Today, we had cobb salad with bacon, chicken, hardboiled eggs from our chickens, avocado and blue cheese. With it, we tasted the newest vintage of 2012 SYBARITE, 2012 Riviera Rose, and M5 Reserve. Glen Grisham, our Chambers brand manager, and Tom Adler, one of our label designers, joined us.

Visit Alex Weil and give him our thanks at Bouchon in Beverly Hills
235 N. Canon Drive | Beverly Hills, CA 90210
p.310.281.5683 | f.310.281.5699 | http://www.bouchonbistro.com

I drink it neat ( one or two oz ) after dinner as a digestive.  I also love it as the bitter component to a Perfect Manhattan.  1 part sweet vermouth (Carpano Antica is really good), 1 part dry vermouth ( I like Dolin), two parts bourbon ( although I’ve been making rye Manhattans and I like them better), a dash of Margerum Amaro, and a twist of lemon zest.   This can be served up or on the rocks.

Twelve cases produced. 

Use a magnifying glass to look at the front image on the label.  It is very cool.

From Wikipedia:

Amaro (meaning “bitter” in Italian, plural Amari) is a variety of Italian herballiqueur, commonly drunk as an after-dinner digestif. It is usually bitter and sweet, sometimes syrupy, usually with an alcohol content between 16% and 35%. Amari are typically produced by macerating herbs, roots, flowers, bark, and/or citrus peels in alcohol, either neutral spirits or wine, mixing the filtrate with sugar syrup, and allowing the mixture to age in casks or in bottle.
Dozens of varieties are commercially produced, the most commonly available of which are Averna, Ramazzotti, Lucano, and Montenegro. Commercially produced Amari may contain “natural flavourings” and caramel coloring. A typical Amaro is flavoured with several (sometimes several dozen) herbs and roots. Some producers list the ingredients in some detail on the bottle label. Amari are typically flavored with some of the following: gentian, angelica, and cinchona(China), as well as lemon balm (melissa), Lemon verbena (cedrina), juniper,anise, fennel, zedoary, ginger, mint, thyme, sage, bay laurel, citrus peels,licorice, cinnamon, menthol, cardamom, saffron, rue (ruta), wormwood(assenzio), elder (sambuco), and centaurea minor.
Many commercial bottlers trace their recipe or production to the 19th century. Recipes often originated in monasteries or pharmacies.
Amari are typically drunk neat, with a citrus wedge, on ice, or with tonic water.
Amaro should not be confused with amaretto, another Italian liqueur that is sweet and flavored with almonds or the pits of drupe fruits such as apricots, nor with amarone, a rich Italian dry red wine from Valpolicella.
Similar liqueurs have traditionally been produced throughout Europe, with local variations, notably in Germany, where they are called Kräuter Likör, as well as Hungary, Netherlands, France, etc. The term Amaro is typically only applied to such liqueurs which are produced in Italy.

2007 BARRACK BRAND
HAPPY CANYON VINEYARD
HAPPY CANYON of SANTA BARBARA

250 six packs produced

The 2007 vintage was extraordinary in everyway. It was one of the coolest growing seasons in the areas history. A rainless, cold winter resulted in a late bud break which led to lower yields. The ripening of fruit was slow and steady which allowed us to pick at the peak in terms of flavor. Every pick was just about perfect – desired brix, perfect pH, and stunning flavors. The BRAND blend is mostly Merlot with dash of Cabernet Franc and a pinch of Cabernet Sauvignon. The Merlot vines are from two clones planted side by side at the very top of a high plateau which offers 360 degree views of the neighboring vineyards below. The 2007 is a dark and concentrated merlot that was aged for two years in Taransaud French oak barrels and for a year in bottle before release. It is a classic. The wine has a very fine nose with hints of blackberry, plum, oak wood, mocha, vanilla and currants. On the palate it is very diverse from front to back with intense fruit, hints of espresso, herbs, and tobacco. The wine caresses the mouth. The Merlot is blended with just enough stern Cabernet Sauvignon and spicy Cabernet Franc to make a wine that will improve in the short term but will be at it best in 7 to 10 years.

2007 BARRACK TEN~GOAL
HAPPY CANYON VINEYARD
HAPPY CANYON of SANTA BARBARA

350 six packs produced

TEN~GOAL is a blend of head trained steep hillside Block 8 Cabernet Sauvignon, selected barrels of Cabernet Sauvignon, blened with Merlot and with a bit of Cabernet Franc. The aromatics of dark chocolate, violets, pencil lead, black bing cherries and hints of earth and toasted oak which gives a full-bodied, dense, and layered wine, with a sweet fruit. This wine is very deep, very dark and has that rare blue/black fruit quality that you only see in the greatest of vintages. There is a thin veneer of oak just under the surface. On the palate this has a swinging, tightly-wound core of very serious and structural tannin, though the tannins are ripe and smooth. There is dramatic intensity here, with hints of mocha and liquorice. Quite profound. The sum is greater than the parts with the Cabernet Sauvignon bringing the strength and backbone, the Merlot the lush sweet middle palate, and the Cabernet Franc adding the spice and verve. The Cabernet Sauvignon Block 8 (which makes up the majority of this wine) is a truly special vineyard; head trained vines planted to the steep hillside south-west facing slop. No tractor works here as the terrain has been untouched by machine. The vineyard is cared for organically and the vines are maintained by the top vineyard management team in the area Coastal Vineyard Care.
The 2007 BARRACK Ten~Goal is a blockbuster and it should age a minimum of 5 years and it will last for two decades although you will never regret opening a bottle. It is called TEN~GOAL as a polo player’s skills are expressed in goals and range from minus two to ten, with ten being the best. There are only five ten-goal players in United States. BARRACK TEN~GOAL is the best wine from the estate.