Recommendation: Recommended as a buy.
Winery/Producer:Charles Smith Wines; Mattawa, Washington.
Grape Variety: 89.2% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7.1% Syrah, 3.6% Merlot, 1% Sangiovese.
Geographic Origin: Columbia Valley, Washington.
Vintage: 2009
Price: $19.99
Purchased From: Total Wine; Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Pared With: 1st Tasting: BBQ chicken, oven Parmesan fries, cabbage salad with lemon dressing. 2nd Tasting: Maytag blue cheese pasta, romaine lettuce salad with strong lemon scored dressing
Tasting:
He said: 1st Tasting: Brick red color. A bouquet with lots of dark fruit and hints of alcohol. A good mix of dark fruit in the taste and a finish with nice dry tannins. With the dinner the tannins were quite soft; after the dinner the tannins became more prominent (but not to strong). Nice robust Cab.
2nd Tasting: Strong dark fruit bouquet, but no alcohol this time. The dark fruit taste is really nice, and this wine was great with the Maytag blue cheese pasta (the dry fruity finish goes perfectly with the blue cheese). For me the second bottle was a much better pairing. If you only open one bottle of wine with dinner and have a sweet desert, skip the desert with this wine and just drink the wine.
She said: 1st Tasting: First smell and taste were divine; full of fruit with medium to full body, medium tannins which blossomed as the dinner wore on and lasted well into the long finish. Excellent with sharp cheddar but lost ground with bitter chocolate. Over all this is a nice Cab, not a bargain, but a good buy.
2nd Tasting: You might think it odd to be so specific about the salad dressing but the high lemon content and concomitant acidity made me think there might be a problem. There wasn’t. I loved it with the pasta dish and loved it equally well with the salad that also had garlic as the main constituent. Very dark color with a touch of brown in the top, it had a strong bouquet and flavor from the beginning which grew greater as the meal progressed. there was an odd scent in the bouquet and flavor that I could not identify but which slowly disappeared half way through the dinner. Dry, medium bodied and with medium firm tannins that lasted into the medium length finish. This is a pleasant Cabernet at $20, but no bargain. As time went on and we began sipping the wine with no food and it became even better; dryer, more body and more tannins. Delicious!!!
Comments:
Bar code: 184745000126