Turnbull Cab: A Classy Wine for a Classy Meal

As some of you might be aware, we've kicked up the cooking a bit over here in order to elevate the food to the level of some of the wines we're "working" our way through.    This Sunday I decided to take it down a notch and go back to just grilling up a simple sirloin.  New York strips are great, but we are living in a recession, and the Prime One sirloin from H.E.B. is a fantastic piece of beef.

The menu was a well seasoned sirloin cooked medium rare (which is really the only way steak should be cooked), horseradish mashed potatoes, and a spring mix salad with a red wine/dijon vinaigrette.  We knew the steak and potatoes would both be bold and require a bolder wine.  Given our selection that pretty much meant a Cab or a Malbec.  Pris decided on a 2007 Turnbull Cabernet Sauvignon.

The Turnbull is an excellent Napa Cab in that its big, bold, and beautiful.  The first thing you notice is the dark purple opulence of the wine.  As expected there is a bold nose with lots of dark fruit including the expected cherry and currant.  The Turnbull Cab is big and bold on the palate as well.  Heavy fruits dominate the palate, but are tempered slightly with oaky undertones.  Around the mid palate you notice a slight sweetness that is a welcome reprieve from the heaviness.  But as soon as you notice it, then its gone and bold tannins provide a bracing full dry finish that starts with a bite of spice and lingers nicely for quite a while.

As expected the wine went great with the meal.  The boldness of the wine was a perfect compliment to the bold juicy steak.  The spicy potatoes, spiced with ground horseradish and Greek yogurt instead of sour cream, were a great counterpoint to the fullness of the wine.  Even the salad dressing matched with the wine.  Both had bite, but one had a touch of sweetness while the other countered with savory flair.

We first got introduced to Turnbull by my brother Rick who had it on a trip to California.  He brought a bottle of Merlot over for Thanksgiving last year and we've been on the lookout for it or the Cab ever since.  I finally found this fine 92 point Cab at the H.E.B. on Trenton and 10th in McAllen about a month ago.  Since I was there and the wine was there I decided to grab it.  It was on sale for about $35, but I think it normally runs closer to $40.  For more information on Turnbull and its wines you can visit: http://www.turnbullwines.com/