Craving Spring

This is the time of year everyone seems to be craving spring even though it can be some of the most winter weather. Maybe that's why or maybe we're all just looking for some longer days... Here are a few wines to put a little sunshine in your life. (yes I realize you are now hearing the you are the sunshine of my life in your head...)

Produttori 2003 Barbaresco
Imagine spring flowers and baby lamb running around pastures. Now imagine that baby lamb roasted and surrounded by roasted garlic with rose petal essence. 2003 a hot year in Piedmont limited this wine to the more value-oriented tan label vineyards blend. Mores the better for us! It is sanguine red in the glass, yet still bright and clear enough to see through slightly, with a brickish and rose hue. The ruddy colors are further carried in the smell… Pungent red cherry, both dried and fresh red rose petals, tar and cola, all leap out and are apparent. There are some other dark scents that are somewhat masked by the perfume, tar, and cola; that I could not quite identify – potentially some clay earth and marrow. The flavors also mirrored the scents and this isn’t what I would qualify as a thinkers wine, but hold your doubts, bare your canines and tear in. Very red cherries, rose perfume and incense, tar and cola, marrow, and with a dusty dry red brick clay finish. While this maybe not a thinker’s wine; it is a good wine, and wolfishly I drank plenty. Definitely food friendly, it is grippy with its tannins, and it paired very well with the garlic and medium rare lamb with blood orange and potatoes with fennel it accompanied. It has a slight thickness to the mouth-feel and daring nature to it with the way it will grab your tongue if drank without food. Its felt to me as if a reduction of flavors, to concentrate them with a tannic and alcoholic lift or kick. Still its not the largest, neither most auspicious, nor most refined Barbaresco… however, a very good profile and value at its price. Still some floats around as well but it wont last long as the 04’s and 05’s are now available as well. Find your inner carnivore, let out a howl while pouring Produttori ’03, and feast. En Boca Lupo!
Flavor Profile: 4/5
Value Profile 4.5/5 ($26-28 for a Barbaresco – that should put a spring in your step)

2007 Coteaux d'Aix en Provence Rosé, Commanderie de la Bargemone
I keep saying it; I’ll drink a rosé year round and there definitely is spring and summer encapsulated in many of these wines. This fine rosé hits that mark. Full of fresh green growth and new fruit, it seemed very much a warm spring wind out of some dry grassy gorge or off a farming plain. It’s from the Provence area of France and reflects the color of rosé I expect from there; coppery amber with a carnation pink hue. It has a scent I can only think of as dust and minerally chalk covered strawberries and raspberries, with a somehow contradictory bright clean lift at the end. It was a relaxing quaff of spring in the mouth… It reminded me of chewing on new green herbs and sweet grass, and then it transitioned to pure strawberry essence. That was of interest to me noting the palate transition from dry to off-dry as it progressed. The finish was dusty but lacked some acid to make this a truly great rosé of Provence. Lightly austere and different than some rosé you may be accustomed to; a good wine that is the dew on sweet grass with the scent and flavor of wild strawberry and its flowers. It should dully impress both rosé drinkers and those less familiar alike, especially paired with light seafood or grilled fare.
Flavor Profile: 4/5
Value Profile 4.5/5 ($12-14 is what you should find this for)

NV Drappier Champagne Carte d’Or
Have you had those foil wrapped chocolate in the shape of an orange you whack to split and eat? Well whack away with this champagne! Yellow and gold on the label I can imagine unwrapping this champagne whack-an-orange. Bright brittle golden yellow in color, it smelled of yeast, challah, and hazelnuts; it appeared very dry and bracing in the smell and you might expect very little fruit. However once in the mouth, wow, not at all what was expected. Bright citrus blends changing to orange coated in chocolate or cacao dust. Yes very much like the whack-an-orange chocolates but with a oval mouth-feel that rounded with hazelnut and other warm nut-butter-creamy-goodness finishing with a dry light tightly curled acid. Yes my dash description was a run on but I find myself wanting to run on and on about this wonderfully smooth sparkler. Orange, chocolate and nuts - No chocolate orange ever tasted so good. Did I say yum yet?
Flavor Profile: 4.5/5
Value Profile 4.5/5 (around $30/bottle)

Happy 150th Oregon!

