I spent the bulk of the afternoon making the traditional Lithuanian favorite Meatcakes – a sweet yeasty dough around ham, bacon and onion. In Vilnius they are known as “Bacon Buns.” My grandmother, who spoke Lithuanian with the Catholic priests all the time, used to make these whenever there was a family get together.
They are a labor of love, and when warm and fresh from the oven, just incredible.
I’m pairing them with this old favorite – my last bottle of the 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon from Chateau O’Brien. The cork popped out smoothly, and the end was DARK. This is a rich, dark, earthy wine – with very dark fruit – blackberries and black cherry, with smoke and leather and the ever so slightest hint of licorice to me. It’s six years old which is impressive for Virginia, but it was amazing in 2015 when it was released and it has just become smoother over the years. I’m sad to let go of my last bottle, but it is the holidays!
The 12s were an amazing year for Chateau O’Brien, putting out incredible malbec, cab sauv, Vintner’s Reserve red blend, Tannat, and Petit Verdot. I didn’t love the 12 cab franc as much, I don’t really know why, it just didn’t hit me as amazingly as these did.
Chateau O’Brien was for a long time my favorite winery, and where I went and bought wine at least once per month. I branched out this past year, but plan to get back there!
My NoVa Wine Blog 