Chateau Ste Michelle Cab

Ste. Michelle's got some real problems with their reds. Just 10 days ago they announced the hiring of yet another winemaker for their reds, Josh Maloney (formerly of Estancia). Maloney succeeds Bob Bertheau, who was promoted last November to succeed Ron Bunnell, Ste. Michelle red winemaker since 1999. Berteau is now head winemaker. As reported by QRW.com in All Things Grape and Small, Spring 2005:

"Washington state’s Chateau Ste. Michelle winery has promoted Bob Bertheau to head winemaker, with responsibility for both red and white wines. Bertheau had previously been in charge of the company’s white wine program. Ron Bunnell, who had directed red wine making, will now concentrate solely on Col Solare, Ste. Michelle’s joint-venture with the Italian producer Antinori. Curiously, the head winemaker position at Ste. Michelle had been vacant since 1999, when Mike Januick left the job to start his own eponymous winery."

Anybody who's tasted Mike Januik's wines knows the guy has a real talent with reds. I'm not surprised the quality fell at Ste. Michelle when he left.

The Ste. Michelle press releases are at: If I'm not mistaken, it was the Wine Spectator a couple months ago that trashed Ste. Michelle's recent reds. "Disappointing" I think was the phrase they used, trying not to be too disparaging of one of their advertisers. If you've got one of those spiffy $50-a-year WS online memberships, you can probably find the article in their archives.

I haven't been a fan of Ste. Michelle reds for a long time. Conversely, their affiliated Columbia Crest label has been doing a good job of producing quality cabs at prices that rival Two Buck Chuck. Another CSM label producing good, inexpensive reds is Snoqualmie.