2015 Peaks & Tides Cabernet Sauvignon

Well, it's been a busy week and it doesn't look like next week will be much better, so I guess I'll have to enjoy whatever downtime I can get on the weekend!  I think for the weekend, I'll only open gift wines from the holidays, and tonight's wine was a Christmas gift from a friend of mine in Michigan, the 2015 Peaks & Tides Sonoma Cabernet Sauvignon.  So let's see what this wine has to offer!

The wine is an inky consistency at the center, with bright garnet along the edges, just as you'd expect from a nice California Cabernet.  The nose is presents a nice array of black fruit, blackberry, plum and cherry intermingled with a bit of oak and just a hint if lilac.  The taste is wonderfully fruit forward, with a rush of black cherry, plum and cassis that yields to some notes of anise and black pepper spice midpalate.  The tannins are smooth, despite their youth, setting of the wonderfully long and smooth dry finish.

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 8, as it's a nice Cabernet that I could easily see being an everyday red wine.  This wine would pair well with a variety of dishes, from steaks and chops to pasta and pizza, but tonight I am enjoying this wine with a Thai spiced New York strip grilled rare in my cast iron skillet (I wimped out on outdoor grilling as it's been snowing all afternoon!), along with sauteed Brussels sprouts and a big baked potato.  Cheers!