2011 Maison Bleue "Le Midi" Boushey Vineyard Grenache

You know, it's been a while since I reviewed the previous vintage of this wine, so I thought it might be time to try the 2011 Maison Bleue "Le Midi" Boushey Vineyard Grenache (you can see my review of the 2010 vintage here).  I am a fan of Maison Bleue and a big fan of this Grenache, so let's see how I like this one!

The wine is a beautiful bright ruby color in the glass, with great clarity, like looking at a glass of pure gemstone.  The nose is brilliant, with aromas of leather, tart cherry, green herbs and a hint of blackberry.  The taste is just lovely, with a blast of ripe berries, blackberry, raspberry and a bit of plum that transitions effortlessly to some notes of tart cherry and smoke midpalate.  The finish is sublime, with well structured tannins supporting a long, voluptuous and very dry finish, just as you would expect as the varietal fully expresses itself.

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 9, so yes, I am still a very big fan!  This wine would go very well with a variety of hearty winter stews, grilled meats or roasts, but I've decided to take a different path this evening.  Tonight I'm enjoying this wine with some pan seared seas scallops served over a bed of baby arugula dressed in aged white balsamic along with some wild mushroom risotto.  The wine plays such a great foil to the richness of the scallops and the earthiness of the mushrooms, it could not be a better choice tonight.  Cheers!

2013 Seven Hills Ciel du Cheval

Well, I'm off work this week for vacation, so you might see a few more blog posts than normal this week.  Tonight I am enjoying a bottle of 2013 Seven Hills Ciel du Cheval, their 13th vintage of this wonderful red blend from the Ciel du Cheval vineyard on Red Mountain.  This wine is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (42%), Merlot (30%), Petit Verdot (14%) and Cabernet Franc (14%).  What makes this is bit different is that the wine is blended early and then placed back in the barrel to age another 18 months before release, providing a real taste of the Red Mountain terroir.

The wine is a deep purple in the glass, with highlights of garnet along the edges.  The nose presents aromas of leather, blackberry, black pepper and a hint of smoke.  The taste is surprisingly well developed for such a young wine, with subdued fruit up front that seems to come alive with blackberry jam and caramelized plum, that transition effortlessly to notes of dusty limestone and toasted oak midpalate.  The tannins are a bit chewy given their youth, but still provide a nice base for the long, smooth and exceptionally dry finish.

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 8.5, with much room to develop over the coming decade.  This is a wine that begs to be paired with a nice steak, so I've obliged tonight as I'm enjoying this with a nice rare grilled Angus bone-in ribeye, mashed sweet potatoes and steamed broccoli.  The wine stands up to the steak just fine, but there's something magical about the ripe black fruit combined with mashed sweet potatoes!  Cheers!

2007 Cliff Creek Cellars Syrah

Happy Sunday!  I was looking for a bottle of wine to open for dinner and was surprised to find a bottle from a producer I met at the Portland airport while there on business in April 2014 (you can see that post here: 2009 Cliff Cree Cellars Merlot).  They are an interesting small producer located in Southern Oregon, in the town of Gold Hill.  At the time I really loved the Merlot, but apparently didn't think the Syrah was too bad either, hence I'm enjoying the 2007 Cliff Creek Cellars Syrah with my Sunday dinner!

The wine is a beautiful ruby color in the glass with nice clarity.  The nose presents earthy aromas of leather, musty peat and oak over layers of lush berries and plum with just a hint of smoke.  The taste is quite nice, with some initial ripe black fruit that gives way to some eucalyptus and baking spice midpalate.  The finish is very smooth, with a reprise of some berries intermingled with toasted oak, as the well developed tannins support the long, dry finish.

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 7.5, as it's very nice, but not as nice as the stellar Merlot (I really need to find that other bottle I brought back!).  This wine would be good with a variety of rustic winter dishes, but tonight I'm pairing it with a classic holiday Sunday dinner or roasted chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy and classic green bean casserole.  Cheers!

2012 DaMa Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

My Christmas break has officially begun as I'm now off work until January 4, so get excited for new posts, some of which may be in the middle of the afternoon...you never know!  Tonight as I have my last pre-holiday dinner, I've decided to open a bottle of 2012 DaMa Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, my first taste since the 2009 vintage (though I still have a bottle of 2011).

