Although it’s just a guess, it seems clear that Snoqualmie was the loser in 2004, when so many small wineries were helped out by Chateau Ste. Michelle, which provided them grapes during a bad freeze year. Snoqualmie probably should not have made a reserve under the circumstances, as this falls well short of recent efforts. It’s a light and simple wine, with thin candy cherry flavors and herbal streaks.——P.G.(5/1/2008)—— 85

Starts out with pleasant notes of supple fruit, but there’s too much oak showing at the moment, and the fruit quickly gets buried. Some bitter tannins conclude; give this one extra airtime to soften it up.——P.G.(6/1/2005)—— 87

Smooth and chocolaty, with lots of supple fruit and layers of sweet oak. This is a wine to gulp down by the glass, with foods such as pizza and burgers. There’s plenty of creamy vanilla to soften the finish. ——P.G.(5/1/2004)—— 89

This Stimson Lane property has recently added a more upscale line of reserve wines, along with classy packaging. The reserve Merlot is a limited selection of the top lots, just 600 cases produced. But it seems to lean heavily on new oak aging to mask ordinary fruit, that can’t really stand up to all the barrel time. ——P.G.(6/1/2002)—— 86