This morning Dave Mathews song “So Much to Say” is on my mind.
Feeling the need to press on and share this weeks wine chats. Time to finish some reviews too.
#winechat: Santa Rita, Medalla Real, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2008, from the Maipo Valley.
Last nights #winechat featured two wines from Chile. For me, it was an eye opening experience. Chile is producing some spectacular wines. In particular, the featured Santa Rita, Medalla Real, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2008, from the Maipo Valley, blew me away. The #winechat crowd was exuberant in their response too. It is an impressive Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon, especially once you consider the retail price of US $18.
Ripe and round, dark color, dark fruit, the concentrated palate grows into and expansive finish at the 2 hour mark. Gorgeous wine. You could drink this wine with food, but why bother? Decant this wine for an hour or two, then kick back and enjoy a wonderful Chilean wine experience. I really enjoyed how well this wine drinks and that it is stylistically different from Washington Cabernet. An enjoyable change of pace. Highly recommended!
Blend: 95% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Cabernet Franc
Region: Maipo Valley
Aged for 14 months in 1st, 2nd and 3rd-use barrels
ABV: 14.5%
Samples provided by Pasternak Wine Imports and Lush Life Productions
Next weeks #winechat is March 28th – we’ll be talking with @WinesofFrance about the Touraine wine region. The suggested wine pairing: Touraine Sauvignon Blanc Les Deux Tours 2009.
What is #Winechat?
#Winechat is a chat on Twitter that occurs every Wednesday night from 9-10pm EST (6-7 PST). Each week we discuss a different topic or talk with different guests. You don’t have to be a total wine geek to join – you must just have a thirst to learn and chat about wine!
March Virtual Tasting: L'Ecole No 41 Red Wine
Tuesday night was the March virtual tasting, arranged by Sean Sullivan of Washington Wine Report, of the 2009 L'Ecole No 41 Red Wine. This was a well received red wine tasting by an iconic Washington winery. L'Ecole has recently undergone a label change and a new marketing program, but it's all good. Everyone liked the L'Ecole Red Wine and even I now appreciate the new label.
When I was photographing the bottle, I instantly realized that the look of the label was “classier” and “more sophisticated” which influenced how I composed the photo. What do you think? I've been told that the label change has been very good for business. I can see why.
Opens with Sage and vanilla on the nose, strawberry emerges after 30 minutes. Nice structure, firm tannins, my speed for a grilled steak. Found it locally for $18. The blend is 55% Merlot, 21% Cab, 13% Syrah, 5% Malbec, 3% each Petit Verdot & Cab Franc.Recommended.
Taste Washington Seattle is next week –
Time to prepare for sampling from 200 Washington wineries next week in Seattle. Taste Washington! has expanded to two days so there are more opportunities to explore Washington wine. If you see me, stop me and say hello, I'll try to do the same.
I have several wine reviews to finish and post:
Cheers! Thanks for stopping by.
Feeling the need to press on and share this weeks wine chats. Time to finish some reviews too.
#winechat: Santa Rita, Medalla Real, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2008, from the Maipo Valley.
Last nights #winechat featured two wines from Chile. For me, it was an eye opening experience. Chile is producing some spectacular wines. In particular, the featured Santa Rita, Medalla Real, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2008, from the Maipo Valley, blew me away. The #winechat crowd was exuberant in their response too. It is an impressive Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon, especially once you consider the retail price of US $18.
 |
| Santa Rita, Medalla Real Gran Reserva, Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 D.O. Maipo Valley, Chile. |
Ripe and round, dark color, dark fruit, the concentrated palate grows into and expansive finish at the 2 hour mark. Gorgeous wine. You could drink this wine with food, but why bother? Decant this wine for an hour or two, then kick back and enjoy a wonderful Chilean wine experience. I really enjoyed how well this wine drinks and that it is stylistically different from Washington Cabernet. An enjoyable change of pace. Highly recommended!
Blend: 95% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Cabernet Franc
Region: Maipo Valley
Aged for 14 months in 1st, 2nd and 3rd-use barrels
ABV: 14.5%
Samples provided by Pasternak Wine Imports and Lush Life Productions
Next weeks #winechat is March 28th – we’ll be talking with @WinesofFrance about the Touraine wine region. The suggested wine pairing: Touraine Sauvignon Blanc Les Deux Tours 2009.
 |
| Ready for #winechat to start. |
#Winechat is a chat on Twitter that occurs every Wednesday night from 9-10pm EST (6-7 PST). Each week we discuss a different topic or talk with different guests. You don’t have to be a total wine geek to join – you must just have a thirst to learn and chat about wine!
March Virtual Tasting: L'Ecole No 41 Red Wine
 |
| 2009 L'Ecole No 41 Red Wine Subject of March Virtual Tasting. |
 |
| New Label for an Iconic Washington Winery. |
When I was photographing the bottle, I instantly realized that the look of the label was “classier” and “more sophisticated” which influenced how I composed the photo. What do you think? I've been told that the label change has been very good for business. I can see why.
Opens with Sage and vanilla on the nose, strawberry emerges after 30 minutes. Nice structure, firm tannins, my speed for a grilled steak. Found it locally for $18. The blend is 55% Merlot, 21% Cab, 13% Syrah, 5% Malbec, 3% each Petit Verdot & Cab Franc.Recommended.
Taste Washington Seattle is next week –
 |
| www.tastewashington.org |
Time to prepare for sampling from 200 Washington wineries next week in Seattle. Taste Washington! has expanded to two days so there are more opportunities to explore Washington wine. If you see me, stop me and say hello, I'll try to do the same.
I have several wine reviews to finish and post:
- Review: Columbia Crest 2 Vines Cabernet Sauvignon
- Review: Vin du Lac Syrah
- Review: Bombing Range Red
- Barnard Griffin Visit: Change of Perspective
Cheers! Thanks for stopping by.