2014 Helix Stone Tree SoRho

Happy Friday!  It's amazing how fast the time goes by, it seems like only weeks ago it was summer and now it's fall, with changing colors on the leaves and crisp air...wait a minute it was only weeks ago that it was summer!  Tell me again what's so tricky about this time passing thing?  Anyway, I woke up this morning to a seasonable 39 degrees and thought, man I need to start eating more hearty dinners or perhaps I'll soon need to turn the furnace on, but in any case I've decided to open a bottle of wine I received in a wine club shipment last week from one of my favorite Washington Wineries, Reininger!  In this case I've opened a bottle of 2014 Helix SoRho, a Southern Rhone style blend of Mourvedre (51%), Cinsault (29%) and Grenache (20%) from the Stone Tree Vineyard in the Wahluke Slope AVA of Washington.

The wine is a touch darker than what is common for Rhone style blends.  The nose presents aromas of blueberries, raspberries and lavender.  The flavors are quite nice, with a soft burst of red berry fruit up front, that transitions nicely to some strawberry compote and mineral notes midpalate.  The tannins are somewhat soft, but they balance the more modest acidity of the fruit to set up the long, smooth and very dry finish.

Overall, I'd rate this wine a solid 8.5, as I think I like this one better than past vintages, with a much better balance of fruit and acidity to make this a pleasant sipping wine.  Tonight I am enjoying this wine with a classic Chicago Polish dinner of kielbasa, sweet kraut and sauteed pierogis with onions and sour cream.  The wine really complements the richness of the sausage and the acidity of the kraut.  Cheers!