Lummi Island Wine Tasting August 13 ’11
For no particular reason, nostalgia seems to be in the wind for me lately, some confluence of the order in which things are experienced that triggers thoughts and images from the past.
For those of us of a Certain Age ( you know who you are, and so does AARP), a lot of our memories are set to scores by the Beatles, which basically means tunes and lyrics by John Lennon and Paul McCartney. Last week we watched the first in the series The Beatles Anthology, on loan from Jennifer and Brendan.
It IS true that sounds, smells, and flavors take us immediately back to the past; the first volume barely got us up to 1962, when no one in America had even heard of them. Yet there they were, the familiar faces, antics, and music, vicariously known by an entire global generation as if we Knew them, as if they were our personal friends: John, Paul, George, and Ringo.
On top of that, I have to admit that the murder of John Lennon was so bizarre, so Out of Left Field, that I still can’t get my head around it (or is it “can’t get it around my head?”…heard it both ways). I mean, WTF was that about? What dysfunctional hookup in the human genome wires us for Violence in the Absurd?
In the midst of this internal Beatles retrospective, last weekend among the guests were two charming young women (see below) who radiated all the Delight that goes with a new and promising relationship. And of course the way my mind works, continually connecting A and B into some kind of C, I thought I saw a resemblance between one of them and…wait for it… John Lennon! Maybe it’s the nose, maybe it’s the joy tempered by a certain “sure ya gotta hope for the best but u no the world is basically fo—d” sense of reality, but…there was Something, that’s all I’m saying…am I totally making this up or is there some kind of resemblance?
Since this thread could easily degenerate into a philosophical morass, that’s all I’m gonna say about that, except to take a moment to wish these gals All the Best. The perspective of years wishes them joy and the everyday compassion that is necessary to sustain it. (go ahead, raise your glasses, friends!)
The way this blog happens is that sometime late Thursday night I do the week’s tasting notes, then the pictures from last week, and then (after copious amounts of wine…right now ‘editorial we’ are enjoying the 2003 Andrew Murray Roasted Slope Syrah…) we make up a story to fit.
So the story right now is that I am nostalgiac for the Beatles, and for the Promise of Youth that I experienced when I and the Beatles were Young, when anything was possible. Maybe it still is, but you know, it doesn’t feel that way, so I want to take a moment to wish all Young couples (“Hello, young lovers, whereever you are…”) compassion, wisdom, and patience with each other.
I recently re-connected with a distributor I had lost touch with, and have restocked some old favorites. We will pour one of these this weekend, the Chateau Guiraud White Bordeaux (sauvignon blanc and semillon). This winery is best known for its long history of distinctive sauternes dessert wines. This vintage I bought sheerly on past experience, so come on by and see if experience really does count, or if all is fluid and whimsical. My guess is that if you like the way someone makes wine, the vintage really doesn’t matter that much. Rather, the experience of successive vintages, some easy, some challenging, leads you to understand the winemaker’s art, and helps decide whom you really appreciate.
This week’s wines:
Chateau Guiraud Bordeaux White le G 09 France $18
From an estate most famous for their world-class sauternes; a fresh white blend with a creamy edge to the peach, melon and salted butter notes. The stylish finish lets a hint of macadamia nut chime in. Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon.
Vinosia Aglianico 08 Italy
Aglianico 100%; Deep garnet-purple colour. Raisin, blueberry and underbrush aromas. Some dried rose petals and spice. Crisp acidity and a medium+ body. Medium+ level of velvety tannins. Long finish. Addictive.
Elena dell’ Adami Comete Rosso 08 Italy
NOT your mother’s merlot, this is a daring blend of Marzemino, Merlot and Lagrein. Wow! Made by 30 year-old Elena dell’Adami de Tarczal in a light, fresh style — “for gals going out with their friends.” Old vines, the latest technology and a new outlook combine for a distinctive red, great with quail, truffle soup, even grilled hot dogs with stone-ground mustard!
Browne Family Cabernet Sauvignon 08 Washington $28
Inviting aromas of bing cherry, cocoa, and leather leading to a silky palate of vanilla, clove, and Damson plum, with cedar notes rounding out the finish.
Lummi Island Wine Tasting August 6 ’11
Well, this has been a beautiful week on the Island and environs. Lots of sun with cool breezes, beautiful and bright colors, and the deep blue mid-summer sky with its tapestry of puffy white clouds. Yes, folks, this is what the locals have been waiting for for nearly two years, and what is generally known around here as “Summer.”
