2020 Helix Columbia Valley Tempranillo

Happy Saturday!  Today was a bit of a relaxing day, though I may be the only one that finds running errands relaxing.  So, after the farmer's market, the supermarket and visiting with some friends, I am now back home and ready for a relaxing dinner and a nice bottle of wine.  Tonight, I've opened a bottle of a recent wine club shipment from Reininger Winery, the 2020 Helix Columbia Valley Tempranillo.  This wine is a blend of Tempranillo (76%), Syrah (19%) and Malbec (5%) from the Stone Tree, Phinney Hill and Stone Valley Vineyards in the Columbia Valley AVA of Washington.  So, let's see how this wine is tasting!

The wine is a beautiful deep ruby color in the glass, with nice clarity.  After a gentle swirl, you're greeted with all manner of fruit and funk, blackberry, chalk, vanilla bean, peat and dusty limestone with just a bit of twang at the end.  Take a sip and the funk evaporates like a distant memory as you are treated to all manner of blackberry, from fresh to jam to compote, before easing into some notes of pipe tobacco and a hint of dusty limestone midpalate.  The tannins are chewy, providing for a wonderfully full, velvety dry finish that lingers for a minute or more.

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 9, as it's a pleasure to sip, but I just wish there was a bit more in the center.  This wine would pair well with a broad range of dishes, from classic risotto and pasta, to hearty stews and robust fish dishes.  Tonight I am taking a different tack, and enjoying this wine with a dinner that should not be paired, a wonderful pretzel crusted chicken with mashed potatoes, gravy and steamed asparagus.  Cheers!

2002 L'Ecole No. 41 Columbia Valley Merlot

It's another Cellar Saturday and I am still blogging from my phone!  Maybe someday I'll have internet at my house but until then I have a nice bottle of 2002 L'Ecole No. 41 Columbia Valley Merlot!

The wine is a lovely bright ruby color in the glass, with a nose of rich fruit, blackberries, cherries and plum accented by some Asian spice and vanilla. The taste is wonderfully fruit forward with rich berries plum and cherry flavors that transitions to wonderful flavors of black tea, dried herbs and chalk mid palate. The finish is wonderfully dry and mineral, with a last wisp of smokey black fruit at the end, with flavors reminiscent of the classic Bordeaux "funk" that we all know and love.

Overall I would rate this wine a solid 8.5, as it's a classic Columbia Valley Merlot that reminds me so much of a nice Bordeaux. Tonight I am enjoying this with a classic northwest dinner of Mediterranean crusted salmon fillet with some steamed Brussels sprouts and sundried tomato risotto. A lovely meal all around!  

2010 C.M.S. Columbia Valley Red Blend

Tonight I've opened up a new Washington wine from the Columbia Valley, the 2010 C.M.S. Columbia Valley red wine, a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (48%), Merlot (40%) and Syrah (12%) from the Hedges Family Estate in Benton City, Wash.  I'll be the first to admit, although I am a huge fan of Washington wines, I have not encountered this particular wine before, so I was happy to try it when I found it as the wine of the week at my local wine merchant, G. B. Russo & Sons.

The wine has a nice ruby color in the glass, but I'll warn you ahead of time to give this wine a bit of air, as my first impression was an aroma of sweet medicine, but after some evening air, that cleared up straight away.  The nose is a combination of tobacco, jammy fruit, and some dried herbs.  The taste was dominated by some tart cherry up front, which transitioned to some earthy notes and chalky limestone.  The medium finish was supported by some young tannins that made this wine very easy to drink.

Overall, I would rate this wine a 7.5, as I think it's a nicely structured red blend with some potential to improve with a few years in the cellar, but it's also a good value at only $10!  Tonight I am enjoying a glass after dinner with a bit of 90% dark chocolate, as the bitterness of the chocolate makes a nice counterbalance to the jammy sweetness of the fruit up front.  It would also pair nicely with a variety of summer dishes, particularly as we get ready for Memorial Day, the first major grilling holiday of the summer! Cheers!

2008 Gerard Bertrand Minervois

Tonight I am going to the south of France for some wine, where hopefully the taste and terroir will give me a feeling of the bright sun shining on my face as the cool Mediterranean breeze envelopes me...but I digress...it's still May in Michigan and there's a freeze warning tonight!  At any rate, this wine is a blend of Syrah and Carignan, a perfect example of the Minervois appellation.

The wine is a brooding dark color in the glass, and the nose is a pleasant combination of blackberry, cocoa powder and a hint of coffee.  The taste is somewhat less fruity than I would have expected given the nose, but it was quite nice, with initial flavors of tart cherry and black currant, which gave way to some chalky earth and green herbs midpalate.  The finish was just lovely, with some dark chocolate notes over some evolving tannins that made way for a long, smooth, dry finish.

