Highlands Forty One
Estate Reserve Darkness Paso Robles Red Blend
Paso Robles, Central Coast, California, USA
My first thought: this wine is flat. That may sound like a bad thing, but it is not. I am finding my first impressions of wine, thus far, are smooth, flat, grip, buttery (the Chards), sharp, minerally (Pinot Grigio), peppery (which I think is my interpretation of tannins). I am still learning what makes my tongue tell my brain these textures, however. Texture is a good word here. This wine almost lacks a texture. Henceforth, flat. It has wonderful flavors, but this wine does not grip the tongue like some others. Therefore, I like to wash spicy food down with this wine. Because it doesn’t coat my tongue the way a wine with grip does...or even the way a smooth wine may. My husband does not like alcohol. He said this wine was smooth. The bottle says vanilla flavors. Vanilla in scents and flavors = a bit of calm (at least for me). A homy kind of calm. This wine is calm—flat, but it is not homy. Too much flavor for that. I am fascinated by the contradictions in this wine. 🧐. I could accidentally drink the whole bottle in one setting because it is so calm yet full of flavor.
My first thought: this wine is flat. That may sound like a bad thing, but it is not. I am finding my first impressions of wine, thus far, are smooth, flat, grip, buttery (the Chards), sharp, minerally (Pinot Grigio), peppery (which I think is my interpretation of tannins). I am still learning what makes my tongue tell my brain these textures, however. Texture is a good word here. This wine almost lacks a texture. Henceforth, flat. It has wonderful flavors, but this wine does not grip the tongue like some others. Therefore, I like to wash spicy food down with this wine. Because it doesn’t coat my tongue the way a wine with grip does...or even the way a smooth wine may. My husband does not like alcohol. He said this wine was smooth. The bottle says vanilla flavors. Vanilla in scents and flavors = a bit of calm (at least for me). A homy kind of calm. This wine is calm—flat, but it is not homy. Too much flavor for that. I am fascinated by the contradictions in this wine. 🧐. I could accidentally drink the whole bottle in one setting because it is so calm yet full of flavor.
Feb 17th, 2019
