New Wines

2008 Cantina Valpantena, Corvina 3liter Box, Italy – Though you have probably not read about it, the landscape of box wine has seen an utter transformation in the last five years. The jug wine standbys remain, but a new category of well-made table wine – what the French call Vin de Pays – has emerged from both the new world and old. As a wine retailer this is exciting, adding life to a category that remained stagnant for so long. Looking for a wine to take camping that will carry a small footprint? Tired of dumping leftover wine that you couldn’t quite finish? We’ve got an array of cool stuff from Spain, Argentina, France, and now this lovely red from Italy. The Corvina grape is most famous for it’s role in the wines of Valpolicella, giving lift to the spicier Marinello and Rondinella components. This particular one has lots of bright floral notes, an invigorating freshness to the cherry fruit, and a long tangy finish that will complement an array of foods. $27.79/3liter box (the equivalent of four 750 ml bottles!)

2008 Gulfi Rossojbleo Nero d’Avola, Sicily – Recently, I’ve raved a lot about the resurgence of wine quality in Sicily and well, I’m doing it again. We’ve followed the wines from Gulfi over the last couple years, whites and reds alike, and I keep coming back to this Nero d’Avola. Though still the most widely planted red grape on the island, much of it produces overripe and clumsy wines. Gulfi’s Nero is most certainly ripe, with lots of dark red fruit at its core. However, what lifts this wine is its bright acidity and minerality, which along with tart fruit notes provide excellent balance and interest. Medium to full bodied but finishing bright and clean means that this wine could pair with foods as varied as a lamb tagine or spicy tomato-based seafood stew. $17.59/btl.

Great Wines

2008 Terra Andina Sauvignon Blanc, Chilé – While we stock several of them, southern hemisphere Sauvignon Blancs don’t tend to be my favorite versions of the varietal. However, this humble little one from Chilé might just be an exception. The difference here: it’s not weighed down by its own plump fruit. Instead, it comes across as light on its feet, with only the slightest grassy elements to indentify it as new world. The details: tangy grapefruit and lemon with just a little grass before the dry finish cleans it all up. $8.79/btl.

2007 Carmen Carmeñere, Chilé – Our second Chilean value wine this week is, I believe, the first Carmeñere to make it onto our blog. This is, of course, not for a lack of wines in the market, but rather, because I just haven’t seen one that has really interested me in awhile. It seems that, stylistically, they are all over the map, in what is likely an effort to craft them for the U.S. market. What I found in this wine was not the stamp of an importer trying to make a clever red wine to fit a demographic, but rather, plain-good Carmeñere. Specifically, there is a generous amount of ripe blue and red fruit supported by balancing acidity. Subtle notes of dried herbs add character, as does the absence of new oak flavor. Kudos to the folks at Carma for making this easy-to-like red. $9.29/btl.

Tastings:

• Friday, March 26 from 3:30-6:30 p.m. – Drop in and meet Morgan from Lagunitas Brewing, as he pours several tasty beers.

• Saturday, March 27 from 3:30-6:30 p.m. – We’ll be joined by Vicki, as she pours her incredibly cool rice wines, produced using a generations-old family recipe.

Cheers!

New Wines

2008 Tre Monti Vigna Rocca Albana, Italy – Northern Italy’s Emilia Romagna Region sports a dedication to food and wine that is hardly rivaled anywhere in the world, even within Italy. The famous names of various cured meats, cheeses and wines from this area are so extensive that I couldn’t even begin to touch on them here. Needless to say, all of this stems from a deep relationship between the local people and their agricultural purveyors. Topping the list are the white and red wines produced from Albana, Trebbiano and Sangiovese; the Tre Monti winery is as good a place for an introduction to them as any. This white wine with gorgeous bronze hue is produced using 100% Albana; I promise, you haven’t tasted anything like it before. The higher alcohol content tells us that the grapes were very ripe when harvested and then fermented totally dry. Aromatics range from dried apricot to hazelnut. The flavors woven into the rich texture feature more dried fruits, faint citrus, pear and lots of nuttiness. This wine would be heaven with a creamy dish like risotto. $11.99/ btl.

2008 Les Brugueres Priorat Blanco, Spain – At this point, I’m not looking to add new red wines to the Priorat shelf in our Spanish section, a shelf dominated by big, modern-styled red wines. These are wines that for me don’t represent the most authentic or interesting things going on in Spain right now. So, when I was presented with a rare white wine from the area last week, my interest was immediately piqued. The story goes that over 100 years ago, monks planted white Grenache vines on the slopes above the town of Scala Dei and the vineyards remain there to this day. The advantage of vines this old – which now look like little stumps by the way – is that they have an uncanny ability to express the minerality of the soils. In this case, the wine opens with an absolutely ethereal array of dusty schist minerality and underlying ripe pear and anise notes. The mouthfeel is richly textured, but backed up by a bright vein of acidity that gives lift to the seemingly endless barrage of white fruit and mineral flavors. A glass of this stuff with smoked trout and some variety of soft cheese and, well, it starts to get pretty hard to beat. $30.59/btl.

Great Wines

2006 Hecht and Bannier Cotes du Rousillon, France – There are so many examples of outstanding and ageworthy wines coming out of the Languedoc and Rousillon areas of Southern France today that any statements about the area’s sub-par quality are simply outdated. This particular one is a perfect example why. We found concentrated cherry and mulberry flavors along with toffee, coffee, and underbrush notes, ending with a lovely crunchy minerality. Full-bodied and impeccably balanced, this red would make an obvious early addition to your roster of wines to serve with summer barbecue fare. $13.99/btl.

