Bordeaux Blend

One never knows about older bottles until they are opened.  I would have thought this DOA but it had some life left and was a nice older wine.  Ruby/brown in color, clear and bright.  The nose has some Volatile Acidity when first poured but the blew off after about ten minutes leaving Cherries, and earthiness and slightly perfumed.  Medium bodied.  On the palate, cherry cough syrup notes with a bit of mint on the finish.  This kept improving in the glass for the 15 or so minutes that I had it.  Nice on it own, this worked great with a mushroom popover dish.  Certainly past prime, but that's

This is made from grapes donated by wineries who are members of the Commanderie in Bordeaux.  Really fun to start the Edwin's 1980's Bordeaux tasting with this wine.  Many in the crowd seemed to enjoy the wine (not me), the atmosphere (absolutely) or the opportunity to taste something cool while supporting a great charity (Edwin's)!  This was brown in color (think a bit darker than a wet tootsie roll).  The nose offered up some balsamic vinegar and warm attic dust.  Medium bodied.  On the palate, this was thin and dilute.  Not acidic or tart or off.  Really just not much of anything.  With

It seemed like a bad idea opening such a young Bordeaux, but this was surprisingly still open and drinking well.  Purple in color, ruby at the rim, opaque and bright.  The nose has black cherries, cassis, chocolate and spice.  Medium to full bodied.  Medium tannins.  On the palate, black raspberry fruit with black cherries and underlying char.  Plenty of depth.  Complex.  Good finish with some milk chocolate notes.  This is delicious.  It will be interesting to see where this goes from here.  Does it shut down?  Does it develop more with cellaring.  In any event it is excellent right now. 

This bottle had been opened at 9:00 am for serving around 7:00 pm.  It wasn't enough, so it got decanted around 6:30.  Still was quite tight so it was left to sit in the glass for another hour where it eventually opened up.  This bottle needs time.  A 24 hour decant might not be out of line at this point.  This is a blend of 84% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Petit Verdot, 5% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc, 1% Malbec.  Inky purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose has cassis, slight earthiness, graphite, chocolate and slight roasted herbs.  Full bodied.  Firm tannins.  Lovely texture.  On the palat

A blend of 55% Merlot and 45% Cabernet Sauvignon.  The cork was popped at 9:00 am, a half ounce poured off, then a neutral cork inserted before being transported and served at 7:00 pm.  The wine took about 30 minutes to really open and hit its stride.  Purple in color with a ruby rim, opaque and bright.  The nose shows black cherries, cassis, smoke, slight chocolate, and leather.  With air, a subtle earthiness emerges that is classic Bordeaux.  Full bodied.  Light tannins.  On the palate, this is complex and deep.  Cassis, black cherries, chocolate cigar box notes and earth.  Layers that un

Wow.  Talk about a Bordeaux styled wine made in Napa, this is it.  Just a beauty.  87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot and 1% Petite Verdot.  Ruby/purple in color, opaque and shimmering bright.  The nose is gorgeous, if young.  Cassis, black cherries, blueberries, smoke, tobacco, earthiness, cedar and spice.  Full bodied.  Firm tannins.  Great energy.  On the palate, this is complex and tightly layered.  Cassis and black cherries with earthiness and smoke.  Long finish.  Delicious.  This is not a huge fruit bomb at all.  Not yet at peak but well on its way.  This has another twenty to thirty

Popped the cork, allowed to breathe for an hour or so.  Purple in color, ruby at the rim, slightly flat and opaque.  The nose is classic Bordeaux.  Some Bordeaux earthy funk along with cassis, cigar box and cedar.  Firm tannins.  Nicely balance.  Great texture.  On the palate, this is just about at peak but maybe not quite.  Layered complexity.  Cassis, earthiness, tobacco and slight char.  Long finish with some dark chocolate on it.  Delicious.  Everything one could have hoped for on purchase.  This drinks well on its own but would be great at the dinner table with Roasted Lamb.  It still

It is always a pleasure to drink a first Growth.  2003 was an extremely hot vintage all across Europe.   This vintage is a blend of 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot.  Purple in color, opaque and bright.  Great nose.  A bit of funk, some cigar, plenty of cassis, and leather.  Full bodied.  Light tannins.  On the palate, this seems about at peak maturity.  Plenty of depth.  Layers of cassis with some tobacco notes and earthiness.  Long finish.  Just a fantastic wine.  This drinks great on its own and would work well with roasted meats or veggies.  It w

Frank Family seems to be one of those wines that people like because the owners are such good people and the wines are good as well.  While I haven't had the pleasure of meeting the owners, I do agree, the wines are very good.  A blend of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot, 4% Cabernet Franc.  Purple in color, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose has cassis, cedar and spice.  Full bodied.  Tannins are mostly, not completely, resolved.  On the palate cassis, slight spice and a hint of char.  Nice finish.  An enjoyable, easy to drink wine with some stuffing.  Good finish.  Dri

This is a blend of Howell Mountain (70%) and Mt. Veeder (30%) grapes with Cabernet Franc (52%) and Cabernet Sauvignon (38%) and the rest Malbec, Petite Verdot and Merlot.  The team at Dagmar are negociants for California wines.  Garnet in color with purple swirls, mostly clear and bright.  The nose has black cherries, tobacco, dust and slight sage notes.  Long finish.  This is drinking well now and should drink well for another seven to ten years.  It works well on its own and would work well with hearty foods such as lamb stew.