Bordeaux Blend

Surprisingly open, Maya used to be a wine that needed serious time before opening but this vintage/bottle was drinking well.  It is a blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 40% Cabernet Franc.  Inky purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose is great with cassis, blueberries, black cherries, cigar tobacco, spice, slight cocoa and char.  Full bodied.  Firm tannins.  On the palate, this is delicious.  Black cherries, cassis, spice, tobacco and char.  Lovely texture.  Long finish.  No doubt this gets a perfect score as it matures but its close now.  Drink over the next twenty to thirty years. 

Washington state makes some excellent Merlots and "Right Bank" blends.  This is another case in point.  The wine is a blend of 55% Merlot, 36% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 9% Cabernet Franc.  Deep garnet in color, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose is classic and enticing.  Black cherries, cassis, bell pepper, chocolate, and spice.  Nice texture.  Great balance.  On the palate, at age eleven, this is showing a nice maturity.  perhaps just on the younger side of fully mature.  Complex and layered with flavors of cherries, black cherries, milk chocolate, and underlying earthiness and char.  Long

Taken from a less than ideal cellar, but the fill was mid-shoulder and it looked ok.  Turned out, it was.  Brick red in color but clear and more importantly, bright.  The nose is slightly earthy but there are cherries and a slight perfume note.  Medium bodied with good acidity.  No tannins.  On the palate, this is of course, old and past prime, but there is still some fruit left.  Cherries, dried cherries and earth.  Clipped finish.  Worth drinking a glass.  Probably not worth serving with food, more of an intellectual curiosity.  

Taken from a less than ideal cellar.  Ullage was in the low shoulder.  Mostly brown (iced tea) in color but some ruby hues.  The nose was mushrooms along with a touch of dried cherries and slight cherry fruit.  Medium bodied.  On the palate, mostly dried fruit and mushrooms with a touch of sour cherries.  Something left but not enough to really bother.  Oh well.  

Purple in color with ruby swirls, Mostly opaque and bright.  The nose has cassis, cigar box and spice.  Medium to full bodied.  Medium tannins.  On the palate, this has a nice complexity.  Drinking well and closer to maturity.  Layers of cassis, earth, tobacco with some char.  Nice finish.  This is drinking well now but will work better with food.  A Lamb stew would be a classic pairing.  Drink over the next eight to twelve years.  

From a difficult vintage, this was outstanding.  Inky purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose has cassis, black cherries, black olives, spice and slight graphite.  Medium to full bodied.  Firm tannins.  On the palate, cassis, black cherries with some underlying earthiness.  Great acidity.  Long finish.  This is complex but needs some air to unwind.  Drink over the next ten to fifteen years.  Great on its own, but this will be better with food (but let it breather for a while prior to serving).  This would be great with lamb, of course, but a smoky, black bean burger would be very nice

Impressive showing for this classic Napa wine.  Inky purple in color and shimmering bright.  The nose is big with black raspberries, blueberries, black olives, and spice.  Full bodied.  Firm tannins.  On the palate, cassis, coffee, blueberries, spice and char.  Deep but tightly wound.  It unwinds in layers in the glass.  Long finish.  Just a fantastic wine that is just beginning to show some maturity.  Holding for another decade will be rewarded but drinking now is great as well.  Drink over the next twenty years.  Great on its own, it will need bigger food.  While Prime Rib would be classi

This is from one of the early Garagiste (Garage wines) wineries.  Inky purple, ruby at the rim, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose is earthy with cassis and a touch of brown sugar.  Plush texture.  Medium to firm tannins.  Long finish. Drinking well and close to maturity.  Drink over the next five to eight years.  This would work nicely with beef stroganoff.  

Purple in color with some ruby swirls, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose has cassis, tobacco, cherries and dust.  Medium to full bodied.  Great lush texture.  On the palate this is bigger than on the nose.  Cassis with some char.  Firm tannins.  Medium depth.  Good finish.  i found this to be slow maturing like many 2000's but it is certainly accessible and drinking  well at this point.  it should go at least another ten years.  This would work nicely with Lamb chops.  

This is a 50/50 blend of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon.  Purple in color, shimmering bright.  The nose is dusty with black cherries, cassis, and some char.  Full bodied.  Soft texture.  Medium tannins.  On the palate, this is tight but complex.  It unwinds slowly.  Black cherry fruit with some spice.  Good finish.  This is drinking well and will work well with many foods.  Certainly, it would be nice with Rotisserie Chicken.  Drink over the next seven to ten years.