2016 Corvelia Red Wine

Happy Sunday!  I have to admit it was entirely too hot an humid to do anything outdoors today, so I spent most of the afternoon doing laundry and watching movies, so now it's time to enjoy a nice bottle of wine.  Tonight I've opened a bottle of 2016 Corvelia Red Wine, a red wine blend from Paso Robles that I picked up at Trader Joe's last week.  I am a sucker for packaging, so I freely admit I bought this one because it had a cool bottle and label, so let's see how the wine actually tastes!

Although I have no idea what grapes are in this blend, the wine has a deep, purple and ruby color that's clearly reminiscent of a nice Zinfandel or Cabernet Sauvignon, which wouldn't be surprising for a wine from Paso Robles.  The nose presents aromas of leather, anise, blackberry and cherry.  The taste is a wonderful rush of fruit up front, an interesting combination of ripe blackberry and plum intermingled with tart cherry, which transitions to some spice notes of white pepper and cherry cola midpalate.  The tannins are youthful but well built, providing a nice base for a long, smooth and very dry finish.

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 8, it's a very pleasant, easy drinking wine that was also a nice value for just $11.  This wine would pair well with a broad range of dishes, from steaks and chops to pizza, tacos and barbecue.  But tonight I am enjoying this wine with a rare grilled petite Angus porterhouse over a bed of grilled leeks along with grilled asparagus and mashed potatoes.  Cheers!

2014 Michel-Schlumberger Artist Series Cabernet Sauvignon

Happy Wine Wednesday!  Tonight I've decided to open a nice bottle of 2014 vintage Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon that I think I bought a while ago from Wines Till Sold Out.  The 2014 Michel-Schlumberger Artist Series Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is the second vintage I've tried of this wine (you can see my review of the 2013 vintage here) and I was quite impressed with the first one, so let's see what this one has to offer!

The wine is a deep ruby color in the glass, with great clarity, very old world in style for a Cabernet.  The nose presents aromas of leather, blackberry, cherry and spice, overlaid with some subtle floral notes.  The taste is a bit more elevated than your typical, in your face Napa Cabernet, this one has a rush of ripe black fruit that's not overpowering, overlaid with lingering floral and spice notes of white pepper and smoke.  The tannins are remarkably well structured, providing a nice framework for the long, smooth and very dry finish.

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 9, just as I did the 2013 vintage.  Unlike many Napa Cabernets, this wine isn't just for big steaks, I could see this pairing well with a variety of dishes, from barbecue to burgers to seafood.  But of course, it's me, so I'm enjoying this wine tonight with a rare grilled chuck eye steak over a bed of grilled leeks with grilled asparagus and potato puree with sour cream and chives.  Such a great dinner and wonderful wine, I feel like I need to recline for a bit, cheers!

2013 L'Ecole No. 41 Perigee

Happy Sunday!  I have to admit this has been an odd Sunday, as I started doing laundry, than decided to take a break and go for a bike ride, then went back to chores with cutting the grass, so now I'm ready for a glass of wine and some dinner.  Tonight I've decided to open a bottle of one of my favorite Bordeaux style blends from one of my favorite Walla Walla wineries, the 2013 Perigee from L'Ecole No. 41!  This vintage is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (50%), Merlot (20%), Cabernet Franc (15%), Malbec (9%), and Petit Verdot (6%), from the Seven Hills Vineyard in the Walla Walla Valley AVA.  So let's see how it tastes!

The wine is a lovely deep ruby color in the glass, just as you'd expect for a blend so heavy on Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.  The nose presents lovely ripe red fruit cherry, currant and plum intermingles with some light floral notes and a hint of cedar and mint.  The taste is a rush of ripe red fruits that expresses the wonderful terroir of the Seven Hills Vineyard.  The cherry, raspberry and current transition elegantly to some wonderful notes of dark chocolate and mocha midpalate.  The chalky tannins are the ideal foundation for the long, elegant and very dry finish that just beckons you to take another sip.

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 9, as it's a premier example of the wonderful blends from the Walla Walla Valley.  This wine would pair well with a broad range of dishes, or simply sipping on the patio on a summer afternoon.  Tonight, I am enjoying this wine with a rare prime New York strip, oven roasted fingerling potatoes and grilled asparagus.  This wine is perfect with a really good steak, Cheers!

2016 Tall Dark Stranger Malbec

Well, this afternoon I was at the supermarket and I happened upon this wine, the 2016 Tall Dark Stranger Malbec, and it had such an interesting bottle, and it was on sale for $10, so I figured why not bring home a tall dark stranger for dinner?  I figured even though I'm probably not the exact demographic these wines are targeting, how could you really go wrong with a Malbec from Mendoza Argentina?  In any case, let's see how this wine tastes.

