Called a classic year by Chris Upchurch, the 2005 Harrison Hill is one of the more structured, full-bodied and rich wines in the lineup. It offers lots of smoked earth, graphite, black cherry and currant aromas and flavors, full-bodied richness and just a hint of the classic sandalwood and leafy herbs that are the hallmark of this cuvee. It fills the mouth with fruit and has enough tannin to evolve positively for 3-4 years and keep through 2030.

The 2005 Harrison Hill is sourced from a single Yakima Valley vineyard, the second oldest in the state. It is a blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 1% Petit Verdot and was aged for 18 months in 100% new French oak. This fragrant effort offers notes of pain grille, pencil lead, black currant jam and licorice. Seamless, ripe, and well-endowed, there is enough structure to support 2-3 years of further development in the bottle. This balanced, lengthy wine should be at its best from 2012 to 2020.DeLille Cellars and Doyenne are sister labels, the former for Bordeaux-style wines and the latter for Rhone-style wines. They will be reviewed separately. As a postscript, DeLille Cellars presented a vertical of the Chaleur Estate from 1996 to 2005. The wines are all evolving nicely with the exception of the 1997, the product of a cooler year, which needs drinking over the next few years.www.delillecellars.com

The Harrison Hill vineyard has some of Washington’s oldest Cabernet vines. Here the blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot offers a distinctive flavor profile, clean, sharp and herbal, with an interesting, earthy note. Flavors mingle beautifully, and carry through from the tart, tight-knit red fruit into the polished and lightly slatey tannins and a chewy, lightly peppery finish. ——P.G.(11/1/2008)—— 91