Previous vintage notes: Wine Spectator 90 points! "Ripe and generous, brimming with blackberry, currant and plum flavor, nicely shaded with white pepper and toast, framed with mildly gritty tannins. Needs time to settle in, but then it should be a beauty. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah. Best after 2005. 540 cases made. (HS)"

Gordon Brothers is a 95-acre vineyard on the slopes of the Snake River near Pasco, the warmer part of the Columbia Valley. Planted in 1980, it has been a reliable source for a number of top wineries, and its own wines have been solid from the get-go. They clearly have more finesse and style since Burgundy-trained winemaker Marie-Eve Gilla-Nicault arrived in 1997 after stints at Argyle in Oregon and Covey Run in Washington.

Tradition, a blend of Bordeaux grapes, is the prime example -- ripe, rich, focused and seductive, with bay leaf and sweet, tarry overtones to the supple core of berry, currant and spice flavors. It has complexity, richness and elegance. Drink now through 2007.

The winery says :"Our Cab/Merlot Tradition offers a dark garnet red color and beautiful aromas of coffee, spice with a whiff of violet. This wine shows solid prune and black currant flavors at the core, shadded by hints of chocolate and toast. The density of fruit, extract, and structure enables this wine to be the best enjoyed after a few years in the cellar. For an early consumption, decanting will expose the richness and multilayered texture of our Tradition."