I've learned some things about serving and entertaining over the years. I've learned that whatever my favorite dish at the table is will be everyone else's favorite too. As someone who loves to eat leftovers late night and for breakfast, this poses some issues for me. My first strategy was to make more of whatever dish I wanted leftovers of. Interestingly, when I made more, people ate more and I still ended up without enough leftovers to satisfy my cravings. This year I set my leftovers aside before serving dinner. Selfish? Perhaps, but the last thing I want to do after serving Thanksgiving to our guests at the Guest House is go home and cook again. Alex is content to devour a plate at the end of service in the kitchen, chatting with Michael. Me, I prefer to go home where I can relax with a glass of wine and my supper. Fortunately I don't need the whole kit and caboodle. A plateful stuffing and a glass of wine is plenty to be thankful about in my book.
This particular wine is entirely too young, but still seductive. It is from one of our favorite vineyards and one of our (many) favorite grapes. We couldn't resist opening a bottle tonight although the remainder will be tucked away for a year or five or ten, before seeing the light of day. Don't misunderstand me, it's a lovely sip and goes beautifully with my stuffing. It's just that the taste tonight is just a tantalizing hint of what it will be in it's maturity. For the promise of that experience, we can be patient before opening the next bottle..
Reva, Alban Estate Syrah, Edna Valley 2003
Deep purple color with red-violet undertones. Fading only slightly at the rim to highlight the violet purple tones. Super high extraction.
Intense nose conjuring wine soaked/stewed prunes and boysenberries. It's jammy and alcoholic.
It’s first impression is sharp and slightly hot on the palate. Spicy notes of cinnamon and black pepper come through next, then dark berry fruits, cedar and spruce The wine itself is medium bodied and lively on the palate with medium high tannins and assertive acidity. It evokes the creamy richness and depth of dates and their smooth, chocolaty undertones, the floral heat of guinea pepper and the astringent sweetness of black olives. It possesses a lingering finish of menthol and blackberries. It continues to evolve in the glass but will definitely bloom after several years in the bottle.
