2010 Reininger Carmenere

Tonight I'm exhausted, after doing chores around the house all day, including chipping a couple inches of ice from my driveway, so I guess that means I should open a bottle of wine!  And so I will, how about a bottle of 2010 Reininger Carmenere from the Seven Hills Vineyard?  Glad you agreed, since that's what I opened, as nothing helps to relax me like a nice bottle of Washington red wine from Walla Walla, and this one just arrived a week ago.

This wine is a deep, inky purple color in the glass, leading to some bright ruby along the edges.  The nose is just wonderful, with rich notes of blackberry, anise and white peppercorns accenting some lovely leather and earthy notes of limestone and fresh herbs.  The flavors are wonderful, with some lovely fruit and spice notes intermingling at the outset that effortlessly transition to some cherry cola, Asian spice and dusty limestone midpalate.  The finish is quite lovely with soft tannins that breathe great life into a smooth, dark and brooding finish that just begs you to take another sip.

Overall I would rate this wine a solid 8, as it's just a wonderfully complex example of this great varietal that just keeps me intrigued with each new vintage.  Tonight I'm enjoying this wine with some bay scallops with fennel and tomatoes tossed with linguine, a new recipe I found on epicurious and it's delicious!  The lovely fruit of the wine makes a great counter balance to the richness of the scallops, cheers!