Napa Valley
Time to visit an old friend.
I reviewed this wine, with a lamb dinner, back in 2010. I have not had it since (the wine – okay that
too), so let’s see how it is aging.
Here is what I had to say on that review on that cold
November night back in 2010.
“On the nose there are dark berry fruits with some
spice. The taste has a good blackberry
and dark cherry taste but, the alcohol gives a bit of a burn. So, this wine needs to be decanted to help it
to open up.”
Today, I opened the bottle and poured a glass and this wine
tastes perfect right off the bat. The
nose has rich boysenberry and juicy blackberry along with a hint of sweet
caramel. Don’t get me wrong this is not
a sweet wine. The alcohol had a bite on
the palate back in 2010 and it is not present today. The wine has aged gracefully. The taste is just yummy; with notes of dark
juicy berries, sweet black cherry, along with a hint of mocha and a swirl of
caramel.
Back in 2010 there was a peppery profile and a dark
chocolate style as well, today I do not notice any peppery notes (yet) and the
dark chocolate is more of a mocho. The
mouthfeel is more sophisticated and silky smooth.
Damn, I had a big 8oz filet mignon, for dinner, which was to
die for. I used a coffee bar b-q rub
with espresso vinegar on the filet. Wow,
it was just great. I believe this wine
would have been perfect with that dinner.
I am pairing this wine with a terrific cigar as my after
dinner desert. I have the Gurkha Ancient
Warrior which I think is one of the best cigars to pair with a red wine. The Kristoff Maduro is one great stick to have
with a red wine as well.
The Ancient Warrior Cigar has a tasty forest floor style
with notes that remind me of mineral soil, hardwood, sweet toasted vegetation;
along with a rich black bread tone.
The wine and the cigar play off of each so well. The forest floor likeness of the cigar
mingles with the wines juicy berries for an excellent experience. The Russian bread note from the cigar just
soaks up the wines hint of caramel and mocha.
I am getting down to the final third of the cigar and I do
not want this experience to end. It is
just like a passionate night of hot sex (which I know nothing about – I am a
married man you know) but, you just don’t want it to end from what I can
remember.
The description on the bottle of wine
sounds wonderful, “…an elegant, dark-fruit character and velvety texture. The
rich, expansive flavors abound with lush blackberry, black cherry and cocoa
expressions, while hints of caramel and spice from barrel aging linger on the
fruit-imbued finish.”
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