2016 Circle 66 Cabernet Sauvignon Horse Heaven Hills WA
I have a soft spot for Washington State wines, in particular the reds. I've reviewed several of them over the years, and across the board they generally offer a great price to quality ratio. I would like to see more of them on restaurant wine lists, but if they were, then people would know about them, and availability would go down and prices would go up.... so let's keep the status quo...
I couldn't find any data online about who makes this wine, there's no website, or much data at all about it. So I'm guessing that this is a second label for a bigger winery, who has juice left over that maybe doesn't make the cut for the primary label but is still pretty tasty.
The wine opens with notes of bright red fruit, plum, and a hint of raspberry or black raspberry in the nose. The palate mirrors the nose with fine grained tannins, and just right acidity to balance the fruit flavors on the medium length finish which fade pleasantly.
Day two allowed the wine to open up more, there is also a hint of blackberries and spicy oak in the nose now, and it has a slightly thick mouthfeel. The fruit has blended together on the palate, it's like taking a bite of mixed berry pie... there's a hint of blueberry also.
This is quite pleasant to sip on by itself, but would pair well with grilled meats, lasagna, a Sunday roast chicken dinner, Thanksgiving dinner, and of course a classic 1.5" Porterhouse steak grilled medium with a dollop of garlic herb butter.
Available at most of the southern tier NH Liquor outlets, and in the West Lebanon Liquor outlet's powerbuy section for $19.99 per bottle (regular price $40). It's not an everyday wine at that price, but definitely worth buying a few bottles to keep on hand for a special occasion. I know I'll be putting half a dozen in my cellar for future enjoyment.
Cheers!
Ed
