Varietal:  59% Cabernet Sauvignon; 19% Cabernet Franc; 11% Malbec; 6% Merlot; 5% Petit Verdot
Region:  Napa, California – USA
Cost:  $40 (SRP)

Winemaker’s Notes:  Rich garnet color goes perfectly with the holiday season and it’s aromas of toasted hazelnut and winter spices make this wine the perfect gift for anyone on your list.

My Review:  Another of the bottles that I received just before the end of the year, and on an unseasonable warm day on Sunday (pushing 70 in Virginia? Really?) my wife and I decided to throw a couple of steaks on the grill and a bottle of red wine sounded like the perfect pairing.

While there are some violet streaks going through the wine, it was a nice deep red in the glass and I picked up aromas of spice and dark berry. In the mouth there was a ton of fruit, but it was by no means a “fruit bomb”. By that I mean there was plenty of body and depth to the wine that allowed the wine to present nuanced fruit flavors and have a bit of complexity and a medium-smooth finish.

Paired with some steaks, baked potatoes, and asparagus it was great. The body of the wine held up to the steak and the fruit flavors managed to go well with the veggies (potatoes are a vegetable dammit). What I really liked about the wine is that even with the body to hold up to the steak, the fruit flavors were dominant enough to make the wine enjoyable all by itself.

If the wine isn’t available near you and you want to give it a try, you can follow this link and have it shipped directly to you.

Related posts:

1. Veritas Vineyards Claret 2008
2. Blackstone Sonoma Reserve Rubric 2007
3. Waterstone Cabernet Sauvignon 2006

Varietal:  88% Cabernet Sauvignon; 5% Syrah; 3% Merlot; 2% Petit Verdot; 1% Malbec; 1% Cabernet Franc
Region:  California – USA
Cost:  $11 (SRP)

Winemaker’s Notes:   The wine has a smooth texture and sweet, red fruit character that distinguishes California’s finest Cabernet Sauvignons, along with smoky oak, vanilla, and roasted nut accents to invigorate the palate and provide a lengthy finish. Enjoy with standing rib roasts, grilled steak, roast duck, spareribs, lasagna, or flavorful hard cheeses.

My Review:  An evening where my wife was out and I was home alone with the dog to fend for myself on dinner usually only means one thing – steak, a baked potato, and a bottle of red wine to be enjoyed. There are worse ways to spend an evening. I’d been sitting on this sample until I could get around to cooking up a steak, and as tends to be the case, I’m glad I did.

There’s a line where a line goes from having good fruit to being a fruit bomb. Don’t ask me exactly where that line is, because I think that it’s different for every wine, but the 2010 Robert Mondavi Private Selection Cabernet Sauvignon did a good job of walking the line between fruity and fruit bomb.

On the nose I got dark fruit notes with a touch of roundness to it. In the mouth I got plenty of nice tart fruit, with raspberry and some blueberry being the most prevalent to me. The finish on the wine was surprisingly smooth, though with the extra varietals blended in that should come as less of a surprise than it was.

Paired with a ribeye I picked up at the local store it was a nice simple wine that didn’t try and do too much, but was more than adequate before, during, and after the meal. As value wines go, particularly for a California Cabernet, this is a good choice if you’re looking for something that’s easy to drink, and will make a good choice as a red wine option during the holiday party season thanks to the price.

Related posts:

1. Robert Mondavi Private Selection Pinot Noir 2010
2. Robert Mondavi Private Selection Sauvignon Blanc 2010
3. Robert Mondavi Private Selection Chardonnay 2010

Varietal:  Petite Sirah; Tempranillo; Syrah; Grenache; Malbec; Mourvedre; Nebeillo; Tannat; Souzao; Aglianico; Barbera; Zinfandel; Petite Verdot; Cabernet Franc; Charbano; Nero d’Avola; Sanviovese; Sagrantino
Region:  California – USA
Cost:  $10 (SRP)

Winemaker’s Notes:  This Big House Red lives up to that old Fruit Bomb moniker that you’ve come to expect. It starts with a nose full of blackberries and raspberries, with hints of leather and spices. The palate is clean, exhibiting flavors of cranberries, roses, and a touch of rhubarb. This finish lingers, with flavors of vanilla and a touch of dark cherries in the finish. Pairs well with all grilled meats, lasagna Bolognese, grilled vegetables, or even sashimi grade Ahi tuna.

