lummi island wine tasting july 11-12 ’14
Wine club tote bags
Earlier this year we bought a bunch of new tote bags. The idea has never been to use them for general distribution. I mean, Hello, we are NOT Haggen’s or Costco! Rather, the idea has been to provide each wine club member with a bag to carry in the car at all times, like a cell phone or flares, only a lot more useful. In case any of you have not fully grokked this, we want to be there for all your Wine Emergencies, because let’s face it, we have all had them, and it is NOT pretty! Interestingly, even after many months, we still encounter members who have not yet picked up their wine bags, or, what’s worse…have forgotten to bring them! No matter, we can give you another— but ideally we would like to train you to keep your bag in your car at All Times. And if there are two of you, we are happy to provide TWO bags. They’re stylish, they’re practical, and they mark YOU as a member of Lummi Island’s Premier Wine Club! Which reminds me…have you renewed your membership for 2014?
Fresh Olive Oil
For several years we have carried olive oil from one of our favorite Italian wineries, Perazzeta. It was a new experience to see olive oil labels that tell when (to the month) the olives were picked and pressed. In Tuscany, they like their olive oil a little “green,” with a “bite” that you can feel in your throat. What is important now is that we just received our annual case of this lovely oil, picked and pressed this past winter. We also have a few bottles (500 ml) left from last year. On Friday night we will offer these oils for tasting– hopefully they will go well with Janice’s weekly loaf of fresh bread!
Broken glasses
Glasses prove quite perishable in a wine shop. Sometimes they break while you are washing them. More often they get knocked off the bar by a misplaced gesture. In any case, it has taken a while to re-imagine wine glasses as consumables, not durables, as we generally think of them in the house.
For the first bunch of years we were open, our glasses of choice were from IKEA. They had an attractive shape that tapered inward at the top, a nice feature for collecting and reflecting aromas, and they were a mere $2 apiece. Definitely a good deal! Then a few years ago that particular glass was replaced by a rounder, fuller shape that doesn’t really work for general tasting (imho…). So a year or two ago we bought several cases of Riedel’s “working glass,” aimed at bars and restaurants….and wine shops! These glasses are attractive and relatively affordable; last week we were shipped four cases, all packed into one very large carton with about (I am not making this up) thirty feet of bubble wrap somewhat haphazardly thrown in among the cartons. A couple of the travelers didn’t make it, and the Riedel folks wanted a photo of the damage. As Kurt Vonnegut used to say, “So it goes.”
Savoie sparkler
A little over a month ago we visited the somewhat obscure (to most Americans) French wine region of Jura. An hour or two south is the equally obscure region of Savoie. Like Jura, it has long traditions based on unusual local grapes. A few years ago, the most famous regional producer of sparkling wine was saved from extinction by being taken over by local wine merchant Gérard Lambert, who now makes delicious Méthode Traditionnelle sparkling wines from the local Molette and Altesse grapes. The wines are aged on lees for six months, followed by two years sur latte*, giving the wine more complex, distinguished aromas and a fine perlage (bubbles). This week we are pouring his basic bubbly; next week we will move on to a somewhat higher rung. These wines have more flavor than many sparklers, a little leesy and a little yeasty, two qualities I happen to like a lot. Come see what you think! link
This week’s tasting notes
Seyssal Petit Royal Brut France $16
Traditionally made from Savoie white varietals Molette and Altesse, with extended time on lees and two years sur latte before rebottling, yielding a yeasty complexity and fine bubbles.
Chateau L’Ermitage Blanc ’13 France $10
An old favorite here, this vintage is even better– Light gold in color with aromas of peach, flowers, and honey; the Grenache Blanc, Viognier, and Roussanne, a heavenly blend!
Perazzeta Rosado di Montalcino ’11 Italy $14
It’s back! From the same grape as Brunello (sangiovese grosso), this beautiful rosado has it all: rich, bold, flinty, and summery.
Le Pigeoulet en Provence ’12 France $16
(grenache, syrah, cinsault,carignan): Fresh raspberry and candied lavender with a spicy lift. Juicy and seamless in texture, with lively fruit; very easy to like.
