Blend: 65% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc, 5% Malbec

Tasting Notes: This is classy bistro Bordeaux at its finest, and you’ll fall in love with it at first whiff. A well of ‘rich but not jammy’ fruit that encompasses aromas of mulberry fruit, redcurrant, bing cherry, plum skin all wrapped in a velvety cloak of tobacco, coffee and spice, accompanied by a beautiful floral note and balancing on a sea of minerality & graphite that you can not only smell, but taste. The flavors definitely follow to the palate, but it’s buttressed by a refreshing, medium-weight core of acidity and tannin that reign in all the above aromas perfectly. There’s a sweet spot on the finish that marry the fruit, spice, and youthful tannin in a way that winks at a similar finish found in some youthful Italian wines. Granted, the fruit here is darker, cooler, and more restrained, but there is a parallel nonetheless, and we have to tip our hats to our Barolo & Brunello-loving friends who pointed the similarity out to us.

Pairing: Ok! Bordeaux reds can be both simple and difficult to pair because of their tannins and structure. For easy pairings, look no further than steak frites, burgers, braised or grilled meats or portobello’s, stews, and you get the idea. Anything with some kind of fat that the wine can cut through to provide you with an enjoyable evening. Now, vegetables may seem more difficult upon first glance, but nope, they just take a little bit of an adjustment to the normal way you’d approach a wine pairing. For our pairing today, we’re sharing a recipe by Ali Slagle for an Olive-Walnut Pasta. The olive and walnut’s in the pasta provide fat and balance, though we’d suggest to stay away from adding dill or feta if you make adjustments.