2014 Mark Ryan Lost Soul Syrah

Happy New Year!  Okay, maybe I jumped the gun by a few hours, but given my track record over the past few New Year's Eves, I will be lucky if I'm not asleep by 10 pm tonight, so enjoy my well wishes a bit early.  Tonight I've decided to make a special dinner since I was lucky enough to go to Chicago and bring back some wonderful meat and fish from Eataly, and given my dinner tonight is fish, I decided to go with a nice Syrah, the 2014 Mark Ryan Lost Soul Syrah, a 100% Syrah from the Red Willow Vineyard in the Yakima Valley of Washington.  So let's see how the last wine of the decade is tasting!

The wine is a deep ruby color in the glass, with nice clarity.  The nose is a veritable party of ripe black fruit aromas dancing with violets, smoke, with an occasional romp of black pepper spice.  The taste is classic Syrah, with a rush of lush black fruit, blackberry, currant and cassis, that bows to some earthy flavors of tar, and pipe tobacco before a wave of peppery spice comes at you toward the finish.  The tannins are polished and well structured, providing for an elegant and very dry finish that lingers for a minute or more.

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 9, as it's a classic representation of the varietal, and perhaps the nicest Syrah I've tasted this year.  This wine would pair well with a variety of dishes, from steaks and chops, to venison and short ribs or earthy mushroom dishes.  Tonight I am enjoying this wine with an oven roasted filet of red snapper with a Meyer lemon sauce I read about on epicurious.com (get the simple recipe here), along with some oven roasted purple carrots and some mushroom risotto.  Cheers!

2015 Reininger Walla Walla Cabernet Sauvignon

Happy Sunday!  It's been a rather lazy day for me, as it's been somewhat rainy and dreary I've spend the afternoon reading.  And now, it's time for a glass of wine before making dinner.  Tonight I've decided to open a bottle of next month's office wine club selection, the 2015 Reininger Walla Walla Cabernet Sauvignon.  This wine is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (76%), Merlot (21%) and Petit Verdot (3%) from the Pepper Bridge, Seven Hills and XL Vineyards in the Walla Walla Valley AVA of Washington.  I recall my visit to Walla Walla during the 2015 harvest (I was there in late August, but given this was such a warm vintage, the harvest started much earlier than usual), and I recall there were extensive fires in the area in that late summer as well, as evidenced by my harrowing drive through Hell's Canyon as I departed that trip!  So, let's see how this wine has developed!

The wine is a deep, inky black at the center with bright garnet around the edges.  The nose is a rather elegant affair, bringing back reminiscences of leather bound volumes in my college library, intermingled with hints of rose petals and ripe black berry fruit.  The taste is a rush of cool black fruit, currant, blackberry, cherry and plum that dance around your tongue before transitioning to some lovely loamy mineral notes midpalate.  The tannins are remarkably smooth and well structured to bring a balanced, long, smooth and very dry finish that lingers for what seems like a minute or more.

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 9, as it has to be one of my new favorite everyday drinking Cabernets.  This wine would be ideal with a variety of hearty winter fare, from grilled steaks and chops, to beef stew, pasta or chili.  Tonight I am enjoying this wine with a rare grilled New York strip and garlic mashed potatoes with a red wine reduction and some Brussels sprouts oven roasted with bacon fat.  Cheers!

2016 Seven Hills Ciel du Cheval

Well, this is officially my 1,000th wine blog post, which is quite an accomplishment considering I started this thing on a lark nearly nine years ago!  And it's come a long way (please don't go searching for those early posts, it's quite embarrassing!) as we now routinely feature lots of photos and additional color on the wines and foods I'm enjoying.  And now, for such a momentous occasion, I've decided to open a bottle from one of my favorite Walla Walla producers, the 2016 Seven Hills Ciel du Cheval, a classic Walla Walla Bordeaux style blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot from the Red Mountain AVA of Washington.  So let's give it a shot!

