2017 Bledsoe Family Wine

Happy New Year!  I can't believe the teens are almost over and we will soon be in the roaring 20s, but at least for now we will enjoy 2019, which of course will mean plenty more wine and food to enjoy.  Tonight being a holiday and a rather subdued one at my house, I thought I'd open a bottle of 2017 Bledsoe Family wine to enjoy with dinner tonight.  This wine is quite interesting as it is a blend of many of the same grapes used for the the high-end Doubleback Cabernet, including Cabernet, Malbec and Merlot from the Healy and McQueen Vineyards in the Walla Walla Valley.  This wine comes in very cool 1L bottles that make this a crowd favorite.

This vintage is still quite young as it was released a bit early (the 2016 vintage was released in the spring of 2018, but this wine was just released several weeks ago).  The wine is a deep ruby color in the glass, characteristic of the heavy Cabernet influence.  The nose is soft, with elegant fruit aromas intermingled with earthy notes of leather and a hint of lavender.  The taste is a rush of soft, ripe fruit, raspberry, cherry and black currant that transitions nicely to some white pepper spice midpalate, before kicking it back to a reprise of some floral notes just ahead of the finish.  The tannins are still a bit tight, but well integrated for the long, but somewhat sharp and dry finish.

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 8.5, as it's a very nice everyday drinking red wine from a quality producer.  This wine would pair well with a broad range of foods, from steaks and chops to barbecue and pizza.  But since New Year's falls on Taco Tuesday, I am enjoying this wine with some bean and chorizo tacos with all the trimmings.  Cheers!