Don’t Judge Me Mondays: Chateau Ste. Michelle 50th Anniversary Cabernet
I’ve mentioned before how Derek and I are fortunate to live just up the hill from Woodinville, an area well-known in Washington for all its wineries. The grandaddy of them all is Chateau Ste. Michelle. This winery was actually at the forefront of the winery scene in Woodinville. This winery has many varietals and can be found one most wine shelves in Washington (including Costco!). The winery also has wine tastings and a lovely concert series every summer. Last summer Chateau Ste. Michelle celebrated its 50th anniversary! The winery had a big celebration weekend with wine tastings, live music, food trucks and the unveiling of the new visitor center. The center is much larger than the previous area and has tons of room for tours and all kinds of wine tastings. Derek and I went that weekend and it was pretty crowded. I’d love to go back to do another tasting now that the crowns have died down. The winery also released two 50 anniversary wines to celebrate! One was an amazing Cabernet Sauvignon that I’m going to tell you about today!
These glasses were also for sale at the event, it was nice momento!
Even though the anniversary was celebrated back in the summer, you can still find this Cabernet available for sale at grocery stores, liquor stores, and wine shops. It only runs about $12 which I think is a steal for a tasty bottle of Cab.
Let’s get to it!
Appearance: The wine has a deep garnet color and has lots of legs. This mean it’s on the high end of alcohol content at 13.5%
Smell: This wine smells smoky to me, a little like tobacco.
Taste: Since this wine is a Cabernet it’s bold, but still smooth. It doesn’t have the tannins that leave your mouth feeling dry. It’s slightly fruity with a hint of smoke and plum.
Pairings: I think this wine would go well with your typical red wine pairings like steak and burgers or a spicy sausage dish. I also think anything with a lot of smoky elements would pair well with it like something with a lot of paprika, a smoked fish or something with bacon as the main flavor.
Along with this Cab there are several other Ste. Michelle wines I particularly enjoy. The Riesling is nice and light, along with a Guwertzaminer. As you may remember, I am also a big fan of the Indian Wells Cab.
If you have a favorite Chateau Ste. Michelle wine, I’d love to hear about it!