Thursday, January 22, 2009

2005 Sebastiani Vineyards & Winery Secolo

This was a recommendation on one of our friends at Canal's in Lawrenceville. Toni has never given us a bad recommendation, and we always look forward to what she has to offer. When popped an poured, had I been blind folded, I would have sworn that from the nose and by taste that this was a Zinfandel. But as the wine opened up, it became more and more obvious that the blend had some cabernet and merlot. Once you know it's in there, the malbec is also a stand out.
The nose was overwhelmed by black cherry and plum, with a cedar-y hint of cigar box and some plum. Upon getting the bottle home to finish it, I could also smell some gingerbread and maybe a hint of cinnamon/anise. The palate had some blackberry and black cherry, but that is all that really stood out to me, however, I could taste some plum on the short, but pleasant finish.
All in all, a very solid wine, however, I do think tha if I were going for a wine of this style, that I would opt for a Stefania Haut Tubee or a Bogle Phanton. Sure, neither of these wines would be considered identical to this wine, but I think either would be a welcome substitution. Regardless, this paired nice with a tomato pie from Delorenzo's Robbinsville, and is worthy of 86 points. Cheers!

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