You got to respect an American winery that was founded in the 1850s and still going strong. It’s now run by Jeff Bundschu, the 6th generation of winemakers. That makes it the oldest family-run winery in the US. To survive Prohibition, they raised cattle instead of harvesting grapes.
I am glad to see this wine in the PLCB wine & spirits stores. This is a Bordeaux blend of sorts, mostly Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, along with some Malbec, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot. However, there is also a significant amount of Zinfandel and Syrah (about 6% of the blend), which pushes you past the classical profile into something new.
This is a hard wine to pigeonhole. On the one hand, this bottle has a level of sophistication. It has a burnt cedar note on the nose, and it pushes some Rhone-like notes as well, including some garrigue. In the finish, there are all sorts of lush chocolate notes in the background. However, it’s also has a round plushy element that is all sorts of trashy.
This is probably going to be my dinner party wine for this holiday season. It’s got the stuffing to keep me interested and the gobs and gobs of fruit to keep my guests amused.