Red Mountain Uncorked: A Visit to Terra Blanca
As I walked across the tarmac preparing to board the puddle jumper, en-route to to my final destination, it was rainy and cold, chilly enough to see my breath.
The change came as I arrived here on Red Mountain in the late afternoon and I could see the sun and feel its warmth, I thought "it's great to be back". It was just last year that I and about 80 other bloggers descended upon Terra Blanca [WBC 2010] for a amazing dinner and they also played host for the Grand Tasting of Red Mountain wines.
Yesterday afternoon, Keith [the owner and winemaker], Randy [the assistant winemaker] and I tasted through some barrel samples of 2008 Syrah [who says Syrah can't age] and they came up with a blend [a special cuvée] that will be a very limited bottling. When this "Special-Cuvee" is released it will just crush you with boat loads of dark and red fruits, vibrant minerality, a dusting of bakers chocolate and tobacco which are both lush and layered well into the mid-palate and the back-end as well.
The pulse of acidity deftly balances the ripe fruit and the tannins also play nice, making this wine wonderfully approachable now. But further bottle aging of up to a year will reward the patient. So be on the look-out for this special [extremely limited] bottling, it's ready to be bottled soon, so stay tuned.
I also got a chance to taste the 2009 Cabernet Franc from the barrel, oh-my what a treat. My first thought was, "WOW", so if you luv, luv a great Cab-Franc as much as I do, you definitely want to an keep an eye out this wine when it's eventually bottled. But, the 2007 which I sampled last night is no slouch either, give it a swirl.
This wine takes the word "finesse" to a new level, like crushed velvet in a bottle. It danced on my palate like a ballerina, gracefully and delightfully touching each taste bud with fragrant aromas and flavors of pure Cab-Franc delight. It really delivered with amazing length and precision on the very persistent finish. Those were just a couple of the high-lights from yesterday, there are many more to come so stay tuned. Until next time sip long and prosper, cheers!
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