Wine: Camaraderie Cabernet Sauvignon

Camaraderie Cellars, in Port Angeles, Washington, makes a few different wines. Friends of mine really quite like their merlots; I wandered into the Washington Wine Tasting Room in the Pike Place Market of Seattle to give it a few wines from Camaraderie a taste.

Camaraderie's 1999 Cabernet Sauvignon has received quite a bit of press, but I'm not able to find many references to the 2001 or 2002 vintages on the web.

This wine's grapes come from the eastern part of Washington, as is the case for many Washington wines. My understanding is that the 2001, at least, is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon.

Both of the wines have a dark garnet color, tending toward ruby at the rim. They're both very clear as well. Both are full bodied, intense, markedly tannic wines that are clearly not completely evolved. The 2002, to my palette, really shouldn't be consumed yet as it definitely needs another year or two (or three) in the bottle where the 2001 is just beginning to develop to a point where the more concentrated flavors are coming to the front. The tannins in both of these wines are too short and affecting to make these wines I'd recommend drinking this year. Today I'm picking up pleasant blackberry and plum flavors wonderfully in the 2001, along with hints of vanilla. Both vintages are pleasantly oaked.

I'm looking forward to trying these again in 2007.

Please see the sidebar or the article linked there for more information on what the ratings below mean; the scores below reflect the experience of drinking the wine today.

2002:
Value: 2.5
Color & Clarity: 3.5
Bouquet: 2.5
Flavor: 2.5

2001:
Value: 2.5
Color & Clarity: 3.5
Bouquet: 3.0
Flavor: 3.0