Last night, for our Xmas Eve dinner, we cracked opened a bottle of Chateau Souverain Estate Bottled 2003 Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. We had bought the bottle at the winery’s tasting room back in 2008 for $25, and it’d been kept in my bedroom dresser drawer since. I had been so busy preparing dinner that I hadn’t had the opportunity to chose a wine to serve with it, and this one was the first one I could reach. It proved a good choice.
I liked the wine quite a bit. The tannins had actually softened with time, and I found it less bitter than my notes from 2008 indicate. Indeed, it might have been right at the point when it was ready to turn because it was almost sweet. It was balanced and easy to drink, perfect as a sipping wine but with enough fortitude to compliment the ribeye roast.
In all a good wine, but if you still have one around, you probably don’t want to keep it around for much longer.