Bordeaux Blend

This is a blend of 67% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc and 5% Petit Verdot.  Purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose is expressive with cassis, black cherries, dark chocolate and slight coffee.  Full bodied.  Rich texture with great balance.  Medium tannins.  On the palate, this is complex and layered.  Flavors of cassis, black cherries and chocolate with underlying char.  Long finish.  This is drinking fantastic right now but should still improve over the next five to ten years.  It should drink well for twenty more years after that.  Great on its own, this will nee

This is a blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Cabernet Franc, 13% Merlot, and 13% Petite Verdot.  Purple in color, ruby at the rim, opaque and bright.  The nose is very nice with cassis, black cherries, cigar box, vanilla and slight smoke.  Full bodied.  On the palate, this has a nice texture.  Deep, it unwinds in the glass.  Light tannins.  Nots of cassis, cherries with some vanilla and a hint of char.  This wine comes off as much more elegant than their Cabernet and more seamless.  Some of that is the vintage as the 2017's are generally drinking earlier.  That said, this wine should drin

Once again demonstrating how long the 2005's are taking to come around.  Pop and pour (for logistic reasons), this was just starting to open at the two hour mark.  Still, a great showing though.

This is a blend of  41% Cabernet Sauvignon, 34% Merlot, and 25% Cabernet Franc made by Thomas Rivers Brown.  Pop and pour, this took about twenty minutes to start opening and then drink very well.  Purple in color with a ruby rim, opaque and bright.  The nose is nice with cherries, black cherries, baking spice, slight chocolate, a hint of iron and roasted herbs.   Full bodied although certainly not over the top.  Rich texture.  On the palate, this has firm tannins that integrate somewhat with air.  Nots of cherries and black cherries with some underlying tobacco and a bit of chocolate.  Som

A new winery for me to try.  Purple in colo9r, ruby at the rim, opaque and bright.  The nose has black cherries, slight cassis, smoke and gravel.  Medium bodied.  Light tannins.  On the palate, nice black cherry fruit with underlying smoke and gravel.  Nice finish.  This should drink well for the next ten to twelve years.  This should go well with Roasted or Charred Portabellas and Root Vegetables.

This is the second wine of Pichon Longueville.  It is a blend of 54% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot and 4% Cabernet Franc.  Purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose is nice with cassis, black cherries, slight chocolate and a bit of leather.  Medium to full bodied.  On the palate, light tannins.  Tart, black raspberry fruit.  Some black cherries and a bit of chocolate.  Good acidity.  Nice balance.  Long finish.  This should improve a bit over the next five to seven years but either way should be great drinking over the next twelve to fifteen.  A Chicken and Cheddar Sou

Purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose is nice with black cherries, cassis, slight floral notes and cedar.  Medium to full bodied.  On the palate, this has ripe cassis flavors with a touch of leather and slight dried floral notes.  Medium tannins.  Good finish.  This needs a few more years to open and then should drink well for another ten to twelve more.  This would work well with a bacon-cheese Quiche.  

This is the second wine of Lynch Bages.  It is a blend of 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 36% Merlot, and 2% Cabernet Franc.  Most of the 2018's tried were riper and more "modern" for lack of a better descriptor.  This seems more "old school" with less alcohol.  Purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose is nice with cassis, black cherries, graphite, slight leather and char.  Medium bodied.  On the palate, there are tart black cherries, medium tannins and just a bit of smoke.  A slightly clipped finish.  This could use a bit of time, maybe a couple years, but should drink well for ten to twelve

This is a blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 40% Merlot.  It used to be known as Château Lalande-Borie but the name changed starting with the 2018 vintage.  Purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose is powerful with cassis, black cherries, coffee, spice and dust.

Another wine to turn to when looking for value in top vintages of Bordeaux.  Purple in color, ruby at the rim, opaque and bright.  The nose is nice with cassis and plums and slight leather and char.  Medium to full bodied.  On the palate, this is firm tannins.  A velvety texture.  Lots of cassis fruit with underlying leather and slight char.  Good acidity.  Nice finish.  This needs another five to eight years to approach maturity and should drink well for ten to fifteen after that.  This will work well with grilled or roasted meats (or vegetables).