As hot summer days begin to fade with the sun’s late rays, temperatures cool and it is easier to reach for those long-awaited red wines.   Red wine, often best known for its tannins and complexity, is something that just does not pair with hot intense rays of the sun.   When winter ends and warm spring afternoons appear, I almost immediately tuck away my red wines and welcome rosés and white wines to the table.   Yet with the end of Labor Day weekend and when the late afternoon breeze brushes past with that first hint of autumn chill, excitement buzzes for it is time for Cabernet Sauvignon to return.

In Napa Valley, Cabernet Sauvignon is king and that is largely due to the climate and terroir is so perfectly suited for growing this grape.   It is here in Napa Valley that the Cabernet Sauvignon grape can show tremendous diversity in how it shows from a bottling.   If you look at prior articles on this site featuring this varietal, you will find that the descriptions vary depending on the American Viticultural Area (“AVA”) where the grape is grown right down to the soil in the actual vineyard where the vine is planted.   With these factors in mind, this famed grape can mirror flavors of bing cherry, robust blackberry to mocha dust.   The possibilities are endless and with so many AVA’s to choose from in Napa Valley, one could spend a week here and leave with a formal education on Cabernet Sauvignon alone.

One AVA that I have not featured as prominently is the Yountville AVA.   Yountville is located north of Napa and south of the famed Rutherford Bench.   Its location is perhaps one of the most unique due to its soil as it is home to coastal soils that are centuries old, alluvial soil, gravelly loam, volcanic soil and clay.   The soil combinations are seemingly endless and when coupled with the areas naturally cool growing climate, this AVA has the potential to produce distinguished Cabernet Sauvignons which will age for some time on.

Chanticleer Vineyards (“Chanticleer”) is located on the western side of the Yountville appellation and its Morningside Vineyard is home to rocky soil.   With great estate grown Cabernet Sauvignon grapes, Chanticleer is primed to bottle a wonderful varietal and seals that fate with the talent of winemaker Chris Dearden.   Long a fan of Chris Dearden’s winemaking from his days at Benessere Vineyards, picking Chanticleer’s 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon was guaranteed to be a treat.    From time to time when you determine a certain winemaker’s style that fits your palate, you can find that he or she is making other wines under different labels or for other wineries.   Following their efforts at various wineries is an education in and of itself as it truly tests the winemaker’s abilities and style based on the grapes, the climate and soil that he or she is working with.

Familiar with Chris Dearden’s winemaking from up valley, sampling Chanticleer’s 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon gave me an added fun educational pursuit.    Beautifully balanced with refined tannins and a classically smooth texture, one sip and this wine was readily stamped with Chris Dearden’s talents.   Yet, as opposed to the plum, raspberry flavors of his prior bottling from up valley, the fruit here was dark brooding black fruit of blackberry, cassis and earthy notes.   The bouquet of this wine is equally rich with black raspberry, fennel and a slightly woodsy nod to rosemary if you allow your nose to linger long enough.  Also notable is that this Cabernet Sauvignon is not heavy or lumbering.   As a 2005, it conveys a simple yet not understated elegance which translates into a quiet masculinity which will hold its place at the dining table.

Without question, this wine is the classic steak and mushroom type of wine.   As Labor Day was this past weekend, I wanted to create something which would be casual yet creative and still give a seasonal nod to California cuisine.   As such, this week’s menu holds:

• Open-faced Grilled Steak & Morbier Sandwich Basted With Cherry-Rosemary-Herb Barbeque Sauce

Creating a grilled sandwich such as this invites a delicious medley of flavors which are appropriate for welcoming the arrival of September.  Using a charcoal grill with the steak infuses a smoky flavor and the basting sauce is a reduction of cherry preserves, balsamic vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, minced fresh rosemary and marjoram from the garden and crushed anise seed.    Sweet onions are sautéed with thinly sliced mushrooms.   Using garlic ciabatta bread from a neighboring bakery, it is brushed with butter before being placed atop the grill to cook face down.  Once flipped right side up, slices of Morbier cheese are placed on top to melt.

Once the steak has rested a bit, it is gently and thinly sliced to be placed on top of the sandwich halves and given a final brush of the Cherry-Rosemary-Herb Barbeque Sauce.

Taking a bite with the wine encourages full blackberry, fennel and herb flavors in the Chanticleer 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon to burst forward with a clear mission to dance across your palate as you dine.   The combination of cherry, rosemary and marjoram in the barbeque sauce is a truly romantic medley.   Cherries offer sweetness, the rosemary adds a woodsy character and marjoram naturally perfumes the sauce with its slightly floral and herbaceous attributes.   Fennel and rosemary come forward notably in the wine and you feel as though you have stumbled upon someone’s backyard barbeque in the wooded hills of Yountville.

Choosing to use Morbier cheese is intentional in order to provide depth and rustic flavor with its farmhouse style of cheese.   These characteristics are a ready match for Cabernet Sauvignon.  Similarly, having selected to use a garlic ciabatta, the bread will invoke a rustic sense as the garlic adds a warm comforting sensation and the bread itself will take on the flavors of all of the ingredients sitting above.  

Parked next to the charcoal grill with growing fragrant rosemary nearby, it no longer seems like autumn is such a bad thing.  Each sip of Chanticleer’s 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon is slowly enjoyed and thoughts roam to “why can’t September be savory?”  As the fading days of summer slip into the horizon, the possibilities of upcoming autumn seem endless.