Jeff’s Corner 

Hello out there!

By now, many of you in our Black Label and Mixed Wine Clubs have received the new 2014 Serendipity. WOWSER! This wine is a real beauty. The story behind Serendipity, however, is too cool not to revisit, so before we check out the ’14, here’s some history from Jeff’s Corner last April:

“It was born in 2007, the same vintage as the great ’07 Bellissimo. The truth is shrouded in legend, but it seems Jason had some wine still in barrels after the regulars were bottled.

Brian and Jason wanted to create something new, and if I remember, the wine was about 60% Syrah, and 20% each Cab Franc and Merlot. Jennifer named it Serendipity, and it won best-in-class and a Gold Medal at the Houston Livestock Competition that year. A perfect moniker, Jen!

Beyond being a great wine, the beauty and collectibilty of Serendipity is that it’s different every year. Each vintage, Jason selects what he feels are some our best wines to craft a unique blend.”

The 2014 is a big, big wine, built to age. It is 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Merlot, 16% Syrah, and 6% Cabernet Franc with a relatively high ABV of 14.6%. The color is dark ruby and shows rich, yet bright extraction.

Dense aromas and flavors of black cherry, blackcurrant, and licorice are layered with Mexican vanilla, hazelnut, and leather. The aromas of leather reminded me of a baseball glove, and sent me off sniffing my old Wilson A2000.

As I mentioned, this is a huge wine with muscular tannins well integrated with vigorous acids and lots of oak. The wine finishes with a plush and lingering chalky texture that is very appealing. Yet again we see a wine from Jason and crew with magnificent finesse and balance.

This wine is so good it would probably pair well with cardboard, but let’s try it instead with a pepper-crusted rib-eye seared in butter, red wine, and worcestershire, finished some creamy au gratin potatoes. Yum!