aromas of paine grillé, pencil lead, spice box, and black fruits, it is a bit tighter than the 2005. It offers plenty of spicy black fruit flavors, good depth and balance, and a lengthy finish. Give it 2-3 years of additional cellaring and drink it through 2020."
2005 Vintage Tasting Notes
2005 Wine Advocate - 90 points - The 2005 Horse Heaven Hills is 39% Merlot, 33% Cabernet Franc, and 28% Cabernet Sauvignon sourced from two vineyards. Purple in color, it offers notes of pain grille, scorched earth, black currant, and blackberry. This leads to a smooth-textured wine with ample ripe fruit, spicy flavors, good concentration and an elegant personality. It has a bit more stuffing than the Red Mountain bottling. "
Ambassador of Wine says: "The 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from Fall Line, 47% Boushey Vineyard, 32% Artz Vineyard, and 21% Windy Ridge Vineyard, is their finest effort. This Cab out-performs most of the Cabs twice the price in the state (WA). Three times now I have tried it and been floored each time.
On the nose, aroma, med+ intensity, ripe black fruit that is very juicy and expressive, some black olive, tomato leaf, bell pepper, moderate amount of oak , and not any earth to be detected.
On the palate, dry, med+ intensity, rocking the seemless very well integrated oak , depth, complexity, balance, and a moderately long finish. This is a fantastic wine for the price, and I applaud this effort.
39% Merlot, 33% Cabernet Franc, and 28% Cabernet Sauvignon. Entirely from Aldercreek/Windy Ridge Vineyards. Aged 18 months in French oak, 39% new. Bottled April 29, 2007. 430 cases produced.
Violet and lavender notes, herb, earth, black plum, boysenberry, blueberry, cherry, black spice, and toasty caramel. Earthy, fine-grained tannins and bright acidity.