Meroi Nestri Merlot ’10 Italy $24
From Fruili between the Alps and the Adriatic, aged two years in once-used barrels; shows both power and poise partnering with savory dishes from steaks to aged cheeses.
lummi island wine tasting 4th of july weekend ’14
Hours
One would think that after all these years someone would have figured out how to celebrate the 4th of July on a Monday, like all the other Holidays. But no, they let it be whatever day of the week it happens to fall upon, and that of course makes planning an annual challenge. This year the 4th is on a Friday, which makes it an official 3-day Holiday Weekend. Add to that the annual Rummage Sale and annual Pancake Breakfast on Saturday, and you’ve got yourself one crowded island. Hmm, note to self: let’s make sure we have plenty of Benadryl to help the dogs dope-cope with Everyone’s Brother’s All-night Fireworks…!
The essential take-away for all of you is that we will be CLOSED all day on Friday (the 4th) and we will be open our regular hours on Saturday, July 5: 2-6pm. We hope you can stop by!
The best beer in the Universe…?
Maybe it’s just a beer whose Time has come. I mean, although of course everyone’s daily conversation revolves around wine, no one (that I know!) ever talks about beer. So it is a point of some interest that after closing during Studio Tour a month ago our friend Tristan (who was pouring his imports) shared a post-wineshop bottle of a beer I had never heard of (actually there are quite possibly Tens of Thousands of beers I have never heard of!), called ‘Pliny the Elder,” made in Santa Rosa, California in the Russian River Valley where, by the way, a lot of excellent wine is also made. The first thing to know about this beer is that it is an IPA. The second thing is that in general I personally find IPA much too hoppy for my taste, definitely not a favorite. So it was doubly surprising to find that not only was this a good IPA, it was also quite possibly the best beer I had ever tasted, with lots of delicious flavor nuances and freshness.
Fast forward to last weekend when a young couple from the Bay Area dropped in, he wearing a Pliny the Younger T-shirt (photo left), and explaining that P the Y is Pliny’s on-tap brew. Little is made, and it is released once a year at the brewery to all-day lines of Faithful fans. This couple waited for (I’m not making this up…!) eight hours to get in for a relatively small taste of the mythic elixir. My understanding is that P the Y is in fact quite hoppy, a la your usual IPA, so I am not likely to line up anytime soon. However, if any of you run across any P the E in your travels, buy yourself some and also please pick up some for us, as apparently they have discontinued exporting it to our Fair State.
Pre-owned Pottery…?
Recently my oldest friend in these parts downsized into smaller digs, and was forced to pare down the huge collection of my pottery that he had accumulated over many years. So it is that I now have on consignment three of my very early pots, probably dating back to about the mid-eighties. The blue ones are porcelain, and the covered jar is raku. They will be on display at the wine shop until they can find new homes, all proceeds to go to their current owner. For my part, it is always a curious feeling to come face to face with one of my old creations…like old photographs, they are soaked in the past, yet here they are fresh and shining in this present moment. And, like petroglyphs, they could survive me by many, many years…an interesting thought.
Wine Club update
We are now in the second year of our Wine Club, and we are grateful to all of you who have made it a success, certainly for us, and hopefully for all of you who took advantage of club benefits like discounts on tasting and wine purchases. This year we seem to have let the wine club slide a bit, with the result that we seem to have lost some old members and failed to renew memberships for last year’s members.
In part this is due to our unfortunate decision to enroll members for a year beginning whenever they sign up, with the result that members have renewal dates stretching throughout the calendar year. We will post in the wine shop a list of members along with membership expiration dates. Next time you are in the shop, please check the list to see if it is past time to renew your membership…!
By the way— membership benefits have changed a bit for this calendar year, hopefully in the direction of simplicity. Annual dues are still $35, which continue to entitle members to save $5 on each regular wine tasting. In addition, we have done away with the white, pink, and red cards (based on wine purchases) in favor of a simpler system, with two basic components:
1. Members do not pay sales tax on any purchase of four or more bottles (an 8.7% savings!).
2. Members enjoy a 15% discount on any full-case special orders
This week’s tasting
Trevisiol “Rosecco” Sparkling Rosé Italy $15
Where prosecco meets rosé; Light and effervescent wine that dances on the tongue with fresh berries, lively acidity and gentle bubbles.
Reuilly “les Pierres Plates” ’12 France $18
Like neighbors Sancerre and Quincy, beautiful sauvignon blanc; Sage, black currant, gooseberry, and lime dominate both the nose and palate, where a suffusion of salt and chalk adds to a palpable sense of extract and invigoration…bring on the shellfish!
