2021 Wood Family Vineyards Malbec
The Winery
Photo from Wood Family Vineyards
No one has more fun than Rhonda Wood making wine! Wood Family Vineyards, located in eastern Livermore Valley, with Rhonda Wood owner & winemaker, has been producing award winning wines for over two decades. You can read more on her background from airline pilot to award winning winemaker at:
https://californiawinesandwineries.com/2016/02/10/wood-family-vineyards-2/
Here is a partial listing of her current awards:
- 2022 “Pink Pearl” Rose – Best of Class – SF Chronicle Wine Competition
- 2021 Albariño – Best of Class – SF Chronicle Wine Competition
- 2021 Chardonnay “Para Mas Amigas” – 91 points Wine Enthusiast
- 2020 “The Captain” – 94 points Wine Enthusiast + Editor’s Choice
- 2020 GSM – 93 points Wine Enthusiast + Editor’s Choice
- 2020 Petite Sirah – 93 points Wine Enthusiast
- 2020 “Viva” Cabernet Sauvignon – Silver – SF Chronicle Wine Competition
- 2019 Merlot – Best of Class – Uncorked
- 2019 “Big Wood” Zinfandel – Gold – SF Chronicle Wine Competition
- 2019 Syrah – 95 points & Double Gold – OC Wine Fair
- 2019 Cabernet Franc – Double Gold – SF Chronicle Wine Competition
- 2019 LVVC – Gold – SF Chronicle Wine Competition
- 2019 “Woody’s” Cab Cabernet Sauvignon – Silver – SF Chronicle Wine Competition
- 2018 “Especial” Cabernet Sauvignon – Silver – SF Chronicle Wine Competition
- 2018 “Clone 30” Cabernet Sauvignon – Silver – SF Chronicle Wine Competition
- 2019 “El Loco Rojo” Bordeaux Red Blend – Silver – SF Chronicle Wine Competition
- 2019 “Muy Bueno” Zinfandel – Silver – SF Chronicle Wine Competition
The Wine – “Wine is bottled poetry” – Robert Louis Stevenson
Photo ©Michael Kelly
This wine on the eyes is medium viscosity with a deep royal purple coloration, yet around the rim it is almost translucent. On the nose blackberries and dark red plums are the leaders rushing in to claim dominance in the olfactory senses. Also present were violets and roses. On the palate almost overpowering black and dark red fruits (blackberries and plums) come to the forefront with tobacco, French oak, chocolate, black licorice and fresh leather. The finish is velvety smooth with medium acidity and rounded embracing tannins with no sharpness. Also on the finish the presence of ground stone minerality provide a juicy and mouth filling finish. Alcohol was 14.2 % and listed at the winery at $40/bottle with only 93 cases produced from their estate vineyard. This Malbec has been on my list of Best Wines Tasted yearly for the last three years and will continue to be in 2024.
The Food and Wine Pairing – “Food without wine is a corpse; wine without food is a ghost. United and well matched, they are as body and soul: living partners” – Andre Simon
Photo ©Michael Kelly
Dinner with this wine was a special Carne Asada. The ingredients included, fresh chopped Jalapeño peppers (3 with seeds), olive oil, soy sauce, fresh squeezed orange and lime juice, minced garlic cloves, ground cumin, Kosher salt, ground black pepper marinated for 24 hours with a flank steak. The steak was smoked on a Pit Boss (like a Traeger) with cherry wood pellets. Topped off with fresh minced cilantro, fresh marinade sauce and a modicum of fresh squeezed lime juice.
Accompanying the meal were scalloped potatoes, broccoli and garlic French bread. The Carne Asada was flavorful and spicy. This Malbec with its fruit surrounded the spicy meat and cooled it off to be absolutely a wonderful fruit forward wine pairing.
This is now one of our go to food and wine pairings! This Malbec will definitely make my “Best Wines Tasted This Year” again. A great meal on a cool winter evening.
Sláinte,
Michael