Hitting the Bottle: Jessup Cellars 2003 Estate Bottled Cabernet Sauvignon

It has been snowing nonstop for the last two days, I'm still achey from working out for the first time in months, and it's time to hit the bottle. Jessup Cellars, 2003 Estate Bottled Cabernet Sauvignon, which Bela and I brought back from Napa Valley.

Oh yeah -- plum-dark and thick enough to be opaque, and it smells like spiced blackberry jam. And cream. That comes from the oak, right? Another sniff -- gingerbread. But enough foreplay. Time to drink up.

Thick as milk, this one, and spicy -- cinnamon and pepper -- and raspberries. This is like raspberry jam on a fresh-baked scone. (It's smelling like bread now. That soft, fresh-baked white bread that's just out of the oven and light as air. With a bit of nutmeg floating in the background. It's like Christmas at a baker's house.)

Okay, glass number two. Or is it three? I dunno, we're watching the first half of Battlestar Galactica Season 4, in preparation for the premier this month. The glass keeps refilling. It's so good, though. I can't say that it pairs with the super nachos I made for our BSG marathon, but what would? Nachos are beer food. And maybe Malbec food. But hey, it has spiced ground sirloin, so that kinda goes with a spicy, jammy Cab. Nah, not really, but that's okay -- it's big enough to trounce even my nachos. This reminds me of those gigantic Australian numbers, the Shiraz wines and such.

Last glass of the bottle. So yummy. If there was a BYOB serving venison with a raspberry sauce, this would be the bottle I'd bring. This stuff is like velvet on the tongue. There are tannins, sure, but they're soft. Silky, even. And just like that, it's gone. My beautiful Jessup Cab is no more. And we have five more episodes of BSG on the DVR. But 'tis the nature of pleasure to be ephemeral. Goodbye, fair Cab. Until the next.