Studio Tour Wine Tasting Sept 4-5 ’10
We have several important announcements today!
First, please take a moment to vote for us as Best Wine Shop in the Northwest!
Sure, sure, we’re up against Goliaths who sell more wine in one afternoon than we do all year. And okay, maybe one or two of those places have a bigger or fancier selection. But NONE of them create the laid-back comfort of our ongoing neighborhood salon atmosphere that you have all created here. So let’s show those Big Guys! Tweet your friends to do the same! Here’s the link!
Second, mark your calendars and be sure to drop by this weekend for the Labor Day Artists’ Studio Tour. We are featuring vibrant and colorful oil paintings and drawings of Lummi Island, Hawaii, Italy, and Croatia by Lummi Island artist Brendan Dunn. See more of Brendan’s work on his blog!
As for last Saturday…“What kind of a day was it? A day like all days, filled with those events that alter and illuminate our Time.” Where do these things come from? How can I still remember things I saw on TV (or heard on the radio!) fifty years ago? (Anybody remember who said that week after week in the fifties?)
All the wines were above average last week, that’s the consensus. The Stephen Vincent wines deliver a lot of substance for the price, and both the chardonnay and the Crimson blend showed very well. The Borsao Tinto is a standard around here, and it seemed to please people, too. And everyone agreed that the Mas de Can Blau was a big, beautiful bottle of wine (both literally and figuratively–it’s packaged in one of those big, heavy 750’s and it is a big, well-structured wine that is still maturing).
This weekend’s wine tasting(might change for Sunday)
Casa Lapostolle sauv blanc 09 Chile $10 88pts
Green-gold color. Smoky peach and yellow plum on the nose, with a subtle lemon note adding energy. Fleshy and a touch sweet, with deep orchard fruit and melon flavors and firmer orange and lemon pith qualities. Finishes with good breadth and lingering citrus character.
Vente Morales Tempranillo ‘09 Spain $8
I was impressed with the gravitas of this inexpensive offering. It has weight, texture, and flavor, none of which is reasonable to expect from a wine in this price range. Entirely enjoyable! (yes we just did this recently, but it is the perfect wine for a sunny weekend!)
Vente Morales Tempranillo ‘09 Spain $8 88pts
I was impressed with the gravitas of this inexpensive offering. It has weight, texture, and flavor, none of which is reasonable to expect from a wine in this price range. (imho, the wine buy of the year!)
Palama Primitivo 09 (Italy) $12
This is the new vintage of the delightful “Arcangelo” we enjoyed last year. This one is lush, intense, bright, and approachable, with notes of dark anise, cedar, and blackberry confit.
La Colline St Jean Vacqueyras VV 06 France WA91 pts $20
Deep ruby/purple-tinged wine with an opulent mouthfeel. A delicious concoction of black cherries, black currants, cedar, licorice, and bouquet garni emerges from this full-bodied effort.
Wine Tasting August 27 ’10
There was a full moon a couple of days ago. Got up during very early morning twilight to this scene out the front window. Our view is out over Legoe Bay toward Orcas Island– compare this with the Legoe Bay Winery Label…uh oh, can’t find a picture of it not even on their website! You’ll have to take my word for it and come by to check it out, we have a framed picture on the wall…it’s a really attractive label, clearly inspired by this same view.
Slow start last week, very laid back conversations with our early arrivals– probably the main reason we do this thing–and then it opened up into a festive parade, lots of newcomers (still no name for ’em, the contest is still open for what to call first-time visitors to our offbeat little wine shop, so keep those posts coming in. What’s that?? No one is posting? Hmmph, “Fine thing!” as my stepfather used to say. )
Among our guests were longtime friends of the don’t see very often variety, which added to the warmth.
Last week I was worried about the Lapostolle sauvignon blanc which I had ordered some while back for some reason I couldn’t remember, and found that several wine publications had given it terrible ratings. On top of that the distributor delivered two cases (thought I only ordered one, having never actually tasted it). As it turns out one critic (Tanzer) gave it a reasonable score and a very nice description that hit the mark exactly. I am beginning to like these latest sauv blancs from Chile; they don’t show the big kiwi-lime flavors of the wonderful New Zealand wines, but rather seem to share a grassy, stony, somewhat floral citrus character and a rich texture along with a clean minerally finish. The other hit was the Storybook 2003 Mayacamas zin, which was showing very well indeed!
This week’s tasting:
Stephen Vincent Chardonnay 08 California $10
A terrific value, the 2008 Chardonnay offers attractive melony, buttery citrus, and tropical fruit characteristics as well as a hint of minerality. Elegant, fresh, and medium-bodied, it tastes far better than its humble price suggests
Stephen Vincent “Crimson” 07 California $10
Firm and spicy, with appetizing blackberry, wild berry, pepper, spice and chicory notes that firm up on the finish. Syrah and Cabernet
Sauvignon.
Borsao Crianza 08 Spain $10
Purple-colored with a fragrant nose of cedar, spice box, black cherry, and black currant. Smooth-textured, savory, and ripe, it has excellent depth, concentration, and length.
Can Blau Mas de Can Blau 05 Spain WA95pts $31
35% Carinena, 35% Syrah, and 30% Garnacha. Purple-colored, complex, sophisticated perfume of toast, slate, smoke, espresso, black cherry, and blueberry. This leads to a wine with a full-bodied personality, layers of flavor, gobs of fruit, and a pure, lengthy finish. It will be at its best between 2013 and 2025.
