By Bruce Neyers

Tuesday 21st April, 2026

2021 Left Bank Red – An idea that made a lot of sense

Conn Creek flows through our Conn Valley property for about 200 yards at the southernmost border, and we’ve planted two vineyards there in the deep, gravel-based soil: one to Merlot, and the other to Cabernet Sauvignon. For years we kept the two wines separate, but in 2015, Tadeo decided that the impact of the soil was more important than the varietal distinctions from the grapes, and he began to blend the two wines into one. We call it Left Bank Red. While the percentage of each grape varies from year to year, we found ourselves charmed by the softness of the wine, while the bright minerality introduced new elements of complexity and flavor. I found myself regularly comparing it to the wines of Pomerol, wines that while distinct within Bordeaux, appealed to me because of their high percentage of Merlot and their underlying gravelly component. Tadeo agreed. About this same time, Asian-inspired dishes had reached a new level of acceptance in our part of the world. Barbara and I had lived in Korea for a year, so exotic Asian cuisine was not new to us, and our regular trips to Paris merely confirmed our attraction to the food. One of our favorite Michelin-starred Parisian restaurants proudly boasted a wine list that consisted almost entirely of the wines of Pomerol. We ate there often, and I grew to recognize the logic behind the decision. We continued to enjoy the success of our Left Bank Red, and in 2019 added a new, Trinchero family-owned Merlot vineyard from Manley Lane to the blend. We remained comfortable fermenting the separate lots naturally with native, wild yeast, and bottling the finished wine with neither fining nor filtration. Each vintage grew more Pomerol-like in style, and our fondness for the wine increased. The 2021 Left Bank Red is easily the best yet. It’s soft and attractive, and has a long, complex finish. The fruit reminds me of the wild cherries we harvested from the century-old cherry trees at Mayacamas when I worked there years ago. But there’s plenty of that mineral component that I find in the wines from Pomerol. Recently Barbara came upon a traditional Vietnamese dish called ‘Shaking Beef’. After several trials (and near misses), she felt she understood it, and made it one recent evening. We tried it with the 2021 Left Bank Red. Both were a delicious success. You’ll love it, and perhaps understand more clearly our fondness for Asian-Inspired dishes with our Merlot blend. The 2021 Left Bank Red is 75% Merlot and 25% Cabernet Sauvignon.

Shaking Beef

Ingredients

• 1 ½ pounds beef tenderloin, trimmed of fat and cut into bite-sized pieces
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper
• 5 tablespoons olive oil
• ¼ cup rice wine vinegar
• ¼ cup chicken stock
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 red onion, peeled and thinly sliced
• 3 scallions, cleaned and cut in 1-inch lengths
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 head of romaine lettuce, cleaned, separated into leaves and cut into 2 to 3-inch pieces
• 2 bunches of water cress, washed and dried

Preparation

1. Marinate the meat with half the sugar, 1 teaspoon of salt, ¼ teaspoon of pepper and 1 tablespoon of olive oil for approximately 2 hours.
2. While meat is marinating, combine vinegar, remaining sugar, chicken stock, soy sauce.
3. In a sauté pan heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil and cook the meat over high heat until a brown crust forms on all sides.
4. Add the onion and scallions and cook approximately 1 minute.
5. Add vinegar mixture and heat until ingredients are hot.
6. Add butter and heat until butter melts.
7. Serve beef on romaine lettuce leaves with watercress on the top and lime wedges on the side.