It’s a little like what they would call early fall in a lot of places, but here it is actually more summery than last year, and absolutely beautiful. Mornings are cool and bright, gradually warming up so that for a few hours in mid-to-late afternoon it gets up into the 70’s for a while and it feels really Hot! The coolness in the air whispers of Fall, but in a way that makes you think, ah, it would not be a bad thing, a long, slow, sunny, and bright unfolding from whatever season this is into whatever comes next in three or four months. All in all, it’s just about Perfect– days when everywhere you look you feel particularly grateful for being able to perceive Color.
We had a great tasting last week. The wines were all delicious, the place was pretty full much of the afternoon, and everyone was in a sunny mood, very energizing. I think it’s one of the defining characteristics of the Pacific Northwest, this High that everyone shares on a sunny day. I fantasize that it is all about Color: when the clouds are thick around here, the color washes out of everything, and if you really look, everything is some shade of gray because there just isn’t enough light to bring out the colors, so we actually just imagine them, and when the sun is clear and bright, with no haze, it’s as if we are all sort of giggling inside, it is SO beautiful here.
So maybe the wines WERE terrific last week. Or maybe it was just a beautiful weekend and everything was elevated by it. All I know is that being outdoors during much of the last week has been a real treat, with the cool air on your face, the warm sun on your back, the blue sky and the blue-green water lapping at the shore while eagles, herons, terns, and a bumper crop of robins soar, cruise, hover, and hop all over the place.
Our Thursday and Friday evening openings from four to seven have become increasingly popular. Thursdays seem more laid back, more salon-like (like tonight with a few steadfast supporters), and Fridays a bit more of a Happy Hour event. So far we are pleased with the response to the new hours. What’s your favorite time to visit?!!
sunny smiles for a sunny day
perfect outfits to show off the paintings!
This week’s wines:
La Cana Albarino 09 Spain 90pts $14
Light gold-colored with an unusually fragrant nose of mineral, lemon zest, and spring flowers that jumps from the glass, on the palate it exhibits a creamy texture, vibrant acidity, and a lengthy, refreshing finish.
Bargemone Provence Rose ’10 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.
Jean-luc Colombo Les Abeilles 07 France $12
Creamy and forward, with pretty plum, red cherry and floral notes backed by a stylish finish. Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre
Mt Baker Cab Franc ’08 Washington $16
Aromas of raspberry, pie cherry, strawberry candy and black pepper, backed by minerality and crushed leaf, with juicy red cherry and cranberry acidity. Spicy finish of pepper and anise.
Lummi Island Wine Tasting July 30 ’11
First, a relatively serious note, regarding the national budget nonsense. Being burdened as I am with being a recovering Economist, all of this daily drivel about “extending the debt limit” is just too much to bear. All you need to know is that BOTH so-called “sides” in this so-called “debate” are way, way, way far from any kind of Reality.
Rather than expound on this at any length, I will simply refer you to what I believe is the most cogent presentation of the issues facing us that I have heard. What neither party is talking about is that since 1940 the share of taxes paid by corporations has fallen enormously relative to the share paid by individuals (from 50% more to 75% less), while the marginal tax rate in income over $100,000 has fallen from 95% to 35% (not including volumes of new loopholes). Add two never-ending and extravagant wars, and you have spending out of control and revenue cut to the bone.
Ladies and gentlemen, it’s time to take to the streets. The solution is not how much more to take from the middle class and the poor so the so-called Private Sector can create jobs and make it all better (new jobs are all offshore). It is probably true that the idiotic and sadistic Republican plan is marginally worse than the moronic and serving-the-same masters Democratic plan, but at the end of the day it is still more for Wall Street and less for us. As one famous Indian Chief of old put it about treaties with the White Man: “First they take the loaf, and then they take the crumbs.”
Sorry about that, but every once in a while I just gotta Rant.
On other fronts, last weekend was bad for Signs. A few weeks ago one of our regulars unfortunately backed over the sandwich board in front of the shop; I was able to make an acceptable (if you don’t look too closely) repair. Last weekend it got run over it again, and it held up pretty well except for a few tread marks. It also turned out that the sandwich board we place at the end of our street was found in the ditch on Legoe Bay Road near where it usually stands, with one hinge torn, and of course the inevitable tire marks. And one big corner smashed a bit. So they are tough little buggers.
