Lummi Island Wine Tasting April 13-14 ’12
Special Treat: New Betz Releases
Since we opened our little tasting room back in 2005, we have enjoyed a small allocation of each new release from Betz Family Winery in Woodinville. Little known outside Washington, these wines have been carefully crafted by master winemaker Bob Betz, and have consistently achieved high reviews from all of the top wine publications. In most wine shops lucky enough to carry them, these wines sell out very quickly. But out here on the wine frontier, where these and other wines in the $40-$70 range tend to languish on the shelf, we seem to have accumulated a sizable stash.
Bob has a particular fondness for French wines from both the Bordeaux and Rhone regions. Bordeaux wines are predominantly blends of cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc, and merlot, with Left Bank (of the Gironde River) wines predominantly cabernet sauvgnon, and the Right Bank predominantly merlot. In contrast, Rhone wines are generally blends of syrah, grenache, mourvedre, and cinsault (among others), and are further divided into Northern Rhone and Southern Rhone styles, with the cooler North famous for deep, dark, brooding blends, and the South better known for soft, rich, ripe blends, with some subregions mostly syrah, others mostly grenache. That makes five different wine styles: Bordeaux right and left banks, Rhone north and south, and grenache or syrah-based.
I didn’t realize when I started writing this that it was going to get so complicated! All you need to know is that for many years Bob has lived his love for these regions and these wines by crafting his own versions of all three regions. Each Spring he releases two Bordeaux blends: Clos de Betz (his “right bank, merlot-based blend) and Pere de Famille (his Left Bank, cab sauv blend.) Then each fall he releases three Rhone blends: La Serenne (southern style, syrah based), La Cote Rousse (northern style, syrah based), and Besoleil (southern style, grenache- based).
Where all this leads is that for the next two weekends we will offer two tasting flights, and you can choose either or both. The first will be our regular four-wine tasting for $5. The second will be a sampling of Betz wines. This weekend we will feature the just-released 2009 Bordeaux blends, both of which have garnered truly fantastic acclaim. Then next weekend we will add a second flight of the 2009 Rhone blends, released last fall. Bear in mind that most of these wines will not reach their full potential for several years– fortunately we have several older vintages just hitting their stride…!– but the fact is I haven’t tasted them yet either, and this is my excuse! With any luck, this will be a quiet weekend, and there will be a lot left over!
Spring! Spring! Spring!
Okay, okay, so I took some liberties with editing this photo, which I took a couple of mornings ago out the bedroom window. It is SO NICE to be able to see the sun again, you know, more than a few minutes at a time on tediously gray days, and feel the warmth on your body, albeit filtered by the various layers most of us are still wearing. Today in fact there were several hours of honest to goodness shirtsleeve weather…! Of course it never feels like Florida or Hawaii around here, with all this cold, cold water swishing around us, but we’re getting close to the kind of day when some Vitamin D-craving part of us says, yeah, let’s do it, let’s feel a little more of that radiant warmth on our bare skin, and start letting go of the unconscious shoulder-hunching, breath-holding hunkering down that Winter is all about. And start exhaling…Ahhhhhhh!
Today’s wine Today’s wine Today’s wine
Tonight’s writing started with a small glass of FX Pichler 2005 Loibner Klostersatz gruner veltliner (Austria) that I fear has been in the cellar too long. We actually opened it a couple of days ago. It is somewhat austere and slightly tart, with a bit of effervescence, refreshing but somehow lacking the floral and fruity elements we love in a nice gruner, sometimes known as (I am not making this up) “Gru-Vee.” There was, as the link above points up, the nasty business back in the early 80’s when in a bad vintage year the corporate Austrian wine “suits” conspired to add a bit of ethylene glycol (yes, folks, antifreeze..!) to their export wines (what do those Americans know??) to make it a little sweeter and fuller on the palate (I’m not making this up, either!). As the article points out, “36 million bottles of Austrian wine were destroyed by way of being poured into the ovens of a cement plant as a cooling agent.” As you can imagine, it also had an, um, cloying effect on the Austrian wine export market for a time..!
This week’s wines– two flights!
First flight ($5)
Helix Chardonnay ’10 Washington $14
Nice balance of refreshing acidity and pleasing mouthfeel (20% new French oak); shows notes of tart pear, ripe pineapple, and hints of banana and guava melded all together with a little butterscotch.
