Painted Rock Winery Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 #WineWednesday

Painted Rock Winery is one of my favorite wineries, for a whole slew of reasons. Amongst them, the fact that they make some really good wines. Admittedly on the higher end of the scale ($40 for the Cabernet Sauvignon 2008, if I’m not mistaken), these are good wines for a nice occasion. Rarely do I drink much red wine, but I most often do when I want to celebrate. And at the end of this (very tough) academic term, I had to have a glass and I chose Painted Rock Winery’s Cabernet Sauvignon 2008.

From the winery’s tasting notes:

The rich, dark red colour of this Cabernet is indicative of there being plenty of character from start to finish. Roasted red bell peppers, blackberries and eucalyptus highlight the aromatics, with many ‘forest floor’ characteristics being evident on the palate, red and black currants, mulberry, clove plus hints of tobacco and cedar. Big and confident, this wine has a touch of spice, a good dose of minerality and firm tannic structure, begging for charbroiled meats with a peppercorn sauce or a heavier tomato-based stew like ratatouille

With a very decent 14.2% alcohol (not overwhelming and you won’t get drunk on your first bottle), it’s not a very acidic wine either pH 3.75, Titratable Acidity 6.2g/L. The residual sugar is at 1g/l which won’t make it too sweet either.

Aged 18 months in new French oak. Aromas of cassis, black cherry, cigar box and tobacco leaf precede very ripe dark fruit, leather and coffee bean. The mid palette is intense, dark and yet elegant. Acids are very much in balance and fine velvety tannins coat the entire mouth leading to a long rich, dark cherry and chocolate finish.

I thoroughly enjoyed a glass of this wine with a platter of chocolate-covered strawberries. That was the way I celebrated the end of my academic term. And I don’t regret it one bit.