Ed's wine blog

2010 CHALK HILL  Estate Red Blend  Sonoma

I was given a bottle of this wine by a former Manager of the West Lebanon Liquor outlet, he knew my palate from working with me on purchases of Cabernet and other red blends from Sonoma and Alexander Valley. He told me " I know you're going to like this wine " and he was right, I went back and bought 6 bottles of this wine.... the reviews at that time said it needed a good steak or a food with some fat to offset the tannins, or stick it in the cellar and forget about it until 2018 and beyond.

I've opened a bottle once a year starting in 2018 to judge how it's evolving, I can say that it is now where I like the balance of fruit and structure (tannins and acidity) it has definitely softened but still has a ton of fruit left.

I don't normally drop this much on a bottle of wine, but for special occasions this is worth the price. At the time it retailed for $40.00 per bottle, but there was an introductory price of $30.00, and a 15% case sale going on, and I'd been given a gift card for my birthday which I added in on the purchase. I bought 6 of the Chalk Hill and 6 other bottles of a wine costing $8.00.... I ended up paying about $23.00 per bottle. Alas, the retail price is now around $50.00 per bottle depending on where you buy it, still a good value. A Napa red of this quality will run you between $80 and $100 per bottle.

This vintage was a blend of 43% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Merlot, 15% Malbec, 12% Petite Verdot, 10% Syrah, and 1% Carmenere. Each vintage is a slightly different blend of grapes, depending on the growing season. It has a dark red, almost black hue to it with nice long legs on the side of the glass...

This opens with notes of blackberries, cherry, plum, pipe tobacco, and spice in the nose. The palate tastes of cherry, blackberries and blueberries, the tannins are now fine grained instead of chalky. You can taste each fruit as it fades pleasantly away, the wine is really starting to hit it's stride now. I'm thinking that I should have bought a case of it, but that's how it goes. This is how I build my collection of wines, a ratio of everyday wine, to a selection of great quality wine purchased at the right time.

This wine is available in the NH Liquor outlets for $60 per bottle, and at Total Wine in Natick MA for $52, or 10% less if you buy 6 or more qualifying bottles. A special occasion wine that will pair nicely with grilled red meat or herbed prime rib. A meat lasagna might also work well too....

Cheers!

Ed