2016 Pepper Bridge Cabernet Sauvignon

Well, it's the last day of Washington Wine Month, so let's go out with a bang!  Tonight I've decided to open a bottle of my recent wine club shipment from Pepper Bridge Winery, the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon (come to think of it, I'm not sure I've even opened the 2015 vintage yet!).  This wine is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (78%), Merlot (9%), Malbec (6%), Cabernet Franc (4%) and Petit Verdot (3%) all sourced from the Seven Hills, Octave, Pepper Bridge and Yellow Jacket Vineyards in the Walla Walla Valley.  The 2016 Vintage was interesting in that it started out very warm, with early bud break, but then shifted to cooler weather in the second half of summer, making for some classic Walla Walla wines.  So let's see how this one fares!

The wine is dark and brooding at the center, with bright ruby along the edges.  The nose is somewhat cool, with faint aromas of blackberry and blueberry intermingled with subtle notes of leather.  The taste is a rush of cherry, blackberry and cola that eases into some white pepper spice notes midpalate.  The velvety mouthfeel creates a full and lingering finish, with fine tannins providing a lingering, and very dry finish.

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 8.5, as it's just a classic Walla Walla Cabernet from a somewhat cooler vintage.  This wine would pair well with a variety of dishes, from steaks and chops, to pasta and barbecue.  Tonight I am enjoying this wine with a rare grilled prime petite filet mignon, with a baked potato and some bacon roasted asparagus.  The wine is such a good friend of a delicious steak, cheers!

2015 DaMa Wines Walla Walla Cabernet Franc

Well, I have to admit I'm still not at 100% in recovering from my eye surgery, so my blog has suffered a bit.  Hopefully we can remedy that with some good wine and food, and tonight it's a bottle of 2015 DaMa Wines Walla Walla Cabernet Franc, which I received a couple months ago in my wine club shipment.  This is DaMa's first ever 100% Cabernet Franc with fruit sourced from the XL Vineyard (a fantastic vineyard for this varietal).  I let the wine breathe for a couple hours, so hopefully it's opened up a bit, so let's see how the premier tastes!

The wine is like a star in a beautiful garnet gown strolling down the red carpet at a premier, perfumed with hints or rose petals, blackberry and cherry with but a whiff of pipe tobacco as she passes.  At once, she tastes of earthy commonality and airy sophistication, a swift taste of ripe berry that evaporates only to be imbued with lofty floral notes of violets and star anise that bring you to a point of exhilaration.  And once again, you are brought back to earth, with smooth and vibrantly structured tannins that support the long, smooth dry finish.

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 9, as it's just a star for the varietal and the vineyard (the Reininger Cabernet Franc I fell in love with at last year's Reveal auction was also from the XL Vineyard).  This wine would pair best with warm friends enjoying a relaxing evening, but if you'd like to know what I'm eating tonight, I'm enjoying this wine with an alder planked steelhead filet with some couscous tossed with some golden beets that I oven roasted with some fat from some Bill-E's small batch artisan bacon from Alabama and some steamed sugar snap peas.  Cheers!

2016 Seven Hills Reserve Red Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon

Happy Saturday! It’s been a long week, and now that weekend is here it’s time to enjoy a nice bottle of Washington wine, after all it is Washington wine month!  Tonight I’ve decided to open a bottle of 2016 Seven Hills Reserve Red Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon. This was a recent wine club shipment for me and although I think it probably needs a few more years in the cellar, I decided to open up a bottle. Out of the 29 Cabernet vintages that Seven Hills has produced, this is just the 11th vintage of reserve Cabernet, highlighting how selective Casey McClellan is in a producing reserve wines. This wine is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from the Klipsun and Artz Vineyards in the Red Mountain AVA of Washington. So let’s see how this one tastes!

The wine is a deep inky black in the glass with bright Garnet along the edges. The nose presents wonderful aromas of dusty limestone, black cherry, fig and oak. The taste is a wonderful rush of ripe black fruit, cherry, blackberry and cassis that transitions effortlessly to some earthy notes of dusty limestone, leather and anise mid-palate, leading to a reprise of fruit on the finish. Fine grained tannins are a wonderful foundation for the long, smooth and exceptionally dry finish that last seems to last minute or more.  This wine has some remarkable structure and depth that make it a pleasure to sip.

Overall I would rate this one a solid 9 as it drinking fabulously now, however I believe it will certainly improve with a few years in the cellar.  This wine would pair well with a variety of dishes from hearty steaks and chops to pasta and a variety of Mediterranean dishes.  Of course, tonight I’m enjoying this wine with a New York strip grilled Pittsburgh rare, some oven-roasted Brussels sprouts with bacon and a baked potato with sour cream and scallions. The wonderful fruit in this wine really makes a great pairing with the with the hearty grilled steak. Cheers!