The wine is a deep inky black at the center, a tribute to the heavy hand of Cabernet in the blend, with bright ruby along the edges.  The nose is a delightful array of earthy aromas, leather, graphite and oak under-girding a virtual basket of ripe black fruit aromas, cherry, plum and currant.  The taste is cool rush of fruit, blackberry, plum, currant and a hint of cherry cola that washes over your palate before transitioning to some subdued mineral notes and peppery spice midpalate.  The tannins are somewhat gritty, but I suspect they might mellow a bit with a few years in the cellar, in support of the long, smooth dry finish.

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 8.5, as it's still young but clearly not as good as some of the better vintages like the 2009, 2010, or 2014 but I still enjoyed it.  As for pairings, this wine paints with a fairly broad brush, and I could enjoy it with anything from steaks and chops to pizza or pasta.  But tonight, I am enjoying this wine with some classic tacos!  Cheers!

Reininger CPR Third Edition

Happy Boxing Day!  Well as with all the holiday rush, I confess I've been sorely neglecting the wine blog, and for that, I apologize.  Now that the rush is over, I have time to do more, though don't get too excited as it seems I'm also battling a cold which could hamper my wine blogging efforts.  To make up for that, I've opened up a bottle of very unique wine to share with you tonight, the Reininger CPR Third Edition.  Of course, the CPR represents Chuck Reininger's initials, and this wine comes in editions rather than vintages, as you see, this wine was inspired by the Solera blending tradition, where each year they bottle 20% of the wine and replace it with wine from the new vintage.  As a result you have a wine consisting of eight varietals from nine different vintages!  I reviewed the inagural edition here: CPR First Edition and had a chance to barrel taste the third and fourth editions on a visit to Walla Walla in 2017 (see: here), and since I was in an odd mood, I decided to skip the second edition and go right to the third tonight.  This edition is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (26%), Syrah (19%), Cabernet Franc (16%), Petit Verdot (10%), Merlot (9%), Malbec (7%), Sangiovese (7%) and Carmenere (6%) from the Ash Hollow, Pepper Bridge, Phinny Hill, Seven Hills, Stone Tree and XL Vineyards in the Columbia Valley AVA from vintages spanning 2005-13.  So let's see how this intriguing blend is tasting!

The wine is a deep garnet color in the glass, with nice clarity.  The nose exudes a cascade of wild berries, amid earthy aromas of leather, cardamom and some delicate floral notes.  The taste is a rush of cool black fruit, black raspberry, cherry and plum that excites the senses before transitioning to some wonderful notes of vanilla bean, a hint of cedar accentuated by some white pepper spice.  The flavors just dance around the palate until the fine grain tannins and delightful acidity cut in to establish a dramatic finish that lingers for what seems like hours.  This is certainly a wine that could pair exceedingly well with a variety of food, but it's also the kind of wine that will continue to develop nuances of flavor as you sip it throughout an evening.

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 9, as it's just a delight to drink and experience the evolution of flavor over an evening.  It's also a very food friendly wine as I could see myself enjoying this wine with everything from steak to barbecue, tacos to oven roasted salmon, but tonight I am enjoying this wine with a rare grilled petit prime New York strip, with some grilled asparagus and mashed potatoes with a merlot reduction.  Cheers!

2017 Seven Hills Pentad

The holiday season can be such a busy time I hardly even have time to enjoy a bottle of wine!  Today was a whirlwind of activity as I completed my Christmas decorations, including decorating three trees, hanging up the Edison lights and setting up the big train set around the big Christmas tree in the family room (I haven't done that in at least four years!) and now I'm ready for dinner and then tacking the Christmas card list!  So tonight I've opened up a bottle of a recent wine club shipment from Seven Hills Winery and normally I wait at least a year or two to open a Pentad, but I recently had a conversation with my friend Jacque at Seven Hills and she told me that a local wine professional gave her a hint to open the wine in the morning and just leave it all day and then decant it about an hour before you plan to drink it.  So, I've used this trick for the 2017 Seven Hills Pentad I've opened tonight, though since this is the first time I've tried this wine I'll have no way of knowing if it worked!  At any rate, the Pentad for 2017 is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (55%) with the balance divided nearly equally between Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Carmenere, so now off to the wine!