Wine Tasting August 21 ’10
It was hot on the island, steaming hot. So hot that people were digging in trunks and attics and basements (Actually I don’t think anyone on Lummi Island really has an attic OR a basement) for shorts and sandals, which you can only wear around here two days per, you know, decade. So hot I had to dig in the back closet of the wine shop (Nooooooooooooo!) to pull out the old standup air conditioner (a Wonderful Invention!) and we had to actually Turn It On for a few hours in the late afternoon for the several days of the Heat Wave (yeah yeah-ah, yeah yeah-ah, oh oh ohhhh….Heat Wave!).
All you need to know is that it was So Hot I added a fifth wine to the weekly tasting, the Chateau Donjon Minervois Rose’, On Ice, as well as the Nefarious Riesling, also On Ice. This is important because even though we once had an ice tray in our refrigerator, it was long ago used for something else, cuz we never use ice for anything. I mean, who needs to make Ice at the North freaking Pole? So here we had this old cooler, and bought a bag of ice and had the riesling and the rose’ in it, you know, chilled, and they tasted Really good, if you get my drift here.
And the amazing thing: people who would NEVER drink either rose’ or riesling were like Raving,” OMG this is GOOD!” And we all tasted, and It was Good. No, no, I mean REALLY Good! So that’s what the occasional Hot Day will do for your palate…Rose’ tastes Wonderful! That’s all I’m sayiing.
Last Saturday was entirely festive, with a cheerful crowd and a beautiful day and so many new faces I didn’t write them all down,. so rather than embarrass myself by leaving someone out or getting their names wrong we’ll skip the names today. We could instead just caption the photos, I guess. Feel free to add your own…and hey best caption wins a free tasting, how about that? The photos are numbered 1-6, in three rows.
then he says, “To get to the other side!!!
it’s a little disturning to see it, you know, in public!
whaddaya mean no sandwiches?
Sunscreen schmunscreen
We know something you don’t know… 
I’m so glad we finished off the Bailey’s before we came
This week’s wines:
Casa Lapostolle sauv blanc 09 Chile $10 88pts
Green-gold color. Smoky peach and yellow plum on the nose, with a subtle lemon note adding energy. Fleshy and a touch sweet, with deep orchard fruit and melon flavors and firmer orange and lemon pith qualities. Finishes with good breadth and lingering citrus character.
Chateau Lancyre Pic Saint Loup la Coste d’Aleyrac 06 France $15 88pts
Offers sweet cherry and plum fruit with contrasting bitterness of their pits and a dusting of cardamom and nutmeg; a fetching combination of creamy texture and refreshment; and a lip-smacking finish.
Villa des Anges Cab Sauv 09 France $10
A wine of great freshness, intensity and concentration. Well-structured, offering aromas of black cherries, with hints of red pepper and light, spicy cumin/coriander notes.
Storybook Mountain Zinfandel Mayacamas 03 California $25
Deep ruby/purple-tinged color, and an earthy, peppery nose with lusciously sweet black cherry and currant scents. Neither as plush nor seductive as the Eastern Exposure, and dominated by its mineral/structured personality, it is, nevertheless, a refined, elegant California Zinfandel with medium body, excellent purity, and sweet, well-integrated tannin
Wine Tasting August 14 ’10
Last Saturday was a CRAZY day, a GREAT day shall we say, in that we had a LOT of visitors, including a lot of first-timers (okay we need a catchy name for first-timers…winning name gets a free tasting…we know Mary Beth will come up with a bunch, what about the rest of you??? R U gonna let her walk away with it AGAIN? Where’s yer competitive Spirit?
From a, you know, commercial wine shop point of view, it was a great crowd because several people bought a case of wine, including two who cleaned out our stock of Legoe Bay. Honestly, I think Karl and Suzie have given so much of it away the last few years (for our distant readers, Legoe Bay is Lummi Island’s only resident winery, which we wholeheartedly support!) that the locals tend to devalue it. I taste a LOT of wine, and every one of their wines has a terrific QPR (quality/price ratio)…you get a lot of wine for your money. So it tickles me to sell a bunch!
All the wines showed well last weekend, and all were great buys. The Castelnoble is a little simple but delivers a lot of flavor; the Mt Baker chardonnay still delivered nice flavor but the lovely floral aromatics seem to have faded a bit; the Rosa de Oro zin was Luscious, and the Atalaya, from two vintages, showed two appealing faces. The ’06 was deep, dark, and pruney, while the ’07 was much brighter, not quite so overtly seductive, but still definitely alluring.
Lots of pictures, lots of nice folks, including an inadvertent T-shirt Design Contest. Blake’s had BOTH sides with great art, but Brian and Sam are showing some awesome art as well!
All in all, a pretty Sweet Day! Pix speak for themselves…
This week’s tasting:
Nefarious Stones Throw Riesling ’09 Washington $15
Aromas reminiscent of tangerine and with lively notes of honeysuckle, lemon zest, and grapefruit wrapped up in a vibrantly bright, off-dry package.
De Tarczal Marzemino 06 (Italy) $14
A rare grape, marzemino is a relative of Barbera, with lots of bright, fully ripened fruit, with crisp acidity and ripe tannins.(and is the Secret Ingredient in our Fabulous Screaming Seagull Chili!)
Peirano Estates The Immortal Zin ’08 California $10
Hand selected from 113-year-old vines; deceptively subtle aromas of this wine combine red and black cherry, mineral, earthy rhubarb and slightly spicy red fruit; palate is wrapped in velvety layers of sweet red cherry, strawberry, cocoa and juicy red fruit leading to a lengthy, almost breathless finish.
Altos Las Hormigas Malbec Riserva ’09 Argentina $20 WS91
A dark, lush style, with a dense core of plum sauce and crushed blackberry fruit laid over velvety tannins. The long, toast- and black licorice–filled finish carries some heft, but stays nicely balanced.
2072 Granger Way
