I really enjoyed my stereophonic experience last Berserker Day. Jason added extra joy to his upbeat wines, and we enjoyed them through the year.
So, Jason offered a chance to taste some wines that will be in this year’s line up and I leaped at the opportunity.
So, forthwith…
Both wines savored with my wife (she was served blind) and enjoyed with a Morbier, Taleggio, and Apple starter, then mild chili made by my kid…
Stereophonic 2019 Malbec.
First words from my wife’s mouth were “Paso!”
Good call!
We started pop and pour, the let is bloom as we went.
This wine has a bright Paso Robles signature with dark red fruit that reminded us of Herman Story and Desparada, for stylistic comparison.
This baby bloomed quickly. Even at the ten minute mark, things were happening and the wine just kept blossoming. More time = more bloom. At 2 hours, this was a mouth filling wine with a move toward nicely melded fruit. My wife wishes to point out: more like fruit skin, not tart, but with good “fruit implications.” I liked her terms!
With Taleggio, this was heaven. There was a touch of licorice on the finish and a teeny bit of tobacco, as well.
My wife says, “This is a wine meant for conversation and drinking.”
Nicely done and the impression of the wine fits my impression of Jason: Out to make the evening better.
The next evening, we revisited the wine and it was still nice! Now, there was more blackberry and perhaps more prominent acidity, there is ample fruit, but this is no fruit bomb. I would call it a straight ahead approachable wine that can handle both cheese and apples. It also stood up to a mild meat based chili. It can compete with good food Zins or Syrahs.
2019 Cabernet
I find notes for Cabernets to be quite difficult, but here goes.
My wife started with a term she has difficulty with, and she felt this wine had what she has imagined the term “Claret” would be appropriate. I agree!
There is classic straight up Cabernet flavor with bright cassis notes. The wine was neither overly big nor overly light. It is fruit forward in presentation but not too much> It announces itself, then is relaxing to drink.
We thought this was another great food wine, it is in the modern Cabernet style. No brett, no oxidation.
There was a hint of Oak impression, with blackberry, and…wait for it…some green pepper! This made my wife guess ‘Rutherford Bench!’ I know this wine is from a slightly higher elevation, but it has some of the valley floor opulence of the Rutherford area.
We started tasting the wine too cool, once it ‘warmed’ to 65 degrees, the party started. My wife went so far as to say the wine ‘made her happy.’ As it opened up, this wine was very mouth filling, to the extent that it was a notable feature!
So, night one: straight ahead cab working in the modern idiom.
The next night, the wine was still bright, and even more interested in coating my palate with dark blue fruit.
Pure cab, and with the extra time, I will go pout on a limb and say it reminded us of William and Mary’s Proprietary Red.
So, both wines bloom over time, hold up overnight, and offer a fun perspective.
Both benefit from air, I’d say open them in the cellar 3 hours before the festivities, then enjoy their evolution as they develop as they come closer to ambient room temperature!
A hard trick to do: match well with cheese, match well with apples, and then survive against chili spices.