Well, I want to start out with the label of this wine. At first I did not notice the texture of the label; it is very textural, especially the old vine, which is up front and center. The wine is a deep garnet color. The nose is filled with dark fruit aromas, along with a hint of dust and oak. The palate is juicy, and has those same dark fruit flavors from the blending of Cabernet Sauvignon, Old Vine Zinfandel, Syrah and Petite Syrah. There is also hints of cedar and a hint of lead on the mid palate, along with the right amount of oak. This wine has a bit of acidity that makes it perfect for pairing with steaks and burgers. There are some tannins in this big and juicy wine, so I feel it can benefit from some decanting in a decanter or just your glass. The wine has nice fruit, and the tannins give this wine a lot of backbone. I paired this wine with a rib eye steak, that was marinated in
Stubb's Beef Marinade for a little over an hour, and then pan seared it a bit of olive oil with a few sprigs of rosemary and sprinkled
Victoria Taylor's Cracked Black Pepper Rub http://www.vgourmet.com on each side of my steaks. I like the peppery notes this seasoning added to my steaks.
I would also pair this wine with burgers stuffed with rosemary or sage compound butter. Due to Syrah pairing well with sage and Cabernet Sauvignon pairing well with rosemary, so either butter will do with this big red wine blend. Now, I have to say, you have to be a big wine woman to handle this one, but then again, I'm a woman that can handle it! Another pairing would be an aged or sharp cheddar cheese or Cahill Porter cheese.
Note: This wine was a sample provided by
Bogle Vineyards http://www.boglewinery.com SRP $11.00
