Varietal: Â 100% Cabernet Sauvignon
Region: Â Columbia Valley, Washington – USA
Cost: Â ~$9-$10
Winemaker’s Notes: Â Deep color leads the aromatics of blackberry and forest floor. Juicy raspberry and strawberry notes marry with black pepper on the mid-palate. This smooth Cabernet finishes with supportive tannins and lingering developed fruit.
My Review: Â I’ve tried a few bottles from Original House Wines in the past, in no small part because they were budget wines and, to be perfectly honest, their labels amuse me.
So with the wife out for a girls night with some friends, it was time to fire up the grill, throw on a steak, and open up a bottle of wine.
I’d picked up my steak and baked potato at the store, and while perusing the wine aisle using my Thumbs Up Wine Finder App, I kept running into a problem – they didn’t have the wines I was picking via tha app. It happens, but it was admittedly becoming frustrating, so that when I saw the label for the Steak House Cabernet, I shrugged my shoulders, picked up the bottle, and checked out.
At home I opened up the bottle (screw-cap enclosure for the record) while the steak cooked to try a sip. The wine was, as advertised, a deep red color, and on the nose I found dark fruit and blackberry. In the mouth the wine was medium-bodied, with bright notes of raspberry and strawberry, but none of the black pepper that the winemaker seems to have found.
Paired with my steak the wine was ok. I’d seasoned it was simple salt and pepper before cooking, then topped it with a garlic herb butter once it came off the grill. The steak was great, and while the bright notes of the wine offered a counter note to the richness of the meat and the herbiness of the butter, it didn’t really contribute anything to the meal.
I won’t go so far as to call the 2010 Steak House Cabernet Sauvignon bad, because it wasn’t. It was just underwhelming. Maybe with a different pairing I would have liked it more, but I suppose I had high hopes for pairing a wine with the word “steak house” in it with an actual steak.
