New Wines:

2009 Mordoree Tavel Rosé, France $14.79/btl.

One of the fun things for me about rosé season each year is that I get to work with an array of delicious wines, from under ten retail up to twenty five. Even the most modest of these wines are special, offering refreshment, character, and escape from the summer heat. One of my favorite, though arguably not modest, is the one that Domaine de la Mordoree produces in the southern Rhone town of Tavel. The appellation named after the town is the only one in France dedicated exclusively to pink wines. In fact, it is the only region anywhere to put its stamp on rosés alone. Because of it’s location at the warmer southern end of the Rhone Valley, even producers focusing on wines of nuance get substantial ripeness. Built upon Syrah, Grenache, And Cinsault, this intense rosé almost has the mouthfeel of a light red wine. The aromas remind me of candied fruit like nectarine and cherry, though the palate makes a much more fresh impression, opening with bing cherry and even a little wild strawberry fruit. Dried herbs and lots of juicy red fruit ring a bright note at the long finish. This stuff is bordering on decadent but always bone dry. Yum!

2009 J. Christopher Cuvée Lunatique, Chardonnay, Oregon $15.29/btl.

The warmer 2009 vintage in Oregon may not result in the kind of elegance that we saw in the white wines in 2007 and 2008, but under the skilled hands of people like Jay Sommers at J. Christopher, balance is certainly achievable. This Chardonnay offers lots of tropical fruit as good new world Chardonnay should, ranging from ripe red apple to pineapple and passion fruit. What will set this wine apart from other Oregon whites from the same vintage is that Jay has coaxed a blazing amount of acidity out of his fruit. Given the high level of ripeness, this totally works, adding a razors edge to the round fruit. This might be the most enjoyable vintage of this wine yet. In fact it inspired me to write a haiku about it:

Where did the oak go?
Did you lose the barrels, Jay?
Tastes better this way.

2009 Immortal Zinfandel, California $10.99/btl.

When the Pierano family in Central California made this wine for the first time last year, the story sounded too good to be true. I’ll give you the short version: The estate vineyard that produces this fruit had until 2007 been under contract with Zinfandel powerhouse Turley Wine Cellars. As the economy tanked, the market for $90 Zinfandels went with it and Turley ended their contract to purchase this fruit. With extra Zinfandel on their hands, the Peirano family quickly created their own label and set it to retail at the same price as their other wines, just under eleven dollars. The quality of the fruit being what it is and three generations of winemaking experience at Peirano made this a no brainer for me, even before I tasted the wine. We sold 25 cases in less than two weeks and sadly, that was that. Until last week when my good friend and super salesman, Greg Falk, arrived at my home with a sample of the newly bottled 2009 vintage. I bought a pallet of the stuff on the spot and it hits our docks this week. This bottling may even be better than the first and those of you who tasted it can back me up when I say it is an absurdly good deal. Drop in soon and grab a bottle or look for Greg saddled up at the wine counter pouring the stuff on a weekend soon.

Tastings:

• Friday, 9/03/10: Join Greg Falk from D'Vine Wines as he pours the aforementioned Immortal Zin. 3:30 – 6:30

• Saturday 9/04/10: Today from 3:30 – 6:30 we’ll be joined by Ron from Vinum as he pours the Chono Sauvignon Blanc and Syrah.

Cheers!
Aaron