Casillero del Diablo Carmenère ’10 Chile WS88pts $9
Aromas of spice box, plum, blueberry, and lavender are followed by a sweetly fruited wine with layered flavors and excellent concentration.
Finca El Tesso Tempranillo ‘09 $10
Already a local favorite–fruity and soft, with scents of violets, raw meat, sea salt and mineral; a perfect match for Serrano ham.
Layer Cake Shiraz ’09 Australia $14 WS89pts
Smooth and round, almost black in color, with the generous currant and black plum flavors poking through a layer of fine tannins on the finish.
Second flight ($5)
Betz Clos de Betz ’09 Washington WS96pts $48
Composed of 65% Merlot, 29% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 6% Petit Verdot.. Opaque purple in color, it offers up a brooding bouquet of toasty oak, exotic spices, herbs, violets, black currant, and blackberry. Opulent on the palate, the wine has outstanding volume, a laser-like focus, layered fruit, and succulent flavors. This sizable effort will benefit from another 4-5 years of cellaring and drink well through 2028.
Betz Pere de Famille ’09 Washington WS96pts $60
Made up of 82% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Petit Verdot, and 8% Merlot aged for 16 months in 65% new French oak. Doing a fine impersonation of a classified growth Pauillac, it offers up a nose of sandalwood, Asian spices, incense, herbal notes, violets, black currants, and blackberry. This sets the stage for an already complex, elegant, smooth-textured, structured wine that will evolve for another 5-7 years. This lengthy, impressive effort will offer prime time drinking from 2016 to 2029.
Lummi Island Wine Tasting April 7, ’12
Easter Easter Easter
In keeping with our ongoing chronicle of our annual journey around our nearest and dearest star, we note the arrival of Easter this weekend. As you can read here, Easter falls on the first Sunday subsequent to the first full moon after the vernal equinox (March 21). Because Christians believe Jesus died and was reborn during the Jewish holiday of Passover, Easter was set to coincide with Passover, which is set according to the Jewish (lunar) calendar as the day of the first full moon after the vernal equinox. After about 800 years of discussion, the Church decided Easter should always be on a Sunday (Passover, like the vernal equinox, can begin on any day of the week), so it was decided that it should be, essentially, the first Sunday after Passover.
As it turns out, it’s even more complicated than that, because even the vernal equinox doesn’t happen on the same day each year, and is in fact a point in time (as is the exact Full Moon), not a whole day, and of course our round planet being what it is, it is never the same date everywhere. Not surprisingly, as politicians have always done in such circumstances, they created the “Ecclesiastical Calendar” by creating a virtual first Full Moon after a virtual Vernal Equinox.
Of course, that begs the question of why Passover was tied to the spring equinox in the first place. Well, imagine you have a lunar calendar, and you want to celebrate the coming of spring, which is in fact a solar event. Since this “spring moon” could fall near the end or the beginning (or anywhere else) of the lunar month, it could be substantially before or after the equinox. When you sit back and reflect on it for a bit, it is clear that the solar calendar makes a lot more sense for agrarian societies in temperate climates, where seasons are closely tied to cycles of planting and harvest, and much depended on getting it right. Closer to the Equator maybe it wasn’t so important. In any case, here again we continue to live with (and celebrate) the traditions of our ancestors and the cycles of the seasons.
The Art of Wine The Art of Wine The Art of Wine
This past Sunday concluded Ryan’s four-part wine tasting series on the Art of Wine, combining regional wines from four European countries with the art, food, literature, and music of the same region. Those who attended probably could not tell you in words how riesling is like Three Penny Opera (Pirate Jenny), liverwurst, spicy sausage, or Cabaret, but they do have some felt sense of the connections. I think all who attended any of the workshop series came away with the same fascinating felt sense that these wines and these cultural manifestations could only come from this one place.
Ryan will soon be starting another workshop series, repeating some of the themes from last summer’s series. I think the first workshop is scheduled for Sunday, April 15. (Hmmm, let’s see, April 15…..April 15….something I am supposed to do….hmmm). See Wine Workshop Flyer 3 for details!
Today’s wine Today’s wine Today’s wine
In keeping with our week-old tradition, tonight I am enjoying a glass (or two) of a lovely Priorat wine from the same winery as the one we will pour on Saturday. This one is the Parmi L’Infant (I don’t know if that is Spanish, French, or Catalan, but means “child”), a blend from younger vines than the more powerful L’Esperit we will be pouring this weekend. L’Infant is made from 80% garnacha (young vines) blended with 20% old vines carinena for which Priorato is famous. By comparison, the Parmi L’Esperit consists of 50% garnacha, 50% carinena, all from older vines. Even though L’Infant does not have the depth of L’Esperit, it still has considerable power, with lingering flavors of black currant with a soft minerality that permeates the palate. I know this is a little pricey for our regulars, but here is a chance to taste a great example of the Priorat wine style.
