The wines from Washington State offer in my opinion a better value than the sea of corporate wines from California. Whether it is Columbia Crest, Chateau Ste. Michelle, Hogue or Milbrandt these bigger producers from Washington State over delivery for the price point. You just don’t have many bad producers residing in Washington. Here is a list of terrible wineries from California: Menage a Trois, Fetzer, Woodbridge, Two Buck Chuck, Barefoot Wines, Seaglass and the list goes on and on…
While in Seattle my brother and I went out to Walla Walla and on the way we ended up stopping in Prosser for a picnic lunch. I had heard of Milbrandt wines but they were not open so we ended up at Airfield Estates. It worked out well as Airfield had a really nice Reserve Syrah.
Once returning Big Top/Sid’s had a Tuesday Dash on the wines of Milbrandt which are getting some traction in Minneapolis/St. Paul. For $8.99 I of course took a chance on the Rose, Chardonnay, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. Here are the scores for each wine:
- 2017 Milbrandt Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon – USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Wahluke Slope (7/20/2019)
Day 1: Red currants, dust, cedar and spice notes. Medium finish. Good party wine for the masses. Very drinkable.
Day 2: Holding up better than the last bottle on day 2. Red currants, bell peppers, dust and spice. Medium finish. 85 points (87 points)
- 2017 Milbrandt Vineyards Chardonnay – USA, Washington, Columbia Valley (7/19/2019)
Day 1: Solid Chardonnay. Better than half of the Chardonnay wines I tasted on my Walla Walla/Washington State Trip. Apple, spice, oak, Carmel and baked pie crust. Medium plus finish and quite complex for an inexpensive wine. For under $10 a steal. 89 points (89 points)
2017 Milbrandt Vineyards Chardonnay – USA, Washington, Columbia Valley (8/8/2019)
Day 1: Apple, spice, mild oak, pear and minerals. Medium finish and good acidity. Another solid effort from Washington State. 88 points
Day 2: Better. Carmel, apple, spice, dust, pear and minerals. A touch of wood on the finish. 89 points
Day 3: Apple, baked pie crust, spice, dust, pear and minerals. Day 3 proved to be the best of the 3 which is rare for a wine that costs less than $10. Outstanding value. 90 points (90 points)
- 2017 Milbrandt Vineyards Merlot Traditions – USA, Washington, Columbia Valley (7/19/2019)
Day 1: Not even close to the quality of the Cabernet. Vegetal, spice, skins of cherries/plums and sweet chocolate. While this is drinkable it certainly fits the under $10 category. I would not recommend this wine on day 1. 83 points
Day 2: similar to day 1. 83 points
Recommendation: pass on this wine. (83 points)
- 2018 Milbrandt Vineyards Rosé – USA, Washington, Columbia Valley (7/17/2019)
Day 1: Glad I got 3 of these. I have been off the Rose radar as too many mediocre ones that cost over $15. $9.90 on this one. Watermelon, peach, spice, minerals and wafer. Nice complexity and refreshing. The perfect wine for the Minneapolis heat and humidity. 89 points
Day 2: Holding up much better than the Cabernet on day 2. Watermelon, spice, orange, wafer and minerals. Very refreshing but complex wine. One of the better Rose wines from Washington for the money (under $10). 89 points (89 points)
The Rose and Chardonnay are the best wines and are available in the closeout bins still at Sid’s in Bloomington.