Browne Family house spotlight
Andrew Browne, proprietor, on camera telling the family story behind Browne Family Vineyards, the Washington house that bottles this Tribute red.
The market on this bottle
Wine-Searcher tracks this 2020 Browne Family Vineyards 'Tribute' Columbia Valley across the open market. Their published U.S. low is $18.49 and the average is $42.26. Our slash is $18.00.
2020 Browne Family Vineyards 'Tribute' Columbia Valley, USA
Andrew Browne's Cabernet-led Tribute, sage and graphite over blackberry, James Suckling 92, a 2020 you can open at twenty-four dollars.
The 2020 Tribute is 57 percent Cabernet Sauvignon with 35 percent Merlot, 6 percent Malbec, and 2 percent Cabernet Franc from Columbia Valley: toasted almond, cherry, mocha, sage, and graphite, now $18.
A family-named Washington blend with a Cabernet spine
Tribute is Browne's Cabernet-led Columbia Valley red, built by John Freeman with enough Merlot to drink now and enough Cabernet to hold a steak. James Suckling scored the 2020 92 for dried sage, blackberry, wild raspberry, graphite, and a minerally close. At 13.7 percent alcohol it stays composed. This is the bottle that makes a Tuesday roast feel chosen.
The house
Andrew Browne named the winery for his grandfather, William Bitner Browne, who learned wine in Bordeaux and never treated it as a compromise.
The wine
57% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, 6% Malbec, 2% Cabernet Franc. 13.7% ABV. Firm tannin that rounds with air.
The scores
James Suckling 92: dried herbs, blackberries, wild raspberries, graphite, a savory mineral finish.
The drinker
Sage and cassis first. Decant 30 to 45 minutes. Serve 60 to 64 F. Grilled beef or a salty board.
Dark berries, then sage, coffee, and graphite
James Suckling found dried herbs like sage with blackberries, wild raspberries, and graphite, then a full body, firm tannin, and a minerally savory close. The house sheet adds toasted almond and cherry on the nose, then mocha, black tea, sweet oak, and red cherry with baking spice.
A Washington red year that kept fruit dark and the herbal line clear. Six years in bottle have moved Tribute toward coffee, leather, and sage while the blackberry still leads.
Blackberry, wild raspberry, black cherry, dusty cassis, toasted almond, sage, mocha.
Full, 13.7% ABV, firm chalky tannin that rounds after air, a Cabernet frame under Merlot polish.
Graphite, French-roast coffee, leather, mineral. Decant 30 to 45 minutes. Serve 60 to 64 F.
Cabernet structure, Merlot polish, a little Malbec lift
On the Browne sheet, the 2020 Tribute is 57 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, 35 percent Merlot, 6 percent Malbec, and 2 percent Cabernet Franc. That is why dark fruit leads, the mid-palate stays supple, and sage and graphite carry the finish instead of sweet oak.
John Freeman runs the Washington program from Walla Walla. Fruit comes from Browne's Spring Valley District estate and selected Columbia Valley sites.
At 13.7 percent alcohol the wine is generous without heat. Thirty to 45 minutes of air is for mocha and sage.
A grandfather in Bordeaux, a grandson in Washington
William Bitner Browne studied in Bordeaux and served in France. Andrew Browne put the family name on Washington barrels.
Andrew Browne asked the family, at his grandfather's memorial, to put the Browne name on barrels made in Walla Walla. The first vintage followed in the early 2000s.
Tribute is the house red that carries that name into Columbia Valley fruit: Cabernet for the frame, Merlot for the pour.
The 2020 is that idea after six years in bottle: sage, graphite, and a steak-night close at twenty-four dollars.
Browned edges, salt, and a second pour
Tribute wants grilled beef, mushrooms, and salty snacks. Cabernet tannin wants char. Merlot wants fat.
Two plates. One savory snack board. One grilled tri-tip. Both fit Tribute's sage and graphite.
Decant 30 to 45 minutes. Serve 60 to 64 F. The tannins soften, the cassis brightens.
Savory Snack Pairings
Salty, crunchy bites: cheese, nuts, smoked meat. Tribute's easiest landing.
Why it works: Salt softens tannin while smoked meat, cheese, and mushrooms echo coffee, sage, and dark fruit.
View Recipe for savory snack pairings (opens in a new tab)
Sweet and Spicy Grilled Tri-Tip
Char, spice, and a cut that loves a Cabernet frame. Tribute's dinner plate.
Why it works: Grilled beef fat meets blackberry and mocha. Pepper on the meat echoes the sage close.
View Recipe for Sweet and Spicy Grilled Tri-Tip (opens in a new tab)Put this Tribute in the cart
Andrew Browne's Columbia Valley blend. James Suckling 92. Cabernet, sage, and graphite. Twenty-four dollars.
Put it in the cart. This is the Browne red for a table that wants Washington fruit and a second pour.
