Monday, September 17, 2007

monday wine tasting

Chateau St Michelle or Stimson Lane is a monster wine company out of Washington. Today I got to try a few of their boutique wines from Mark Schroeder the rep for that company. Stimson has gone on a buying spree recently buying Stags Leap Wine Cellars a premium winery in Napa.

Conn Creek Anthology 03 A bordeaux blend from Napa 60% cabernet with the rest merlot, cab franc. Deep Opaque color with lots of cab influence on the nose and palate. Good acidity though. Should last many years.

North Star Merlot Walla Walla 2003 Northstar only produces Merlot, this bottling is their high end. Pretty blueberry notes on the nose and nice lush mouthfeel. The problem is people do not usually want to spend over $50 on a merlot since that wine has tendency to be inexpensive. Try the Northstar Columbia Valley that I have in the store though. This winery hasnt been around but for a few vintages.

Col Solare 2003 This means shiny hill. This winery is a collaboration between CSM and the Italian family Antinori. With 80% cab it could be classified as such but they search for the idea of the blend. Dark ruby color with acidity on the mouth to be good for steak or fatty foods. had a little spike of tannin at the end which would also smooth out with some red meat.

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