The wine is a deep ruby color in the glass, just as you'd expect from such a blend.  The nose is chock full of leather, oak, ripe black fruit, spicy pepper and a hint of tobacco, that signals your brain it's in for a treat.  The taste is a rush of blackberry, cherry and plum that easily give way to some wonderful spice notes of white pepper.  The tannins are gracefully smooth providing nice balance and structure for the long, smooth and very dry finish that lingers with a reprise of cherry cola.

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 9, as it's a pleasure to drink now but will surely mature and really shine over the coming decade.  This wine is perfect for the holidays as it would pair well with everything from Christmas ham to prime rib.  Tonight I am enjoying this wine with a New York strip grilled rare on top of some grilled leeks
along with a big baked potato with all the trimmings and some bacon roasted purple Brussels sprouts.  Cheers and now it's time to make out Christmas Cards!

2017 Pepper Bridge Merlot

Well, the holiday season is progressing nicely, recently the city came by and picked up the last of the leaves, so it seems autumn is quickly fading as I prepare for my annual hunting trip to get my Christmas trees this weekend.  So as a little respite, I've opened a bottle of a recent wine club shipment from Pepper Bridge Winery, the 2017 Merlot.  This wine is a blend of Merlot (76%), Cabernet Franc (12%) and Malbec (12%) from the Seven Hills, Pepper Bridge and Octave Vineyards in the Walla Walla Valley AVA of Washington.  So let's see how this most recent vintage is shaping up!

The wine is a deep garnet color in the glass, just as one might expect from a quality Merlot with a bit of Malbec in the blend.  The nose is a rather elegant affair, with some light floral notes over ripe plum and graphite with a touch of green cedar over the top.  The taste is a rush of black cherry that gives way to some spice notes of clove and cinnamon before easing into vanilla bean and a hint of white pepper.  The tannins are expertly structured, providing the base for a long, velvety dry finish that lingers on the palate.

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 8.5, as it's drinking wonderfully now, but is sure to improve with a bit of time in the cellar (I confess, I got three bottles and this is my second, so I'm not so sure on my ability to age this one!).  This wine would seem to be very food friendly and versatile, as I could enjoy this one with anything from steaks to pizza to tacos and barbecue, but tonight I've decided to take the road less traveled.  I am enjoying this wine with a citrus stuffed oven roasted rainbow trout, with thyme, blood orange and Meyer lemon along with some porcini mushroom farro and bacon roasted Brussels sprouts.  Cheers!

2007 Grgich Hills Estate Napa Valley Zinfandel

Happy Cellar Saturday!  It's that magical first Saturday of the month, where I peruse the cellar to find something to open that's at least a decade in the making.  Tonight I've opened a bottle that a friend gave me quite a few years ago, so it literally has been in my cellar for a while, the 2007 Grgich Hills Estate Napa Valley Zinfandel.  Normally, Zinfandel is not seen as particularly age-worthy, certainly not as much as a fine Cabernet, but since I've opened this bottle, it will be interesting to see how the wine has progressed over the past dozen years.

The wine is a bright garnet color in the glass, with a hint of auburn along the edges.  The nose is an interesting affair, with some earthy notes of leather, charcoal and spice interspersed with hints of floral aromas.  The taste is a rush of jammy ripe fruit, blackberry, cherry and plum, classic for a Zinfandel, that transition nicely to some flavors of smoke and tart cherry midpalate.  The tannins are somewhat mellow, leading to a rather soft, but very dry finish with a bit of peppery spice at the end.

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 8.5, it's drinking nicely now, but I expect it would have been just as good a decade ago.  This wine would pair well with a variety of causal dinners, from pizza and tacos to barbecue.  Tonight I am enjoying this wine with a classic barbecue of slow cooked beef back ribs, finished off on the grill, with some Bourbon molasses baked beans and freshly made mustard potato salad.  Cheers!