Bordeaux-style Red Blend

Country: US / Archimage Variety: Bordeaux-style Red Blend Washington Winery: Sleight of Hand / Columbia Valley (WA) Made with 54% Merlot and 46% Cabernet Franc, it spent 23 months in one-third new French oak. The overall structure is impressive, with firm acidity and streaks of iron and mineral around tight, taut black fruit. It will […]

Country: US / Variety: Bordeaux-style Red Blend Washington Winery: Pirouette / Columbia Valley (WA) Predominantly Cabernet, this the most interesting and complex of all the Long Shadows red blends. It’s an aromatic and compelling wine with mixed scents of brambly berries and a touch of violets. Tannins are compact and fully ripe, with none of […]

Country: US / Conner Lee Vineyard Red Variety: Bordeaux-style Red Blend Washington Winery: :Nota Bene / Columbia Valley (WA) This blend is made with 75% Cabernet Sauvignon and 25% Merlot—all Conner Lee fruit. Firm and supple, it’s loaded with raspberry and cherry fruit that goes deep and stays balanced. One-quarter new French oak was used.

Country: US / Ferguson Vineyard Estate Grown Cabernet Sauvignon-Merlot-Cabernet Franc Variety: Bordeaux-style Red Blend Washington Winery: L’Ecole No. 41 / Walla Walla Valley (WA) Ferguson is L’Ecole’s newest estate vineyard, and this Bordeaux-style blend marks its single-vineyard debut. It’s 57% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32% Merlot and 11% Cabernet Franc, grown at 1,500 feet in almost pure […]

Country: Argentina / Finca Humanao Variety: Bordeaux-style Red Blend Other Winery: Humanao / Cafayate At 50% Cab and 50% Malbec, this wine runs outside the mainstream for Argentina. It’s dark in color but slightly green and stemmy on the nose. The palate offers a solid mouthfeel with flavors of baked berry fruit, earth and carob. […]

Country: France / Variety: Bordeaux-style Red Blend Bordeaux Winery: Château Labat / Haut-Médoc A 50-50 blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot has produced this fruity, juicy while also structured wine. It has concentration with layers of wood aging to support and fill out the fruit. It is still developing— still a young wine. Give it […]

Country: France / Variety: Bordeaux-style Red Blend Bordeaux Winery: Château Caroline / Moulis-en-Médoc Not many people have châteaus named after them. But Caroline Chanfreau-Philippon does and now she runs it as part of Château Lestage, both Cru Bourgeois. This is a rich and structured wine that is concentrated, ripe and juicy. With both attractive black-currant […]

Country: US / Alison’s Cuvée Variety: Bordeaux-style Red Blend California Winery: Crane Family / Napa Valley This red is made from 70% Merlot, with smaller additions of Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot. Eucalyptus and bay laurel dominate on the nose, as thick tannins resolve softly in the glass. Peppercorn, licorice and black cherry combine […]

Country: US / Keuka Hill Reserve Red Table Wine Variety: Bordeaux-style Red Blend New York Winery: Shaw / Finger Lakes Cherry and mocha on the nose start this wine nicely, and the flavors to follow—cherry, pepper, spice—are balanced and elegant. The tannins are somewhat aggressive and need time to soften. Give the wine 2–5 years […]

Country: France / Variety: Bordeaux-style Red Blend Bordeaux Winery: Château Maine-Gazin / Bordeaux This is very light, in both flavor and body. The aromas are earthy, with a faint suggestion of blackberries, and the mouthfeel is thin. These aren’t terrible flaws, but the wine just lacks substance.

Country: France / Variety: Bordeaux-style Red Blend Bordeaux Winery: Château Maine-Gazin / Bordeaux This is very light, in both flavor and body. The aromas are earthy, with a faint suggestion of blackberries, and the mouthfeel is thin. These aren’t terrible flaws, but the wine just lacks substance.

Country: US / Nine Mile Red Table Wine Variety: Bordeaux-style Red Blend Washington Winery: Ash Hollow / Walla Walla Valley (WA) A Bordeaux-style blend that spent three years in barrel, this is showing a dried blood/brick edge and has lost its primary fruit flavors. Plum and prune fruit, somewhat dried out, finishes with stiff tannins.