2023 Seven Hills McClellan Estate Cabernet Sauvignon

Happy Wine Wednesday!  After all the holiday hullabaloo, I thought it might be time to relax midweek with a nice glass of wine.  Tonight, I have opened a bottle from a recent wine club shipment from one of the early pioneers of Walla Walla wine, Seven Hills.  The 2023 Seven Hills McClellan Estate Cabernet Sauvignon is a 100% Cabernet Sauvignon sourced from the McClellan Estate Vineyard in the Walla Walla AVA of Washington.  Let's see how this wine is tasting!

The wine is an inky black complexion at the center with bright ruby along the edges, classic for a nice Cabernet.  The nose presents aromas of black cherry, currant and floral notes of violets and rosehips with the faintest hint of vanilla.  The first sip is an intriguing combination of tart cherry intermingled with sweet blueberry that transitions nicely to some earthy mineral notes amid vanilla caramel notes midpalate. The tannins are well structured, providing for a long, smooth dry finish that seems to linger for a minute or more.

I would rate this wine a solid 9, as it's a very pleasant drinking wine with the quality that befits its heritage.  This wine would pair well with a range of hearty dishes, from braised short ribs to grilled lamb, but tonight I am enjoying this wine with a grilled bone-in ribeye covered with sautéed onions and mushrooms along with pan fried potatoes and steamed Brussels sprouts.  Cheers!

1996 Lazzarito Barolo

Happy Cellar Saturday!  It's the first Saturday of a new month, so time to dig deep in the cellar to find some wine at least a decade in the making to open and enjoy.  I'll admit today's post was the result of a confluence of events that ultimately worked out, despite my second thoughts!  You see, I knew that my favorite TV chef, Gordon Ramsay was going to make spaghetti carbonara on "Ramsay in 10" on Instagram today, so I thought that sounds like a perfect meal, so I need to find a great Italian wine to pair with it.  Then came the beautiful weather today, the first time this spring we approached 80 degrees, and when I was mowing the lawn, all I could smell was my neighbors cooking out, and I just really wanted a nice steak!  Well, discipline prevailed and I went with my original plan and made linguine Carbonara and opened a bottle of 1996 Lazzarito Barolo!  Now I freely admit that I really cannot tolerate a wine from Piedmont that's less than a decade in the making, but since this one is now clearly of legal drinking age, let's see what it has to offer!

The wine is a rustic garnet color in the glass, with a tinge of amber at the edges as you might expect from a wine of this maturity.  The nose presents aromas of leather, anise and spice box, that brings me back to the time I spent in Rome and Florence in the mid 1990s.  The taste is a rush of floral notes, with flavors of rosehips that gives way to earthy flavors of tar and tobacco midpalate, as you might expect from a Nebbiolo.  The finish is still quite vibrant, with nice balanced acidity that frames a wonderfully long, dry finish.

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 9.5, as this Barolo is just singing right now and approaching a peak in terms of flavor and complexity.  This wine would pair with a broad range of Italian dishes, from a classic morel mushroom risotto to a bisteca fiorentina.  But tonight, I am enjoying this one with the classic Gordon Ramsay linguine carbonara, made with pancetta, garlic, petit peas, and some lovely egg yolks and creme fraische, finished off with some shaved parmesan and parsley.  Cheers!

2016 Giuseppe Campagnola Valpolicella Ripasso

Happy Sunday!  Sometimes on a Sunday, you just need to open a wine from Italy, and after spending the afternoon working around the house on various projects and finishing with yard work, I am in need of a nice Italian Wine!  Tonight I've opened a bottle of 2016 Giuseppe Campagnola Valpolicella Ripasso that I bought from Wines Till Sold Out a few months back.  I am a big fan of Amarone, and for a more affordable alternative, I love a good Valpolicella Ripasso, or the second pressing of the dried grapes used for Amarone.  This wine is a classic blend of Corvina (60%), Rondinella (35%) and Molinara (5%).  So let's see how this one tastes.

The wine is a wonderful deep ruby color in the glass.  The nose presents aromas of blueberry, currant, and cherry with hints of rosehip and graphite.  The taste is very fruit forward with a rush of cherry, blueberry and currant that transitions nicely to notes of tar and pomegranate midpalate.  The tannins are well integrated, with balanced acidity to drive the long, lush and wonderfully dry finish.

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 8, it's a pleasant drinking and food friendly wine that's also q solid value at just $15!  This wine would be wonderful with a creamy risotto, or pasta with cream sauce as the acidity of this wine would be an ideal balance.  It would also pair well with lamb, wild game or a classic well-marbled steak as the fruit and acidity would be great to cut through the fattiness of a prime steak, which is great since tonight I'm enjoying this wine with a grilled prime ribcap along with grilled romanesco and a big baked potato with all the trimmings.  Cheers!