So before we begin, I need to show you some seasonal gifts I received.
First there is:
Doctor Who and the Green Magots from The Green Death
The third Doctor is one my favorites. The tenth is obviously the best, and the fourth is pretty good, too. But here we have the third doctor with his sonic screwdriver levitating a bottle of Raymond Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve Selection 2008 as it is being attacked by green maggots. The third doctor also stands on some coasters my friend made. Actually, the bottle isn’t levitating, it’s suspended in the air by a magical wine rack my brother gave me. It’s pretty awesome. It continually astounds me.
Then there are these:
Decanter and Tour Glasses
A decanter! I’ve been meaning to get one of these for so long. Luckily, another friend got me one. And yes, decanter’s do make a difference, as I’ve discovered. The two glasses are called tour glasses, at least at Crate and Barrel. They are modeled after Schott Zwiesel’s angled glasses, which are $62 to $72 at Amazon depending on the day. In the decanter above is a whole bottle of Raymond Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve Selection 2008.
To the tasting.
But first a little background. Here’s another Cabernet Sauvignon that’s not all cab. According to the Raymond Vineyards website, this one is 89% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot, and 3% Cabernet Franc, and it’s 14.5% alcohol. The list price is $35, but I picked it for $19.99 at Mahan’s. The people at Mahan’s said if I liked the Sebastini 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon that I’d love this, and I love the Sebastini, especially its jammy finish. Mmm.
Ok. To the wine. It’s not very opaque for a cab. It’s like 75% opaque. I can see through it.
The nose is big and musty with mushrooms, black currants, raspberries, anise, one bing cherry, and few grains of cinnamon. There’s a lot going on here. I hope it tastes a bit more simple.
There are big fruits, but they aren’t juicy. They are dry. There’s a hint of cherry, too.
The finish is spicy with white pepper plus the cinnamon. What a fun finish. It’s not jammy like the Sebastini, but it’s fun. I keep sipping it just for the finish. The long finish.
It so smooth and velvety, too. It’s damned delicious. 91 points.//
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