2014 Pirouette Red Wine

Happy Sunday!  What remarkably strange times we are living in, today I had a practice session for the graduate class I'm teaching to move online from in person, which went as well as I expected.  But as we adjust, some positive things have happened as well, like tonight's wine!  Yesterday I was partaking in Sean Sullivan's Virtual Taste Washington (which you can see here) and at the end of the night I let the posters on Twitter and Instagram vote on which Washington wine I should open for tonight's session, and the winner is the 2014 Long Shadows Pirouette!  I bought this wine at the Vino Volo at Sea-Tac airport a few years ago, as it was the only way I could bring back a bottle of wine on the plane!  This wine is a classic old-world style blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (57%), Petit Verdot (18%), Merlot (17%), Cabernet Franc (7%) and Malbec (1%) from some of the best vineyards in the Columbia Valley.  So let's see how this wine is tasting!

The wine has a deep, inky dark center with bright garnet along the edges, suggestive of the heavy Cabernet focus of the blend.  Keeping in mind that I opened this bottle a few hours ago, and the nose was quite strong when I first opened it, but it's calmed down as it's opened up, with aromas of leather, fig, cherry and a hint of strawberry, very reminiscent of a classic Bordeaux.  The taste is a rush of ripe fruit up front, blackberry, cherry and cassis that gives way to some white pepper spice midpalate.  The tannins are a bit sharp, but fitting to support the long, smooth dry finish.

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 9, as it really exemplifies the classic Bordeaux styling of the best blends of the Columbia Valley.  This wine would pair well with a range of dishes, from classic pasta to steaks and chops.  Tonight I am enjoying this wine with a classic Sunday comfort food dinner of pretzel crusted center cut pork chops, with some buttered pasta and steamed asparagus.  Cheers!