Wine Tasting Feb 26 ’11

Posted at February 24, 2011

Riley at Willows Inn has asked us all to go online and give their new chef Blaine Wetzel our votes in Food and Wine Magazine’s new “The People’s Best New Chef”contest. Here’s the link!

Remember: our regular hours are Saturdays 1-5pm, but call ANYTIME for Wine Emergencies!

Well, I am of course biased, but I really liked last week’s wines. It is possibly emblematic of something (or perhaps not) that the two most popular wines were both from the same California winery, Peirano Estates, which has an interesting history . Last week we poured their zinfandel and their petit sirah, the former bright strawberry and cherry, the latter deep with dark berries and plums. These wines really over-deliver for the price.

In addition, we poured an old favorite French wine, the Domaine Piquemal from the Rousillon. The wines from this area are not pretentious, but they do have individual character, and this one has particularly pleasing heft, flavors, and mouthfeel. And finally, the Giovanna Madonia white dessert wine from raisined grapes was completely unique (I am so often tempted to say ‘quite unique,’ but I am told that is unacceptable grammar, a double superlative or something…well, maybe ‘completely unique’ is just as bad, and all you really need to know is that there aren’t any other wines quite like it!) and I grew quite fond of its chord of citrus, whiskey barrel, and apple, to the point that I fantasize about pouring it over ice cream or rum cake or sipping it with ginger or lemon peel.

This week we are offering something else Unique, in that we will be pouring a wine rarely seen in wine shops, and even more rarely poured, because it is only sold by mailing list. That is the Quilceda Creek Columbia Valley Red Wine (2005). This wine is blended from declassified lots of cabernet sauvignon that don’t quite make the cut for QC’s flagship cab, which has earned either 99 or 100 points from Robert Parker (think PERFECT) for six year in a row. This may be their “second wine,” but most wineries can only dream about having a top wine this good.

Come check it out!

newTall! So what’s this thing with “the Talls”…??!!

This week’s wines:

Martinez & Martinez Cabernet Blanca  09    Washington       $12
This Rosé of 100% Cabernet Sauvignon is light and crisp with flavors of fresh vine ripe raspberry and strawberry flavors. Drink it…Spring will come!

ALTOS Bonarda Colonia Las Liebres 08   Argentina       $8
Shows nice dark, juicy plum, licorice and spice notes with a fleshy, open-knit finish.

Palamà Arcangelo 2008 Salice Salentino  ’08  Italy     $12
The vineyards of Salice Salentino, in the heel of the Italian boot, date back to the 6th century BC and consisted dominantly of the Negroamaro variety (“black bitter”), known for its rustic dark fruit. This one is sultry dark ruby, with a sweet, ripe nose oozing blackberries and super-ripe plums, baking spices, and sweetly-smoky embers. Round and soft in the mouth, with very good concentration, and balance.

Quilceda Creek Red Wine ’05    Washington      WA 93pts       $45.
The 2005 Red Wine is the winery’s second label for declassified lots. It consists of 84% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Cabernet Franc, and 7% Merlot. Purple-colored, it reveals an expressive bouquet of cedar, pencil lead, spice box, black currant, and blackberry. This is followed by a full-bodied, plush wine with ample ripe tannins and layers of sweet fruit. The wine has serious weight and excellent length. It should be at its best from 2011 through 2020. The wine is true to the house style and is a superb value.

Wine Tasting

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