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I was recently invited to a small dinner with Dennis Cakebread of Cakebread Cellars. I know, close your mouth, I was equally shocked.

Now, I don’t want to fall all over myself but I do consider Cakebread to be a benchmark California winery. They have an iconic Chardonnay that may be the very definition of a California Chard. But frankly it is their reds that really get my attention. Big, sweetly-oaked Pinot Noirs, abundantly aromatic Syrahs and elegant, well-balanced Cabs that are nicely acidic.

Many of the styles and trends (for better or worse…) we associate with California wines began because pioneers like the Cakebread family saw the potential of the California climate and terroir of the Napa valley.

Still, I am not here to discuss California wine styles. That’s not what I do. That's not my thing.

But I do want to talk about what to serve with this excellent wine. And make no mistake it is an excellent wine with a price point to match. So whatever recipe we develop needs to be equally special.

Which is not to say that the food need be “fancy". Sure this wine is elegant. But its elegance comes from its simple well-balanced nature. It is a blend of three grapes, with 79% of the blend being Cabernet. But Cabernets are relatively smaller grapes. Meaning more seed, more skin, more stem by volume. This translates into tannins.

Without an appropriate amount of aging tannins can be unpleasant. Of course tannins are necessary in good red wine because they add complexity as the wine ages. But not everyone will be patient enough to lay this bottle down for 10 years. So the winemaker has added a touch of Cabernet Franc and 17% Merlot. I’d say for balance and approachability. The Cabernet Franc adds a sturdy backbone without adding a lot of tannins. The Merlot adds softness that will tame the tannins somewhat in the short run. Of course I am not the winemaker, so these are just opinions and educated guesses.

But a blend is not a “recipe”. A blend is changed with each bottling to suit the grapes and weather. The grapes in this Dancing Bear Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon are grown at a high elevation, considerably above the fog line. They get a bit more heat than some of the other fields that Cakebread Cellars cultivates. In fact, at dinner Dennis discussed the microclimates within microclimates that define much of the Dancing Bear property. These sorts of extremes produce bold flavor and higher alcohol levels. It is the job of winemaker Julianne Laks and viticulturist Toby Halkovich to work with these conditions to bring about the well-balanced wine I keep referring to.

Oh wait, I said I wasn't going to talk about wine styles or growing conditions. But I mention this because despite the harsh growing conditions on Howell mountain (or perhaps thanks to) somehow (even without a decade in the cellar) the tannins are tamed and there is a level of acidity that really helps elevate this particular wine into a very food friendly wine for drinking right now.

Which does bring me back to the purpose of today’s post – finding just the right recipe to accompany this wine. When I first tasted it, I was a guest of Dennis Cakebread at a small dinner at Michael’s in Santa Monica (along with Adam and Marissa Rubenstein from VivaLaFoodies and Eve Bushman from Eve’s Wine 101). There were just 5 of us at the table and 3 of us ordered the Superior Farms Colorado Rack of Lamb with Rice Beans. At first glance it did seem the best choice on the menu to pair with this mostly Cab blend. Yet despite the elegance of the combination I just felt that the delicate texture of a lamb chop might not stand up as tall as it should with this wine. Besides the lamb had the additional oomph of sausage, harissa, watercress, and heirloom tomatoes. A lovely and complex group of flavors, best saved for another day I decided. I was here to taste the wine.

So I chose the grilled duck breast. I was pretty pleased with my choice, too. Because the slight bitter quality that comes with properly char-grilled meat would be mimicked and accentuated by the bold, slightly bitter tannins I expected from a younger Cabernet Sauvignon blend.

Of course the wine’s tannins were not overpowering, as I already said. They were present however, and the grilled meat stood beside them quite well. Same with the lusciousness that is associated with fatty meat like duck.

I walked out of that restaurant knowing I wanted to do a pairing for this wine that would suit everything I had just learned about it. My first impulse was to go for the jugular and really come up with an unusual recipe. I even discussed it with my brother who is a much better cook than I. We talked about beef and coffee rubs. Turkish flavors are trendy right now; perhaps there was a Middle Eastern direction to follow.

In the end we decided to rely on simplicity and let the wine lead the way. Which means lamb. But we chose a stronger flavored cut than the chops we enjoyed at Michael’s. We chose leg of lamb. A boneless, butterflied, olive tapenade stuffed – leg of lamb. And, yes, oh yes, we grilled it outside on the BBQ to barely past rare with plenty of good black char.

 Grilled Boneless Leg of Lamb Stuffed with Olive Tapenade serves 6  CLICK here for a printable recipe

The excellent tapenade recipe come from Cook and Be Merry and the inspiration for the lamb comes from Laurant Tourondel