Lummi Island Wine Tasting December 7 ’13
Andrew Murray
Sometime around 2004, a road trip took us to Los Olivos, California, near Santa Barbara, where we found the tasting room for Andrew Murray Vineyards. The winery itself is a few miles away on Foxen Canyon Road– by my reckoning one of the most beautiful spots on Planet Earth. I liked the wines so much I joined their wine club, and every few months ever since I have been shipped four wines that I can always turn to when I need something soft, smooth, and satisfying. So yes, folks, even though I have the wines of the world at my fingertips, these wines from Andrew Murray, mostly Rhone blends, have been my go-to “comfort wines” for nearly a decade. All I’m saying is this young man consistently makes really nice wines.
Therefore it should be no surprise that I have been trying for a long time to get some of these wines into the shop so you can all enjoy them! Unfortunately, Andrew does not export his wines to Washington. Last April on our road trip we finally got a chance to visit the winery, meet Andrew, and talk about wine, and explore ways to get his wines here. That conversation has evolved into the recent arrival of three of Andrew’s new wines, under a new label called “Elleven,” which he explains in some detail here. We are very excited to offer you these wines to taste this weekend. Btw, Andrew saved us the last case of this year’s vintage (the very first from this vineyard) of the Elleven pinot noir. Young vines being what they are, almost certainly next year’s vintage will be even better…but this one is pretty tasty already!
Flying South? You call this flying south?
On today’s walk this group of Mallards (click image for larger version) caught my eye. Some weeks ago there was one pair, then two, then several. At the moment their paddling range is severely limited by ice to a tiny area of open water. So today I imagined the conversation they might be having as they foraged…
–You promised, George. You promised that this year we would migrate to some place warm for the winter! But just look at this ice! You call this warm??!!
–Well dear, the good news is that what I actually promised was that we would head south for the winter, as we always do.
–Well, thank goodness, because this place is freezing! When are we heading south?
–Umm…well, dear, I’m sorry to tell you that this IS south…!
Italian arrivals
Usually our semi-annual shipment of special order Italian wines arrives in late October, but this year it just arrived. So over the next few weeks we will be offering selections for our weekly tastings. This week’s wine is from one of our favorite wineries in Orvieto, best known for its lovely white wines. This wine is an unoaked red blend of 60% cab franc and 40% canniolo. It really got our attention when we tasted it back in August, and we are hoping you will like it as much as we did!
This week’s wines
Andrew Murray Elleven “Unplugged” White ’12 California $16
Unoaked, crisp, dry harmony of chenin blanc (smooth and haunting) and sauvignon blanc (bracing and racy).
Andrew Murray Elleven Pinot Noir ’12 California $16
A first picking of five pinot noir clones planted in 2009, already showing medium body, soft texture, and Central Coast pedigree. Already a hit, we managed to get the last case for this vintage.
Altarocca Librato Rosso ’11 Italy $16
Unoaked, from volcanic soil; zesty, spicy, dark, and smooth, with a hint of eucalyptus on the finish. Terrific!
Altavins Tinto Joven ’11 Spain $11
Mouth and sense-filling blend of garnacha, syrah, and carinena, full of ripe dark fruit and berry flavors from Terra Alta’s hot days and cool nights close to Tarragona and the Mediterranean.
Andrew Murray Elleven Big Bottom Cabernet California $16
From south-facing hillside vines, mostly dark and concentrated cab sauv mellowed with a bit cab franc and syrah to yield complex notes of graphite, forest floor, flowers, and bright cherry.
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2072 Granger Way
That’s not south!! Come warm up with us!