A Tale of Two Rooks

Seeing how Corvidae Wine Co. made two different versions of their 2007 Rook blend, I thought I'd get a bottle of each and taste them head-to-head.

• 2007 Corvidae Wine Co. Rook Oregon 90 Points

  USA, Oregon

  Drank this with the Washington version of 2007 Rook, to compare the two blends. The blend is 77% Cabernet from Ironbird Vineyard in Applegate Valley, with the 15% Syrah and 8% Merlot coming from Rogue Valley vineyards in Southern Oregon. Color is a purple maroon, just slightly lighter than the WA wine. Nice fruity nose of blackberries with just a touch of plums and earth. Quite smooth in the mouth, although lacking a bit on the mid-palate...Seems somewhat thin there. Tastes of black fruit and some bittersweet chocolate, with Asian spices, following to a medium length finish. A very tasty blend, but seems like it needs something on the mid-palate.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No

• 2007 Corvidae Wine Co. Rook Columbia Valley 92 Points

  USA, Washington, Columbia Valley

  Drank this with the Oregon version of 2007 Rook to compare the blends. Blend is 45% Cabernet, 27% Syrah and 28% Merlot from Columbia Valley in Washington. Color is darker than the Oregon wine, with more purple tones added to the maroon. On the nose, this wine is more sweet smelling, but needs some swirling to bring about the aromas. A touch of black pepper in there also. On the palate, this is much more full-bodied than the Oregon blend, with big blackberry fruit and black pepper notes. Mid-palate is nicely rounded and not as thin as the Oregon blend. The wine ends with a long finish of berry and dark chocolate. Much more sweetness in the fruit also. I definitely like this blend more, although I think both wines will improve with 6-12 months of additional bottle age, but not much more than that.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No