My wife is starting a new job as a production editor and it seemed like everyone got to say congratulations and left me holding the bag. So I decided this Sunday I would make her a delicious dinner and let her relax on the evening before she started her new job. As a bonus, I would let her select any wine in our collection to pair with her dinner. No surprise to me she was sure she wanted a wine from a winery we discovered back on 2007 that sits up on the hill just of I-66 in Markham, VA.
We are big red wine fans so starting with our first visit we fell in love with Chateau O’Brien. The owner Howard O’Brien is a firm believer that all great wines start in the vineyard, and you can’t rush good wine. It shows in the quality from his standard collection all the way through the best in his cellar collection.
I was sure
my wife would reach back and pick one of the bottles of his 2007 vintage bottles we have hiding in our cellar. So imagine my shock when a '08 came out, but as I studied the label and I saw it was his Petite Verdot it all made sense. I quickly dumped it into our decanter to allow it to start opening up while I watch the beginning of the New England vs Dallas football game. At half time I started the dinner (see picture below) assured that the wine would pair perfectly with the steak with blue cheese and mushroom sauce I was preparing.
With dinner ready it was time to enjoy some wine. I initially got a warm burst of deep red fruit almost black raspberry on the nose. With a few more smells there was a herbal quality that also accompanied the black raspberry smell. The initial taste was dark red fruit with a full body. It had an earthy finish with a pop of mild tannins on the back of the tongue. It paired well with the blue cheese and mushrooms. The second glass exhibited more red fruit and better tannin structure. It was very enjoyable to sip on a full stomach and paired well with chocolate nuggets that we had for dessert.
