With Helen out of town and having no obligations tomorrow, I decided to revive an old PB.com tradition: bachelor dinner night. As longtime readers will recall, a bachelor night dinner consists of steak, potatoes, and an obligatory-but very, very small portion of-green vegetable, accompanied by a good bottle of red wine and followed by a Dunhill Peravia (smoked indoors no less!) and Dow Tawny 20 Year Old Tawny.
Tonight's red wine was a 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon from longtime PB.com favorite Behrens Family (a.k.a. Erna Schein and Behrens & Hitchcock). Reportedly it includes 10% each of Cabernet Franc and Merlot. A pretty ruby color. Spicy and toasty aromas of vanilla (new oak, I assume), blueberry, raspberry, cherry, and nutmeg. On the palate, blueberry and blackberry are the dominant flavor associations. Firm tannins suggest some aging potential, but it is very drinkable now and it is hard to resist the temptation to drink it up. I have 3 bottles left in my cellar and will probably drink up two between now and, say, 2017. I'll save the last until 2024 on the theory that 15 years is the usual outer limit for Napa Cabernet.
Grade: A-
