2008 Mawson's Wrattonbully Cabernet Sauvignon

Tonight we have the time change, where we get to lose an hour of sleep so that farmers in the 19th century would have more daylight to plant and harvest their crops, and apparently now it helps with greenhouse gas emissions or global warming or some other hokum.  All I know is that I'm getting up effectively an hour early on one of two days a week I actually get to sleep in!  Man I could use a glass of wine to get ready for this...

Oh yes that's right, this is a wine blog!  And tonight, to celebrate the loss of an hour, I'm enjoying a wine from the land down under, a place where if you traveled there you'd lose the better part of a day, let alone an hour!  Tonight's feature is the 2008 Mawson's Wrattonbully Cabernet Sauvignon.  This is an interesting wine for it's names, Sir Douglas Mawson was a famous Australian explorer who embarked on expeditions to the Antarctic in the early 20th century.  Wrattonbully is an emerging wine region in south Australia along the Limestone Coast.  Certainly Australia has produced some absolutely wonderful wines, particularly their Shiraz, and more common now their Merlots and Cabernets.

This wine is a wonderful ruby red color in the glass and exhibits a nose of leather, oak, dried herbs and subtle fruit, cherry and blackberry.  I was expecting some bright fruit at the outset, but this one surprised me, as the taste of cassis was quite subdued, with a touch of berry at the high notes.  Mid-palate, there is a touch of woodiness, followed by well integrated tannins for a nice smooth finish.  Based on prior experience with Australian Cabs, I was expecting this wine to be much more fruit forward, but somewhat less bold that a typical California Cab, but this one is really elegant, medium bodied and subtle in unexpected ways.  It's the kind of wine that would be shocked and ashamed if it overpowered the dish it accompanies, rather I envision that it would provide a playful counterpart for a variety of savory dishes, from lamb or braised short ribs, to a hearty steak or a variety of seafood dishes.  Tonight I am enjoying it with some cod, rice and steamed asparagus. 

Overall, I would rate this one a solid 8, especially at the price, I bought a lot of 4 bottles from wineshopper.com for $40.  The only negative was the screw cap, but for $10 and a lovely wine, I'm willing to overlook that discretion!

2006 Luzdivina Amigo Vina de Moya

Sometimes you just need to venture out of your comfort zone, and for me that means heading to Spain!  Tonight I am enjoying a bottle of the 2006 Luzdivina Amigo Vina de Moya, a Mencia wine from Bierzo, Castilla Leon, Spain.  Now I'll be the first to admit my ignorance on Spanish wines, outside of an occasional glass of Tempranillo, so it's exciting to try a new varietal from an unfamiliar area.

Now apparently the Mencia grape has been cultivated in the Bierzo region of Spain since Roman times, so there is some history, and the grape itself is thought to be related to Cabernet Franc.  The wine itself is a deep purple color with a hint of ruby around the edges.  The wine has a nose of cedar and spice, with a bit of earthy oakiness (is that a real word?) and leather as well.  The taste is reminiscent of a cab franc, but veers off in a different direction than the cab francs I've tried, with very subtle fruit, some mild cherry and blackberry, and a hint of tangy rhubarb, perhaps strawberry that's not quite ripe.  The tannins are quite subtle, making for a long, smooth and very dry finish.

Tonight I am enjoying this wine with some grilled chicken and pasta tossed with some parma rosa sauce, along with some steamed asparagus.  The wine pairs nicely with the richness of the cream sauce, but I can imagine it complementing the spice and freshness of a rich paella or the wonderful Basque-style seafood dishes of Spain's Atlantic coast.  Overall I would rate this wine a solid 7.5 with potential for improvement over time, and at around $10, it's a great value for a wine region that is ripe for exploration!

2009 L'Ecole No. 41 Columbia Valley Red Wine

WOO HOO!!!  It's March and you know what that means, it's Washington Wine Month!!!  That time of year when we get to celebrate the wonderful wines of the great state of Washington, from the Puget Sound to the Yakima Valley, from the Columbia Gorge to Walla Walla!  The wonder of Washington is the exquisite climate for growing both Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, which gives rise to some of the greatest Bordeaux style blends produced outside of France today.

Which brings us to tonight's wine, a bottle from one of my favorite producers, and Wine & Spirits Winery of the Year for 2011, L'Ecole No. 41!  The 2009 Columbia Valley Red Wine for those of you familiar, is what used to be know as "Recess Red" and which used to be known before that as "School House Red" which is a blend of select Columbia Valley vineyards.  In 2011, L'Ecole underwent a re-branding exercise and developed a new, more classic label that highlighted the school and presented a more sophisticated look to their wines.  The good news is that despite the new label, the wine is as delicious as ever!

The 2009 Columbia Valley Red is a classic Bordeaux style blend of Merlot (55%), Cabernet Sauvignon (21%), Syrah(13%), Malbec (5%), Petit Verdot (3%) and Cabernet Franc (3%), aged 8 months in French and American oak barrels.  This wine is typically viewed as the everyday, table wine for L'Ecole, and perhaps one of the best values relative to its quality.

The wine itself is a deep ruby color with a nose of oak, licorice, leather and dried herbs.  The taste is well balanced with great fruit character of ripe cherry, blackberry and currant, with a nice earthy spice mid palate, and nice tannins for a pleasant, dry finish.  At every taste, this wine is at once friendly and inviting, yet you still get a strong feeling for the quality that went into the bottle.  The wine would pair well with a wide variety of foods, and it's not pretentious, as I feel it would be at home with a thick juicy burger just as much as with a filet mignon, and in both cases it would complement rather than overpower the food (which would be hard tonight with Thai food!).  Overall I would rate this one a solid 8.5, it's a great, food friendly wine, and at only $18 it's a fraction of what you might expect to pay for similar quality wines.  So let's get started with Washington Wine month!