Ermisch Cellars, located in Bend, Oregon, is just the sort of winery we love to feature.  It’s a family-run enterprise started in 2001 by Kirk Ermisch, with daughter Hannah, a trained winemaker and sommelier, currently taking over more and more of the day to day operations.  Their production is miniscule, with an emphasis on sustainably-farmed Pinot Noir sourced from the Ribbon Ridge AVA in the Willamette Valley.   The history behind Ermisch Cellars is equally fascinating because prior to setting his sights on Oregon Pinot Noir, Kirk was making, importing and distributing wines from estates around the world from a base at Bodega Calle, his property in Argentina.  After catching the ‘pinot noir’ bug, though, he moved his base to Bend and concentrated his efforts on making world-class Pinot from one of the best appellations in the new world.  But, with his Argentinian roots, as you can imagine there’s was also a love for the Bordeaux varieties in his DNA and when he turned his attention to Cabernet Sauvignon, his results were equally spectacular.  The grapes for the 2020 Ermisch Cabernet are sourced from the northeastern corner of Oregon, where the Walla Walla and Columbia Valleys cross the border into southeastern Washington State. This is a high desert appellation with rocky, inhospitable soils and dramatic diurnal temperature changes making it an ideal spot for growing and making dark, concentrated Cabernet with incredible purity and amazing structure.  It’s really, really delicious!  Made from 100% Cabernet, with 50% coming from the Rocks District and the other half coming from Cockburn Ranch near the Milton-Freewater District, it was fermented in small, open-top vessels, punched down just once a day and then aged for twelve months in a combination of French and American oak barrels, mostly used Pinot Noir barrels from their Pinot program.  The resulting wine, a mere 185-case production, is stunning; one of the most beautiful expressions of Cabernet we’ve experienced this year and one of the best values you’re likely to experience in the hyper-expensive world of domestic Cab.  A wonderful quaff right now, it will certainly repay your patience with extended bottle age.  – Frank Rothstein

Frank Rothstein, PRIMA’s ‘Minister of Value’ doesn’t often turn his attention to domestic Cabernet Sauvignon, but when he does, we listen!  And when he said the Ermisch, even at $39.99 a bottle, was the best value Cabernet he’s tried this year, we all made it our business to try it too.  Man, when it comes to ‘value,’ Frank is rarely wrong, and we were equally impressed with this dark, fragrant and intense Cabernet from the Oregon-Washington border.  Lovers of the gorgeous wines of Washington’s high desert Cabernets will absolutely love this! - John