It's Cold!  Both in the north and down here in Florida.  Yes, it might not be quite as cold in Florida, but when you haven't seen temps below 70 degrees for about four months, temps in the 50's feel very chilly.

With the cold weather means a switch in my wine consumption as well.  When I lived in the north, I always seemed to drink mainly white in the summer and reds in the winter.  Since being back in Florida, this is fairly the same, but I do enjoy my whites year-round.  Reds are more difficult to drink during those summer days when the temps are in the 90's, but on a day like today, when the temps fall into the 50's for the first time, I feel like it is the perfect time to open a bottle of red wine.

There are so many options for red wine.  Most people will go right to a big California Cabernet, which I do love, or many people might enjoy a Syrah or Zinfandel which are rich and full bodied, but I like to go to the region that was my first love of wine, Bordeaux.

Bordeaux is what I cut my teeth on in the wine industry, getting to visit some of the most iconic wineries and tasting their wines.  Bordeaux is what helped make me fall in love with wine.  One of those iconic wineries is Chateau Lafite Rothschild.  This is considered one of the top wineries in the world and runs for around $1000 a bottle.  I am not recommending opening a bottle of that up today, but they do own more properties and make excellent wines which you can open on a Wednesday when it's cold out.

One of those is the Les Legendes Bordeaux Rouge 2019.  This wine was given a 94-point rating from Decanter and comes in at under $15!  A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot this has leathery and earthy nuances with touches of black pepper under lots of dark fruit aromas. Very dense and smooth on the palate.  This is the perfect red to open midweek when the temps begin to dip, and you feel that chill in the air.  I highly recommend giving this wine a try!

Les Legendes Bordeaux Rouge 2019

-Patrick Mulrooney