Priorat
This week’s wines:
This week’s tasting leads off with the same wine that led off last Sunday’s workshop, the REUSCHER-HAART Riesling Kabinett 2009, the most carefree of the rieslings we tasted. Kabinett usually has the lowest amount of residual sugar of the various rieslings, with matching acidity, and is therefore a marvelous wine with a wide range of dishes. Our second wine, XYZin zinfandel, (not to be confused with “white zinfandel,” which is barely even wine) is archetypally New World, a youngish California zin, which translates into “Big Fruit bordering on jammy.”
Our third wine, the Domaine Ste. Eugenie La Reserve is new to us, but turns out to be from within a few miles of where we spent a week in France last fall, the region of Corbieres, which is somewhat inland from the Mediterranean near the Spanish border. The country is reminiscent of Arizona, with broad vistas of rocky outcroppings (some topped with ruins of old Cathar castles), semi-arid conditions, and lots of space. Our last wine is a a preview for us of an area we will be visiting in Spain next month in the semi-mythic region of Priorat, about an hour south and inland from Barcelona. Arid, rocky, inhospitable, and powerful, Priorat is a landscape which forces vines to go deep, deep into the earth for water, producing wines of enormous depth and character.
Domaine Ste. Eugenie, Corbieres
Reuscher-Haart Riesling Kabinett 2009 89pts $17
Finely focused, offering rich, plush flavors of ruby grapefruit and crisp Fuji apple. The stony finish lingers with hints of white pepper.
XYZin ’07 California $10
Opens with an attractive aroma of rose petals, juicy pomegranate, and warm brown sugar. Strawberry, and plum fruit dominate the entry and lead to a plush mid-palate redolent of dark cherries and mulberries complemented by earthy dimensions of sandalwood, fresh bay leaf, and chocolate.
Domaine Ste. Eugenie La Reserve ’10 France (Corbieres) $16
Carignan 40%, grenache 30%, Syrah 30%. Magnificent intense purple color, nearly black. Multi-layered bouquet of wild and domestic fruits enriched by hints of vanilla, flowers, anise, tobacco and mocha café. Great purity and intensity. Generous, rich, concentrated flavor. Remarkable length with lingering subtleties.
Parmi L’Esperit de Porrera ’05 Spain (Priorato) $30
50% Grenache, 50% Carignan; Opaque purple, nearly black at the core. A blast of black fruit and cured meat on the nose. Black and blue fruit on the palate; amazing depth, purity and complexity. Highly concentrated–the Carignan really adds the backbone here with licorice, minerals and great length.
Lummi Island Wine Tasting March 31 ’12
Riesling Riesling Riesling
Since riesling will stand center stage in Ryan’s workshop this Sunday (see below), it’s worth talking a little bit about this unique grape varietal. Some say it is probably the finest white wine grape in the world for the potential longevity of its wines and its tendency to take on the specific characteristics of the soil and climate of individual vineyards. Over the last 600 years it has displaced lots of other varietals in the best German vineyards– those with steep, south-facing slopes protected from the worst weather.
It is also unique in its tendency to produce wines that combine high acidity with a broad range of complex flavors variously described as floral, steely, or honeyed. With a particularly high concentration of organic chemicals called terpenes, rieslings can take on aromas of many fruits, flowers, trees, and leaves. It also has high concentrations of TDN (norisoprenoid— more commonly known to all of us, of course, as 1,1,6 trimethyl -1,2-dihydronapthalene ) that, especially with aging, gives riesling characteristic notes of petrol– which, in moderation of course, are prized by riesling aficionados (who would rarely drink a riesling less than 20 years old!) .
THE NEXT ART OF WINE Workshop is SUNDAY, April 1!
