Monday, May 3, 2010

Snoqualmie 2007 Whistle Stop Red (Washington)

Before opening this bottle I did some web-research to find out what people thought about it and to tell you the truth the folks out there were not too kind to this wine, ratings of 78 to 87 points by a bunch of winos on CellarTracker.  Therefore it was with some trepidation that I opened this bottle; and truth be known I have no flippin' idea what they are talking about, one guy said it was "heavy cherry tones with thin layer of vanilla", another mentioned it was only good for BBQ season (is that some kind of slam against the wine?).  All I can ask is:  are we tasting the same wine here?  Maybe these guys are used to sucking back the more expensive fermented juices of the world, but to me this was quite nice wine.  I think the guy who gave this an 87 has hit the mark, it's not a wine that's going to set the world on fire but it sure does not deserve a 78, an 80 or an 82.  Sure there's quite a bit of cherry in this 70% Cabernet and 30% Merlot blend, but there is some nice bite from the tannins, black cherry, vanilla with a hint of butterscotch on the nose; the palate shows some dark fruit, black cherry and a nice spiciness on the finish.  As I said not something that is going to set the world on fire but definitely something to sip and enjoy, and isn't that what wine is truly about.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I agree completely. I love this wine. It is unpretentious and simply delicious. Light on the palette, nice sweet undertones. Ahh..... simplicity.