2018 Healy Rose

Happy Wine Wednesday! I know it’s a little early, but winter has been really harsh and I’m really in the mood for summer, if not spring, so why not open a bottle of rose and just pretend it’s summer? Tonight I’ve open the bottle of 2018 Healy Rose from Drew Bledsoe‘s Family winery in Walla Walla. This one has become a favorite rose for me and I’m excited to try this new vintage that just arrived this week from my wine club shipment. This wine is a proprietary blend from the Kenny Hill, Mill Creek, Los Oidos and McQueen Vineyards in the Walla Walla Valley of Washington.  So let’s see how it tastes!

The wine is a pale peach color in the glass, perfect for summer gatherings on the patio. The nose presents pleasant aromas of strawberry, melon, peach and a hint of citrus. The taste is just a rush of summer fruit, citrus, strawberries and melon intermingled with some sharp mineral notes. These wonderful flavors and aroma are combined in a crisp, dry finish that just makes me want to sit out on a warm summer night on the patio.

Overall I would rate this wine a solid 8.5, as it’s just an ideal summer rose, very dry very crisp and a perfect representative of Washington rose. This one would pair well with so many summer dishes from grilled burgers and salads, to barbecued ribs, to steaks and chops -  truly a versatile wine. Tonight I’m enjoying this wine with a grilled jerk chicken breast along with some black beans and yellow rice a perfect midweek dinner with a fresh glass of rose. Cheers!

2016 Reininger Walla Walla Carmenere

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! This is one of those tough wine pairing holidays as I always have trouble trying to figure out what wine to pair with corn beef and cabbage.  So I guess the cats out of the bag and that’s what I’m having for dinner tonight, so don’t rush to the last paragraph to see what I’m eating! As for what to pair with a challenging dish like corned beef and cabbage tonight I’ve decided on the 2016 Reininger Carmenere. This wine is 100% Carmenere from the Seven Hills Vineyard in the Walla Walla Valley AVA of Washington. So let’s see how this wine tastes.

The wine is a deep inky indigo color of the center with bright Garnet along the edges. The nose presents a variety of fresh floral notes of violet as well as some sharp notes of smoke, leather, savory herbs and a bit of "twang." The taste is classic Reininger Carmenere with the rush of black fruit up front the transitions nicely and just some notes of earth, peat and savory herbs that transitions to some white pepper spice midpalate. The tannins are smooth and expertly integrated, providing a great base for the long smooth and very dry finish.

Overall I would rate this wind a solid 8.5 as it is really great example but just not quite as good as the 2015 vintage (you can see that review here). This wine would pair well with a wide variety of dishes, from pizza and burgers to steaks, chops and barbecue ribs.  But of course tonight I am pairing this wine with classic St. Patrick’s Day dinner of corned beef and cabbage, along with some red potatoes, carrots and soda bread. The spice and fruit in this wine pair really well with such a salty dish. Cheers!

2015 Manu Propria Ex Animo

First let me say it’s been a couple weeks since I last posted and that’s because I had eye surgery to address a vitreous hemorrhage.  Now this eye surgery prevented me from looking at screens, or reading or watching television, or doing a lot of the normal everyday things that we're used to, including publishing blog posts. So with that out of the way, I am back officially or at least partially since I’m limited to about two hours a day of screen time in total, in 30-minute increments. So tonight I’ve decided to open a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon from a new producer that came to me from Mark Ryan Winery. the 2015 Manu Propria Ex Animo Cabernet Sauvignon. This wine is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (89%), Merlot (7%) and Cabernet Franc (4%) from the Red Willow vineyard in the Yakima Valley AVA of Washington. So let’s see how this wine tastes.

The wine has a deep inky purple color in the glass, classic for Cabernet. The wine has wonderful earthy aromas of smoke, leather and peat that beckon you to take a sip. The taste is a rush of warm ripe fruit blackberries, blueberries and cherries at the outset that gives way to some mellow earthy notes midpalate.  The tannins are wonderfully structured and well integrated providing nice foundation for a smooth, warm and exceptionally dry finish.

Overall I would wake this wine a solid 9 as it seems to be a really great example of the quality Cabernet that’s coming from Yakima valley AVA.  This wine would pair exceptionally well with a variety of big beefy dinners like a nice big steak or roast lamb chops or even some wonderful Italian dishes. Tonight, I am enjoying this wine with a big thick prime sirloin steak grilled rare, along with some bacon roasted asparagus and a big baked potato with sour cream and scallions.  Cheers!