Gundlach Bundschu Mountain Cuvee Bordeaux Style Red Blend 2018

Go ahead – just jump to the bottom of this offer and order away. You’ve drunk this wine before, we at Waterford love this wine and the family who makes it, and we once again have it at a heck of a deal price. Here it is – the Trimphant return of Gundlach Bundschu’s Mountain Cuvee.

For those of you who want the story, I’m more than happy to repeat it:

Six generations ago, an enterprising Bavarian immigrant named Jacob Gundlach came to Sonoma Valley to follow the American Dream. But he had left someone behind – his childhood sweetheart, Eva Bundschu. After working hard for several years he was able to purchase some land in the valley. With this land purchased he felt like he could finally return to ask for Eva’s hand in marriage, which he did.

When they came back to California, together they planted vines on this land, christening it the “Rhinefarm”. At the time, they were one of only 12 wineries in California. And their beloved Rhinefarm vineyard is still with us today, six generations later, in this Mountain Cuvee:

An extraordinarily pronounced nose of fresh blackberries, cassis, vanilla wood, blackcurrants, minerals and blueberry liqueur reveal a complex core of fruit characteristics.  Jacob and Eva toured Bordeaux on their honeymoon, developing a love of those wines (as well as taking vine cuttings).  Like many Bordeaux, this is a Cabernet blend, with the idea that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.  It is most evident on the palate: a cascade of ripe, concentrated fruit with a full-bodied, multidimensional experience of blackcurrants, crushed black cherries, and hints of chocolate and roasted hazelnuts.  The tannins are seamlessly integrated in a velvety smooth drinking experience that can be enjoyed now or over the next decade.

But for how lovely this wine and its Rhinefarm heritage is, there is something I love about it even more.  There has never been any ego pricing on this Cabernet, just great drinking wine.  Years ago, when I first started drinking it, I was happy to pay $25 a bottle.  Now the taste is even sweeter when it’s almost two for one!