Lockdown has caused us to start working through all those miscellaneous bottles that have been sitting around in the cellar for far too long. Are they still good?

We began with August Cellars 2009 Baco Noir. According to Wine-Searcher, it’s named for François Baco, who crossed Folle Blanche with a new-world grape to try to create a phylloxera-resistant hybrid. It is now widely grown in North America.

This is a medium-bodied red, quite smooth by this point, with a noticeable alcohol aura. It’s rich and flavorful with berry and leather notes. Our bottle had not a hint of raisin, which I feared with one this age. We consumed it with Field Roast’s “Hazelnut Cranberry Roast En Croute” which was left over from the holidays in our freezer–and still delicious. To this I added some lovely sautéed rapini. We are out of fresh greens now, so I’ll either have to make do with frozen veg or risk the plague by venturing into the grocery store! But in our local, one can’t get rapini–it’s a specialty product.

According to the wine notes on the August Cellars website, the 2009 status is “drink or hold,” so I think we lucked out! A good quality red that withstood a decade of cellaring.

Up next, 2017 LaFreynelle Bordeaux, which isn’t quite as aged.