Happy Birthday Oregon! If you missed it, Oregon’s 150th Birthday was February 14. And you though you only had to say I love you to your significant other! Well I do love Oregon and on the 14th I took a trip out to the Dundee area for a wine field trip. Myself, and my friends Paul and Brianne, had a list of places we wanted to go. As well as a more realistic list of what we might be able to make in time allotted. While we were able to taste many wines, and I recommend you jump in the car and make a field trip of your own, here are three highlights of the trip in my mind.

2000 J.K. Carrier Willamette Valley Pinot Noir – This was a very pretty wine and a great way to kick off our day. It was cherries and slightly sweet aromatics in the nose, and the color was a beautiful rose red. It had a solid length and medium mouth-feel I expect of Pinot Noir albeit not as silky as some wines we had latter in the day. What seemed to make us most happy however was the taste. Certainly ripe red/black cherry from the tree, and a semi-sweet herbaceous flavor that we guessed at anything from thyme to just about every herb in the garden. I do not know that we ever got it right but thyme or marjoram was probably closest. Unfortunately for the public this is a library wine that was being tasted only and not sold. So why even mention it? The Vintner mentioned 2000 was a cool year with some rains and since 2007 was similar, I am hoping that perhaps the current upcoming release may find similarities. If so, it could be quite good.
Flavor Profile: 4/5
Value Profile: 0/5 as unavailable

1999 Bernard Machado Pinot Noir – This wine is produced by Walnut City Wineworks and has only seen three vintages in the last 10 years with the 1999 being the first vintage. We tried this side by side with the 2005 vintage. While ’05 has some nice characteristics and a bit more intensity to its scents I found the ’99 overall more to my liking. It’s a dark garnet color with red/rose floral hue and the nose as well starts off with cherries, raspberry, and some sort of flower that was thought perhaps green, just blooming, violet. As the glass opened, I found rose and other flora scents. It’s a very perfumed nose but with a little musk (Elemi?) and dirt hanging around in the background that take quite a bit longer to appear. On the palate, this wine also had some difficult to determine but pleasant qualities. While it shows its age in its length and mouth-feel it still has plenty to give. There is an ample amount of tart red fruit such as tart cherries and black raspberry, maybe even cranberry, with dusty cardamom and off dry incense middle to a nicely dry even finish. I think I will try this wine with a porcini pork loin to match the earth notes, and show off the fruit and floral notes. And while I think I enjoyed this wine more than my companions… that is one of the wonderful things about wine. I think they are nearly out of this vintage so if it sounds interesting you should look them up soon.
Flavor Profile: 4/5
Value Profile: 4/5 (around $35/bottle – a great value for a 1999)

2000 Domain Drouhin Laurene Pinot Noir – The best tasting note of the day was not actually from me but I had to put it here – Jesus! (Nothing more was written.) I think of DDO’s wines as close to Burgundy as some may get in Oregon perhaps only lacking the stony finish of French earth. It was a deep garnet red in color, dark as sanguine red but still clear enough to read through and it smelled of rustic cherries, with dirt around the edges plus underlying dark floral tones… DDO also perhaps has the most seductive mouth-feel of any Oregon Pinot I have had and the 2000 was like sliding across the smoothest well-woven red silk. Its tastes were of red cherries long and lean, bright acid, and off dry fruit such as a cranberry or gooseberry as well. The finish was dirty, loamy, with clay wrapped around pockets of pumice. It was incredibly even and smooth on the palate and on its mouth-feel. Simply put this was the best wine of the day and the best profile I can honestly give it is “Yum”. I knew it was a great wine because while I would hurry through the first tastes to get more; but as I emptied the glass, I went slower and slower to preserve what I had. The part that may hurt most of us is the cost; at $100 per bottle, I hope you have a special occasion to purchase this wine or just the disposable income to do so. I am very hopeful as well with DDO that the 2007 Laurene may reflect very similar nuances to the 2000 but without the cost upon its impending release. This is what Oregon Pinot Noir can be and oh my, Jesus…
Flavor Profile: 4.5/5
Value Profile: 2.75/5 ($100+/bottle - this just seems a lot to me with the very good 2005 for a bit over 1/2 as much)

You don't mess with the Hoff, you just idolize...

There it was tuning into local radio on the drive home… "You don’t mess with the Hoff, you just idolize. The only man (David Hasselhoff of Night Rider and Bay Watch fame) to be able to pull off a look of a speedo and a leather jacket.” The radio jockey declared.

