{"id":557,"date":"2011-04-07T20:49:36","date_gmt":"2011-04-08T03:49:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artisanwineclub.com\/?p=557"},"modified":"2011-04-07T20:49:36","modified_gmt":"2011-04-08T03:49:36","slug":"lummi-island-wine-tasting-april-9-11","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/artisanwineclub.com\/index\/lummi-island-wine-tasting-april-9-11\/","title":{"rendered":"Lummi Island Wine Tasting April 9 ’11"},"content":{"rendered":"

I have restocked our April “Wine of the Month,” the Altos las Libres Colonias Bonarda<\/strong> from Argentina. We don’t often have a “wine of the month,” but every once in a while a wine shows up that so over-delivers for its price that it really gets your attention. I don’t know how long this will be available, and I highly recommend buying this one by the case: our price $96. It’s an incredible value.<\/p>\n

We stocked up on our supply of Pleasant Valley Cheese<\/strong> today, and have very small amounts (more in the future) of two very special new cheeses: lavender (subtle and perfect for an Easter cheese plate with maybe a pinot noir or a rose) and a new variation on Fines Herbes, this one Herbes de Provence, to enthusiastic reviews. Very limited supplies of both for the moment, so be sure to ask!<\/p>\n

We are planning a trip to France in October. One of the wine regions we want to visit is Languedoc-Roussillon<\/strong>,<\/a> which stretches from the southern Rhone at the Northeast down to the Spanish border along the Mediterranean. Today’s rose is from Minervois, which lies northeast of Carcassonne. We’ve been reading a lot about the century-long crusade to hunt down and burn at the stake (oh, and by they way, take all the lands ) of a “heretical” group called the Cathars in the 1200’s. a gruesome bit of history, and ample reason to devoutly eschew mixing religion and politics.<\/p>\n

More importantly, last weekend we met new Lummi Islanders Ryan and Ryan<\/strong> (I have NO idea what you say when you try to call one of them on the phone), who lived in France for six years, and one of them was — this is so awesome– in the wine business<\/em>, and knows all about the wines of the area we are planning to visit! Our new Best Friend!<\/p>\n

\"\" Ryan and Ryan
\n<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Usually our standard for posting photos is “look like you’re having a good time!” This photo kinda looks like “yeah, it was a good wine, I’m sorry I said bad things about it, we’re really gonna miss it”…<\/em><\/p>\n

This week’s tasting:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Chateau Donjon Rose ’09 France $10<\/strong>
\nBlend of syrah, cinsault, grenache, one element in my fascination with Minervois. Fruity, with berry, melon and red cherry flavors that are bright. Features mineral and spice on the finish. <\/em><\/p>\n

Bricco del Tempo Barbera ’09 Italy $10<\/strong>
\nAn old standby, this barbera is a well-priced, medium-bodied barbera with bright, red fruit tones that feature hints of violets, earth and plum with just a whisper of tannin. <\/em><\/p>\n

Almira Los Dos ’09 Spain $9<\/strong>
\nUnoaked blend of 85% Garnacha and 15% Syrah. Deep crimson-colored, it reveals a Gamay-like, fruity, black cherry and blueberry-scented bouquet. Ripe and succulent on the palate with no hard edges.<\/em><\/p>\n

Seghesio Zinfandel Home Ranch ’04 California WA92pts $26 <\/strong>
\nKirsch liqueur, raspberries, a true field blend of 94% Zinfandel and 6% Petite Sirah and Carignan from a vineyard planted in 1895, it boasts a dark ruby color, savory notes of raspberries, cherries, minerals, and flowers. Ripe, fruity, deep, medium to full-bodied, and beautifully etched. Vineyard usually shows some “graham cracker” notes as well…do you taste them?<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I have restocked our April “Wine of the Month,” the Altos las Libres Colonias Bonarda from Argentina. We don’t often have a “wine of the month,” but every once in a while a wine shows up that so over-delivers for its price that it really gets your attention. I don’t know how long this will […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-557","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-wine-tasting"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/artisanwineclub.com\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/557","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/artisanwineclub.com\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/artisanwineclub.com\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artisanwineclub.com\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artisanwineclub.com\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=557"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/artisanwineclub.com\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/557\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/artisanwineclub.com\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=557"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artisanwineclub.com\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=557"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artisanwineclub.com\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=557"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}