My Review:  The previous version of this wine was one of those that I was torn on. I liked what they were trying to do by creating a table wine with a little bit of everything that could then go with a little bit of everything, but I felt that the attempt created a wine that just fell flat. This vintage was different.

Now, to preface, I’m not saying that the 2010 Big House Red is some revolutionary wine, but I did like it better than the previous years bottles I had tried. They’ve changed the mixture some and I think it’s for the best. On the nose I got mostly raspberry with a touch of spice and in the mouth I got dark cherry and some cranberry with a juiciness that made me feel like the Zinfandel as much as anything was coming through.

With a dinner of pizza after a trip the grocery store to stock up after the Thanksgiving holiday, a simple bottle of inexpensive red was a welcome sight and I continue to be a proponent of what Big House is doing – making nice affordable wines that might not set the world on fire, but are certainly welcome after a long day at work.

Related posts:

1. Big House Red 2008
2. Big House Cardinal Zin 2009
3. Big House “The Usual Suspect” Cabernet Sauvignon 2009

White Hall Vineyards

We started out our tasting at White Hall, partly because of the area we were looking to go tasting in, they were the first one open, but also because I we hadn’t actually been out to the tasting room in many years. On the Saturday morning we stopped in they were pouring 9 different wines and my wife and I were happy to sample them all.

We started out with two Chardonnays, the 2008 Chardonnay ($15) and the 2008 Chardonnay Reserve ($24). The stainless steel Chardonnay featured all the usual citrus and pear notes I would have expected, but had a smoother finish than I anticipated, though certainly not “oaky”. The 2008 Reserve featured a bit of oaky nuttiness on the nose and while it had the “oaked” finish I would expect, it was subtle and even my wife, who doesn’t usually care for oaked Chardonnay, preferred it to the stainless steel.

Next up was the 2009 Viognier ($17) which offered a good floral nose with rose and honeysuckle in the mouth with just a hint of sweetness on the finish. This is a great summer wine and my wife and I did actually bring a bottle of it home with us. Following the Viognier was the 2008 Pinot Gris ($17) which didn’t have much nose to it but was a nice dry wine with a good minerality on the finish. Our final white was the 2008 Petit Manseng ($16) which like the Viognier had a floral nose with tropical notes in the mouth. The best way to describe this wine is as a less floral and more sweet Viognier. A good dessert wine though.

Moving on to the reds. We started with the 2008 Merlot ($15) which had a smoky nose but was lighter in the palate with raspberry flavors. I really enjoyed this one and we made sure to grab a bottle to bring home. Following that was the 2009 Touriga ($18) with a jammy nose and soft tannins. The 2008 Petit Verdot ($20) was a stand-out for me. It was a dark reddish-purple in the glass with smoke and pepper on the nose that carried through to the palate to mix with raspberry and a nice soft tannic finish. This was arguably my favorite wine of the tasting and we made sure to grab a bottle to bring home.

We finished up the tasting with the 2007 Soliterre ($17), a dessert wine with floral and apricot notes on the nose and candied fruit on the palate. With 6% residual sugar you had better make sure to pair it with something, but I will say that had I not known how much residual sugar was in the wine I might have guessed less as it certainly wasn’t syrupy.

Our tasting complete and some wines purchased we moved on to our next stop.

Mountfair Vineyards

I’d be lying if I didn’t mention that Mountfair was a big reason we headed out to do some wine tasting. Everybody in Virginia that’s been there has nothing but good things to say about it, and what’s not to love about a vineyard that specializes in small-batch red wines?

We started off our tasting with a few sparkling wines from Thibaut-Janisson, the Blanc de Chardonnay and the Virginia FIZZ. Mountfair sells these wines for them as they don’t have their own tasting room. They were both enjoyable, one a champagne style and the other a prosecco style.