While I am not thinking I agree, I may have found his equivalent…

St. Urbans-Hof Qba Riesling 2007 – Black label with gold highlights, slender green bottle… could this be the man or wine in the leather and speedo?
Lightly straw yellow (surfer’s tan?) highlights with a pale green hue the UrbansHof (the Hof) was actually a bit disappointing upon opening. The smell was there – lemon curd or baked lemon tart with just a hint of sweet pastry crust at the end. But I found there was effervescence that I thought distracting at first taste. So I had a little and put it away for a while. On the second try… there were the chiseled features that made guys want to be him and enough sweetness for the women to swoon. Lemon Bar in the scent with hints of other confectionary and powdered sugar to a baked crumble smell at the back end. Tasting, it was lemon curd, or that lemon bar flavor, to lemon sherbet that coated the teeth and tongue as it moved to the morning ruby grapefruit with a touch of sugar sprinkled on top. It rounded back out with lemon Italian soda taste that finished with a pieces of dry ground slate. There was a wonderful acid length throughout that coated and holds the flavors together.

If you try this wine I’d open and taste straight away to see if the fizz is there… if distracting/detracting as I found it, leave it open for a while and come back to it. I wondered at first why this wine was so recommended but after my second, third, and so on tastes... So whether you like the wine or the man, this does live up to the name; but which came first the Hof or the Hoff? It doesn’t really matter as long as you remember with

orYou don’t mess with the Hoff, you just idolize…
Flavor Profile: 3/5 at first 4/5 later
Value Profile 4/5 ($15)

Comfortably Pinot

When I find Pinot Noir I really like its total comfort. It’s a gourmet Mac and Cheese (gruyere and white cheddar if you please) with panko crumbs and pancetta. Full, tasty, layered, but also its my fleece lined Romeo slippers. I’ve been really fortunate over the last month to have some amazing wine of many varietals… Still I wanted to share some good Pinot Noir and what I think are at great value.

2001 Medici East Block Pinot Noir – I blogged about this before and its still one of my happy points. (prior post - Pin-oooh Noir) Lately the ’01 Medici is going through a smellier phase with earthy funk more notable than even when I first had it. So if you need I would just let it open for a good 30 min or so to blow off a bit if at first it doesn’t appeal to you. That said many don’t and are very happy… What I really like about the Medici East Block is that its primary characteristics are forest and soil with the secondary being fruit. That is contrary to what is commonly being produced by some. I don’t think I can improve on my prior notes but I will say that the nose has even more black truffle and dark earth followed by a bit of bittersweet dark chocolate coffee and cola, then to long needle pine and finally red fruit and dust. The flavors mirror the nose and have distinctive layers as they traverse the palate. It’s a far reaching and lightly grippy pinot that I have taken to more than one occasion to shock and then awe the imbibers. This pinot has an officer’s crease and snap so stand at attention while you drink soldier and G.I up in a comfortable pair of old leathery combat boots.
Flavor Profile: 3.5 /5
Value: 4 /5 ($26-30 in most stores)

2002 Medici East Block Pinot Noir – I was lucky enough to try the two Medici side by side. And while they have similarities they are not even close to the same wine. The ’02 is much a more even handed feminine temptress. The color is amazingly similar as the sister to the above brother reflects the same heritage. As well the smell is of forest fir first and then fruit. Yet the '02 has evergreen pine and noble fir to her with a bit of cola and bright red cherry in the scents. On the palate it is more seductive and smooth bodied, not as muscular or angular. Light valley pine oil is followed by fire engine red ripe cherries that finish with a pair of dusty hiking boots. She’ll likely be more popular than her brother; hello all American girl.
Flavor Profile 3.5/5
Value: 4/5 ($27-30 harder to find as the release is not actually slated till after the’01 is gone)

Clay Hill 2006 Pinot Noir [De Ponte Vineyards] (aka cherry vanilla coke) – You want the Mac and Cheese of Pinot? You want a great value that has the characteristics of Oregon fruit but without having to read or write waxing poetic? You want to not have to describe the characteristics of forest, various red fruits, spices, and earth? And you just want to drink it with your homemade Mac and Cheese with panko and bacon; or with a burger or turkey burger. You got it... Clay Hill ’06 Pinot is maraschino cherry red with cherry vanilla cola in the nose. Drink it and its all cherries and the juice in the jar with maybe a bit of vanilla coke. Lightly grippy and cherry simply. Wash down your food with that and don’t give a moments thought, cause ya don’t have too. Possibly the soda pop of pinot.
Flavor Profile: 3/5
Value: 3/5 ($24/bottle – I would like to see this more in the 20 or under category, what’s $4? That’s $4 more towards Mac and Cheese my friends)

The class of the glass

These white wines are classic, vibrant, seductive, and run the gamut of tastes one could wish. I have my own issues with white wine; I am pickier with it than red. If white doesn’t turn my head or make me pause I am likely to simply pass it by. I will buy inexpensive reds more frequently. Yet, overall a really good white wine will get my attention and hold my passions more than a red. Really interesting white wine is that good to me. These are three that are dissimilar to each other but each caught me with something that held me fast.

