Hedges CMS Red

Today, I bought a case of wine from one of my favorite purveyors of wine in this town, Morgan & York. I have been out of wine for several weeks, which is a real bummer. Especially when you are on Weight Watchers, as I am, because when you spend your bonus points, you can't waste them on flavorless alcohol. Wine is a great choice - 2 points for a 4 oz. pour, which is smaller than what I'd usually do, but I put it in a small wine glass and savor it.

Tonight, I am sampling Hedges CMS Red, which is from the Columbia Valley in Washington. I have fond memories of wine tasting in Washington many moons ago. It's where I figured out I liked red wine. It was in the early 90s and Seattle was the coolest city ever. I loved visiting Washington.


So this wine is a blend:

42% Cabernet Sauvignon
51% Merlot
7% Syrah

So, I supposed that I should describe the taste of the wine - this is how the good people at Hedges describe it:

Excellent garnet-purple in color; this wine has a nice, sweet vanilla toast with creamy raspberry, black cherry, blackberry, and dried blueberry fruit, along with just a hint of herbs, clove, spice, and earthiness. Black cherry and blackberry fruit continue on the palate with the sweet vanilla toast rounding out mid-palate. The finish is long with just enough acid and tannin to let one know this is a bit more serious and longer-lived wine.

I agree with most of their description, but what I will say that there's not so much tannin flavor to scare off the red wine neophyte. Also while they say the finish is "long", I'd have to say it's "fair to middlin'". In winespeak, the finish is the taste that remains in your mouth after the wine is gone. And for that alleged "sweet vanilla toast that is rounding out the mid-palate", my mid-palate felt a bit deprived.

That being said, this wine costs $11.20 per bottle at M&Y during their wine sale. I'd buy it again....it's a great value. I'm a thrifty wine drinker. This wine is better than the typical < $20 bottle. If you think you don't like red wine, this one could be your "gateway drug". I usually prescribe a good pinot noir for that, but good pinor noirs in this price range are hard to find. Give it a swig.

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