Delille Cellars - Hollywood Station Tasting Room Now Open!

We are back! And just in time to celebrate the new Delille Cellars tasting room at Hollywood Station. The exterior and interior of the now finished product is nothing short of magnificent, offering cutting edge design along with a relaxing wine tasting experience. Many of us previously familiar with their Carriage House location in the center of Woodinville and Maison in Kirkland, both great in their own unique ways; and now this "flagship" location takes the polish and finish of the "Delille Experience" to a more expansive venue: formally the location for Redhook Brewery, the revamped structure presents 3 stories of open concept along with private tasting rooms for special occasion and group experience.

Delille,  as many of you already know, presents a wide offering of wines, from crisp white to intensely cellarable reds, crafted by a legacy of wine makers (including legendary Chris Upchurch) and decades of vineyard dedication. And now, in timing with this opening, addition and unique wines have been added. You can visit their website for all the details at www.delillecellars.com Also do not fail to visit them, you will not be disappointed.

As always, all the best. Cheers! RJKirk

Upchurch Vineyards Cabernet Review by BoutiqueReds.com

Many wine enthusiasts will recognize Chris Upchurch as the  long-time acclaimed wine maker at Delille Cellars. Now he has applied his passion and focus to the 2013 and 2014 vintages of Cabernet Sauvignon from his own single-parcel estate grapes on Red Mountain; the limited 700 case production is well suited to delivering the notable concentrated results this finely crafted wine presents. Wine is "made" in the vineyard and refined by the wine-maker's artistry and experience.

We were introduced to the Upchurch 2014 by Ram(the wine guy) at the Sammamish Metropolitan Market and have been impressed by the quality of fruit and complexity of flavors displayed at its price point. Jen Dunnuck's (Wine Advocate) tasting notes: "The 2014 Upchurch Vineyard Cabernet has a youthful nose of violets, cracked pepper, blueberries, sandlewood, cigar box and a whiff of smoke. This vintage has a great attack that includes delicious broad flavors of deep black cherries, cassis, sage and earth characters. I particularly like the juicy savory acidity and precise tannin structure that flows into the incredibly long finish." We are excited to find this relative new offering from the great Red Mountain appellation AVA in Benton County, Washington from which many of the best Washington State wines are sourced. Run this one down while you can! We conclude with Chris Upchurch's succinct mission statement: "One Family. One Vineyard. One Wine." Cheers! RJKirk

Realm Cellars Review by BoutiqueReds.com at The Butcher's Table

The Butchers Table Seattle is perhaps one of the finest steak-centric restaurants at which we have ever dined, just spectacular! In addition, most of our best dining experiences involve a combination of fine wine and food; of course! On this evening from which this video is featured we enjoyed a bottle of Realm Cellars "The Bard" 2014. Over the past several years, many of their wines have been scored at 100 points by Robert Parker of the wine advocate as was the 2013 and for good reason. This is one of those boutique wineries in Napa that  produces some of this world's best wines from some of the world's best grapes; yet to be compromised by large corporate interests. Simple put, we love their wines of exceptional depth and complex big bold fruit consistently produced year after year. A little secret; when these wines score 100 points, the price increases proportionality. However, for most of us we would not notice the difference between 95+ and 100 points in this price range and they are more affordably amazing. Cheers! RJKirk

Carmine's Bellevue Patio Dining & 100 Point RP Wines

A stunning Northwest summer evening brings us to the patio at Carmine's Bellevue to enjoy good company, great food and wines. The featured wines this even were the 2014 Quilceda Creek Cabernet and the 2013 Vineyard 29 Estate Cabernet, both received 100 point Robert Parker(Wine Advocate) scores; thus providing excellent examples of highly evolved wine creations from Washington and California with their contrasting viticulture styles. As expected, the Vineyard 29 is more fruit forward opulent, faster over the palate with a longer softer finish while the Quilceda is far more "Bordeaux", potentially more complex and begging for greater cellar time; both are consumed far to quickly :) As usually the food and service was at the level that has made Carmine's our go to restaurant (Italian or otherwise) in Bellevue. This evening's featured entrées were Halibut over pasta and Osso Buco with risotto; both outstanding example of the culinary expertise that is exhibited. Especially notable on this occasion was the response to a food sequence challenge that was responded to with speed and flair by their GM, Adrian Lopez; impressive. Thank your for a delightful evening! Cheers! RJKirk

Sails Restaurant @ the Ritz-Carlton St. Thomas

The Sails Restaurant @ the Ritz Carlton, located at a breathtaking property on the southeast side of Saint Thomas at Great Bay is one of those special restaurants that we have had the good fortune to discover in our travels. Fresh seafood hours off the boat is offered in a casual resort atmosphere nestled between beach and pool. Mussa Bey, the chef, presents a seafood centric menu with both skill and enthusiasm. Dinner is exclusive to Tuesday & Saturday evenings, presenting great focus and staff attention as the sun sets and casual fine dining commences. If you find yourself on St. Thomas, don't miss this one and tell them RJKirk@BoutiqueReds.com sent you, Cheers!

2014 Outpost True Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon

With the 2014 vintage of their True Vineyard Cabernet Outpost Wines has produced what we consider a perfect wine and as confirmed by Robert Parker of the wine advocate. Congratulations to the Dotzlers and Thomas Rivers Brown! As we sip this 2014 True Vineyard Cabernet at Café 1853, we again note the big intense fruit, complexity and soft tannins with lingering finish matching our palate to a tee. Indeed, this release has achieved another level with perfect balance through the entire tasting spectrum. As always, all the best and Cheers! RJKirk

2013 Vineyard 29 Estate & Del Dotto St Helena 887 Tasting

Tonight at BoutiqueReds.com with good friends we present a dual tasting of 2013 Vineyard 29 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon and 2013 Del Dotto St. Helena 887 Cabernet. What would your favorite be, depends on your individual palate but very generally the Vineyard 29 is a bit more balanced and refined while the Del Dotto 887 is big dominant fruit forward; both striking examples of what was possible from the 2013 Napa vintage. Enjoying these fine wines brought back memories of our visit last year to their Napa Valley locations… All the best and Cheers! RJKirk