*Disclaimer: I received this wine as a sample from the winery.
Very much so. At least, that’s my opinion of the 2007 Wesley Ashley Intelligent Design Cuvee. We popped the cork (real) on this 13.8% alcohol by volume wine that retails for $38 on a Saturday evening to enjoy with roast lamb. The wine is a blend of 51.5% Carignan, 15% Grenache, 14% Cinsaut, 11% Petite Sirah, 4.5% Mouvedre, and 4% Pinot Noir.
Four takeaways from this wine:
1.) I generally don’t look at blends before I taste the wine. My first note for this wine is “smells like Carignan.”
2.) Carignan is growing on me lately. This is the second heavily Carignan wine I’ve had in the last week, and I’m digging it.
3.) This is like a spiced cherry campfire in a glass.
4.) The lamb was a good call with this bottle.
On the nose I got spice, pepper, earth, campfire, and black cherry. In the mouth I found black cherry, black currant, spice, pepper, and a touch of earth. Overall the wine was smooth, spicy, and very nicely done. A good balance of fruit, spice, and earth.
Filed under: California, Red, Wine |
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Presumably the “intelligence” lies in the blending…?
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