2019 Pepper Bridge Trine

Happy New Year!  Hard to believe we are in 2023 as time seems to be accelerating (or perhaps I'm just getting older).  So to celebrate the first day of the new year with a wonderful dinner, we need a wonderful wine as well.  Tonight I've opened a bottle of 2019 Pepper Bridge Trine, a classic example of a fine Bordeaux style blend from the Walla Walla AVA of Washington.  This wine is a blend of Cabernet Franc (42%), Cabernet Sauvignon (30%), Merlot (16%), Malbec (8%) and Petit Verdot (4%) sourced from the Seven Hills, Waliser, Octave, and Pepper Bridge Vineyards in the Walla Walla Valley.  Having opened this wine about 90 minutes ago, let's see how it's tasting!

The wine is a lovely deep ruby color in the glass, and a gentle swirl reveals aromas of ripe red fruit, raspberry, cherry and currant, layers of fresh herbs and some mineral notes.  The first sip is a rush of ripe red fruit interwoven with layers of semi-sweet chocolate, light floral notes and consistent mineral notes that give the wine an interesting complexity.  The tannins are well structured providing for a wonderfully consistent dry finish that seems to linger for minutes. 

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 9, as it's usually a house favorite when I have it on hand.  This wine would pair well with a range of hearty winter dishes, from prime steaks to braised short ribs, hearty beef stew to classic mushroom risotto.  Tonight, I am enjoying this wine with my new year's feast of a pan seared filet mignon topped with béarnaise along with a butter poached lobster risotto and some oven roasted carrots.  Cheers! 

2012 Barons Red Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon

 Ok, let me start by saying by all accounts I should be asleep on the couch right now, after spending so much of the weekend battling the leaves!  Yes, it's ,y annual battle, but today was the epitome of the battle as not only was I battling the leaves, I was also battling wind and our first snow of the season!  But alas, I think we are now past the halfway point, so it's all downhill from here (famous last words!) and now it's time for a nice glass of wine.  Tonight I've opened a bottle I recently bought from Wines Till Sold Out, the 2012 Barons Red Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon from Washington.  This wine is a blend of Cabernet Sauvigon (90%) and Merlot (10%) from the Hedges Estate Vineyard in the Red Moutain AVA.  So let's see how this wine is shaping up!

The wine is a deep inky black at the center with bright ruby along the edges, suggesting a big wine.  The nose is classic big Washington red wine, suggestive of a Bordeaux style, with some black cherry, and plum edging toward prune, vanilla bean and suggestive spices.  The taste is a rush of black cherry and cola, that transitions to some notes of mint, dark chocolate and spicebox midpalate.  The tannins are round, but I have to admit the finish left me wanting, as it was just a bit flat.

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 8.5, it's probably approaching it's peak but still a nice easy drinking Cabernet.  This wine would pair well with a lot of heaty fall and winter dishes, from beef stew, to the venison chili I had last night.  Tonight I am enjoying this wine with a classic Sunday dinner of a rare grilled Angus T-bone on a bed of grilled leeks, some bacon roasted Brussels sprouts and a big baked potato with sour cream and scallions.  Cheers!

2011 Conundrum Red Blend

My first week at the new job was busy and very satisfying, so you know what that means...it's time to celebrate with a glass of wine!  And tonight's selection is the 2011 Conundrum California Red Blend, a proprietary blend (hence we don't know the exact breakdown of the varietals used) produced by the makers of Caymus (and I just got a bottle of 2011 Caymus Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon today!).

The wine is a lovely rich and deep ruby color in the glass that just exudes a feel of quality California wine.  The nose is a wonderful combination of ripe berries, lavender and chocolate, with just a hint of leather, one of the more complex aromas I've experienced in a while.  The taste is a burst of ripe fruit and floral notes, with rich blackberries and plum.  Midpalate there is a good bit of tannins, mixed with some floral notes and cocoa powder that works so well with velvety texture of this wine.  The finish is long, but not overly dry as the fruit makes another appearance at the end, practically daring you to take another sip.

Overall I would rate this one a solid 8, as it's a beautifully drinking wine that you'd never be embarrassed to share with guests, and it's a terrific value too, as I paid about $19 for this one at Wines Till Sold Out!  Tonight I am enjoying this with a simple dinner of penne with some grilled veggies and a garlic cream sauce, as the fruit really makes a nice counterbalance to the light cream.  It would also pair well with a variety of casual dishes, from barbecue to pizza, as the structure makes is a great foil to heartier dishes.  Cheers!

