We have adored Obelisco wines since we joined last year. We have grown to love their unassuming, but comfortable tasting room in the Hollywood district, but they have an additional tasting room in the Warehouse district.
Winemaker Ken Abbott, creates some of the best cabs we have had in Washington. They source from their small 30 acre estate vineyard in Red Mountain. We would recommend trying a vertical cab tasting if possible. Each vintage has their own very distinct personality, reflecting that year's growing conditions.
This tasting was done solo while I waited for K in Jan 2023.
Notes are from Obelisco. For an additional fee, you can taste their III Nefer Cab, which is totally worth it!
Merlot (2018)
92% Merlot, 8% Cabernet
$55
Deep, silky Red Mt Merlot... bring on the bliss
Rating 4.5
Syrah (2019)
87% Syrah, 9% Cabernet, 4% Malbec
$55
Lush, fruity, and smooth all at the same time...
Rating 4.2
Cabernet 2013
75.4% Cabernet, 5.4% Merlot, 19.2% Malbec
$65
Vibrant, bright berries, spices, aged tannin
Rating 4.2 - ready to drink out of the bottle, without decanting
Cabernet 2014
75% Cabernet, 25% Malbec
$65
Dark berries, cooking spices, dances on the palette
Rating 4.5 - very fruit forward, dark berries, and five spice, great with duck
Cabernet 2016
89% Cabernet, 7% Malbec, 4% Merlot
$65
Concentrated fruit, exotic spice, palette wake-up call
Rating 4.5 - enticing nose of spice, leather, oak. fruit forward, smooth and incredible velvety smooth finish
III Nefer Cab (2019) (extended)
100% Cabernet
$125
Dark, rich... take a seat... reward yourself
Rating 4.6 - dark chocolate, tobacco, ultra smooth, dessert like
Obelisco is highly recommended. We love the honest, pure, ripe red fruit from their Red Mountain estate. Again, try the cab vertical and decide which is your favorite! Their cabs are some of the best we've had in Washington, and although the price point at $65 might sound steep, we have found others at this range have paled in comparison. We particularly love the 2016 Cabernet. Of course, the III Nefer is an amazing treat to be able to sample. Finally, their Electrum is absolutely phenomenal, but unfortunately hard to be able to get a sample without being a club member at a release.
