For years now, Sonja and I have enjoyed running a little bed and breakfast in our home. We essentially just advertise our spare room on Air BnB, which we love, and it helps to offset the cost of living in a 111 year old house. Not only that, but we get to meet some terrific people. Our guests during the election were Dutch (it was fun trying to explain the electoral college to them) and we often get medical students who are in town to interview at the nearby University of Nebraska Medical Center. Tonight, our guests are from Florida by way of England. In fact, they are from the same place in Florida we visited last year, and since Sonja and I both once lived in England, we’ve had a lot to talk about. Plus they love college football and wine, so we’re pretty well matched.

In our guest room, of course, we have a few complimentary bottles of wine available for our guests. When they asked for an extra glass tonight, however, I decided to do one better, and open a bit nicer bottle than the $4 bottom shelf stuff we offer for free on a nightly basis. After a brief interview about their preferences, I pulled this bottle of H3 Cab Sauv from Columbia Crest off of the shelf, and together we’ve spent the last hour or two watching Houston embarrass Louisville while sharing a few glasses of wine.

The 2014 H3 Cabernet Sauvignon has a terrific QPR. It’s young and tight with a delicate nose, then opens up nicely, offering a full bodied wine that boasts notes of bright bing cherry and raspberry with subtle undercurrents of leather and vanilla toward the end. A long dry finish lingers upon the palate. Though it’s clearly made-to-drink, it will hold up for some time with the formidable long-grain tannins it possesses. This is a terrific daily drinker, an everyday wine that I think will please most crowds. It gets full marks for value, and 87 points in total on my scale. I recommend it. (sample)

Cheers,