2010 L'Ecole No. 41 Candy Mountain Vineyard Columbia Valley Red Wine

So tonight I had a chance to talk on the phone with Jaime, one of the fine folks that work at L'Ecole No. 41, one of my all time favorite wineries in Walla Walla, and as the conversation went, she suggested that after the gym, I pick up a steak and then open up a bottle of the new wine club selection I received last week, the 2010 Candy Mountain Vineyard Red Wine, so I figured why not?  Now for background, Candy Mountain Vineyard is right next to the Red Mountain AVA, which is the source of many fine, big, bold wines in the Columbia Valley, and although Candy Mountain is not part of the AVA, the soil is very similar as well as the climate, making their wines very similar. In fact, Jaime shared that L'Ecole purchases a lot of the grapes produced at the Candy Mountain Vineyard to blend in their Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon.  So let's give it a try!

Although this wine is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (53%) and Merlot (47%), the wine has the color of a big bold Cabernet in the glass.  The nose is very pleasant, with notes of leather, rich dark fruit and some dusty limestone.  The taste is immediately full of fruit, rich blackberries, cherries and cassis that effortlessly transitions to musty earth, a hint of green grass and chocolate midpalate.  The tannins are very pronounced, yet well structured, leading to a long, smooth, very dry finish.  Although the finish is a bit tight at this young age, I suspect this wine will age quite well and become more complex with a few years of maturity.

Overall I would rate this one a solid 8.5, as it's a wine that exudes quality that belies the $39 price tag (don't get me wrong, it's not an everyday drinking wine on my budget, but in my view the value far exceeds the price!).  Tonight I am enjoying it with a nice rare Angus ribeye, a baked potato and some steamed broccoli, a perfect match for this bold red wine.  And with only 345 cases produced, it looks like I need to order a few more bottles before they are sold out!  Cheers!

2005 Burgess Napa Valley Syrah

Tonight I've decided to crack open a bottle that I've had sitting in the cellar for a while, not sure what I was saving it for other than a Wednesday night, so here we are, the 2005 Burgess Napa Valley Syrah!

The wine is a nice ruby color in the glass, and the nose presents a nice combination of anise, leather, oak and some chocolate notes, with just the faintest hint of mint.  The taste is quite mellow overall, with some dark fruit at the outset, ripe berries and black cherry, which transitions to notes of leather and tobacco midpalate.  The finish is quite bright at first, but then becomes more subdued, as you let it breathe, ultimately transitioning to a smooth, dry finish with some lovely spice around the edges.

I don't recall where I bought this one or how much I paid, but it's a nice little wine that I would rate a solid 7.5.  Tonight I am pairing this with some wonderful prosciutto stuffed perline pasta that I picked up at Trader Joe's, along with some lovely creamy pesto.  The wine really makes the earthy notes of the prosciutto stand out, which is a pleasant surprise, but it would also be very nice with a variety of grilled meats.  Cheers!

2003 Piancornello Brunello di Montalcino

Here we are at my fourth "Cellar Saturday" and I've decided to go back to my love of Italian wines, and particularly the wines of Tuscany.  Now of course you can't explore the wines of this region without taking some time for the undisputed king of Tuscan wines, Brunello di Montalcino, and this case the 2003 vintage of Piancornello. For those familiar with Brunello, you'll immediately recognize that vintage as one that caused quite a stir with the confiscation of four producers' 2003 Brunello on charges that they had fraudulently included foreign varietals in their wine labeled Brunello.  By law, Brunello must be made from 100% Sangiovese grapes, and although the investigation was somewhat inconclusive, the U.S. government blocked the import of 2003 vintage Brunellos that could not prove they were made with 100% Sangiovese (so I suppose this one is safe!).  The laws also require that the wine be aged a minimum of 2 years in oak, and 4 months in bottle before release, though most producer age their wines in oak for 3 years.

This wine has been in the bottle for considerably longer than 4 months, as most Brunellos really start coming into their own when they hit about 10 years old, so this one is just about to hit its stride.  The color on this wine is a rich garnet hue, certainly a bit lighter than your typical Napa Cab.  The nose has quite a bit of herbs, some classic spice, anise, and ripe red fruit with a hint of sweetness.  The taste was a bit tart up front but quickly transitioned into some rich ripe fruit and even a bit of prune midpalate which gave way to some interesting chocolate notes.  The tannins are somewhat subdued providing for a long, silky smooth finish that left me wanting another sip every time!