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 8, it's drinking quite nicely now, but it will likely evolve over the next few years.  And it was a good bargain as well, as I think I got this one from wineshopper.com for about $15!  As for pairings, tonight I am going 180 degrees against the grain, as the label suggest this would pair nicely with beef, sausage or pasta with red sauce, but tonight I am enjoying this with some pan seared ahi tuna, prepared with a bit of olive oil and Mediterranean spices, along with some roasted potatoes and fresh steamed asparagus that I picked up at a farm on the way home from Chicago yesterday.  Cheers!

Woodward Canyon Red Wine

Well tonight we have another fine Washington wine for Washington Wine Month, the Woodward Canyon Red Wine.  Now this wine is a non-vintage wine, so it may contain grapes from multiple vintages, though given that I bought this bottle in May of 2012, it likely was produced from 2009 or 2010 wine.  This bottle was a blend of Merlot (54%), Cabernet Franc (20%), Cabernet Sauvignon (17%), Petit Verdot (7%) and Syrah (2%).  In any case, let's get to the wine!

The wine had a deep ruby color, with nice body and a nose of leather and black fruit, accented by some hints of dry herbs.  The taste was interesting, with some bright fruit at the outset, ripe plum, black currant and a bit of cherry, that transitioned into some leather and chalk mid palate.  The finish had some mild earthy notes and spice, while the mellow tannins made for a smooth, dry finish.

Overall, I would rate this one a solid 7.5, it was a pleasure to sip, but if I recall, it was a little more expensive than I'd prefer for an everyday drinking red at around $21.  As for pairings, this would do well with a variety of rich dishes, but since it's St. Patrick's day, tonight I'll be enjoying it with some delicious corned beef and cabbage, with some assorted root vegetables as well.  What a great holiday that let's you know Spring is right around the corner!

1999 L'Ecole No. 41 Columbia Valley Merlot

It's the first Saturday of the month, so you know what that means!  It's Cellar Saturday, that wonderful day when I reach back into the cellar for a wonderful, usually older bottle of wine to enjoy!  So tonight's adventure is an older bottle, but ironically one that's only been in my cellar since last May when I visited the winery on my trip to Walla Walla, the 1999 L'Ecole No. 41 Columbia Valley Merlot!

The wine is a lovely deep ruby in the glass, and the nose presents a lovely combination of anise, tart cherry and fresh herbs.  The taste has a bit if ripe fruit up front that quickly transitions to some wonderful raspberry notes along with some dusty mushroom and earthy notes midpalate.  The finish is very subdued, with some soft tannins supporting a lovely combination of chalky spice and dark chocolate.

Overall, I would rate this one a solid 8.5, a solid Merlot that's just drinking wonderfully right now, and a decent value, since I think I bought this one for maybe $35?  Don't hold me to that!  Tonight I am pairing this with a wonderful Northwest dinner of wild Alaskan sockeye salmon, baked with a lovely glaze of honey, butter and fresh dill, served with a baked potato and some lovely green beans almondine.  This reminds me of many wonderful dinners I enjoyed when living in Portland and Seattle from 1999 through 2004, when this wine was a new release!

Woodward Canyon Columbia Valley Red Wine

So did I mention I just did a fantastic trip to the Walla Walla Valley to enjoy some delicious and wonderfully hand crafted wines?  I didn't?  Well hold that thought, because I think I'll do an entire blog post devoted to my summer vacation this weekend, so stay tuned OK?

In the mean time, tonight I am enjoying a bottle of Woodward Canyon Columbia Valley Red Wine, which is the standard house red for Woodward Canyon. Now to give you a little inside baseball, Woodward Canyon has a tasting room conveniently located next door to my absolute favorite winery of all time, L'Ecole No. 41 which is on Route 12 just west of Walla Walla (in fact, these two wineries, I think, still represent the western boarder of the Walla Walla wine region).  So after my recent wonderful visit to L'Ecole, I sauntered (oh you can visualize it) to the tasting room at Woodward Canyon to enjoy some of their offerings.

So in the tasting room, nothing had seemed to change since my last visit in 2000, except of course the new posters for the "Artist Series" and the new vintages, but it was still in the same house (see the photo above).  I tasted a few wines, and bought a few wines, one of which is tonight's selection, the Columbia Valley Red Wine, which is the everyday table wine.

Well, as I remember my last visit, Woodward Canyon had some wonderful wine, and even this simple table blend is no exception.  The color in the glass is a deep garnet, and the nose is a pleasant blend of leather, cedar and grass.  The taste is very dry, with some modest berries on the front end which gives way to licorice and a bit of chalk, and finishes with just a hint of dark chocolate as the tannins really step in to make this a tart, dry wine.

I would rate this wine a solid 7.5, and it would have certainly rated higher if not for the aggressive price.  At $21 this is a little too expensive for an everyday wine, but as a vacation wine it's certainly appropriate.  As for pairings, this would work very will with grilled red meat, or a nice Italian dish, though I can also imagine it complementing a cedar planked salmon!  So if you have a chance, enjoy a glass of wine from Woodward Canyon, Salut!