As for the actual Mountfair wines, we started off with the 2009 Merlot ($20) which is a blend of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc. With a peppery nose I expected more of it in the palate, but the Merlot does a good job of smoothing it out and makes this a great wine for just sipping on. We grabbed a bottle of this as well, bringing our Merlot total up to 2 in as many vineyards. Next was the other of their single varietals, the 2009 Cabernet Franc ($20) which is the opposite of the Merlot at 80% Cabernet Franc and 20% Merlot. The wine was heavier in the mouth than I expected with a subtle pepper and smoke finish with good cherry notes leading the way in. We didn’t buy this one, but mostly because it lost the coin toss against the Merlot.

Next was the 2008 Indigenous ($25) a blend of 50/50 Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc with a velvety pepper nose and a tart finish that I attributed to the Cabernet Franc. Finally we sampled the 2009 Engagement ($25) a blend of 60% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc, 10% Petit Verdot, and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon. This is a great wine for grilled food with a lot of the Cabernet Franc notes coming through, but with more body thanks to the Petite Verdot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot.

I really enjoyed Mountfair and before we left my wife and I even signed up for their wine club so that we’ll get shipments of their wine as their released. If you visit Mountfair or have at least tasted their wines I certainly recommend it as it’s a great value and a good way to get their signature wine, the Wooloomooloo, which pretty much sells out as soon as it’s released.

Pollak Vineyards

My wife and I had visited Pollak a few years back just after they opened their new tasting room (which is beautiful and has a patio and deck area perfect for a picnic lunch), but wanted to head back now that the new vintages were out, especially since I enjoyed what of them I was able to taste back in February at the Virginia Wine Expo. We started out with the 2009 Chardonnay ($19) which had a creamy nose with citrus and vanilla notes on the palate and a soft, light oak hint on the finish.

Next was the 2010 Viognier ($20) with a nose of honey and peach and floral notes on the palate. This was a light wine that will be good on a hot day. Next was the 2010 Pinot Gris ($18) which was so light in the glass as to be nearly clear. This was a medium dry wine and the only thing I can really say about it is that it was so-so, and nothing to get too excited about. Next was the 2009 Durant White ($16) a blend of 60% Chardonnay, 30% Viognier, and 10% Pinot Gris. With a subtle floral nose and good tropical flavors this was easily my favorite white of the tasting and the only reason I didn’t grab a bottle to bring home is that I already have one.

Moving on to the reds we started with the 2009 Durant Red ($12) which is a 50/50 blend of Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Light red in the glass with pepper and a “meaty”, smoky aroma and a tart finish this is a good value wine, especially for those big cookouts that come up this time of year. Our next wine was the 2008 Cabernet Franc ($20) with a nose of pepper and generic red fruit with cherry on the palate.

Next was the 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon ($24) with a nose full of dark fruit and a juicy palate with soft tannins on the finish. This wine is just begging for a grilled steak and I bought a bottle to take home for just that reason. Our final sample was the 2008 Meritage ($25) a blend of 44% Cabernet Franc, 43% Merlot, and 13% Petit Verdot that has a lot of dark fruit on both the nose and the palate with a nice smooth finish. It’s very “petit verdot-y” (according to my notes) and another great steak wine that we only didn’t buy because we decided to go with the Cab Sauv.

After staying at Pollak for a bit to eat some lunch on their deck area, it was on to our final stop.

Veritas Vineyards & Winery

Behind the Veritas tasting bar

I always have a soft spot in my heart for Veritas as my wife’s brother got married there and we had, quite frankly, one helluva time. Veritas lets you select either a white tasting or a red tasting, but since my wife and I were both there, we picked one of each and shared, starting off with the whites.

First was the Scintilla ($30) a French style brut sparkling wine with apple on the nose, big bubbles and a nice dry finish. Next was the 2010 “Saddleback” Chardonnay ($18) which is done in the Chablis style and has lots of tropical notes as well as some vanilla and apple. Following up that was the 2009 “Harlequin” Chardonnay ($25) which has spent 6 months in French oak. With a buttery/oak nose I was almost surprised at how much acid I found on the palate, though it certainly wasn’t a lot. That being said both my wife and I liked the “Harlequin” much better than the “Saddleback”.