Overall I would rate this wine a solid 8.5 and perhaps even a 9 given the value.  I bought this one through Wines Till Sold Out back in 2010 for just $35, which is pretty good for a Brunello!  Tonight I am pairing this wine with a simple but delicious Italian dish, bucatini with mussels.  I simply sauteed some guanciale (this is a cured pig jowl, but you can use pancetta if you can't find guanciale) with some crushed garlic, then added some olive oil and about a pound of fresh mussels.  Once the mussels opened up, I added 2 cans of whole San Marzano tomatoes and about a cup of red wine (but not the brunello!).  Let that simmer for 20-30 minutes on low heat and then toss with some al dente bucatini (bucatini is a long pasta shaped like a drinking straw, but if you can't find it at your local store a nice linguine or spaghetti will do fine).  Top the dish with some fresh basil and some freshly shaved Parmesan and you have a lovely dinner! Tutti a tavola a mangiare!

2002 Woodward Canyon Barbera

So tonight's wine hails from one of my favorite wine regions, Walla Walla and the Columbia Valley of Washington state.  Now you'll recall I just returned from an epic adventure to Walla Walla wine country a couple months ago, but this bottle was purchased on my last trip through Walla Walla when I moved out to the Midwest back in 2004!  In fact, on this last trip I mentioned to the folks at Woodward Canyon that I still had a bottle of the '02 Barbera, and they seemed rather surprised and suggested I might want to drink it soon, as it might be well past it's prime.  So, last Saturday I decided to bring the bottle over to some friends for a wonderful dinner.

Well, thankfully the folks at the winery were way off on their assessment, as this wine turned out to be absolutely wonderful!  The color in the glass was deep ruby, and the nose was a wonderful mix of red fruit, burnt toast, leather and chocolate.  The taste started out with a wonderful mix of fruit, rich blackberries and ripe plum which transitioned to a smokiness mixed with cedar, black pepper and herbs midpalate.  The supple tannins formed a wonderful foundation for the long, dry, smoky finish.

We enjoyed this bottle with a lovely, Pacific Northwest sort of meal, consisting of cedar planked salmon with lemon and a variety of fresh herbs, some grilled beef tenderloin and a lovely selection of grilled veggies from my friends at Schuler Farms.  It was such a delicious meal, and the wine went along perfectly.  Overall, I would rate this one a solid 8.5, and I'd love to get more, but unfortunately that is no longer possible.  I guess maybe I'll have to wait another 8 years to open a bottle I bought on my last trip!

2005 E. Guigal Châteauneuf-du-Pape - a celebration!

So today was a very good day, worthy of a celebration!  Today at work I received a promotion to "senior director" and I know that might not mean that much to those outside my profession, but to me it means a lot!  So to celebrate, I decided to open up a really good bottle of wine tonight, and the one I picked was the 2005 E. Guigal Châteauneuf-du-Pape!

As many of you know, the Châteauneuf-du-Pape is at or near the top of the food chain (I would say at) for Rhône wines of southern France, and is typically a blend of Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre (GSM).  Now this particular vintage from E. Guigal is a blend of 85% Grenache, 5% Syrah, 5% Mourvèdre and 5% other grapes. 

The color of this wine is a bright ruby in the glass.  The nose presents a wonderful of blackberry, spice, black pepper and licorice.  The taste is wonderfully fruit forward, with flavors of ripe plum, rich red berries coupled with lovely spices that give way to a taste of smoky grilled herbs, chocolate and earth midpalate.  The lovely rounded tannins provide for a well structured, long, floral finish that just reminds me of the time I spent in France.

This is an absolutely lovely bottle that I could easily sip for days, though I have serious doubts it would last that long!  Overall I would rate this one a solid 9, no question one of the nicest examples of a Châteauneuf-du-Pape that Ive had the pleasure to enjoy.  It would pair wonderfully with a variety of grilled meats, and particularly well with a rare beef tenderloin, or perhaps a lovely choucroute as I recall some of the more memorable dinners from my time in Paris!  But really, why would you let a full meal detract from this wine?  Just enjoy it with a few olives and a bit of cheese and what more could you ask?