Happy Birthday with Cherryblock

My birthday was last week and to celebrate we dug into our cellar and opened a 1999 Sebastiani Cherryblock.  We actually purchased this bottle at the winery when we were out there for a visit in 2002.  I am surprised it's survived this long in our cellar without being uncorked.

Sebastiani is located in Sonoma not to far from the main part of town. If you are out visiting that region, a stop here is a must.

The vineyard where the grapes for this wine are grown use to be a cherry orchard, so hence the name Cherryblock.  The nine acres of Cabernet Sauvignon were planted in 1961, so they are some serious old vines.

The wine had a beautiful dark red garnet color with a little hues of brick.  The aromas coming from the glass were juicy plum with herbal tea notes and some anise. The palate was filled with plum, leather and it finished with a soft black pepper note.

Unfortunately I didn't pair this with anything as we were pre-gaming before we went out to dinner.  I will say it was the highlight wine of the evening.