2016 Lineage Wine – A Great Wine and Unusual Food Pairing
Some days you want to enjoy one of the best wines available but your favorite local restaurant doesn’t offer a meal that pairs nicely with your wine. Sometimes the rules have to be broken and you enjoy the wine and food individually. Such was the case last night. The Ahi Poke, prepared in a butter lettuce cup, seaweed salad and wonton chips along with pan seared scallops with a lobster sauce had me at “Ahi”!
One of the best “Bordeaux style blends” coming out of California is Lineage. It has made my list of the Yearly Best Wines from California since it was introduced. The 2016 uses 59% Cabernet Sauvignon, 27% Cabernet Franc, 9% Merlot and 5% Petit Verdot. Each vintage changes based upon the availability of the best grapes and varietals. Sixty percent of new French oak barrels were used and aged 22 months. Only 2,826 bottles were produced. The recommended optimal drinking time is between 2024 and 2036. This was a “sneak preview” evening! In December for a holiday party we opened a 2009 and it was spot on.
This was the 10th anniversary release from Lineage. You can see that on the eye, it is a dark red color with medium to medium heavy viscosity. On the nose and palate, dark fruits abound. The structure with Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc allows the tannins to showcase the immense structure, complexity and layering of this wine. Add to this the roundness and cherry of Merlot and deep elegant coloring of Petit Verdot and you have a refined and marvelous wine. While young today, you can appreciate the how this wine will mature. This is for the serious collector with patience to lay down in their cellar. This wine sells for $160 but when it is truly ready for consumption it will be a $200+ wine to be enjoyed.
Slainte,
Michael
https://californiawinesandwineries.com
https://www.lineagewine.com/
https://www.coppervalleygolf.com/
For more background on Lineage and Steven Kent Wines see a previous published article at: https://californiawinesandwineries.com/2019/08/25/2008-lineage-wine-a-culmination-of-heritage-and-personal-drive
California Wines & Wineries 