The wine is a deep ruby color with nice clarity.  The nose presents aromas of blackberry, cassis, fresh cut grass and a bit of tar.  The taste is quote nice, with a blast of cherry cola up front that transitions to some lovely earthy notes of dusty limestone and white pepper midpalate.  The tannins are somewhat soft, providing a nice base for the long, dry and voluptuous finish that practically dares you to take another sip.

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 8.5, it's drinking very nicely now but will likely improve a bit with some time in the bottle.  Tonight I am enjoying this wine with National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, one of my all time favorite Christmas movies.  Of course I'm also having a nice Kansas City cut bone-in New York Strip, baked potato and some steamed broccoli, but this wine would go well with almost any steak.  Cheers!

2012 Forgeron Mourvedre

Happy Tuesday!  I have been winding down at work, one more day until I'm finished for 2015!  In the meantime, I thought I'd open another bottle of my Forgeron wine club shipment, this time it's the 2012 Mourvedre from the Heart Vineyard in the Red Mountain AVA.  I have seldom found a nice pure bottle of this varietal as it's usually blended as the minor partner of any of a number of GSM blends.  So here goes nothing!

The wine is a deep ruby color in the glass with nice clarity.  The nose presents some aromas of tart cherry, black pepper, sage and a hint of rosemary, a very rustic feel.  The taste is warm and appealing, with lovely flavors of ripe berries up front, boysenberry, blackberry and currant that transition to some notes of rustic spices, anise, white pepper and clove.  The finish is quite pleasant, with smooth tannins and a reprise of black fruit embellishing the long, dry finish.

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 8.5, it's just a very pleasant drinking wine that also seems to be very food friendly.  I would enjoy this wine with a lot of rustic dishes, hearty stews, pastas and pot au feu, but tonight I am going the unconventional route and pairing this wine with a sesame seared tuna steak with wild rice and steamed asparagus.  There's something about fusing Asian inspired flavors with a southern Rhone varietal.  Sante!

2011 Forgeron Red Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon

Happy Friday!  I've been running ragged trying to get all the food ready for my annual Christmas Party tomorrow evening, so I've barely had time to even think about what wines to serve tomorrow let alone what I should open this evening, so I'll make it easy and open a nice Washington red.  Tonight it's the 2011 Forgeron Red Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon, a limited production wine from a cool vintage.

The wine is a deep, inky black at the center, with bright ruby along the edges.  The nose exhibits notes of blackberry, cherry, leather and a hint of eucalyptus.  The taste evokes some lovely flavors of cherry cola up front that evolves into some lovely mineral notes of dusty limestone, smoke and dark chocolate midpalate.  The finish is quite nice, as the sturdy tannins provide a nice foundation for the long, smooth, and exceptionally dry finish.

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 9, as it's just a great example of a fine Washington Cabernet.  Tonight I am enjoying this wine with a classic pairing of a rare grilled Angus New York Strip, baked potato and grilled asparagus.  It might pair well with a variety of hearty winter dishes, but to me, this wine just begs to be served with a nice steak.  Salut!

2012 Beringer Knights Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

Welcome back!  Yeah, I know it's been a while, but this has been a crazy month.  Usually I have to travel a lot for work in the first half of December, but this time I had the surprise of not one but two funerals to go to as well, so in between Louisville, Cincinnati, New York and Boston I had to somehow fit funerals in Chicago and Tulsa into the mix!  So given that I wasn't even home once for the first ten days of the month, I hope you can forgive the dearth of blog posts!  But now I'm home, the house is decorated for Christmas and I am ready to end my weekend with a glass of wine.  Tonight it's the 2012 Beringer Knight's Valley Cabernet Sauvignon that I picked up at my local market a few weeks ago.

The wine is a deep ruby color, with an almost inky center, ideal for a nice Cabernet.  The nose expresses some lovely notes of blackberry and leather with a good bit of earthy mineral notes.  The taste is a rush of black fruit at the outset that transitions to some earthy mineral notes of basalt and dusty limestone midpalate.  The finish presents a reprise of blackberry as the young, yet tame tannins provide the backdrop for the long, smooth and very dry finish.

My house all decorated for Christmas!

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 8.5, it's a very nice Cabernet and it was a good value on sale for around $20.  Tonight I am relaxing after working hard all day, enjoying this wine with a classic pairing of a rare grilled steak, steamed white asparagus and a big baked potato.  Cheers!