This last weekend of July is noteworthy–and poignant–because it marks the departure from the Island of some of our closest friends, all of whom we have met through our little wine shop: Kier and David are finishing their month down the street and heading back to Oregon, and Leigh and Brian are headed to the mainland on the first leg of their next Airstream adventure. Dear friends, you will be missed!
Last week’s wines were pretty uniformly a Hit; all showed very well in the way that makes you want to sit down and enjoy a glass with some good food, good friends, and good conversation. I think this week’s will partner well with the nice weather we are promised. Please drop by, we’d love to see you!
We have gotten a BUNCH of wine in over the last couple of weeks that I think you will like a lot. Last weekend we poured the Mt Baker riesling, and on Thursday and Friday their delightful Rousanne, a terrific bargain at only $9. I ordered another five cases, cuz this vintage is almost gone, and I really like this stuff. We still have a few in the shop if you can’t wait, but more is on the way.
This week’s wines:
Quinta de Aveleda vinho verde ’09 Portugal $10
Selected from the best grapes (Loureiro, Trajadura and Alvarinho) from the year’s harvest for blending vinho verde to produce a high quality Vinho Verde.
Montfaucon Gardettes rose ’10 France $12
A rosé de saignée with a deep pink coloured blend of Cinsault, Counoise and Grenache with delicate aromas of peach and violets.
Secco-Bertani Valpolicella Valpantena Ripasso 07 Italy $14
The wine undergoes an 11-day maceration in vats at a controlled temperature and then refermented over Recioto Amarone skins, following the traditional Veronese technique called “Ripasso”. 75% of the wine ages in large Slavonian oak casks, 25% in French oak barriques, for approximately 18 months; it is refined in bottle for a minimum of 90 days.
XYZin ’08 California $14
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.
Lummi Island Wine Tasting July 23, ’11
Sometimes a lot happens from one week to the next, and this has been one of those weeks: lots of new and interesting experiences, several prompted by visiting friends. So where do you take friends from Afar? To answer this question we have to imagine what it’s like to be a visitor in our own backyards, which is inevitably much larger philosophical question about Identity.
This has been such a week.
On Monday we blipped on down to Seattle for a tasting of particularly good Italian wines. We will have more to say about that in the coming weeks.
On Tuesday we visited two highly recommended spots: Mt Baker Vineyards in Deming, and Milano’s restaurant in Glacier.
It has been a couple of years since we tasted through the Mt. Baker wines. In case you are not familiar with them, they are perhaps Whatcom County’s Premier winery, started back in the seventies, I think. We were so impressed with the wines that we bought several for the shop, which we will be pouring in the next weekend or two– this weekend we will be pouring their light, crisp, and aromatic Riesling (see below).
Our visit to Milano’s came by a slightly more circuitous route. During our tasting of some lovely Italian wines in Seattle on Monday, I met Jeanne Debari, owner of Milano’s. I was so impressed with her knowledge of Italian wines that the very next day we and our visiting friends took an afternoon drive that included wine tasting at Mt. Baker vineyards and late lunch at Milano’s, followed by (I’m not making this up) a tea tasting at the Lynden Library which has renewed our interest in tea. Like wine, tea has an ancient and complex history.
All you need to know is that Milano’s gets our highest recommendation. We all ordered different dishes, and they were all exceptionally good.
The wine tasting at Mt. Baker Vineyards was also illuminating! Almost EVERYTHING we tried was really, really tasty, and we bought a bunch of their new wines, which we will be tasting with you over the next few weeks.
This week’s wines:
Mt. Baker Riesling “09 Washington $14
Lean and crisp, while at the same time being fragrant and alluring, this one is a crowd-pleaser.
Olivares Monastrell Altos de la Hoya ’09 Spain $12
Ungrafted Old-Vines Monastrell contains 8% Garnacha in its blend. It delivers high-toned black and blue fruit flavors and aromas framed by a ripe wine with lively acidity, a smooth texture, and a pure, silky finish. Drink this outstanding value over the next 3-4 years.
Pago de las Capellanes ’09 Spain WA90pts $17
Spicy black fruit aromas, lavender, and leather lead to a ripe, intense, savory wine that will pair beautifully with grilled foods over the next 4-5 years….an outstanding value.
Ksana Malbec Mendoza Reserva 2006 Argentina $24 WS 92 pts
Very ripe, but also superfresh, with velvety texture and a long, beguiling palate of fig sauce, melted licorice, Turkish coffee, macerated currant and blackberry fruit. Long and dense on the finish, but pure and vivid.
2072 Granger Way