The wine is a bit lighter in color than many of the Argentine Malbecs I'm used to, not the dark brooding color that's so typical (perhaps this should have been a tall light stranger?).  The nose presents aromas of green grass, black cherry and violets, with just a hint of white pepper.  The taste is very fruit forward, with tart cherry, blackberry and blueberry that transitions to a bit of roast meat and green olive midpalate.  The tannins are young and tightly wound, providing for a sharp but very dry finish.

Overall, I would rate this wine a 7.5, as it's a decent drinking Malbec and not overpriced at $10.  This wine would pair well with just about anything a gaucho would eat in Mendoza, and tonight I am enjoying this wine with a new cut of steak I recently discovered from my butcher, the chuck eye steak.  This cut is from the area right between the ribeye and the chuck, making it what many call, "the poor man's ribeye."  The nice part is that it typically well marbled and very flavorful for a steak that routinely sells for $5-7 a pound.  Tonight, I've grilled the Angus chuck eye rare on a bed of grilled leeks along with grilled broccoli rabe and a baked potato with sour cream and scallions.  Cheers!

2015 Forgeron Facon Rouge

Well, it's been a very busy day, so much so that I've hardly had a chance to think about dinner or what wine to open tonight.  Thankfully, August is another Washington Wine Month, so that gave me some ideas, and then when looking for what to cook, I settled on a bottle of 2015 Forgeron Facon Rouge, a wonderful GSM blend from the Columbia Valley.  This latest vintage is a blend of Syrah (58%), Mourvedre (31%) and Grenache Noir (11%), blended with the French perspective from years of experience by Marie-Eve Gilla.  So let's see how this one tastes!

The wine is a bit darker than your typical GSM blend, a credit to the heavy hand of Syrah and Grenache Noir in the blend.  The nose presents aromas of ripe black fruit, blackberry, plum and currant, intermingled with earthy notes of green grass.  The taste is a rush of ripe black fruit up front that gives way to some wonderful earth and floral notes along with some mocha and dark chocolate midpalate, layered with just a hint of smoke.  The tannins are nicely structured, providing the backbone for a long and luxurious dry finish.

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 8.5, it's a wonderful blend that's a bit heartier than your typical GSM blend, which makes it ideal for big Cabernet fans like me.  This wine would pair well with a broad array of dishes, from steaks and roasts, to wild game, to seafood.  Tonight I am enjoying this wine with an oven roasted dover sole along with sweet potato hash and steamed asparagus.  Cheers!

2008 Domus Vitae Rosso di Montalcino

Ok, I know it's Sunday and not Cellar Saturday, but since I wasn't feeling well on the first Saturday of the month, I put it off until today and am making up for it since I needed to find a nice Italian wine to drink with dinner (more on that later) and I happened to find a bottle of 2008 Domus Vitae Rosso di Montalcino in the cellar.  For those unfamiliar, the Rosso is the baby brother of Brunello di Montalcino, arguably the best wine Tuscany or even all of Italy can offer.  Like its big brother, the Rosso di Montalcino is all Sangiovese from Montalcino but it is only required to be aged six months in oak barrels and one year in total before releases, compare to the three years in oak and releases a little over four years after harvest.  So let's see what this baby has to offer!

The wine is a lighter garnet color with a hint of amber along the edges.  The nose is somewhat austere, with some notes of cherry and red currant that take a back seat to aromas of dusty limestone, lavender and dried herbs.  The taste is classic Sangiovese, with some lovely ripe red fruit notes up front, cherry, strawberry and cassis that transitions to some hints of tobacco and spice box midpalate.  The tannins are very well structured, providing for a long, smooth and very dry finish.

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 8, as it's drinking wonderfully, but likely would have been just as good 5 year ago!  Tonight I am enjoying this wine with a classic Midwestern dish my mom used to make, but with an Italian twist, Swiss Steak!  Yes, I bought a Swiss steak at the market last week, harvested from a cow from the local 4-H fair, seared that with some aromatics, then simmered with a couple cans of San Marzano tomatoes and served with creamy polenta.  Cheers!

2015 Chateau Grand Lacaze Medoc

Happy Saturday!  I have to admit I didn't get very much done today, I had so many wonderful plans to work in the yard and get some chores done around the house, and then I decided to sleep in and the rest is history (or anti-history since it never happened!).  But at least I'm now ready for dinner and a wonderful bottle of wine, and tonight's treat is a bottle of Bordeaux that I recently picked up at Costco.  I will admit when I first went to France in 1995, I really took a liking to Haut Medoc, but I suppose in a pinch, a regular Medoc will do, so tonight it's the 2015 Chateau Grand Lacaze Medoc, a wonderful left bank blend of Merlot (50%) and Cabernet Sauvignon (50%).  So let's see how this one tastes!