Zerran ’11 Spain 92pts $13
Old vines Garnacha, Mazuelo and Syrah from 1500′ hillsides, where soils are lime-bearing over a granite and slate subsoil. Quite arid with annual rainfall of about 25 in. Shows abundant kirsch, lavender, black raspberry and dusty, loamy, earthy scents intermixed with notions of spring flowers and blackberries.
Perazzeta Sara Rosso Toscano ‘ Italy $11
90% Sangiovese, 10% Ciliegiolo; Notes of bright cherry, crisp acidity, and tantalizing earth tones make this very pretty wine hard to resist…so why try??
Cougar Crest Dedication 7 ’10 Washington $18
Merlot, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot. Velvety and round, with gently pulsing flavors of currant and plum, hinting at clove, pepper and roasted meat notes as the finish lingers enticingly.
lummi island wine tasting June 28 ‘014
Jura Wines: Ouillé vs. Sous Voile
One of the greatest highlights of our trip was our visit to the Jura wine region of France, north of Geneva and east of Burgundy. Here there is a very long history of making oxidized wines, which taste very, very different from the wines we are all used to. We spent three days in the absolutely charming town of Arbois, exploring the food and wine of this unique and beautiful area.
The simplest way to explain Jura wines is to point out that however wine is aged, there is always some evaporation, often called the “angel’s share.” The most common practice of winemakers around the world is to top off barrels frequently in order to keep air away from the wine in order to prevent oxidation. In Jura, however, the traditional method is to let the wine evaporate without topping up, which causes two things to happen. First, the wine oxidizes as wine evaporates and the wine is exposed to more and more air. Second, the local air contains naturally occurring yeasts which start growing on the surface of the wine. As in the photo at left, the wines develop a veil (voile) of yeast on the surface where the air touches the wine. As the yeast dies, it sinks to the bottom, even while new yeast grows on the surface.
The entire process is very similar to how sherry is made in Jerez, Spain, and wines from Jura do taste a bit like fino sherry. In the photo at left of Desiree Petit winemaker Damien during their big annual release event over their annual Ascension Thursday (I am not making this up) weekend, you can see the inner workings of the sous voile (under the veil) aging process, in contrast to the more common ouillé process of topping up barrels to prevent oxidation. Sometime in the next few months we will pour both styles of Jura’s most famous grape, savagnin, in both styles, so you can taste the difference!
Lyon: it’s the Food, Dude!
Lyon is France’s second largest city. And though Paris is absolutely a World Capital in every respect, even Parisians give a nod to Lyon as the Food Capital of France. This reputation dates back to the early nineteenth century shortly after the French Revolution, when “Les Mères Lyonnaises” began a tradition of “honest cooking with taste and spirit, but most of all―with local and seasonal top quality ingredients.” Thus Lyon designed the day’s menu around what was available that day in the market. The tradition of Les Meres led to the contemporary Bouchon which one finds thoughout the more touristy areas of Lyon, and which offer traditional Lyonnaise dishes.
For the Real Thing we actually booked a lunch at the most famous reincarnation of Les Mères Lyonnaises, La Mere Brazier (Michelin **), with our seasonal neighbor Brenda. All you need to know is that there was a platoon of black-suited wait-staff attending to our every need. We Knew we were in a thinner atmosphere when, as we got off the city bus right in front of the restaurant (in a bit of rain) the liveried Doorman came to Brenda’s rescue with an umbrella and an arm, to guide her all the way to the door, and the subsequent meal was a parade of exquisitely prepared and beautiful dishes.
What show is that???
Southern France is littered with well-preserved Roman ruins, such as the Pont du Gard and the amphitheater at Nimes, both of which date back some two thousand years– a very long time to us, a passing moment to our Planet. So it is that we took the Funicular (tram) up the hill from Vieux Lyon to the plateau overlooking the city, with its spectacular panorama, and took a leisurely stroll to the ruins of the old Roman amphitheatre dating back the the 1st Century. We were drawn to it because Amplifiers were filling the Air with Sound. On arrival, we found a rehearsal in progress of a fascinating show, obviously American, with great music. We have not been able to sort out what show it is, or whether it will play at the Amphitheatre or not. All I can say is that we would buy tickets Immediately if we knew how, where, and when!
This week’s Tasting Notes
Perazzeta Sara Bianco ’13 Italy $11
Something of a “super-tuscan white,” this blend of Trebbiano, Malvasia, Chardonnay, and Sauvignon Blanc has arrived just in time for Summer. Nose of lemon zest, sage, mango, and pineapple leads to a rich bouquet of flavor and a crisp, refreshing finish.
