Substance
The original thought was to be a one wine brand, with a single minded vision to produce the best value-priced Cabernet Sauvignon in America. How do you go about this? Traditional winemaking. Natural fermentations. Barrel-aging. Plus, bottling unfiltered and unfined. In essence, making the wines in small batch winemaking integrity, but doing so on a larger scale. The wine is black. The label definitively says, "This is Cabernet Sauvignon." And also, with the CS, you know who made this wine: Charles Smith.
| Website | houseofsmith.com/brands/substance-wines/ |
|---|---|
| Country | America |
| Region | Washington |
| Appellation | USA, America, Ancient Lakes, Columbia Valley, Columbia Gorge, Snipes Mountain, Other, Puget Sound, Horse Heaven Hills, Yakima Valley, Rattlesnake Hills, Lake Chelan, Red Mountain, Washington State, Walla Walla Valley, Wahluke Slope |
From this Winery
Classic from the get-go. Black cassis, pipe tobacco and black cherry saturates the mouth. Followed by forest floor, dark plum and pencil lead. Great density and a tremendous finesse-filled finish which one has to repeat...A CLASSIC!
Hold on tight and open your mouth to the launch of this explosive and captivating beauty. Grapefruit, fresh cut grass, lemongrass and flint start you on the journey of discovery followed by an outburst of fresh pine needles, mountain wildflowers and lime leaf. Crisp, focused, and very long. Enjoy the ride!
So gorgeous, enticing you with orange blossom, fragrant melon, lemon peel and graham cracker. On the palate, it continues to satisfy with a beautiful liveliness and refined richness of Fuji apple, minerals, and lemon crème. What more can be said except to start over and take another sip!
Fairy dust minerality lifts from the glass, cloaked in wild strawberry, hibiscus, and oyster mushroom, as a lavish palate of rose petal, red cherry, orange zest and potting soil set this elegant table. Fresh, expansive, and long – pure Pinot magic!
Another classic to behold! Broken limestone and honeycomb enrich the senses, followed more subtly with verbena, grapefruit rind, white peach and green apple. Zippy, long, and rich, finishing with sea spray, lemon zest and a lovely perfume.
We’re going to have to learn French. This Merlot is reminiscent of a St. Emilion. Hits all the notes of cassis, blackberry, crushed stone and pencil lead. Medium-bodied awash with fine grain tannin and a haunting aftertaste that says, "I've been here before, time to sign up a Rosetta Stone".
Stoneridge Cabernet. I Have to say it again; with every vintage if contnues to climb the ladder to the top of Washington's classic prifile. Red cassis, blackberry, fresh herb, tobacco, full-bodied, crushed seashell, graval and forest floor. All this hangs on and never lets go through the endless finish.
TASTING NOTES BY WINEMAKER CHARLES SMITH
What a beautiful nose. Black cherry, black cassis, and cut tobacco is just the invitation. A richness comes into play, resting on a blanket of wet earth, gravel, fresh thyme, and maple sap. The wine continues to unfold itself with a long, lingering finish.
The 2016 vintage started early and warm in Washington State. When summer arrived, the season saw cooler evenings that helped retain acidity, extended the growing and ripening period into September and October.
This allowed the fruit to gain more complexity and deeper charm without sacrificing the acid or producing higher alchhol content .
The vintage has created deeply rich and focused wines that we will be able to enjoy for a long time to come.
TASTING NOTES BY WINEMAKER CHARLES SMITH
Cool riverbed littered with stones that lay underneath the surface. Ash, compost, black preserves, round out this plush, textured wine. Black olive and cured meat show up in the mix..
A labor of love is the Klein vineyard Bx. From the “wow” aroma to the powerful palate and the realization that this wine will age for decades. The descriptors: Black raspberry, mountain herbs, molasses, pencil shavings, green chartreuse, tar, cola, cigar box, cold fireplace ash, black currant, dive bar and sawdust. To drink is to believe. I’m a believer.