Left Bank restraint meets West Coast power—a benchmark study from Washington’s high-elevation Royal Slope AVA.

If you love the gravelly, chiseled structure of classic Bordeaux but crave the deep, sun-drenched black fruit of West Coast Cabernet, this 2022 release from Andrew Latta hits the absolute sweet spot. Sourced entirely from the famed Lawrence Vineyard in Washington’s high-elevation Royal Slope AVA, this 100% Cabernet Sauvignon straddles the line between Pauillac-like savory precision and Napa-level fruit intensity. Perched at 1,600+ feet on ancient, fractured basalt beds and fine sandy loam soils, the vineyard experiences massive diurnal temperature swings that lock in electric natural acidity while ripening the fruit to perfection. Winemaker Andrew Latta—a veteran of low-intervention winemaking—utilizes native yeast fermentations and 22 months in French oak to craft a bottle that delivers high-end cult Cabernet depth for a fraction of what you would pay across the state line in California. Simply put, if you want collector-grade Cabernet Sauvignon with both teeth and elegance, this is an absolute must-buy allocation.

In the glass, it pours an opaque ruby-purple core with a vibrant, aromatically complex rim. The nose opens with a classic Left Bank impression: crushed cassis, graphite, pencil shavings, and dried bay leaf, which immediately gives way to lush, ripe black plum, dark cherry, and cocoa powder. On the palate, the wine delivers a muscular, full-bodied frame defined by fine-grained, architectural tannins and a streak of stony, basalt-driven minerality. Native yeast fermentation keeps the fruit focused and pure, while 22 months in French oak wraps the long finish in warm cedar, sweet tobacco, and dried espresso bean. Accessible today after a 60-minute decant, it possesses the structural scaffolding to evolve gracefully in the cellar over the next 15 to 20 years.