Ensemble

Two weekends ago Kenny and I went to the recently opened Palisade Grill, aptly named because it is a grill in Palisade, CO. I highly recommend it. Now we have two restaurants that are worth their salt in Palisade, thank goodness.

One of the wines they are serving is the Book Cliff Vineyard 2006 "Ensemble". Marvelously named because it is a symphonic collection of Cabernet Sav, Cab Franc, and Merlot. It is a well put together wine and is quite drinkable.

This is what their website http://www.bookcliffvineyards.com/ had to say about the wine:

"The Merlot makes this wine approachable, the Cabernet Sauvignon adds body and structure, and the Cabernet Franc gives it a light fruity finish. This wine is easy and friendly, good with a fancy dinner and enjoyable on its own. Light tannins and a smooth finish."

I completely agree with their review of how it travels down your palate. In addition, I'd like to add that the color is pleasingly rich with hints of Cab Sav's deep, luxurious purple, and it lays well in the glass. You want to swirl it in your Cab Sav shaped vessel forever. If I was do a blind tasting and someone asked me what type of wine this was, I'd say it was a Cab Sav. Thus, it can hold its own with a hearty meal.

Ensemble's varietal blend is: Merlot - 46%; Cabernet Sauvignon - 31%; Cabernet Franc - 23%

The great part about this wine is that the vineyard where these grapes were harvested is just east of the peach orchard right across our street. Hopefully, our grapes can produce some quality wine as well next year.

It's still tough to compete with those California reds, but I believe this is one of the best Colorado wines around this season.

Find you a bottle and pick it up.

Remember Imbibe and Enjoy!

Wine Tasting Lucious Reds

One of my dear friends was concerned about my well being and inquired........."Hope the wine tasting 'practice' is going well!"

Why yes my friend it is, thanks so much for asking.

I thought I'd share just a couple of the wines we've imbibed in over the past couple of days.

We had an Italian Ruffian 2007 Chianti with dinner. And dinner was......what else? Lasagna. And it was good. During the summer I like the Chianti with Italian cuisine, but in the winter it's Valipolicella. It's so nice to have a choice. This Chianti was the definition of Chianti. It's nose was an aroma of cherries and chocolate. The flavor was perfect for the food with light tannins and berries. An undramatic finish that enticed us to take another bite of pasta so we could drink about gulp of Chianti. The perfect wine at only $8.99.

With the ribeye steak we had the next day, we popped open a bottle of 2006 Cline Zinfandel. When eating steak, I always prefer the Zin over the Cab Sav. The Cabernet Sauvignon can hold its own with the beef, but it lacks the complexity of the Zin when pairing it with the peppery, garlic flavors grilled into a good size slab of meat. This Cline Zin is tried and true. When in doubt of what to buy to go with steak, buy a Zin. (No, I am NOT getting a kick back from the Growers of American Zinfandel, but maybe I should, shoot) This Zin's nose was filled with cherry and tannins. When the elixir went down, it coated the tongue with flavors of licorice, more cherry, and pepper. Leaving me with a jammy, tannin aftertaste that left me feeling satisfied with my $9.99 purchase.

Imbibe and Enjoy!