Winemaker Notes
This complex and layered wine is opaque and dark-cherry red in appearance with bright and enticing aromas of leather, smoked meat, cedar, brown sugar, and wild blackberry. On the palate, it is extremely balanced with a beautiful dark fruit entry followed by a full mid-palate weighted with dark chocolate, cinnamon, vanilla, and soft, persistent tannins. The structured Cabernet Sauvignon blended with the powerful, hedonistic and elegant Rhone varieties from our Estate vineyard complement each other perfectly in this seamless and supple wine.
Blend: 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Grenache, 14% Syrah, 7% Mourvedre
Professional Ratings
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Tasting Panel
Aromas of sweet, savory soil are accentuated by rich tones of blueberry preserves in this generous blend of 55% Cabernet Sauvignon with Grenache, Syrah, and Mourvèdre. A true extrovert, it gives wide berth on the palate to creamy boysenberry and luscious, ripe plum. Red floral notes and graphite harmonize with high-energy acidity as finely grained tannins grip like a professional golfer: confident, seamless, and firm but not tight. It finishes with a snip of cayenne, sparking an alignment with cinnamon and oak as the blue fruit turns darker.
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Wine Enthusiast
This red is brightly layered in fresh blue fruit, meat and garrigue, showing plenty of density and complexity. It has a wild character that's intriguing and energetic, with lasting threads of white and black pepper on the finish. Editors’ Choice
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: The 2016 Westwood Legend Proprietary Red Blend is an impressive and attractive wine. TASTING NOTES: This wine seamlessly combines Bordeaux and Rhône grape varieties into a powerful, yet stylish wine. Pair its red and black fruit with a slowly-braised beef stew. (Tasted: April 9, 2019, San Francisco, CA
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Connoisseurs' Guide
55% Cabernet Sauvignon; 24% Grenache; 14% Syrah; 7% Mourvèdre. This less-than-conventional blend of varieties comes up a winner in terms of richness and depth and sports a lovely measure of very rich oak in league with its generous, ripe cherry and currant fruit. It is full, fairly supple and close to lush on the palate and, while so open and tasty and well-integrated that it can easily be enjoyed now, it finishes with a light trim of tannin providing just the right degree of grip to encourage a few years of additional keeping.
With hundreds of red grape varieties to choose from, winemakers have the freedom to create a virtually endless assortment of blended red wines. In many European regions, strict laws are in place determining the set of varieties that may be used, but in the New World, experimentation is permitted and encouraged resulting in a wide variety of red wine styles. Blending can be utilized to enhance balance or create complexity, lending different layers of flavors and aromas. For example, a red wine blend variety that creates a fruity and full-bodied wine would do well combined with one that is naturally high in acidity and tannins. Sometimes small amounts of a particular variety are added to boost color or aromatics. Blending can take place before or after fermentation, with the latter, more popular option giving more control to the winemaker over the final qualities of the wine.
How to Serve Red Wine
A common piece of advice is to serve red wine at “room temperature,” but this suggestion is imprecise. After all, room temperature in January is likely to be quite different than in August, even considering the possible effect of central heating and air conditioning systems. The proper temperature to aim for is 55° F to 60° F for lighter-bodied reds and 60° F to 65° F for fuller-bodied wines.
How Long Does Red Wine Last?
Once opened and re-corked, a bottle stored in a cool, dark environment (like your fridge) will stay fresh and nicely drinkable for a day or two. There are products available that can extend that period by a couple of days. As for unopened bottles, optimal storage means keeping them on their sides in a moderately humid environment at about 57° F. Red wines stored in this manner will stay good – and possibly improve – for anywhere from one year to multiple decades. Assessing how long to hold on to a bottle is a complicated science. If you are planning long-term storage of your reds, seek the advice of a wine professional.
Perhaps the most historically significant appellation in Sonoma County, the Sonoma Valley is home to both Buena Vista winery, California's oldest commercial winery, and Gundlach Bundschu winery, California's oldest family-run winery.
It is also one of the more geologically and climactically diverse districts. The valley includes and overlaps four distinct Sonoma County sub-appellations, including Carneros, Moon Mountain District, Sonoma Mountain and Bennett Valley. With mountains, benchlands, plains, abundant sunshine and the cooling effects of the nearby Pacific, this appellation can successfully produce a wide range of grape varieties. Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Gewürztraminer, and most notably, Zinfandel all thrive here. Ancient Zinfandel vines over 100 years old produce small crops of concentrated, spicy fruit, which in turn make some of the Valley's most unique wines. These can also be made as “field blends” (wines made from a mix of grape varieties grown in the same vineyard) along with Petite Sirah, Carignan and Alicante Bouschet.