Domaine du Clape 2007 – A rare 100% Marsanne southern French wine that smelled of the honey and polish of beeswax, Asian pear, and neroli perfume. Tastes craved by the buzz of bees or flittering of hummingbird’s wing with white cala lillies, day lillies, fresh cut flower stalk, and a fat oval mouth-feel only to be felt with avocado but without its flavor. Its an unusual and what would be often considered contrary mix of both the feel of perfume and fat in the same glass. It nearly left me weak staring at the yellowish perfume color. It’s dry as if drinking Chanel #5 and with a finish as subtle and yet completely mind-altering as a whisper. $$

Bodegas Niades 2005 – The Matador’s jacket and glint off his spear are the character of this old vines Verdejo. It gleams and glints in the light almost distracting from the power and grace. A Hemmingway recount of dusty battle of Toreador in Spain. It is somehow determined to be as it is. Full bodied and full of life with pear, lemon grass, and a long white crushed mineral finish. It glows golden as the gleam off Mediterranean sea, as two people in a yellow cab lives pressed together whether they wish it or not, as with a destiny of flavors as the sun also rises… $$

Botani Moscatel Seco 2007 – Going to the country gonna eat me a lot of peaches, going to the country gonna eat me a lot of peaches. Get the jist of this Spanish Muscat? Don’t mistake it as sweet either but think fresh raw peach meat with some cardamom sprinkled on it. Barely a yellow hue with a nose of white peach and cardamom and what reminded me of the woody spicy nature of cinnamon bark. I think this would be great with seafood or even some mild spicy food, but I can’t wait to have it with brunch. Don’t tell James, he’ll try to live inside the bottle. Going to the country gonna eat me a lot of peaches... $

Cheers to wine

I never met David Lett of Eyrie Vineyards. After having tried his wines and meeting the people he influenced; some who I consider my friends, I wish I had. I stopped by the memorial for him over the weekend to pay my respects... Seeing the rooms full of those who knew him, as well as those who, like me, simply wanted to show some sort of respect and support; it had me thinking how interesting and wonderful one little bit of fermented fruit can be.

Wine is odd social connector. Through only one year of going to tastings I have made friends I spend time with - and geek out about wine with, enjoy meals with, poke fun about sports, discuss and debate politics, remember esoteric forgotten pieces of social culture with, and more. In that year I have met so many good people and simply because of our mutual enjoyment of wine. I continue to meet new people who, as wine, I endeavor to get to know better. From vintners, to garagistas, to persons like myself who just enjoy wine and have less knowledge and experience. To David Lett and all those so impassioned by the juice of the grape; who through their excited chemistry and creations have initiated a social network and maintained its person to person interaction even through a time of blogs, facebook, and texting... Cheers and my thanks.

A wine worth mentioning with this post I recently had, from a varietal I had never had prior on its own...
Eyrie 2006 Pinot Munier - Pinot Munier is a grape lesser known genetic variation of Pinot Noir often used in blends... If all Pinot Munier is like this then please let it be bottled on its own! This was a sleak and exciting wine. The nose at first was full of ripe pomegranate, with a subtle cranberry tartness. There too was a very slight darkened earthy funk that seemed unwilling to hold still, appearing both infront of and behind the fruit. Slip onto the palate and its as if you have cracked a pomegranate in your hands, the juice of the seeds and vapors of the pith coating the skin and tastebuds. Have you seen the old Ocean Spray wave commercials? This is a pomegranate-cran-acai berry blend that crests and swells brightly over the tongue. The bright acid was sea spray foam that lifting and clearing away. Still, searching in the flavors, the slightest almost imperceptable burnt smokey earth taste and feel was present. As if charring a field of its last minute stalks to a newly fertile and rich soil. How about this with a cranberry chutney on chicken or even cedar planked red wine infused fish. Its sultry enough to grab your attention and have with such food or if she prefers slip you a mickey all on her own. $$

And the sky was all violet

(Kudos if you know what song the title of ths post is from)

Have you had enough leftovers lately to feel like Violet from Willie Wonka & the Chocolate Factory? You know the girl that bloated up into a giant blueberry and was rolled away by Oompa Loompa? Well oompa loompa doompity dooo, I've got a steal of a wine for you.

