Region: Dry Creek, CA
I picked up this bottle on a recent sojourn to Sonoma from the one vineyard we ventured to on a quick day trip to the region. I thought the merlot port delicious in the tasting room, and I’m interested to see how it stacks up when drunk at home.
It smells of raspberry, strawberry, and very faint vanilla. For a port, it’s surprisingly light-bodied. I agree with our host from the tasting room that it pairs best with white chocolate; drinking it now brings me back to how it mingled with that confection during the tasting. Vanilla takes over the sip, and it’s tinged with buttery notes. On drinking, the wine is closer to fig than berry in flavor, with amazing brown sugar that tastes moist and pure. A strawberry layer swells up toward the middle of the swish, but it’s fast, so you might miss it. Or never taste it at all, if your tasting buds are different than mine. Hint: They probably are!
This port is a lot of fun to drink, and I imagine it will only deepen in depth with age. But I never age anything so rest assured that you can enjoy it now.
Other Bloggers’ Thoughts
Again, I’ve found no blog reviews of this wine. I’m beginning to suspect that local wine bottlings without mass distribution don’t end up with many reviews of their wares. Hrm. I think that deserves further pondering despite it being rather unsurprising.
Reviewed 26 December 13.
