Following an evening of good thoughts, good topics, and praise for outstanding “heroes”, we ended up in the lobby of the Austin Renaissance Hotel and decided that it was time to celebrate.  “The Team” had put together and pulled off an outstanding evening honoring Catholic Schools in the Diocese of Austin.  One of the best parts of the evening was getting to visit once again with Fr. Leo Patalinghug – he is AWESOME!

So, there we were with about 8 people all sitting around, relaxing, unwinding, and it was time to bring out some good wine.  Sadly, the hotel WiFi wasn’t so free, and it was already today when we sat down to write – so we finished out tasks in Austin, came home and took a nap and are now tying this entry up to post.

Funny thing about a bottle of good wine (and eight glasses) it doesn’t last long.  Add in the fact that we enjoyed a 2008 Clos du Val Cabernet Sauvignon, and you have the makings of a great way to wrap up the night.  The nose on this wine is stellar.  Deep, dark fruit with hints of oak, chocolate and spice converge to make the wine almost too good to drink.  Continuous swirling allows the wine to open and close as the aroma intensifies.  The beautiful color of the wine adds to the ambiance of the nose.  Clearly, this is a wine that can be enjoyed in so many different ways.  Tonight, it was purely enjoyed by itself–a victory toast of sorts for the hard work put in by so many people in helping make an event even better than anticipated.  However, we all agreed that the wine could be even better with a nice thick slab of dark chocolate–you know, 70% cocoa.  Naturally, a wine as big and bold as this cabernet would be the perfect compliment to a thick, juicy steak.  The list of pairings for this wine could go on and on.  The taste was fruitful; the oakiness subtle but the bursting of flavors really comes out on the mid and back palates.  The finish is long, long, long and it was evident that we were all in the mood to savor the finish.  As one person was observed, just smelling the glass was almost as good as drinking what was in it (nice job there SW).

At a little over $30 a bottle, this wine can be found on sale at numerous places for slightly under $25, and if you come across a sale like that, we heartily recommend that you take advantage of it.  This wine is rated at 91 points and the vintages before and after are rated in the same range or higher.  The “drink-ability” of this 2008 Cab is good now through 2017.  Lay it down or pour it–either way, this wine is an excellent value for the money.

Yes, this was an evening to share some good wine over some great conversations and relaxation!  It’s one of those wines that you break out when you know something really good has just taken place.  We really enjoyed sharing it with multiple people–because we enjoy sharing wine.  As the blog continues to unfold, we’ve really learned to appreciate the sharing aspect of wine.  Whether it’s sharing through actually pouring a glass with friends or family, or it’s sharing by writing about different wines that we’ve tasted.

We now have our work cut out for us.  Because the evening was so successful, we are posting day 148 today, and we’ll have to ‘take one for the team’ and post Day 149 this evening!!  Ah, the sacrifices we have to make to maintain continuity!!

Please continue to enjoy your favorite wine responsibly and remember to recycle whenever possible.