Wine Review - White Heron Cellars "Mariposa Vineyard Red Wine"
This estate bottled, red wine blend from the upper Columbia Valley area of Quincy, Washington is a product of the small but proud Mariposa Vineyards, owned and operated by Cameron and Phyllis Fries. The blend consists of 24% Cabernet Sauvignon, 34% Merlot, 35% Cabernet Franc, and 7% Malbec (Cot).
The wife and I decided to give it a try on a dreary January afternoon -- a late lunch to lift the spirits. The label on the wine suggested pairing it with salmon, red meat, pasta, and/or chocolate.
We opted for an Oregon Country ribeye steak from CasCioppo Brothers Meats. If you're not getting your meat from a butcher, consider that the prices are similar to that of a grocery store, but the cuts are better and the experience far more fulfilling. Call me a meat snob if you like, but recall that for centuries people bought their meat from an independent butcher. Forgoe one-stop convenience for quality, I say.
With the steak, we had wheat pasta (you might as well get some fibre with your calories), mine tossed with pesto, my wife's with a fresh, crushed tomato/marinara sauce. Both with a little fresh parmisean on top.
And now, the wine:
2000 "Mariposa Vineyard Red Wine"
White Heron Cellars, Columbia Valley, WA.
Alcohol 13.5% by volume
Retail (approx.): $15.00
This dark cherry red wine had a spicy, berry aroma with a bit of oak. My wife seemed to detect an astringent quality to it as well. A pre-meal taste confirmed the aromas: the flavor was heavy on berries, and maybe a bit spicy as well. Sweet and mellow, and low on the acidic and tannic, with a medium body. About what you'd expect from a blended red wine.
With the steak, the wine mellowed out quice nicely, and the berry flavors were brought out. We also tried the steak topped with a homemade steak sauce (1 part ketchup, 1 part worcesterchire sauce, garlic powder to taste - highly recommended!), but the acidity of the tomato base really amplified the astringent/acid quality of the wine. I would recommend having your steak plain, or maybe with some crumbled bleu cheese.
The wine complimented my pasta with pesto nicely, the oil in the pesto seemed to make the berry flavor jump out, and gave it the wine a nice, pronounced tannic finish. The tomato based sauce on my wife's pasta, however, only amplified an astringent (or as she described it "nail polish") flavor.
For dessert we first tried some Chukar Cherry (out of Prosser, WA) dark chocolate cherries. While delicious on their own, the chocolate covered cherries were overpoweringly sweet in comparison to the wine. We tried again with some milk chocolate, and the slightly more bitter and milky flavor complimented the wine perfectly, giving it a smoother taste and amplifying the berry flavor.
The "Mariposa Red" is a definite step up from your average red blend, a nice mix that seemed to work well with certain flavors but not with others. You should be mindful of which foods you pair it with; it has definite personality and thus clashes with certain foods. Avoid tomato/tomato-based foods with this one.
(3.8/5)
The wife and I decided to give it a try on a dreary January afternoon -- a late lunch to lift the spirits. The label on the wine suggested pairing it with salmon, red meat, pasta, and/or chocolate.
We opted for an Oregon Country ribeye steak from CasCioppo Brothers Meats. If you're not getting your meat from a butcher, consider that the prices are similar to that of a grocery store, but the cuts are better and the experience far more fulfilling. Call me a meat snob if you like, but recall that for centuries people bought their meat from an independent butcher. Forgoe one-stop convenience for quality, I say.
With the steak, we had wheat pasta (you might as well get some fibre with your calories), mine tossed with pesto, my wife's with a fresh, crushed tomato/marinara sauce. Both with a little fresh parmisean on top.
And now, the wine:
2000 "Mariposa Vineyard Red Wine"
White Heron Cellars, Columbia Valley, WA.
Alcohol 13.5% by volume
Retail (approx.): $15.00
This dark cherry red wine had a spicy, berry aroma with a bit of oak. My wife seemed to detect an astringent quality to it as well. A pre-meal taste confirmed the aromas: the flavor was heavy on berries, and maybe a bit spicy as well. Sweet and mellow, and low on the acidic and tannic, with a medium body. About what you'd expect from a blended red wine.
With the steak, the wine mellowed out quice nicely, and the berry flavors were brought out. We also tried the steak topped with a homemade steak sauce (1 part ketchup, 1 part worcesterchire sauce, garlic powder to taste - highly recommended!), but the acidity of the tomato base really amplified the astringent/acid quality of the wine. I would recommend having your steak plain, or maybe with some crumbled bleu cheese.
The wine complimented my pasta with pesto nicely, the oil in the pesto seemed to make the berry flavor jump out, and gave it the wine a nice, pronounced tannic finish. The tomato based sauce on my wife's pasta, however, only amplified an astringent (or as she described it "nail polish") flavor.
For dessert we first tried some Chukar Cherry (out of Prosser, WA) dark chocolate cherries. While delicious on their own, the chocolate covered cherries were overpoweringly sweet in comparison to the wine. We tried again with some milk chocolate, and the slightly more bitter and milky flavor complimented the wine perfectly, giving it a smoother taste and amplifying the berry flavor.
The "Mariposa Red" is a definite step up from your average red blend, a nice mix that seemed to work well with certain flavors but not with others. You should be mindful of which foods you pair it with; it has definite personality and thus clashes with certain foods. Avoid tomato/tomato-based foods with this one.
(3.8/5)
posted by Washington Wines | 4:41 PM
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