Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Black Hills Estate Winery 2008 Nota Bene (British Columbia)

What I`m drinking tonight has turned into `What I am Drinking this afternoon` - I decided to clean out the review buckets in my cellar and was tasting a number of Ontario reds for future reviews when I came across a cute little box from Black Hills Winery in British Columbia.  Inside I found two tubes, not bottles, literally test tubes of 2008 Nota Bene - the 10th Anniversary edition of this wine (a blend of the three big Bordeaux reds: Cabernets Franc and Sauvignon and Merlot).  Now, these test tubes were cute as a button and a great way to get wine to reviewers for tasting without having to waste a whole bottle ... only problem was getting into these tubes.  Although they were sealed with a screw cap the first one I tried would not loosen it just twisted and twisted and twisted ... I finally ended up putting two holes through the cap and shaking the wine out of the tube.  Glad I did, I`m sure this help aerate it a bit too (a lucky result of a bad beginning).  The nose was sweet with blackberries that just wouldn`t give up.  The palate had a lot more going for it: black cherry, cassis, cinnamon, vanilla and lots more - this was one sippable wine with complex flavours that came out with each additional sip, I would have loved to have spent more time with this wine, say a whole bottle`s worth, alas I have but one tube left and no time to fiddle with it, maybe later.  As for the wine I did have, delicious (4+ stars) ... a real winner.

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