Wine Tasting May 15 ’10
Unusual day, not just because of the omg we’re going to Tuscany tomorrow and are So Not Ready. Also because for the first time in a long time we had no first-time visitors, and also because a number of regulars were away somewhere. That made for a late-starting, early finishing sort of day which was just fine, among familiar faces all wishing us well on the trip! Grazie, amici!
Among the well-wishers were Mark, Livvy, Roger (shown here) and Liz; Livvy home having finished her gig Chez Panisse in SF, and headed back soon to start a new job with a catering company. Congrats!
Remember, the shop WILL be open this weekend! Brian and Leigh will open the doors and Lauren will be pouring the following wines…
Dry Creek chenin blanc (Calif) $10
Luscious notes of melon, peach, and lemon peel, a great buy!
Castelnoble Tinto Roble “06 Spain $8 WA 88pts
100% Tempranillo with an enticing bouquet of raspberry, blackcurrant, and spice box. Elegant on the palate, it has tons of flavor and an easy-going finish with no hard edges.
Durigutti malbec 08 Argentina $14
A lush, toasty style, with lots of cocoa and roasted vanilla up front, followed by dark, well-layered fig, boysenberry and mulled currant fruit flavors. The long finish lets all the fruit hang nicely, with an underlying graphite hint supporting it all.
Marguery Familia Malbec ‘04 Argentina $21 –
A round, supple wine with insinuating flavor intensity, smooth tannins, and lovely life and length.
Wine Tasting May 8 ’10
Well. Not sure if my post this AM at 0630 was in time for the cutoff for when these messages are auto sent. In case not, I said this: THIS JUST IN! CONNECTION FAILURE KEEPS INTREPID BLOGGER FROM MAKING USUAL LATE NIGHT POST! Will this hit the presses in time?! (Now 0630!) WHAT TIME DOES WORDPRESS SEND THESE THINGS OUT??!! Last week seems like a million years ago… MJ decked out….Brian and Leigh, your hosts for the next two weekends while we are in Italy (stay tuned to this blog for updates!….Judy pours on 22nd, Lauren on the 15th)…Rocket Scientists convene, So I will just let this post stand, a marker to the whimsy of the Universe, to things you just can’t count on…
Brian, Judy, Leigh 
Rocket Scientists
This week’s wines:
Peirano vognier (Calif) $10 Peaches, pineapple, and tropical fruit are complemented by the scent of lemons and ginger. Lush flavors of fresh ripe peaches balanced by flavors of apples, pears and orange marmalade.
Peirano Six Clones Merlot (Calif) $10 Aromas of rich ripe cherries and blackberries with hints of leather and vanilla; robust flavors of cherry, plum, cranberry, raspberries and strawberries with lingering hints of cocoa and cinnamon. Terrific buy! (note: Wine Spectator got this one Really Wrong: “Lean and clumsy, with earthy herb and ripe cherry notes.—79 pts)!
Rose de Ora Primitivo (Calif) $15 Fascinating aromas and flavors of ripe cherry and roses that begin on the nose and carry through the midpalate and finish; primitivo thought to be an ancestor of zinfandel.
Finca Sandoval 05 (Spain) Parker 94pts
76% Syrah, 13% Mourvedre, and 11% Bobal fermented with native yeasts followed by malolactic fermentation in barrel with lees stirring, a year in French and American oak. Purple-colored, with alluring nose of toasty oak, mineral, floral notes, blueberry, and blackberry, leading to a full-bodied, ripe, layered wine with superb integration of oak, tannin, and acidity; this outstanding effort should be at its best between 2012 and 2025.
Wine Tasting April 30 ’10
Let’s face it: whatever it is that John Morgan is doing to make his Lost River wines taste so good, the crowd around here gives a rousing “Yea!” Every time we pour these wines, we see eyes rolling back into heads, lips smacking and mmmm-ing, and general hearty notes of approval. This is the wonderful thing about wine– well one of many wonderful things: you taste a wine and think “hmm, not bad…” with sounds of pleasure, and then you have another one and this time you go “MMmm, nice…” cuz that’s really pretty yummy, and yet you can still taste something else that evokes a quiet savoring pause followed by a “mmmMMMMMMMMMMMmmmmm,” and that really says it all. So our kudos to Lost River for generating those kinds of noises on a regular basis.
Btw, on May 20 Liam of LR will be pouring wine at a benefit wine dinner at the Willows, and trust me, you will like the wines, so you might think about signing up. We tried to get Liam to stay over Friday night and do a special event for us as well, but has to hotfoot back to Winthrop to open his own wine shop.