2018 Healy Rose

Happy Wine Wednesday! I know it’s a little early, but winter has been really harsh and I’m really in the mood for summer, if not spring, so why not open a bottle of rose and just pretend it’s summer? Tonight I’ve open the bottle of 2018 Healy Rose from Drew Bledsoe‘s Family winery in Walla Walla. This one has become a favorite rose for me and I’m excited to try this new vintage that just arrived this week from my wine club shipment. This wine is a proprietary blend from the Kenny Hill, Mill Creek, Los Oidos and McQueen Vineyards in the Walla Walla Valley of Washington.  So let’s see how it tastes!

The wine is a pale peach color in the glass, perfect for summer gatherings on the patio. The nose presents pleasant aromas of strawberry, melon, peach and a hint of citrus. The taste is just a rush of summer fruit, citrus, strawberries and melon intermingled with some sharp mineral notes. These wonderful flavors and aroma are combined in a crisp, dry finish that just makes me want to sit out on a warm summer night on the patio.

Overall I would rate this wine a solid 8.5, as it’s just an ideal summer rose, very dry very crisp and a perfect representative of Washington rose. This one would pair well with so many summer dishes from grilled burgers and salads, to barbecued ribs, to steaks and chops -  truly a versatile wine. Tonight I’m enjoying this wine with a grilled jerk chicken breast along with some black beans and yellow rice a perfect midweek dinner with a fresh glass of rose. Cheers!

2016 Reininger Walla Walla Carmenere

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! This is one of those tough wine pairing holidays as I always have trouble trying to figure out what wine to pair with corn beef and cabbage.  So I guess the cats out of the bag and that’s what I’m having for dinner tonight, so don’t rush to the last paragraph to see what I’m eating! As for what to pair with a challenging dish like corned beef and cabbage tonight I’ve decided on the 2016 Reininger Carmenere. This wine is 100% Carmenere from the Seven Hills Vineyard in the Walla Walla Valley AVA of Washington. So let’s see how this wine tastes.

The wine is a deep inky indigo color of the center with bright Garnet along the edges. The nose presents a variety of fresh floral notes of violet as well as some sharp notes of smoke, leather, savory herbs and a bit of "twang." The taste is classic Reininger Carmenere with the rush of black fruit up front the transitions nicely and just some notes of earth, peat and savory herbs that transitions to some white pepper spice midpalate. The tannins are smooth and expertly integrated, providing a great base for the long smooth and very dry finish.

Overall I would rate this wind a solid 8.5 as it is really great example but just not quite as good as the 2015 vintage (you can see that review here). This wine would pair well with a wide variety of dishes, from pizza and burgers to steaks, chops and barbecue ribs.  But of course tonight I am pairing this wine with classic St. Patrick’s Day dinner of corned beef and cabbage, along with some red potatoes, carrots and soda bread. The spice and fruit in this wine pair really well with such a salty dish. Cheers!

2015 Manu Propria Ex Animo

First let me say it’s been a couple weeks since I last posted and that’s because I had eye surgery to address a vitreous hemorrhage.  Now this eye surgery prevented me from looking at screens, or reading or watching television, or doing a lot of the normal everyday things that we're used to, including publishing blog posts. So with that out of the way, I am back officially or at least partially since I’m limited to about two hours a day of screen time in total, in 30-minute increments. So tonight I’ve decided to open a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon from a new producer that came to me from Mark Ryan Winery. the 2015 Manu Propria Ex Animo Cabernet Sauvignon. This wine is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (89%), Merlot (7%) and Cabernet Franc (4%) from the Red Willow vineyard in the Yakima Valley AVA of Washington. So let’s see how this wine tastes.

The wine has a deep inky purple color in the glass, classic for Cabernet. The wine has wonderful earthy aromas of smoke, leather and peat that beckon you to take a sip. The taste is a rush of warm ripe fruit blackberries, blueberries and cherries at the outset that gives way to some mellow earthy notes midpalate.  The tannins are wonderfully structured and well integrated providing nice foundation for a smooth, warm and exceptionally dry finish.

Overall I would wake this wine a solid 9 as it seems to be a really great example of the quality Cabernet that’s coming from Yakima valley AVA.  This wine would pair exceptionally well with a variety of big beefy dinners like a nice big steak or roast lamb chops or even some wonderful Italian dishes. Tonight, I am enjoying this wine with a big thick prime sirloin steak grilled rare, along with some bacon roasted asparagus and a big baked potato with sour cream and scallions.  Cheers!