A dazzling, much-lauded and eerily prescient cult classic, director Ridley Scott's futuristic Blade Runner, which depicts a grim but somehow alluring Los Angeles of 2019, is one of my favorite films of all time.
Though originally released to ho-hum reviews in 1982, the film (based on a quirky novel by Philip K. Dick) quickly gained fan traction, no doubt in part thanks to a sublime score by Vangelis, plus really nifty special effects, art direction and superb character development.
A Director's Cut released in 2007 presented the film without the voice-over narration the studio demanded in the original cut and which Scott despised. It's a must-see for any self-respecting sci-fi fan and an engrossing love story to boot.
Blade Runner stars Harrison Ford as Rick Deckard, a former police officer who specializes in killing or 'retiring' replicants, genetically manufactured life forms almost completely indistinguishable from humans.
Originally created by the evil genius Dr. Tyrell, replicants were designed to work essentially as slaves to do dangerous and unsavory work in "off-world colonies." A band of renegade replicants have found their way back to Earth, led by fantastic Roy (Rutger Hauer in his break-out role) with co-conspirators Pris (Darryl Hannah), Leon (Brion James) and Zhora (Joanna Cassidy). They have come back at great risk in search of their 'incept' (a.k.a. death) dates, as replicants are designed to last only four years. Deckard proceeds to hunt them down with varying degrees of success, seemingly reluctantly.
Deckard is also charged with the retirement of Rachel (Sean Young), the pet project of Dr. Tyrell, a replicant experiment who believes she's Tyrell's niece, thanks to memory implants. Desperate and sad love throbs between Rachael and Deckard, to our cinematic delight.
A ground-breaking masterpiece, Blade Runner is awesome paired with a bottle of Blackstone Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 ($15.00 CDN, $11.99 U.S.).
Blackstone Winery was founded in 1990 and is part of the renowned Icon Estates family of wines. A relative newcomer to the California wine scene, the mandate of Blackstone is to produce full-bodied, approachable wines of great quality.
Blackstone Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 is mostly made from Cabernet Sauvignon, but contains 11 per cent Syrah and one per cent Merlot and, at 13.5 per cent alcohol, is the new house red, chez moi.
Eighty-seven per cent of the grapes hail from the Monterey County wine growing region of California, a sub-region of the state's Central Coast wine growing region, located just south of San Francisco. Monterey County is home to 38,200 acres of vine land and is a cool climate region, thanks to the marine influence.
It enjoys a long growing season and the temperatures rarely exceed 75 degrees farenheit. The 2006 vintage is the product of a cool year on the coast with heavy rains in spring, but the summer months were warm with a delicious heat surge in July to aid in the ripening process.
This wine has a deep, ruby red color with a nose of big red cherries, black currant and black licorice. The mouthfeel is full of dark, rich fruit with mild oak lingering in the background. The finish has length and makes you sit back, relax and savor each mouthful.
Make a date with a special someone for some Blackstone Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 and Blade Runner and see where the future takes you.
Jill Vanderkooy, Sommelier and certifiable bon vivant, has worked in the wine industry for over 10 years, has been drinking wine for 25 years and is a true devotee of film across all genres. Her liver thanks you for reading.
