2005 Hook and Ladder The Tillerman

mthirumale

The Tillerman... Hook and Ladder? Ok.. that's what got me to try this wine. The mystery wsa solved on looking it up. San Francisco firefighter Cecil De Loach and his wife Christine run the winery. Cecil retired from the San Francisco Fire Department in 1982 after a 16-year career. They chose the name "Hook & Ladder Winery" for his latest winery project to honor his years on the firetruck. The Tillerman steered the engine. Here's an example of one http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.hartford.gov/fire/PictureGallery/old_fire_truck.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.hartford.gov/fire/history/history.htm&h=1272&w=1753&sz=504&hl=en&start=15&sig2=uKPEHlUbci4Wl4B8VFu6vw&um=1&tbnid=_dwxv5RgePoh-M:&tbnh=109&tbnw=150&ei=7pLdR5DQOYHugwOkp7C-Cw&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dthe%2Btillerman%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26rls%3Dcom.microsoft:*:IE-SearchBox%26rlz%3D1I7SUNA%26sa%3DN So much for the name. Now for the wine. This is a breakthrough for a newbie like me but at the first whiff, I thought: "I opened it too soon!". And how right I was. This wine is too young to drink in 2008. The blend of 46% CABERNET SAUVIGNON,19% CABERNET FRANC,18% MERLOT,17% SANGIOVESE tastes much like a Shiraz, interestingly enough. Go figure! But the wine has potential. The aroma is almost intoxicating, a blend of blackberry, pepper, raspberry and a hint of citrus. I let it stand a half hour and that helped. Colour is purplish. The wine is beginning to blend well but still too raw. Medium finish but just lacking that tastiness that would move this wine up. This could use at least another 4-5 years for sure.

Tasting Tags: acidic blackberry citrus pepper