All right! I am ending Washington wine month with a bang! Tonight I am enjoying a bottle of wine from one of my absolute favorite winemakers, L'Ecole No. 41, this being the 2008 Seven Hills Estate Merlot. I recently ordered half a case of this wine with the idea of cellaring a few bottles for a few years, as I expect this one will age well, but what's the fun in that? I at least have to try a bottle!
This vintage is a blend of 80% Merlot along with 10% each of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc to provide a little something extra. The wine is a bright garnet in the glass and exhibits a nose of cedar, leather, red currant and the faintest hint of ginger spice. The aromas just give you a sense that you're about to experience something wonderful and rich. The fruit is wonderfully balanced with a layered taste of rich black cherry, blackberry and plum, with a wonderful mineral flavor that strikes you like a breath of fresh fall air on a hillside in Walla Walla. The tannins are not overbearing, but rather are quite complimentary of the red fruit, allowing for a long, smooth finish.
Overall, this wine is still very young and likely to evolve over the next decade, but still I would give this one a solid 8.5, with potential to go much higher. The wine is not cheap by any means, but I bought it for about $30, and it certainly compares to many Napa wines selling for quite a bit more. As for pairings, I think it would go quite well with a nice grilled ribeye, but tonight I am enjoying it with some panko breaded chile lime chicken breast with black beans and rice, as I think it would balance the spicy citrus of the chicken quite well. So I hope you enjoyed Washington Wine Month, it's always a fun time for me, but now we'll have to see where my thirst takes us next!
No comments:
Post a Comment