Next we tasted the 2010 Viognier ($20). Floral and honeysuckle notes on the nose with peach on the palate and a slight hint of sweetness on the finish (.7% residual sugar) made this a very typical, but very enjoyable, Virginia Viognier. The 2009 Petit Manseng ($25) had kiwi on the nose and even with 10% residual sugar was sweet without being syrupy. The 2009 Kenmar ($35) is an ice wine style made from Traminette and offering rose aromas on the nose with honey and rose water on the palate. This is a very sweet wine, but a good dessert wine if paired correctly with something like pound cake.

Moving on to the reds, we sampled the Mousseux ($30) a sparkling wine using Merlot grapes with notes of strawberry and a tartness that I actually found rather refreshing. The 2010 Rose’ ($14) is made with 46% Cabernet Franc and 54% Merlot and features .5% residual sugar. A medium-light pink in color with a strawberry nose and a dry, slight pepper/spice note on the finish that makes this a good summer wine for pairing with something like grilled chicken.

The Red Star ($18) is a blend of 37% Cabernet Franc, 37% Merlot, and 26% Chambourcin. A nose of dark fruit and pepper and a palate of smoke and cherry make this a good wine to pair with burgers. The 2009 Claret ($18) is a blend of 55% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Franc, and 15% Petit Verdot. The petit verdot really came through on this wine, with a nice juiciness to the wine and aromas of smoke and pepper that will make this another great wine for drinking with some gourmet burgers off the grill – which is why my wife and I grabbed a bottle.

Finally, the 2009 Vintner’s Reserve ($25) a blend of 40% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Franc, and 20% Petit Verdot that spent 18 months in mostly new French oak barrels. A smoky aroma with tons of dark fruit notes on the palate a nice soft tannic finish makes this a great wine to pair with a steak.

My wife and I had a great time tasting all these wines, and everybody that we dealt with at the vineyards was incredibly pleasant, knowledgeable, and friendly. If you have the chance to visit any of these vineyards I highly recommend it, and I’m already looking forward to another trip out to Virginia Wine Country to visit some other vineyards and taste some more wines.

Related posts:

1. Virginia Wine Country Day 2
2. Virginia Wine Country Day 1
3. California Wine Country Day 1 – Napa Valley

Varietal: 89% Cabernet Sauvignon; 6% Merlot; 4% Cabernet Franc; 1% Petit Verdot
Region: Napa Valley – California – USA
Cost: $20

Winemaker’s Notes: Rich, ripe, and focused with juicy blackberry and cherry fruit, cocoa and hints of mint all tied together with a creamy French vanilla middle and finish that in a word is…lingering.

My Review: So, full disclosure, I absolutely grabbed this bottle because the label design was interesting. As we all know, we eat with our eyes first, which is problematic when selecting a bottle of wine since we can’t use our nose, and in a bottle, reds in particular all sorta look alike. So, from time to time, I will narrow my selection down to two or three bottles and then pick the one with the most interesting label. Last Saturday was just such an occasion.

Since I was having a steak I knew I wanted either a Malbec or a Cabernet Sauvignon, and since the 2009 Educated Guess Cabernet Sauvignon had a more interesting label it won out. In the glass the wine was dark, with hints of purple streaking throughout the red, giving it an almost inky quality that I find appealing in wines. On the nose I got a myriad of generic dark fruits – I couldn’t actually pick out one distinct note, but just got a general sense of dark fruits.

In the mouth the wine was jammy and juicy, and while I wasn’t surprised to learn that the wine wasn’t 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, part of me was almost expecting a little Zinfandel in there, though the combination of Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot certainly aren’t anything to complain about. While I didn’t get the mint, I did get the blackberry, cherry, and cocoa on the front with a hint of the vanilla on what was a nice smooth finish – no hard tannic bite on this wine.

Paired with a steak off the grill it was great – the juiciness of the wine mixed perfectly with the juiciness of the steak to make my mouth feel awash in juicy goodness. Even without a meal, as I actually drank this wine over two days (a rarity for me I know), the smooth finish and good fruit flavors made it very easy to sip on while preparing another meal that I had no intention of pairing the wine with.

