Twin Peaks

Once in a while with wine one finds oneself on mountain tops or peaks, drinking wines that go above and beyond being merely good.  When there's a simple but delicious dinner and both the wines selected for the food reach those summits it's truly a special day.  Friday evening was one of those days.

The first of those wines was one that I purchased several years ago on a trip to California, a 2001 Ferrari Carano Tresor, a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Malbec and Petit Verdot.  It is from a mixture of vineyards in the Alexander Valley in northern Sonoma County. 

Dinner was a three and one half inch thick porterhouse steak, seared in an ultra hot cast iron skillet on a grill and then slowly roasted over the grill.  The edges of both the strip section and loin section came out medium for the person who prefers meat thoroughly cooked, while the interior of each side came out medium rare to rare for the ones liking meat cooked in that manner.  A little salt and pepper was the only seasoning and after resting for ten minutes the steak was simply carved into slices.  While the steak was cooking we opened the wine and let it breathe.

It was obvious from the first swirl in the glass that this was a special wine.  The nose smelled of dark cherries and berries set over a base of dry, clean, just tilled earth.  The flavor was mouth filling with dark fruits, spice, cedar, and a light suggestion of chocolate.  The tannins were mature in that they were a big part of the wine but still soft and warming.  There was a wonderful, lengthy finish that left a taste of elegance in the mouth.    Classy wine, but sadly, my only bottle. 

2001 Ferrari Carano Tresor.  14.5% alcohol and $45 at time of purchase.