2008 Cecilia Beretta Soavé, Italy – I’ve been happy to note in recent years a resurgence of interest in the white wines from Italy’s Soave winemaking region. However delicious and popular these wines are, the good ones rarely go for less than $15. Don’t get me wrong, these wines are worth the money, but when I come across something authentic and delicious like this one that I can sell for under $10, we’re talking about some serious value. Produced using 100% Garganega grapes, the wine opens with an alluring pineapple and pear perfume and moves on to ripe and round flavors of tropical fruit and white tea. I’m trying to imagine a person who wouldn’t like this delicious white and I’m not coming up with anything. $9.79/btl.

Tastings:

• Friday, March 5 from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. – Drop in and meet Sunday from Mystic Vineyards as she pours four of their red wines.

• Saturday, March 6 from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. – We’ll be joined by Emily from Bergstrom and tasting both their chardonnay and Pinot noir.

Cheers!

The West Linn Wine Blog is back from a short hiatus, and man do we have a lot to say! Among other noteworthy subjects is the return of the trusty Shawn Slammon to our team. Look for him bustling around the store, and please do test him with your most difficult wine questions.

Additionally, we have a number of new wines, two of which I’ll detail below and many others you’ll simply need to peruse the shelves. During your browsing, you’re sure to notice that we’ve dissolved the NW section and moved these wines to their respective areas by grape or blend. In its place we’ve built a home for the most exciting, new, highly rated, or just plain delicious wines that we come across in our tastings each week. Featured there now are the Pleides from Sean Thackrey, Mon from Coeur Jean-Louis Chave, Cristom Vineyards’ awesome 2006 Syrah, a Pinot Muenier from Honig Schlucht, and the stunning Etna Rosso from Pietro Caciorgna, among many exciting others.

New Wines

2007 Cannonball Cabernet Sauvignon, California – Just in this week is a new-to-Oregon cabernet that is actually worth writing about. Look for the distinctive block-print label in the Cab. section and expect well-balanced layers of bright raspberry and blackberry with notes of cocoa, fig and plum throughout. Also look for a stack of this wine coming soon. $14.79/btl.

2007 Bokisch Tempranillo, California – The mere words “Lodi Tempranillo” possess the supernatural ability to make Spanish wine lovers everywhere cringe. In fact, this was my initial reaction when the wine was shown to me early this month. But, reserving judgment is a big part of my job, and I’m especially glad that I did in this case. The folks at Bokisch have somehow found an area near Lodi that can not only perfectly ripen Tempranillo, but give it some manner of voice through terroir. I expect that it is not the same kind of flat and expansive, heavily irrigated dust bowl that spawns the famous box wines of California. Rather, we found a beautifully perfumed nose of grenadine, bing cherry, and crushed mineral. On the palate, a bright streak of acidity supports the sweet dark cherry fruit very well, and ends with a classic rustic note of earth and leather. Wow! $19.49/btl.

Great Wines

2008 Almazo Garnacha, Spain – At this point, Spain seems to be an endless source of inexpensive red and white wines; some as insipid as the jug wines from any locale, and many others that manage to be well-made, varietally correct, and easy on the pocketbook. This red, from the large, up-coming region of Toro, fits in the latter category. Produced using the workhorse Grenache grape, offers a kirsch-y, ripe cherry nose with smatterings of pepper and licorice. Ripe and round on the palate, but not over-rich or clumsy, everyday wine hardly gets any more perfect than this. $7.99/btl.

2007 P. Scavino Rosso, Italy – Hardcore Barolo fans will recognize Paolo Scavino’s name as a producer of top quality, traditionally produced Piedmontese Nebbiolo. In addition to steadily turning out top-shelf Barolo, he makes this delicious little red produced using Nebbiolo, Barbera, Dolcetto, and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes. As the age of these particular Nebbiolo vines get older, Paolo has been easing back the proportion of Cab., thus the wine has become more classic and less modern-feeling each year. The last one I tasted in 2005 seemed to have more dark fruit extract and less zippy acidity and bright tones. Skip ahead two years: while the dark-fruit core is still there, the floral tones that I attribute to the Nebbiolo have taken a larger role. It might just be the perfect balance between juicy and tangy, showing lots of coffee-tinged black raspberry and finishing notes of anise and smoky cherry. Yum! Typically $16.99, for a brief time $11.99/btl.

Tastings

• Friday, Feb. 26, from 3:30-6:30 p.m. – Taste two brand new white and red Zoot Allures wines, fresh off the press from J. Christopher Winery.

• Saturday, Feb. 27 from 3:30-6:30 p.m. – We’ll be pouring an assortment of new beers!

Cheers!

Just a brief note, here, as I prepare for our quarter’s end inventory, including a heads up about the arrival of a truly fantastic deal on a single vineyard Barbera d’Asti from Pico Maccario. Wines of this stature typically retail for upwards of $20. This gem is packed full of concentrated black cherry, licorice and crunchy mineral – all for $12.99. We’ll have this wine in the shop early next week and will be pouring it on an upcoming weekend.

Other exciting arrivals include a cool red wine from Corsica, a special red Sancerre (Pinot Noir!) at a special price, and as always lots of interesting beverages that you simply won’t find anywhere else. Remember, we taste everything first and we won’t sell anything that doesn’t pass muster. Drop in soon and pick our brains!

Tastings:
• Friday, Jan. 29 from 3:30 - 6:30 p.m. – Drop in and taste the Cavatappi Sangiovese from Washington State.
• Saturday, Jan. 30 from 3:30 - 6:30 p.m. – Meet John Albin, owner/proprietor/winemaker for J. Albin Winery. John will be pouring his Pinot Gris, Laurel Vineyard Pinot Noir, and a lovely Pinot Noir dessert wine.

Cheers!