Over the weekend, my husband and I decided to open our bottle of Gordon Brothers 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon. It had been sitting in our wine rack calling my name for a while. I'd heard good things about it and was eager to give it a taste. It took the gold medal at Columbus Food & Wine Affair Competition and silver medals at the 2005 Wines of the World Competition and New World International Wine Competition.

It's a very smooth wine with incredibly gentle tannins. It doesn't have the body that is typical of Cabernets, however, since it's a Washington state wine I didn't expect a big, heavy Cab. The oak was light and the hint of vanilla was delicious.

From the Gordon Brothers Web site:

• COMPOSITION: 93% Cabernet Sauvignon, Gordon Bros. Estate and 7% Merlot, Gordon Bros. Estate
• AGING: 18 months in French Oak
• pH: 3.6
• TA: 0.68g / L
• ALCOHOL: 13.7%
• PRODUCTION: 2,065 cases

The 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon has a wonderful depth in color, warming up to you with toasty vanilla oak and dark chocolate. This Cab has a core of black cherry and ripe currant and finishes with seductive caramel. Powerful yet refined tannins will make for great ageability. Serve with steak, cajun food or other big spicy dishes.

We had this bottle of wine with a grilled London Broil and indeed, it paired quite well with the steak. We enjoyed it. The bottle retails around $20.