Wine Tasting Sept 18 ’10
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The big local news for the day is that Sean’s Mom bought a place on the Island, and Saturday was the first night in the new place. So that’s pretty exciting, and all were in a Festive mood!
Julia is here visiting her Mom (Anne) again from her home on the Narrow Boat Pangolin somewhere on the canals of England…you can read about it on her blog (which is also listed in the links on the right, along with Anne’s; they are both entertaining writers, so check ’em out.
Only a couple of people mentioned my little memoir about 9/11 last week. There was just something about writing down the date as I started the blog entry for the day that grabbed my attention…
It sometimes happens, though not so much lately as during our first years, that at the end of our tasting there is still a fair amount of wine left in open bottles, which of course is then my duty to sample over the remainder of the week or until it is gone. That happened last weekend, fairly early on in the second bottles of the day. That provided an opportunity to taste a couple of them over several days, which can be interesting, as some wines improve for a while and some lose their oomph overnight.
All you need to know is that the lovely Marchetti later harvest verdicchio continued to get better for several days, growing “fatter” in texture and richer in flavor…entirely pleasant. Also, our little Spanish red, the Condesa Crianza, softened and spread its wings a bit over the next day or two. By the way I should mention that I did use a little pump-sealer to remove some of the air, so maybe that helped. I just got a batch of those in; it’s a pretty inexpensive way to extend the life of an open bottle should it, you know, survive its opening night. They’re very inexpensive at $7.50. Actually they were Myra’s idea, but she and Ben left on their trip before the tools arrived.
Last Saturday morning we started the day in a campground at Port Townsend, having visited the Wooden Boat Festival, an annual outing. Had the opportunity to taste wines from a couple of local PT wineries, and brought some home to taste this weekend. I think you’ll like them!
This week’s tasting:
Byron chardonnay ‘06 (California) $19
Supple, rich and creamy up front, with fig, marshmallow and floral-honeysuckle flavors that are pure, clean and mouthwatering; nice balance of fruit and oak.
Domaine Gardies Les Milleres France $14 89pts
This blend of Grenache, Syrah, and Carignan carries aromas of lightly cooked red raspberry, grenadine, walnut husk, juniper, and vivid concentration of tart red fruit, resin, and tar, & accents of cardamom and black pepper, and abundant, fine-grained tannin that will match perfectly with red meats.
Sorenson Malbec ’07 Washington $18
Discovered this little winery in Port Townsend last weekend, and this was my favorite wine. Complex aromas of bright black cherry, juniper, and smoke lead to a satisfying palate with intriguing layers of fruit, berry, and spice flavors.
Fair Winds “Port O’Call” dessert wine Washington $20
Definitely port-like in character, this lightly fortified dessert wine we discovered last weekend in Port Townsend has a seductive warmth and aromatic richness; you could wait for winter to uncork and sip by the fire, but why wait?
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