after dinner sneeze

t says: We needed some wine. Stat. It was a long week. p was getting over a cold. We were getting over p getting over a cold. Wine! Now! And it better be really good, damnit!

I only turned 35 once – and we celebrated by going to Napa, where g allowed me free reign to buy whatever wine I wanted. Living in the moment, I kept my purchases “reasonable”: I bought this bottle. And now, as I write this, I wonder, “did we open it up at an occasion worthy of remembering my 35th Birthday?” Yes. Yes we did. Because the wine was the occasion.

And Tor did not disappoint. This mix of Cabernet Franc, Petite Verdot, and a smidge of Cabernet Sauvignon gave us an experience that was quite unlike any of its individual components. Smooth as a baby’s bottom, it crept in and pounced like a tiger, offering deep dark plush black fruits – thinking cherry, plum, blackberry. What followed was a subtle hit of dried herb – it reminded me of what I usually get out of California Cab Francs. And then it finished with a little bit of a bitter bite on the finish – not necessarily a tannic drying, but something else – ?licorice? pepper?. Couldn’t put my finger on it. It was a bit short versus Tor’s usual offerings, but offered a nice way to remind ourselves of our “old”, pre-p life. Are there better wines for the money? Sure. But the memories more than make up for it.

Thirty-five was great – but thirty-seven is even better. Cheers!