2014 Justin Justification

Happy Sunday!  It's been a busy week, what with all the turkey and shopping and such, so today we decided to take it a bit easy with a leisurely brunch and a late dinner with a nice bottle of wine.  Tonight I've decided to open a bottle of 2014 Justin Justification, a blend of Cabernet Franc (55%) and Merlot (45%) from Paso Robles.  I recently found this wine at Costco, so let's see how it tastes!

The wine is a deep, inky purple in the glass with bright garnet at the edges, just as you'd expect with such a Merlot concentration in the blend.  The nose is a cascade of ripe black fruit, blackberry to cherry to plum, all with an overlay of leather and earthy peat.  The taste is a rush of blackberry and cherry at the outset, that transitions to some lovely notes of fresh herbs and a hint of mint midpalate.  The finish is quite nice, with well integrated tannins providing the framing to a long, smooth and seductively dry finish that treats you to a reprise of black fruit at the end.

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 8.5, as it's a solid, well-structured wine that tastes a lot more expensive than it's $34 price tag.  This wine would pair well with salmon, roast duck, lamb or steak, quite versatile as we hit the winter months.   Tonight, we are enjoying this wine with grilled filet mignon, baked potato and butter braised Brussels sprouts.  Cheers!

2013 Domaine J. Meuret Les Chenes Pinot Noir

Happy Saturday!  I am simply exhausted!  I started the day running errands, then I planted all of my impatiens in the only flower bed I have that is devoted to annuals and mow that my back is killing me, I've decided to open a bottle of wine with dinner.  Thankfully, I received my wine club shipment from Maison Bleue on Friday, and included in the shipment were a couple bottles of 2013 Domaine J. Meuret Le Chenes Pinot Noir from the Phelps Creek Vineyard in Oregon.  The name "Lew Chenes" means "the Oaks" in French, which I can certainly relate to given the many oaks in my yard, but it was actually named for the many white oaks in the vineyard which was planted in 1990.  So let's see how this wine stacks up!

The wine is a lovely pale red color in the glass, a classic Pinot Noir.  The nose presents aromas of cherry, cassis, tobacco and cedar, certainly not your typical Oregon Pinot, but much more reminiscent of a great burgundy.  The taste is simply wonderful, with some lovely red fruit notes up front, cherry, red plum, earthy mineral notes and wonderful spice.  The tannins are very well structured and integrated, creating a long. seductive and dry finish.

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 9, and you know I'm not a huge Pinot Noir fan!  This wine would be perfect with roast pork tenderloin, classic salmon or duck, but tonight I am enjoying this wine with a bacon wrapped Angus filet mignon, with grilled asparagus and a baked potato, and I must admit this wine was a perfect accompaniment!  Cheers!