Pull that last turkey out of the freezer or use this for after the next holidays if you have Turkey again... Bordeaux and turkey sandwich I was told is the pairing for leftovers after the holiday; when another friend recommended a steal of a Bordeaux an idea hatched. I am back and forth with Bordeaux that I have had by the way; normally think it a big complex wine perhaps beyond my palate but this was a pairing I plan to recreate many many times.

First the wine...
Poitevin Cru Bourgeios 2005 - Welcome to your first spoonful of very tart wild boisenberry/blueberry triffle. The smell of this wine was plump of juicy berries, it had me repeating boisenberry boisenbery boisenberry - like a mantra but also with undercurrents of blueberry, and green wood. The color was decidely layered in those berries as well; dark ruby red mixed with the most intense dark violet purple edge. Its a Bipolar combination of color that may have you thinking ROY G BIV needs some psychotherapy. Drinking this was almost too easy and more like inhaling, you don't think it, it just happens. Silk smooth texture, with an oval mouth-feel of a mix of dark berries was easily drank. A reflex of air this was reflex of grapes. Its almost too easy to quaff down from its soft rounded body. However, it does reward the smaller portion too with definitive dry almost underipe layered tart fruit flavors that slide to a mild dank dark brown earthen finish. Dark as night, dark as pitch, in a violet sky stars shone like little fish... $

I promised as well the recipe for leftover turkey sandwich I had this with. Try this and see if it doesnt match so well... Shred a mixture of dark and white meat by hand or fork. Use enough to make a sandwich similar to a pulled pork. More if making for a group. Heat the shredded turkey in an uncovered non stick skillet or sauce pan on med to med-hi heat. No oil should be needed as the meat has it. Turn and fold the meat occasionally to heat through; about 5 minutes or so. Reduce heat to med and add just enough Stubb's Chicken Marinade to dress the turkey. This means no excess liquid in your pan, it should soak up and coat the turkey. Once turned and folded to combination with no excess fluid add a bit more of the Marinade so there is a very shallow layer of fluid. Allow to reduce and combine with the turkey stirring occasionally. While reducing cut thin slices of tillamook extra sharp white cheddar. Again the goal here is to dress or coat not create a cheesy goo. Add a few slices at a time to the pan strring frequently as it melts to coat the turkey pieces. For 3 sandwhiches I used a 9" pan with about 7 oz sliced cheese. Once fully combined and coated serve hot on a wheat bun. For a twist fry some julienne shallots in a pan and add on top of the turkey before closing your sandwhich. Similar to a marinated pulled pork this is a flavorful marinated pulled turkey sammie that made mouths water and really accentuated the wine showing boisenberry and wild tart blueberry bold in the glass. I can hardly wait to make it again. En Boca Lupo!

Is Oregon Pinot Worth its salt?

Well, I have been lax on posting of late but I did want to be sure to post about this topic. Throughout the fall the harvest of grapes goes on, and by now all are off the vine. Several times this fall already I have been asked by friends is there an inexpensive Oregon Pinot Noir that is really good? In other words is Oregon Pinot worth its salt...

One of the great things and also maddening things in my opinion about wine is that its worth what people will pay for it. Do I think that you could find a good Oregon Pinot for $10 - personally, No! Do I think there are some nice Pinot Noirs from the area for $20 or less - absolutely!

