Williamson Wines

TRL/Staff/Wine: 8/8/7

Large tasting room with many tables, chairs and a long bar. It’ll handle nearly twenty normal patrons and two long tables for private tastings. They pair their wine with food and provide a cheese club option.

2010 Chantilly Chardonnay $38/$/$26

Fresh crisp nose with notes of lemon and butterscotch. Very well-balanced oak and fruit notes. Paired with a mango cheese of some sort.

2010 Rapture Pinot Noir $45/$/$45

Paired with Irish cheddar with a little truffle salt. Bouquet is a little muted, but the flavor has a nice smoked black fruit flavor.  The cheese WAY over-powered the Pinot Noir . I like the wine, it has good balance and is well-integrated.

2008 Seduce Cabernet Sauvignon Dry Creek Valley $57/$/$55

Paired with Irish cheddar and double cream French blue cheese, called St. Agur.  Black pepper on the nose with hints of cinnamon and blackberry. The earthy notes brings a nice finish that alludes to a structure that will provide longevity for another five years. The sweetness of the pairing (honey) flairs out the acidity that overwhelms everything else.  Dusty blackberry and plum provides a nice, pleasureable drink.

2009 Entice Cuvee $47/$/$50

Blackberry, raspberry, and blueberry aromas. The fruit doesn’t hide on the palate, but also leaves a dusty finish. The pairing was better than the last three, but it removed the dusty finish of the wine.

2009 Enchant Trinity $47/$/$-

Grenache, syrah, and mouvedre

Châteauneuf-du-Pape style of wine

Hints of many things, including cherry, strawberry, tobacco, blackberry, raspberry and some raspberry. The blend was well-integrated with earthy notes. It wasn’t appealing to me, but it was a decent wine. The food pairing KILLED me.  Cheese with merlot-soaked onions changed the wine for the worse.