For all of you fashion-conscious visitors, here is Myra in another great outfit! There is a lesson to be learned here: what if every time you got dressed you made it a Celebration? What would that feel like? It is certainly not something I have often experienced (lemme see, should I wear the clean jeans today, and the Tshirt without any holes…?), but the way she does it is such a Creation of the Moment that it just spills out onto everyone, a really nice thing, not quite a Costume– it’s more sincere than that, an elemental expression of the Feeling of the Moment. Mary Jane does it, too, as you will see if you browse through the archives– but most of us don’t put a lot of energy into what we wear when stepping out of the house for Nothing Special. So all I’m saying is that really every moment is Special, and at some level deserves its own little Celebration, and it makes everyone Smile.
SECOND NOTICE! We will be gone May 9-26, but the SHOP WILL BE OPEN, manned (actually mostly womaned) by stalwart volunteers. I bet it will be fun, hate to miss it! But hopefully we will be blogging daily from Italia to stay in touch and share the trip, which is largely aimed at food, wine, and vineyards!
This week’s wines:
2008 Tabali Sauvignon Blanc Reserva Chile $10 WS 90pts
A great value, exhibiting a fragrant bouquet of mineral, passion fruit, and citrus. This leads to a mouth-watering, vibrant, lengthy Sauvignon that way over-delivers for its humble price.
Santa Digna Carmenere 07 Chile $10
Chalky notes of toasty plums, blueberry, raisin give way to finish of dark prunes and spicy white pepper…a great value!
Terre Rouge Tête-à-Tête Syrah 02 California $16
A likable and out-of-the-ordinary blend, with aromas of cedar, plum and spice and zesty yet supple flavors of licorice, coffee and blackberry.
Hightower Cabernet Sauvignon ’04 Washington $35
Intense, dark fruits; Red Mountain mineral aromas; sweet spiciness; and a faint hint of menthol; elegant, smooth grip, balance, and velvet on the palate that lasts through the long finish.
Wine Tasting April 24 ’10
The wine of the week last week had to be the Alto Moncayo Veraton ‘04. We have had a case or two of this around for some while now, and I never seem to get around to pouring it. Parker gave it 93 points: 100% Grenache ; A brilliant wine, reminiscent of a top-notch Chateauneuf du Pape. Full-bodied, with gamy, meaty notes, hints of roasted herbs, plenty of kirsch liqueur and blackberries, and loads of glycerin and alcohol…a stunning wine. I think everyone who tasted it would agree that it was seductive and satisfying, I think we have another case around somewhere…Read more
Sometime last June we had a visit from some folks who came all the way from Kansas, and no, they were not transported by a, you know, tornado, at least as far as I know. The family includes Katie (Mom), Carly (Huxley grad in Environmental Ed, now studying nursing at Seattle U), younger daughter Jessie at Whatcom (just turned 21!) and jewelry craftsman and family friend Leon. Jessie gets “quote of the day” with “You have to bring your ‘A game’ everyday.” I don’t know what it means. but I LIKE it!
Also visiting for the first time since New Year’s(when they closed on their Lummi hideaway) were Blake and Beth, now released from Bondage by the End of Tax Season, he being the special accountant you call when the IRS decides to audit you and you cry HELP! and Blake is the guy who shows up. It is a pretty good photo of his Very Cool hat, but not so good of his shirt which was absolutely Awesome!
Also looking good as usual are Ben and Ian in an affable chat, and Myra in perhaps her funnest outfit of the year (so far!)
countdown: First notice: Volcanos notwithstanding, we are taking off for two weeks in Tuscany in May. The plan is for Brian and Leigh to take over the shop while we are gone, with guest wine pourers ex-islander Lauren F on May 15 and Judy A on May 25. Mark your calendars!
this week’s wines
Klee White table wine ’06 Oregon $14
Dripping notes of ripe pear, honey, and pineapple, on a soft, dry frame, with a refreshing acidity.
Portteus Bistro Red 07 Washington $10
From Zillah comes this satisfying blend of 44% Merlot, 41% Cabernet Franc and 15% Cabernet Sauvignon; lots of dark fruit at a bargain price.
Domaine Faury Vin de pays Collines Rhodaniennes syrah (France) $20:
Gorgeous, sense-filling, rich, and sensuous, a current favorite!
Lost River Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 $23: Smooth and silky with notes of ripe raspberries, black currants and spice.
2072 Granger Way
