Monday, February 7, 2011

Columbia Crest 2007 Horse Heaven Hills Merlot (Washington)

I find myself in Ottawa for a tasting event of close to 40 Ontario wineries (more on that next week on the On The Road with the Grape Guy blog) ... I am now back in my hotel room and, with no offense to the wineries and winemakers of fine Ontario wine, the last think I want is an Ontario wine.  So I dig into my bag of tricks, pull out some travel glasses (real crystal, stemless - it's all in the packing my friends) and a bottle of Columbia Crest Horse Heaven Hills Merlot, with its whopping 14.5% alcohol; you might think that a little heavy handed in the alcohol department, but you take what mother nature gives you.  The beauty is that the alcohol is barely noticeable on either the nose or palate.  The smells are blueberry, dried leaf, black cherry and lots of mocha.  The taste is loaded with mocha-blueberry with just a hint of heat ... but ultimately it made a great pre-dinner sipper.

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