L’Ecole No. 41 2013 Candy Mountain Vineyard Red Wine, Columbia Valley, $39
The trio of vintner Marty Clubb, winemaker Mike Sharon and vineyard manager Tom Waliser combines for their successful second vintage of Candy Mountain Vineyard Red Wine. This blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (60%) and Merlot is a mirror of the debut bottling from the 2010 vintage, and harvest was wrapped up for the Cab by Sept. 20 — two weeks sooner than during the cool vintage three years earlier from near Red Mountain. It spent 22 months in 35% new French oak, giving it heady aromas of toast, bittersweet chocolate and finely ground espresso with black cherry. Inside, it’s big, rich and chcoolaty with cassis and blackberry flavors, racy acidity and a raspberry finish.
Rating: Excellent
Production: 250 cases
Alcohol: 14.5%
Jeffrey Masnari says
Burnt Bridge Cellars listed at 15.7% alcohol. You guys palate orientation is showing. Of course maybe there the only one listing actual alcohols. The overly jammy black fruit dominated wines do a disservice to the wines WA could create. This big sappy wines show little to no complexity beyond black fruit. At least step outside your comfort zone and include some wines made in a more elegant refined character. You can certainly qualify that they are a atypical style for most NW consumers might have experienced but at least we can expose people to stylistic differences and maybe change the many people I encounter who dismiss NW red wines because they are so rich and jammy.
Eric Degerman says
Greetings, Jeffrey.
We evaluate every wine blind and enjoy a wide variety of them. In this case, the use of the word “hedonism” is a reference to the voluptuous alcohol of the Blend X. We don’t hide that. And yet, we found this wine balanced to our palates. It’s tasty juice.
Others made by Burnt Bridge Cellars are presented in a similar style, and we’ve enjoyed those, too. True, they might not be as versatile of a food wine as others, but after all, wine is an alcoholic beverage. And we are not the only critics in the U.S. to enjoy a red wine offered in this style.
As you pointed out, there are many styles of wine produced in the Pacific Northwest, and we enjoy sharing our reviews of those wines. Along the way, we publish the listed ABV for each one. As you note, I suspect some wineries are more honest about that stat than others.
In closing, thank you for taking the time to leave a comment and for helping to champion Pacific Northwest wines.
Jeffrey Masnari says
Eric I do appreciate you taking the time, as well, to reply. I will try to acquire the burnt bridge and make my own evaluation only because I am curious as to how you balance 15.7% alcohol. Acid additions must be required.
thanks again.