Grochau Cellars (GC) Toute De Suite 2007 Pinot Noir - its Supercalafragalistic expidaladocius! The name of this wine may sound almost as strange to some when you say it but it reminds me of that old song and dance routine. Its happy, fun, bawdy, and a bowl full of bright fruity red cherries. Its a big red cherry soda that tickles the taste buds and dances a bit madly. Tastes of bright red pie cherries, dark floral tones, and baking spices swirl about the mouth. It evokes the color maraschino cherry red in my mind just thinking of the tastes, even though the color of the wine is more dark rose red. While not long I dare you to call this a quaffer. Its too vivacious for that. Tout de suite in French means immediately and after you have a glass or bottle I am guessing you'll understand and want to have more tout de suite! $

J. Christopher Zoot Allures Pinot Noir 2006 - Well wait I already posted on the Zoot Allures before; but no, this is a secondary release with different grapes. As much as I liked the original I like this even better! This second run had a bit more layers to it, with a dry high forest earthy smell reminding me of hiking through the ponderosa pine around central Oregon. As well, smells of bing cherries still on the tree of some Mt. Hood orchard with dark wild blossoms scents. So how's the taste? While moderately short bodied it still had a wonderful slippery, silky, and lightly acidic mouth-feel. Red cherry and berry combined with a more earthy finish. One taster commented white pepper although I more found fruit, oregon farming earth, and garden herbs. Again this is a real steal at the cost and with what I thought was a more combined and interesting palate than the prior more than worthwhile release. $

With these two, and others I have prior posted, you may find some inexpensive (at least in my mind) Oregon Pinot Noir. But does that $50-70/bottle Pinot really have that much of a difference? Well again that's pretty personal on tastes and what producers can sell their wine for. So I also wanted to include two from my favorite Oregon Pinot Noir producer Eyrie Vineyards that I believe are worth more than their cost albeit that each are not inexpensive.

Eyrie 1999 Reserve Pinot Noir - I felt as if on plush velvet pillows as I sipped ths wine, a middle-eastern experience for an Oregon Pinot. As I stuck my nose to the glass I was instantly met with the smell of pancetta fat, geranium, and cherries. I could imagine the spattering of pancetta in a sizzling hot pan with bits carmalizing and popping out all over a wood stoked fire. As with most Eyrie, this is lighter than the average Pinot; a light and rudy garnet red with a rusty hue. This is the color I most enjoy and why I admit to bias to the Eyrie Pinots. But that is not the only reason... That wonderful smell kept changing and different persons found thyme, clay dust, cranberry, raspberry and other scents. So layered is that nose! I would need much more discerning senses to smell all the aormatic molecules. When tasting I found there was a slightly more strengthened body and acid compared to some Eyrie I have had. Long acid feel ran back over my tongue with a traditional cherry and earth flavor, but with tangy red fruit that persisted throughout finishing with a slightly smoky spice. Perhaps my nose, transmitted taste to my tongue too but I swore I could feel and taste fat pancetta bacon. More than one taster expressed wanting this wine with Oyster stuffing at the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday meal. As I sipped and smelled I felt lazy or dreamy as lotus eatiers, or in a harem with houka and sweet sticky scents of zesty fruited smoke and spice. With the '99 Eyrie be your own Sultan, sip, and dream. $$

Eyrie 2003 Reserve Pinot Noir - Even though 2003 was not the it year for pinot noir; deftly touched, this is a wonderful wine. It was colored as garnets in sunlight with light cherry red/pink hue, and with what some would swear are orangish sparkles in the glass. Very ripe cherries are effervescent in the nose but with a lythe and light floral smell that quickly gave way - hibiscus was it? Delicate, demure, and gone too quickly. Further scents of drying hay and old barn plus what some described as a light warm Oregon costal breeze. I found a wonderfuly earthy scent remeniscent of filbert orchards and the dirt clods found within. Imagine the perfect filbert farm perched on the Oregon Coastal cliffs selling cherries and roasted filbers at the gate... The taste was layered, complex, and evoked discussion. While cherry and cranberry fruit were at the start, following was a full meat fat taste of game hen or wild bird on a grill or spit that made the tastebuds simply water- pheasant anyone? Finishing with filberts and dried up muddy earth, but with a refreshing savory herb that was decidedly Bay leaf. Its a long and austere wine with perhaps not as much plush as the 1999 but equally layered, driven, and still of more potence than other Eyrie I have had. Its a wine that drinks like an aristocratic meal of old, with all its courses and complexity of decor and warmth. Pull out the fine china and silver, the '03 Eyrie is at the table. $$

Fall Favorites

I love October. Why? Because the leaves are starting to fall, the air is crisp, there are fish migrating up the rivers, and many wines are released as well. I also always enjoy when the woods are full of fall scents. All in all autumn has to be my favorite time of year.

