Murphy's Law

Owen Roe is known for producing robust Oregon pinots, but the grape composition of winemaker David O'Reilly's "Murphy's Law" 2005, Columbia Valley Red Blend presents a different level of robustness. The counterman at "In Fine Spirits" told me Mr. O'Reilly delights in combining odd combinations of grapes for this line of wines, but the possible cepage of this wine is terribly elusive. The nose is hot and packed with black raspberry, while the palate presents strawberry, lilac and black plums, with a touch of bramble. While the tannins are eclipsed by the alchohol content, it is rustic, untamed and dries out the mouth. My best guess was that this wine was an Oregon-styled SGM, the typically Australian combination of Syrah, Grenache and Monastrell (Mourvedre) which tends to be a more fruit forward version of the Rhone wines that might utilize these same grapes.

As it turns out, I was two thirds right, Blaufrankisch rather than Mourvedre rounds out this trio. The Hungarian wine Egri Bikavér(Bull's Blood) is the only wine I know of that combines Syrah and Blaufrankisch, and the grenache, which softens the tannins and adds a dose of fruit on top of the more tannic Syrah and Blaufrankisch, is clearly an addition of Mr O'Reilly's own devising, even though the Syrah/Grenache combination is also classic.

I think it might be good with deep dish pizza. On its own, it's a sweating, untamed stallion, with a certain balance and also a certain imbalance, at least to my palate. The spiciness of the Blaufrankisch and Syrah are charming, but in an ideal world, I might have chosen to soften the wine with a little viognier, not that O'Reilly's asking.