For $20 this wine is a great value, and the fact that they put some effort into designing their label (a design which carries over to their corks) is appreciated by myself, and especially by my wife, as she is a scientist and found the label to be great. The Cabernet Sauvignon made me want to try some of the other wines from the Educated Guess line and if you wan to try some as well, you can follow this link to have some shipped to you.

Related posts:

1. Blackstone Sonoma Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2007
2. Waterstone Cabernet Sauvignon 2006
3. Blenheim Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon 2009

• 2008 Hiddencroft Vineyards Cabernet Franc
• 2008 Fox Meadow Vineyards Le Renard Rouge
• 2008 Cooper Vineyards Norton Reserve
• 2009 Keswick Vineyards Cabernet Franc
• 2009 Afton Mountain Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Estate Reserve
• 2008 Barboursville Vineyards Petit Verdot Reserve

2008 Hiddencroft Vineyards Cabernet Franc

Arguably one of my favorite wines that I tasted, with a nice garnet color and lots of pepper both on the nose and in the mouth. I was disappointed that Hiddencroft Vineyards didn’t have a booth at the Virginia Wine Expo so that I could buy some of this wine, but it just means that I’m going to have to go out and visit their vineyard sometime soon to pick some up.

2008 Fox Meadow Vineyards Le Renard Rouge

The wine that won the 2011 Governor’s Cup (congrats guys). The Le Renard Rouge is a Meritage blend of 50% Cabernet Franc and 50% Merlot. Light red in color with flavors of black cherry and a tartness to it that will let it pair well with pasta dishes.

2008 Cooper Vineyards Norton Reserve

A 100% Norton wine that was purple in color with plenty of berry on the palate. The wine was bright and juicy in the mouth with a bit of tartness on the finish as well.

2009 Keswick Vineyards Cabernet Franc

A 100% Cabernet Franc that was another of my favorites of the tasting. Purple in the glass with plenty of pepper on the nose, cherry in the mouth, and a nice green bell pepper hint on the finish that I know some people don’t like, but I’m a big fan of, but should fade from the wine with age if it’s not to your taste. I picked up a bottle of this the next day during the Expo and you can look forward to a fuller review in the future.

2009 Afton Mountain Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Estate Reserve

A 100% estate grown wine aged in French Oak, there are notes of coffee on the nose and dark cherry in the mouth with a great tannic finish that just begs to be paired with a steak. Had they placed some tenderloin out to pair with the wine I honestly don’t know that I would have left their table. I was already a fan of Afton Mountain for getting me back into Gewurztraminer, but this Cabernet Sauvignon just makes me like them more.

2008 Barboursville Petit Verdot Reserve

And finally there was Barboursville. I’m a fan of Petit Verdot, so I was happy to try this. Deep ruby coloring with flavors of plum, dark olives, and just a hint of chocolate and the typical velvety finish of Petit Verdot that I find so enjoyable.

All of the gold medal winners were good and deserved both the award they won and the Governor’s Cup. Had I been choosing the award I’d be lying if it wouldn’t have gone to either Keswick, Afton Mountain, or Hiddencroft, but Fox Meadow was also very deserving of the award and I do recommend trying out their wines.

Thanks to Amy and Annette over at Virginia Wine for the invite and check back for my thoughts on the Virginia Wine Expo as a whole.

Related posts:

1. Virginia Wine Tasting
2. Virginia Wine Country Day 1
3. Virginia Wine Country Day 2

Last night I had the opportunity to participate in a Twitter tasting of several bottles of Virginia wine, which I was rather excited about, given as how I live in Virginia and am always looking to both sample new wines from my home state and to help promote wines from my home state to those that don’t happen to live here.  A selection of five bottles was chosen, 2 whites and 3 reds, and myself and several other tasters in person and many more online all worked our way through, sharing our thoughts.  Here are mine.

2009 Tarara Nevaeh White

Just in case you were wondering “nevaeh” is heaven backwards.  Yeah, that’s what I thought too.  A blend of 70% Viognier and 30% Chardonnay, with all the Viognier on the nose and nothing but Chardonnay in the mouth.  Crisp flavors of honeysuckle and pineapple with a slight oaky creaminess on the finish.  It’s not a bad wine, and would go well with grilled chicken, but I have hard time recommending it at the $30 price point.  It’s not enough of a game changer for the price point.