Chateau Lancyre Rose ’12 France $15
(50% syrah, 40% grenache, 10% cinsault): Bright pink. Intense red berry and tangerine with notes of anise and white flowers; juicy and precise, with palate-coating cranberry and bitter cherry flavors.
Crios de Susana Balbo Malbec ’11 Argentina 89pts $14
Crushed blackberry, licorice and violet on the lively nose. Quite ripe and sweet in the mouth, showing impressive volume and breadth for the price range. Finishes with serious ripe tannins and noteworthy persistence.
Tineta Ribera del Duero ’11 Spain 91 pts $12
100% tempranillo; copious notes of creme de cassis intermixed with hints of wood smoke and charcoal. Intense aromas of blueberry, cherry liqueur, licorice and Indian spices. Lively, sweet and spicy in the mouth, with energetic black and blue fruit flavors, zesty minerality, and notes of bitter chocolate and dark berries on a long, spicy and sharply focused finish.
Avignonesi Rosso de Montepulciano ’11 Italy $18
Perfumed aromas of red berries, violets, cinnamon, and almond flower. Juicy and bright, with precise strawberry and redcurrant flavors and lively acidity. Finishes long and fresh, with lingering floral perfume.
Lummi Island Wine Tasting Summer Solstice Weekend ’14
We’re back!
After a very long day of travel, we got home from France last night on the 11 o’clock boat, after driving from Aix-en-Provence to Marseille, flying from Marseille to Heathrow to Vancouver with a 4-hour wait in London, delays with baggage in Vancouver, and of course that eerie thing of spending nine hours in the air while the Sun moves eight of those hours with you. So you land just an hour after you take off, local time, which is, you know, always hard to get your head around cuz it’s so close to the local time when you took off all those hours ago!
Rosé en Provence
At some point you have to ask yourself: how is rosé made, anyway? Well, there are several methods, but the one most used en Provence probably accounts for most of the rosés you see on our shelves. Rosé is typically made from red grapes (i. e., that can alternatively be used to make red wine). The main difference is that when making rosé, the juice remains in contact with the skins for as little as a few hours, and at a relatively cool temperature, before separating it from the skins. The longer the contact time between the skins and the juice, the darker the color and the more red-wineish the wine becomes. So the very pale rosés one often finds in Provence usually mean that the contact time is very short, with the common goal of producing a wine that is aromatic, fresh, crisp (acidic), and refreshing. And pale!
Commanderie de Bargemon
Our last few days in France were spent at Aix-en-Provence, which is spitting distance from one of our best-known rosé producers, Commanderie de Bargemone, where we did squeeze in a brief visit. The land here is quite flat, and the fifty-odd hectares of grapes here translate into about 400k bottles, or in the ballpark of 33K cases. There we took a tour of the production facilities with owner Marina.
This Week’s Tasting Notes
Anne Amie Amrita white ’13 Oregon $14
Palate-tickling blend of pinot blanc, viognier, and riesling; aromas of quince, Rainier cherry, and lemon; palate of strawberry, raspberry, and nectarine; good match for Asian spices.
Bargemone Provence Rose ’13 France $14
Pale pink. Bright, mineral-dusted aromas of pink grapefruit and dried red berries. Light-bodied and racy on the palate, offering tangy citrus and redcurrant flavors. Finishes brisk and dry, with good lingering spiciness and length.
Olivares Monastrell Altos de la Hoya ’11 Spain 91 pts $10
Black raspberry and cassis aromas, with spicy mineral and floral elements. Powerful dark fruit flavors with vanilla and cola nuances and juicy acidity. Impressively velvety wine, with very good finishing breadth and lingering spiciness.
Rio Madre Rioja ’12 Spain 91pts $10
Sexy, high-toned cherry and blackcurrant aromas with notes of Indian spices and fresh rose. Smooth and seamless in texture, offering intense black and blue fruit flavors that become spicier with air. A great value.
Les Aphillanthes Galets Plan de Dieu ’10 91pts $23
From 45-65 year old vines, 60% Grenache, 20% Syrah and 20% Mourvedre. It boasts stunning aromas of kirsch liqueur, licorice, camphor, tobacco leaf and underbrush. Spicy, peppery and loaded with fruit.
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