Gilbert Cellars Allobroges

While perusing my favorite wine shop recently, Esquin Wine Merchants in Seattle, I discovered a bottle of the 2006 Gilbert Cellars Allobroges. I'm a big fan of Gilbert Cellars wines and I'd never tried this one before so I purchased the bottle and tucked it away in my wine rack. I knew this wine was going to be delicious and special so I saved it to share with friends. As luck would have it, a good friend invited me over to dinner last week so I took the bottle with me to enjoy with our meal. The wine more than exceeded my expectations.

My friends made an amazing roast pork shoulder marinated in mustard/horseradish sauce and a homemade tabasco sauce, with apples as well - YUM! I was thrilled and quite happy drinking this wine with the pork because it was a wonderful complement to our meal. My friends really enjoyed the wine as well so I was glad I'd brought the wine to share with them.

After our meal, we walked over to Vino Verite, a small wine shop that's tucked away on Capital Hill. They were pouring several Italian wines that evening so we sampled through the wines they were offering. The one that stood out for me that evening was a sweet Vermouth. I'd never had a Vermouth by itself and it was surprisingly quite nice. Since the alcohol content is 18%, it's not something I'd want to drink a lot of, but it was fun and interesting to taste all the same.

It was a great evening all around and I'm happy to say that I've discovered another awesome Washington State wine that I'll buy again.

The Story of Allobroges

In the days of the Roman Empire, the Allobroges were a Celtic people living in the Rhone Valley of France who received acclaim for their dark, rich red wines made from the Allobrogica vine. Their winemaking tradition has continued in the Rhone Valley for two millennia and inspires this wine today.

The Allobroges is a delicious blend of 60% Syrah, 22% Grenache, and 18% Mourvedre. The grapes are from Columbia Valley, the largest AVA in Washington State. The red blend is smooth, silky, and opulent, with a luscious mouthfeel. I purchased this wine at Esquin for $25 and it was worth every scheckle.

Gilbert Cellars can be found on the Web at: http://www.gilbertcellars.com/

If you'd like to visit the winery in person, they're located at 5 North Front Street, Yakima, WA 98901

Esquin Wine Merchants can be found on the Web at: http://www.esquin.com/