2009 L'Ecole No. 41 Columbia Valley Red Wine

WOO HOO!!!  It's March and you know what that means, it's Washington Wine Month!!!  That time of year when we get to celebrate the wonderful wines of the great state of Washington, from the Puget Sound to the Yakima Valley, from the Columbia Gorge to Walla Walla!  The wonder of Washington is the exquisite climate for growing both Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, which gives rise to some of the greatest Bordeaux style blends produced outside of France today.

Which brings us to tonight's wine, a bottle from one of my favorite producers, and Wine & Spirits Winery of the Year for 2011, L'Ecole No. 41!  The 2009 Columbia Valley Red Wine for those of you familiar, is what used to be know as "Recess Red" and which used to be known before that as "School House Red" which is a blend of select Columbia Valley vineyards.  In 2011, L'Ecole underwent a re-branding exercise and developed a new, more classic label that highlighted the school and presented a more sophisticated look to their wines.  The good news is that despite the new label, the wine is as delicious as ever!

The 2009 Columbia Valley Red is a classic Bordeaux style blend of Merlot (55%), Cabernet Sauvignon (21%), Syrah(13%), Malbec (5%), Petit Verdot (3%) and Cabernet Franc (3%), aged 8 months in French and American oak barrels.  This wine is typically viewed as the everyday, table wine for L'Ecole, and perhaps one of the best values relative to its quality.

The wine itself is a deep ruby color with a nose of oak, licorice, leather and dried herbs.  The taste is well balanced with great fruit character of ripe cherry, blackberry and currant, with a nice earthy spice mid palate, and nice tannins for a pleasant, dry finish.  At every taste, this wine is at once friendly and inviting, yet you still get a strong feeling for the quality that went into the bottle.  The wine would pair well with a wide variety of foods, and it's not pretentious, as I feel it would be at home with a thick juicy burger just as much as with a filet mignon, and in both cases it would complement rather than overpower the food (which would be hard tonight with Thai food!).  Overall I would rate this one a solid 8.5, it's a great, food friendly wine, and at only $18 it's a fraction of what you might expect to pay for similar quality wines.  So let's get started with Washington Wine month!