The Art of Wine in Germany
In this unusual tasting workshop, you can explore the broad range of personalities riesling can take on, while pondering the philosophy of Nietzsche, the awe-inspiring power of Wagner, and the fantastic, surrealistic visions of Max Ernst and Goethe. Maybe there will even be a little Strauss…?
nearly full, call now! (758-2020) See flyer for details
Antiyal Antiyal Antiyal
Thought I would start a new blog feature, about the wine I am drinking while I write. As some of you know, the way this works is that on Thursday evenings Pat is off playing mah jong with the neighborhood ladies (I think it is more about gossip but what do I know, and they do actually play M-J). So I sit at the computer and compose this missive, this epistle, this je ne sais quoi of a blog. And while I write I lubricate my creativity with a little glass of wine or two. The logical question is, does it matter what wine I drink? Are some wines more stimulating, more creative, more muse-driving than others?
For what it’s worth, tonight’s wine is the 2001 Antiyal Maipo Valley red wine from Chile. This is the last bottle in the shop, and it has been sitting here since before we opened for the first time in May of 2005. I have to say it is absolutely delicious, and it has been sitting quietly on our shelves for all to see (and buy) for nearly seven years! Undiscovered and unappreciated (poor thing!), it represents one of Chile’s most notable terroir-driven wines– deep, rich, and complex, and which could not have come from any other place. And it is good! Here’s the review from Wine Spectator from years ago: (92 points)…Dreamy nose of cassis bush, dark currant, lilac, tar and hot stone, with a plush, full-bodied palate dripping with dark fruit, meat and loam notes. Really suave, picking up grip and muscle on the finish, where the fruit powers through. A distinct combination of varietal character and Chilean terroir. (40% Carmenere, 35% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 25% Syrah)
Yes, folks, puts me in a very appreciative mood, so thank you all for not having bought it during all these years…! Makes you wonder what other treasures are lurking on our shelves, huh…?!!!
April Fools April Fools April Fools
The designation of April Fool’s Day has always been a bit of a head-scratcher. This explanation, relating “April Fool” to the, let’s face it, arbitrary and politically fraught decision some 600 years ago to move New Year’s from its usual and accustomed (like, for millennia!) place around the Spring Equinox (as it had been observed for time out of mind centuries) to the time around Winter Solstice (our January 1—see how important this solar calendar stuff is???) is as good as anything I have seen.
You will also be interested to know that the term “fool’s errand” also refers to the same time in late 16th Century France when the Gregorian calendar was introduced, and when, with no radio, TV, or cell phones (OMD how did they Survive??), numerous people didn’t get the Word, and so were out of step with the new order. Our chimp ancestors being what they were (and what we now are…), of course, they divided into two opposing groups (those that knew the new rule and those that didn’t), and jumped up and down and played tricks on each other to demonstrate their superiority. Isn’t that CUTE?!!
As I look around and listen to the News these days, there doesn’t seem to have been a lot of progress since then, and April Fools are everywhere in abundance…so paradoxically, April Fool’s Day is a good time to reflect on our collective Human Condition…
On that note, I think I will pour another sip of this delicious wine and hit the Publish button. Hope to see you all this weekend!
This week’s wines:
Bisol Prosecco Crede ’10 Italy 89pts $17
The NV (2010) Prosecco di Valdobiaddene Crede offers up crisp pears, green apples and spices, all of which come together in a rich, creamy style that is highly appealing. The Crede finishes with excellent length and fine overall balance
Bibbiani Treggiaia 08 Italy $10
A smooth and satisfying blend of sangio & cab, serious but friendly, delightful with anything from pizza to lamb chops.
Mount Baker Cabernet Franc ’08 Washington $17
Aromas of raspberry, pie cherry, strawberry candy and black pepper, backed by minerality and crushed leaf, leading to a crisp palate of juicy red cherry and cranberry, with nuances of pepper, anise and fine tannins.
Urban Ribera Ribera del Duero ’07 Spain 91pts $14
100% Tinta del Pais (Tempranillo), four months in French oak. Purple-colored, it offers up a fragrant bouquet of scorched earth, violets, and black cherry that leaps from the glass. Smooth-textured and suave on the palate, it has loads of succulent black fruit, silky tannins, excellent depth and grip, and a juicy finish.
Lummi Island Wine Tasting March 24 Spring Equinox ’12
Equinox Equinox Equinox
As you all know the Spring (or Vernal) Equinox was just a couple of days ago. Astronomically speaking it just about coincides with St. Patrick’s Day. And as we have pointed out before, just about every major Christian holiday coincides with an ancient pagan holiday, most of which were tied to major events on the solar calendar– solstice, equinox, and “cross-quarter days,” and St. Patrick’s Day is no exception.
