2014 L'Ecole No. 41 Candy Mountain Red Wine

Happy last day of 2017!  It was certainly a very good year, and why not end it with a nice bottle of Washington wine?  Tonight's selection is one from one of my favorite producers in Walla Walla, L'Ecole No. 41, the 2014 Candy Mountain Red Wine.  This wine is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (50%) and Merlot (50%) grown in the Candy Mountain Vineyard in the Columbia Valley AVA.  Candy Mountain is just south of Red Mountain, so it share some of the generally warmer climate and resulting complexity of fruit.  I recall really enjoying this wine when I tasted at the winery in Walla Walla back in August, so let's see how it "officially" tastes!

The wine is a nice garnet color in the glass, with great clarity, seemingly of a little lighter body than a typical Cabernet.  The nose is chock full of ripe black fruit, blackberries, currant and cherry with overtones of leather and black pepper spice.  The taste is a marked departure from what your brain suggests should be the taste based on the aromas, it's a rush of wonderful ripe cherry and currant with no hint of pepper.  The taste transitions nicely to some cherry cola, mocha and earthy mineral notes midpalate before the well structured tannins set up the long, smooth and exceptionally dry finish.

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 8.5, it's just a lovely drinking wine that I think is quite versatile, pairing with a wide variety of dishes, or just sipping during the evening.  Tonight I am enjoying this wine with a sesame crusted tuna filet topped with sriracha mayo, basmati rice and steamed broccoli.  This wine would be great with steak, but it's really nice with the steak of the sea!  Cheers and here's to a fantastic 2018!