Recently I took a Coho salmon I had caught over to a friend’s to grill on their traeger. The fish, seasoned only with a bit of truffle salt and then sea salt, brought questions to what to have with it - definitely Pinot Noir. When asked what I thought I said something like the Medici East Block Pinot Noir (see prior postings) – thinking of truffles, forest floor decay, earthy; definitely in the style of where the fish was caught out of the rivers of the northwest surrounded by wet pines, decaying wood, mud, and low lying mists. The choice made was simply a brilliant marriage of flavors for our meal.

Carlo & Julian Young Vines Cuvee 2006 Pinot Noir – I was given the first small pour to meet approval with the fish… Oh yes this is it... Cherries in the nose but that quickly fell to decaying forest floor scents. Further scents reminded me of being a kid kicking open wet, moss covered decaying stumps or logs on stomps through northwest woods. The taste was of wet cool fruit, cherries and some wild berries. While the fruit was a great pairing with our fish and other courses, the other flavors may have been even better accompaniment. The fruit faded a bit, while still remaining present, with earthy, mossy, wild mushroom, wet forest floor flavors impressing - mirroring the nose in those tastes. Good fish to me is like good wine; there are more than just the typical tastes associated with it too. The Coho, grilled fresh, even had me sniffing the skin. No fishy smells, it had scents of the traeger wood grill and was like a roasted herb chicken with skin on. The flavor of the fish with the truffle salt was just so good paired with the cherries, wild fruit, and decaying mossy mushroom covered logs of northwest pine forests. My host even stated that this wine while good, was simply excellent when put with the Coho. A wonderful wine and dinner that typified the outdoors of the northwest in autumn. If you can try your own Oregon salmon and Pinot Noir. You might not do much better than the Carlo & Julian Young Vines Cuvee. $$

This all serves to point out that besides the right wine, the right food paired with can have a lasting impact. It certainly did on me. Pinot and Coho, a northwest bounty.

Bachus Athena & Apollo

Busted! Been a month since I posted! Okay so I was off having a late summer full of wine, food, & fun. And while Bachus may be the God of wine and good times, I ran into a few others of the Pantheon while enjoying my time and wines...

Boedecker Cellars Athena 2004 Pinot Noir – This beautiful Pinot Noir aptly carries the name of the Greek goddess of Beauty. It also carries the name of the song of the same title by the Who - which was mentioned more than once during this tasting while enjoying this somehow contradictory, but aligned, powerful yet sultry and delicate Pinot Noir. While actually named after one of the vintners it is truly a lovely Pinot Noir, which fixed me with its allure. It had colors of deep ruby red with rose highlights and the moment I put the glass near to my nose I smelled bacon fat, smoke, and earth. As I waited scents of dark cherries and geranium arose more to the front. The initial scents surprised me and definitely intensified my interest. The palate may have surprised me even more with a full but delicate mouth-feel that was so round and well put together. Freshly picked dark cherries were the most pronounced flavor to me but with a nice sultry alcohol lift and tasty smoked earth notes towards the finish. It had very nice acidity as well that lasted long and pressed far back on the tongue. The balance of this wine was the topic of some conversation as well as it was so good and straight – like walking a long tight rope but with more thrill than fear. I was very fortunate to have this wine, as it is in very scarce suplly! I learned a lesson here, when I held off on placing an order for just a few days finding that none remained through that initial outlet. It again had me recall the song by the Who - Athena, I had no idea how much I’d need her. My life has been so settled and she’s the reason…
If you find this wine, this is a rare case where I will recommend buy on locating. You wont find it at a tasting likely; it’s a stunner and at a really reasonable cost for what it is. $$

Ermita VeraCruz 2005 Verdejo - Have you not had the Verdejo (Vayr-Day-Hoe) varietal of Spain before? Well I think you are missing out! This version of this white wine is a last gasp of summer to complement the few sunny warm days we've still managed. The description couldn't have come to me more easily with the Vera Cruz. It was citrusy lemon and filtered sun streaks through groves of trees touched by the fingers of Apollo. Full of lemon and some other citrus in the nose I couldn't quite get a hold of, but with a dry warm whiff that was almost dusty grassy scented. Bright yellow lemons swirled with other citrus, and lemon grass ran around the mouth which then met with a pith taste... there running back until finish an aftertaste of white minerally rocks such as limestone or white gravel. It was bold, racy, and bright and I could easily visualize the hand of Apollo picking only the very best fruit for his own. Best of all its an affordable end to summer. And heck its so good I might open in the middle of winter just to get some summer glow and chase away any Oregon cabin fever. Run through the groves ye children of Apollo. $