Do you know what day it is? Do you...know what day it is? That's right, it's hump day, and for me it was an exceedingly long hump day as I didn't leave the office until nearly 7 pm, and although I was supposed to go to the gym tonight, I was just too tired, so I decided to make it a wine Wednesday instead! And tonight's wine is one that just arrived from Wines Till Sold Out today, the 2012 Encantado Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, a cabernet blend from several select blocks in Napa produced by Pine Ridge Vineyards in a 200-acre estate that spans five appellations: Stags Leap, Rutherford, Oakville, Carneros and Howell Mountain.
The wine is a deep, inky purple color in the glass edging toward some lighter ruby. The nose is rather oak laden with a hint of green cedar, with some dark fruit notes mixed in. The taste is really quite nice, with a veritable explosion of dark, jammy fruit up front, plum, blackberries and a hint of cocoa that transitions nicely to some dusty limestone midpalate. The tannins are remarkably mellow for such a young wine, and the velvety, rounded mouthfeel makes for a long, dry and quite pleasant finish.
Overall I would rate this wine a solid 8 with room to improve with age, and best of all it was an absolutely spectacular bargain at just $19! Tonight I am pairing this with a rather low maintenance dinner of heirloom tomato and basil ravioli with some creamy pesto sauce (I highly recommend the
Three Bridges Refrigerated Pasta for quick, easy but delicious midweek meals where you really don't feel like cooking, like wine Wednesday!
The Encantado line of Pine Ridge wine is excellent
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