Every now and then there are days where I get frustrated at the world in general but those are fairly rare. There are also days where I have to pinch myself that I get paid to make wine. I had one of those days this week where the other winemakers and I were able to sit down, open a couple of bottles of wine, and pitch around tasting notes for marketing. First I love writing tasting notes and it’s not often when you get a couple of people in the same room just discussing the wine for the sake of writing a single note. It’s fun. The power of suggestion definitely comes into play as distinctive descriptors are thrown around and mulled over by everyone else. The wines are already in the bottle so we’re not trying to decide if we need to blend something in or make another addition. It’s purely the winemakers trying to pull out the best ideas as to how to describe our wine now. The four wines’ notes are listed below.
Souverain 2009 Sauvignon Blanc, Alexander Valley
Zesty and Fruity
A clear lemon core with moderately intense aromas of key lime, passion fruit, mango, and wet chalk introduces this wine. A dry palate with moderately high acid, Med + alcohol, and a tiny bit of oak tannins for texture finishes with flavors of lime zest, guava, wet chalk, and passion fruit with a moderate and clean length. Pair with fresh salads, herb crusted salmon, or roast chicken with tarragon sauce.
Souverain 2008 Winemaker’s Reserve Chardonnay, Russian River
Buttery Beauty
A medium-gold core and intense aromas of pineapple, honey, and caramel are accented by a wisp of smoke on the nose. A dry, creamy palate filled with poached pears, cardamom, caramel, and honeycomb balances a toasted French oak backdrop. Drink now or hold for more development of honeyed notes on the palate. Enjoy with blue cheese, creamy sun-dried tomato sauce over pasta, or cinnamon poached pears.
Souverain 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon, Alexander Valley
Power Punch
A deep ruby core is highlighted by intense aromas of blackberry, blueberry, black cherry, chocolate, cedar, and baking spices. The dry palate and moderate acid are perfectly balanced by velvet textured tannins. Flavors of chocolate, cloves, black cherry, ginger, cigar box, and lavender tease the senses leading to a long luxurious finish. This wine will shine for years either by itself or paired with juicy steaks or Black forest cake.
Souverain 2006 Winemaker’s Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon
Power Punch
An amazing nose filled with black cherry, wild blackberries, cloves, and pomegranates highlighted by a deep ruby color is the introduction for this lovely wine. Dry with dusty, fine grained tannins that mesh with baking spices, black fruits, and Tahitian vanilla for a long, lively finish is just the beginning of this wine’s life. With the capacity to age over 15 years while developing richer notes of black mission fig and dates, this wine is a collector’s dream. When paired with the finest cuts of pepper crusted, aged beef this wine truly shines.
I love my job!!! 🙂