Jeff’s Corner

Hey Hey Hey, it’s Serendipity Day

If you are in the Mixed or Black Label Wine Club, the 2017 Serendipity is in your immediate future, while in fact some of you may have already picked up this elusive beauty. If you haven’t, it’s ready for you at any of our three locations, and if we ship your allocation, it’s on the way.

Perhaps our most collectible wine, Serendipity was born in 2007, the same vintage as the legendary ’07 Bellissimo. The truth is shrouded in myth, but it seems Jason had some wine still in barrels after the regulars were bottled.

Brian and Jason wanted to create something new from this “leftover” wine, and if I remember, the ‘07 was 60% Syrah, and 20% each Cab Franc and Merlot. Jennifer named it Serendipity, and it won best-in-class and a Gold Medal at the Houston Livestock Competition that year. What a fortuitous moniker, Jen!

This is the tenth vintage of Serendipity; we did not produce one in 2009. Stylistically, the wine has evolved over the years. The blends of the early vintages were a bit unpredictable, with some being Syrah dominate, some Merlot, and some Cabernet Sauvignon.

Over the past 4-5 years, a more consistent style has emerged with Cabernet Sauvignon playing the leading role wit a host of supporting cast. The 2017 is 68.4% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15.7% Merlot, 8.4% Petit Sirah, and 7.5 % Syrah.  The ABV is 14.0%.

The color is a well extracted violet/purple with a dark rim and no transparency in the bowl. Intriguingly rich primary aromas of black cherry, blackberry, black plum and cassis are complimented by secondary aromas of leather, cedar, and dark cocoa.

The palate is lean, elegant, and austere. Young and introverted, dense fruit flavors wait to emerge supported by well-integrated acid and tannin. This wine shows incredible promise, and should drink best in 2-5 years. If you want to enjoy it now, I recommend decanting for about 1.5 hours.

I also wrote tasting notes for this wine last month for our Wine Club Tank Tasting Party. I thought it might be fun to compare what I had to say then with today’s notes: “Intense aromas of ripe blueberry, blackberry, and cassis mingle with subtle notes of freshly tanned leather, dark cocoa, and tobacco. Judicious amounts of oak and tannin provide great finesse and balance.”

This very stylish wine would do well on Christmas Day with rare to mid-rare Prime Rib garnished with a creamy horseradish sauce and au gratin potatoes. Oh, and maybe some sweet sugar snap peas for color and texture.

Next week, the new Bellissimo…We’ll see you on the flip-side.