If you know for sure that your next guest of honor likes big wines with the beef course, no matter what, there are a lot of choices out there right now. But for beef, there are few to compare with the big Cabernet blends from California’s 2008-2010 vintages. Grill it up, and these wines will match it up, no wimps please.
One reason the ’08-‘10 vintages have been so popular is that their deep base of rich fruit creates a smooth finish character that is favored by a wide range of drinkers who simply say, “Just give me a big wine that I’ll like”. But in the next breath they will say, “Don’t make it anything too fancy because the extra $$ will be wasted on me”. Know any people like that? If so, there’s a wine for them that’s been coming along quite nicely (for quite a few years running).
It is a Napa “Bordeaux Blended” red wine made by Franciscan that they call “Magnificat”. It contains all the goodies needed to be impressive, but not overly expensive or overpowering. It stays just on the brink of being really large, but works so well with any type of steak, rib roast, or London broil. “Magni” is sure to be well appreciated right to the final glass.
All in all, it is a richly appointed Cabernet blend that pulls right along-side a choice cut, but it’s not going to clean out the bank like many other fully-loaded creations. It’s packed with a bouquet of dark cherry, plum, with hints of smoky licorice, following through with a peppery tannin backbone that chases down that big bite of protein, no problemo.
You can pick it up at any of our Phoenix area Total Wine Stores for under $38, and if you want to have a taste-off with another Franciscan big red, our valley Fry’s outlets have Franciscan’s 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon in stock for less than $25.
So here’s to those big red wine aficionados that may appear at your table soon. They deserve it, cheers!
Article by Tom Peiffer, Phoenix Wine Shopping Examiner at Examiner.com
View more of Tom’s articles on Examiner.com by visiting his writer’s page.
