He's Been Through Enough
TASTING NOTES: “90 Points, Wine Enthusiast
A rich, full-bodied Cabernet Sauvignon with inviting aromas of dark chocolate and dried berries, spiced with mahogany, incense and charred walnut. The palate unfolds with layers of dark cherry, dried tobacco and wood spice flavors. These aromas and flavors paired with a dry, lingering finish showcase the wine’s depth and structure. Equally enjoyable alongside a hearty meal or sipped on its own.” (AbV 13.3%)
VARIETALS: 80% Cabernet Sauvignon (Inglenook clone), 12.5% Cabernet Franc, 7.5% Sauvignon Blanc
BARRELS: 39 months in 40% new French oak
PAIRS WITH: N/A
THAT REMINDS ME OF: Comanche, the horse.
Not the winery’s horse — the other Comanche. The one that survived the Battle of Little Bighorn in 1876, later identified as the sole living survivor found on the U.S. Army’s side of the field. He was a mixed-breed mustang, a cavalry mount belonging to Captain Myles Keogh, and after the battle he was discovered badly wounded but alive among the dead. The Army nursed him back to health and issued a regimental order — an actual formal military order — declaring that Comanche would never be ridden again and would be present, saddled and draped, at all regimental formations. He spent his retirement eating, wandering the fort, and reportedly developing a taste for beer, which soldiers were apparently happy to provide.
When Comanche died in 1891, he was given a full military funeral, one of only two horses in U.S. history to receive that honor. Then — and this is the part that takes a turn — he was taxidermied and put on display. He currently stands in a glass case at the University of Kansas Natural History Museum, where you can go visit him. The case is climate-controlled. There is a sign asking you not to touch the horse.
I keep thinking about the regimental order. The formal paperwork drawn up by the U.S. Army to protect one horse’s feelings. That someone sat down, dipped a pen, and wrote the official military bureaucratic version of he’s been through enough, leave him alone. Reader, I respect it enormously.
ICYMI, you have two choices:
- Worried Summer heat might get to your wine before your wine gets to you? Order from the sale linked here, and we’ll get it to you at a cooler time of year!
- Want it shipped now? Every package during the summer will have protected temp control ground shipping for much of the country that takes longer but will ensure safe delivery. Expect up to two weeks for delivery. Now through the September 12th offer.