And although it was too cloudy to get a picture of sunset on the actual equinox (March 20, 1:14 A.M. EDT), I did get one the day after. You can see in the following photos that the movement of sunset since the Winter Solstice just about transits our view of Orcas Island.
(in sequence: Dec 21, Feb 2, March 21)
THE NEXT ART OF WINE Workshop is SUNDAY, April 1!
The Art of Wine in Germany
One of my favorite experiences in the wine shop is pouring a riesling at one of our tastings. Inevitably a number of people will dismiss it, saying “Oh, no thanks, I don’t like sweet wines.” Then when they taste it, their eyes widen and appreciation dawns. Riesling is one of the most complex and versatile of wine grapes, with layers of subtle flavors and enough acidity to produce a family of wines from the very crisp and dry to drippingly sweet with perfectly balanced, palate-refreshing acidity.
In this unusual tasting workshop, you can explore the broad range of personalities riesling can take on, while pondering the philosophy of Nietzsche, the awe-inspiring power of Wagner, and the fantastic, surrealistic visons of Max Ernst and
Goethe.
nearly full, call now! (758-2020)
See flyer for details
We just restocked one of the Aglianico wines we often carry. Aglianico is an ancient grape, probably originating in Greece millennia ago, in pre-Roman times. It was reputedly introduced into Italy by Hellenes from ancient Greece who settled in southern Italy and planted the vine in volcanic soil on the sunny slopes of Monte Vulturino. In character, Aglianico is most similar to Nebbiolo, having high acidity, high tannins and ripening late in the growing season, which lends to the grapes’ heady aromas. Yet where Nebbiolo tends to offer more red fruits, Aglianico features more wild black fruits and and more assertive, rustic tannins, which soften with extended aging. Modern techniques also seem to have tamed the grape’s more challenging qualities. sometimes giving it a soft, fruity, almost pinot noir-like quality. This variety was called Vitis hellenica, later being called Ellenico and in the fifteenth century Aglianico, as it is known today. It’s an interesting and seductive grape, one of my favorites.
Syrah Syrah Syrah
Last week one of our faithful followers mentioned that she was on a quest for just the right syrah. What she described in delicious terms was very much my idea of the perfect syrah, best exemplified (imho) by the wines of the Northern Rhone region in France, from Cornas, Hermitage, and Crozes Hermitage. I thought we had such a wine on board, but OMD! it was all gone. It is so weird, we can have a vintage of wine around our place for years before it sells out, and when it goes it seems to go all at once. To some degree that is an endorsement of cellaring wines for a few years, because many of these wines we have poured for you several times, but it isn’t until the strands of flavor and texture come together that the Group Palate responds, gasping, wanting more. But then, of course, it is Too Late! I suspect we are unique in this respect as a wine shop, since most places move the wine in and move the wine out. But our volume is so low, sometimes wines hang around here for years.
Anyway, a few weeks ago we did by chance bring in a few bottles of a very nice Washington syrah from Riveraerie Winery that we poured on a Friday night to rave reviews (only one bottle left!). So we just got another case, and we are pouring it this weekend. A little richer and brighter than its Northern Rhone counterpart, but pretty seductive– I think you’re gonna like it!
This week’s wines:
Naia Las Brisas ’09 Spain WA89pts $11
An old favorite, this a blend of 50% Verdejo, 30% Viura, and 20% Sauvignon Blanc; medium straw-colored, it offers an amazingly complex perfume of fresh herbs, spring flowers, baking spices, and white peach that lead to a ripe, concentrated, nicely balanced wine that way over-delivers for its price point.
Vinosia Aglianico ’08 Italy WA89pts $12
Deep garnet-purple color. Raisin, blueberry and underbrush aromas. Some dried rose petals and spice. Crisp acidity and a medium+ body. Medium+ level of velvety tannins. Long finish.
Domaine Escaravailles les Sabliers ’10 France $14
The tasty, spicy 2010 Cotes du Rhone Les Sabliers (a blend of 70% Grenache and the rest Syrah and Mourvedre) exhibits a seductive style filled with black cherry and strawberry fruit intermixed with Provencal herb and earth notes. Medium-bodied, deliciously fruity, pure and well-made.
Riveraerie Syrah Columbia Valley ’07 Washington WS92pts $19
Smooth and velvety, offering a plush mouthful of cherry, plum and rhubarb flavors that glide into the long, expressive finish, hinting at pepper and dark chocolate. Best from 2013 through 2018.
2072 Granger Way