2009 Notaviva Ottantotto Viognier

Very light in color and with a very subtle nose that came out the more I let the wine open up, but was never very bold.  Light and crisp with nice acid and a hint of sweetness on the finish that was anything from bubble gum and cotton candy to banana flavored Now n Laters.  The consensus of the people I was tasting in person was that it wasn’t very “viognier-y”.  Of the two whites, I liked the Tarara better, but would could justify the $20 for the Notaviva more.

2008 8 Chains North Dry Red Wine

A deep purple/red color.  The wine is a blend of 33% Malbec; 30% Cabernet Sauvignon; 30% Petit Verdot; 5% Cabernet Franc; 2% Merlot.  Later in the evening, when I was finishing this bottle, the cabernet franc really started to come out (not a bad thing), but at the tasting flavors and aromas of smoke, berry, tobacco, and a jamminess made it a great wine to want to pair with a steak.  For $22 this is a great value and one I certainly plan to pick up again.

2007 Breaux Vineyards Cabernet Franc

I would love to use this wine in a blind tasting to screw with people.  It doesn’t taste like a cabernet franc at all, and certainly not one from Virginia.  A deep dark red with jammy notes of berry, smoke, and pepper with dark chocolate on the finish.  Even with 16.4% alc/volume there was not aroma or flavor of alcohol, which I was incredibly impressed with.  Even at $32, this wine is a great wine and one I just wanted to pair with a steak and a cigar.

2008 North Gate Petit Verdot

I felt bad for the North Gate because we tasted it after the Breaux.  That’s not to say it wasn’t good, with a dark purple color and jamminess on both the nose and palate.  But the bright flavors and subtle tannins of this Petit Verdot should have come before the bold, dark flavors of the Cabernet Franc.  That being said, this is another great value wine at $24.

I want to thank John Witherspoon of The Wine Cellar for hosting us for the tasting, and thank the hosts of the wine tasting for organizing the event and putting together a great selection of Virginia Wine.  I really did enjoy them all, and while the reds were our clear favorites last night, there’s not a single bottle that I would be ashamed to have in my wine cellar.

Related posts:

1. Virginia Wine Country Day 2
2. Virginia Wine Country Day 1
3. Wines of Chile: Blended Reds Blogger Tasting

Varietal: Cabernet Sauvignon (87% Cabernet Sauvignon; 7% Cabernet Franc; 4% Petit Verdot; 2% Malbec)
Region: California – USA
Cost: $20 (SRP)

Dark red in the glass with aromas of baking spices, toasted oak, and chocolate.  Flavors of cherry, plum, currant with soft tannins.  Pairs well with steak, duck, wild game, and mushroom dishes.

Recommendations: Any time I see a suggestion that reads “steak” I have a hard time declining the invitation, and so it was with the 2007 Blackstone Sonoma Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon.  After a long week, a steak dinner sounded delicious, and I had just the wine at home to go with it.

While Blackstone labels this wine a Cabernet Sauvignon, it does have a few other grapes blended in (though still meeting the requirements to be listed as a single varietal), and these certainly added to the wine.  While I didn’t a lot of the nose listed in the tasting notes due to a lot of alcohol on the nose (14.5%/vol), I definitely got flavors of cherry and a nice smooth tannic finish that I attributed to the Petit Verdot in the blend.

When paired with what I think may be the most perfect steak I’ve ever cooked, the smooth finish and full-bodied flavors were a perfect match.  While I enjoyed the wine after I had finished dinner, this is very much a bottle that should at least be started with a meal.  The full-bodied flavors and structure lend to it being a good pairing for bolder meals like a steak with a mushroom topping.

For the price ($20 suggested retail price), it’s a good quality steak wine that won’t disappoint and one I would recommend giving a try to the next time you’re looking at a steak dinner.  If you can’t find the 2007 Blackstone Sonoma Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon at your local store, you can get it by going to this website.

