Also recommended, but no tasting note given. A sometime brewer and former professional climbing guide who says, “Wine evokes the sort of feelings I get in the mountains,” Chuck Reininger opened his winery in 1997, and in 2002 began a second label named Helix, on a couple of wines so-labeled – following a convention already established in our eRobertParker database – I report separately under that name. “I thought I’d be Bordeaux-centric,” Reininger narrates, and with a couple of exceptions noted below, he has been. The effect on some of the Reininger’s wines that I tasted on this occasion of well over two years in barrels (the 2006 Sangiovese-Bordelais blend “Cima” got 6!) – albeit generally older ones – could be rather drying. This is another of the numerous Washington wineries about the age-worthiness of whose wines I am skeptical but do not yet have sufficient experience with older bottles to extrapolate from direct experience. (A 1999 Reininger Merlot I tasted on this occasion that had experienced an elevage of 19 months – short by this winery’s standards – was fascinatingly scented but a bit drying and dank in finish, while a 2004 blend – noted in detail below – definitely needed drinking.) Tel. (509) 522-1994

A lush scent of fresh Bing cherries greets you from the moment the cork is pulled, afterward, this lovely, textured wine continues to open up beautifully in the glass. Fine grip and body, it's plump, fresh fruit is artfully balanced against acid and oak. Smooth, youthful and inviting, this isn't a huge wine, just hugely enjoyable.——P.G.(12/31/2001)—— 90