October 24, 2014 – Wine: 2005 Bell Cellars Talianna Red Wine

This wine is an unusual blend of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon and 20% Syrah (rather than your typical Bordeaux-style blend).  It also happens to be the flagship red blend of Bell Cellars.  I first discovered the 2002 vintage of this wine shortly after joining the Bell Cellars wine club during a tasting visit at the winery.  This wine stood out for its remarkable depth, balance, and flavor.  I bought a bottle of the 2002, and later a bottle of the 2004 after tasting each.  When the 2005 was released, I bought a bottle of it too (without tasting it first) and held onto it until tonight.  This wine seems to enter a special drinking window that starts about eight to ten years after harvest.  Tonight, I decided it was time to open this bottle of 2005, and even though it was one of my more expensive bottles, I felt it was time to give up on waiting for a reason to pull the cork.  The wine offers a fantastic nose, a nearly rich palette, wonderful depth and balance, and terrific complexity, weaving red fruits will all kinds of other sensations.  This bottle is one of my top ten favorite Cabernets from the 2005 vintage.

2005 Bell Cellars Talianna blend