Related posts:

1. Blackstone Sonoma Reserve Rubric 2007
2. Concannon Conservancy Cabernet Sauvignon 2007
3. Sebastiani Cabernet Sauvignon 2006

Varietal: Claret (60% Merlot; 35% Cabernet Franc; 5% Petit Verdot)
Region: Virginia – USA
Cost: $17

A Bordeaux style wine with aromas of dark fruit and spice.  A fruit forward wine with flavors of red and black cherry, blackberry, and currant.  Pairs well with hamburgers, pasta, pizza, medium-sharp cheeses.

Recommendations: This was one of my favorite wines when my wife and I visited Virginia wine country back in March, and I’m almost ashamed that it’s taken me this long to getting around to opening and reviewing this bottle.  I’ve enjoyed Veritas Vineyards for some time now, in no small part because my wife’s brother got married there and so I spent the better part of a weekend drinking their wine.

As for the 2008 Claret, it’s a great blend.  The Merlot and Cabernet Franc give the wine body and flavor, while the Petit Verdot smooths out the finish making it perfect for drinking with a wide range of foods or just by itself.  I paired with wine with a simple dinner of meatballs in a gravy over rice (a nice hearty Fall/Winter go-to of mine).  A peppery aroma from the Cabernet Franc and flavors of cherry were most noticeable to me, with the Petit Verdot smoothing out the finish for me in a way that I found quite enjoyable.

This is a great wine for pairing with whatever quick meal you’re making at home after a long day at work, and I would love to try this with some jazzed up hamburgers – maybe something topped or stuffed with a blue cheese or some other non-cheddar cheese and some bacon.  While the cost may prohibit it from being labeled a true “table wine”, it’s certainly not expensive, and definitely worth picking up a bottle or two of for those nights when you want something that will go with anything.

I know you can find some Veritas wines in Virginia ABC stores, but if you can’t find it near you, they do sell their wines on their website at VeritasWines.com .  If you’re in the area I definitely recommend checking them out as they have a beautiful tasting room and grounds to enjoy a picnic lunch..

Related posts:

1. Pollak Vineyards Durant Red 2008
2. Blenheim Vineyards Meritage 2005
3. Lake Anna Winery Spotsylvania Claret

Varietal: Blended Red Wine (55% Cabernet Sauvignon; 14% Malbec; 8% Cabernet Franc; 8% Petit Verdot; 7% Tannat; 5% Merlot; 3% Petite Sirah)
Region: California – USA
Cost: $22 (SRP)

Deep red color with aromas of cherry, anise, dried herbs, and tobacco.  Flavors of blackberry, caramel, and subtle notes of coffee with a lingering finish and firm tannins.  Pairs well with lamb steaks, beef carpaccio, cheddar cheese potatoes gratin.

Recommendations: When I got this wine, I was instantly interested in it thanks to the blend.  I’m a fan of most of the grapes in this wine as a single varietal, so I was hopeful that they would blend together well.  As the tasting notes for this wine recommended pairing it with lamb, it took me a few weeks to finally open this, as I had never cooked lamb before and was slowly but surely psyching myself up to do just that.  This weekend I did just that.

The wine was a beautiful deep red in the glass, and I got aromas of cherry and a hint of tobacco on the nose.  Flavors of blackberry were most prevalent to me, but what really impressed me was the smoothness of the wine.  At least in my opinion I cooked the lamb just right (we learned that my wife is not a fan of lamb this weekend), and the flavor of the wine was a nice compliment to both the flavor and the texture of the lamb.  I know that sounds weird, but the blend of the wine lent itself to a nice smooth wine that was bold and subtle all at once.  It’s confusing, but it is what it is.

As with all wines, the true test for me is whether it’s enjoyable after the food is gone, and I did like this wine after I had finished my lamb steak (and admittedly a portion of my wife’s).  The nice bold flavor of the Cabernet Sauvignon was tempered by the Petit Verdot (which is quickly becoming my favorite blending grape), Petite Sirah, and Merlot.

I know that around the holidays a lot of people will eat lamb, and if you’re one of those people this is certainly a wine worth checking out to pair with your holiday meals.  If you can’t find the Blackstone Sonoma Reserve Rubric at your local store and want to give it a try, you can click here and get it.

Related posts:

1. Concannon Conservancy Petite Sirah 2007
2. Friends.Red Sonoma County Red Wine
3. Folie a Deux Merlot 2007