My wife and I were recently introduced to a 2009 “Right Bank” Red Blend from Palazzo at Highball & Harvest at the Ritz Carlton Grande Lakes in Orlando, Florida. We were looking for a full-bodied red that wouldn’t overwhelm Highball & Harvest’s southern nouveau menu, and would pair equally well with a lamb shank and their take on chicken and dumplings. After getting some input from our server, we settled on the Palazzo blend.

Like its namesake style, the Palazzo is predominantly Merlot (68%) blended with Cabernet Franc (24%) and Cabernet Sauvignon (8%). It was aged for 15 months in 40% new French oak, and fifteen hundred cases were produced.

The Palazzo is a dark red, full-bodied wine. On the nose, there are cedar, spice, herbs and earth. On the palate, there are the expected initial dark fruits, but they were not overwhelming to me. In fact, I would be hard pressed to pick out a predominant fruit note on this one, though it is acidic enough to leave me with a general impression of dark red cherries or early season blackberries. Regardless, the wine has a pleasing structure as the fruit is well balanced by a compelling earthiness and ripe tannins.

Note that while most Right Bank Bordeaux blends come in around 13-14% a.b.v., due to Napa’s warmer and longer growing season the Palazzo comes in at a robust 14.8% a.b.v. – which resulted in a slightly “hotter” finish than I expected. As long as the Palazzo is served at a correct temperature (61-64 °F / 16-18 °C), it shouldn’t detract from the finish – but if it is served too warm, that alcohol note on the backend could be slightly off-putting to some drinkers.

Cheers!

Pairing:

Desconfianza – Bebo Valdes (1952)