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!