The wine is a deep ruby color in the glass, with nice clarity.  The nose is so Bordeaux-y, with wonderful earthy notes of leather, basalt, ripe red fruit, and the faintest hint of funk.  The taste is wonderfully earthy, with a rush of earthy peat intermingled with red currant, cherry and plum that transitions nicely to some notes of graphite and olive tapenade midpalate.  The tannins are still youthful, but nicely structured for the long, smooth and very dry finish, just as you'd expect from a nice Bordeaux.

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 8, it's a pleasant drinking table wine today that will likely improve a bit with a few years in the cellar.  This wine was also a terrific value at less than $10, making it an ideal everyday wine.  This wine would pair well with a variety of dishes from grilled fish to roast pork tenderloin to steak.  Tonight I am enjoying this wine with an appetizer of stuffed artichoke along with a rare grilled prime New York strip, sweet potato hash and steamed sugar snap peas.  Cheers!

2016 Robert Mondavi Private Selection Bourbon Barrel Aged Cabernet Sauvignon

Happy Wine Wednesday!  Tonight I've opened a bottle of Cabernet that I recently picked up at Trader Joe's, a wine from a familiar producer that is getting into the latest hip trend, aging Cabernet Sauvignon in bourbon barrels!  The 2016 Robert Mondavi Private Selection Bourbon Barrel Aged Cabernet Sauvignon is produced from Mendocino County fruit, a portion of which is set aside to age in new and used bourbon barrels, to provide some of the same flavors of oak, vanilla and spice that makes people just love bourbon (I tasted another one I really liked back in June which you can see here).  Now, this could be a future wine club selection for my friends, so let's see how this one tastes.

The wine is a deep, inky purple color at the center, with bright garnet along the edges, just as you'd expect from a nice Cabernet.  The nose is a wonderful combination of oak, leather, vanilla, spice box and a hint of green grass that just makes me think of sitting in an old library.  The taste is refreshingly fruit forward, with notes of cherry, blackberry and cassis with intermingled hints of vanilla bean and oak.  Midpalate, we have some additional notes of caramel and mocha with just a hint of tobacco.  The chewy tannins provide the base for a long, smooth and very dry finish that seems to last until you take your next sip. 

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 8.5, I don't like it as much as the last bourbon barrel aged Cabernet I tried, but that one was a year older, so this one might develop a bit more over the next year.  The wine is also a solid value, as I found this one at Trader Joe's for about $15.  This wine would be outstanding just sipping over conversation with friends or family, or it could be great with a nice steak or barbecue.   Tonight, I am enjoying this wine with a rare frilled prime New York strip over a bed of grilled leeks, with some oven roasted fingerling potatoes and some grilled asparagus.  Cheers!

2014 Seven Hills Ciel du Cheval

Happy Wine Wednesday!  I just returned from the gym and am rewarding myself with a nice glass of wine and some dinner of course.  Tonight I've decided to dig into the cellar as I had a bottle of the 2015 vintage in the dining room, but realized I haven't yet tried the 2014 Seven Hills Ciel du Cheval red wine, so tonight is the night!  This is a wonderful Bordeaux style blend from fruit grown in the Ciel du Cheval Vineyard in the Red Mountain AVA.  The 2014 vintage is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (46%), Merlot (30%), Petit Verdot (17%) and Cabernet Franc (7%).  So let's see how this vintage tastes!

The wine is a deep, inky black color at the center with bright ruby along the edges, classic for a Cabernet-centric blend.  The nose is wonderfully layered combination of blackberry, white floral and earth that just expresses the vineyard.  The taste is complex and beautifully structured, with layer upon layer of flavor building up to a crescendo, ripe blackberry and plum build into notes of dark chocolate and tobacco which layer on top of earthy notes of dusty limestone and oak.  The chewy tannins provide the perfect backbone for the long, lush and very dry finish that seems to last a minute or more.

Overall, I would rate this wine an easy 9, as it surpasses the 2013 vintage, and is arguably my favorite since the 2009 and 2010 vintages.  This wine would be perfect with nice big steaks, chops, roasts, hearty Italian dishes or wonderful wild salmon.  Tonight I am enjoying this wine with a rare grilled Angus New York strip on a bed of baby arugula along with some fresh grilled local corn on the cob.  Cheers!