This Saturday we are featuring three wines from Pierre Chainier who has several estates in the Loire.  It is a family business.  His wife Anne Chainier looks after the estates, the Château de Pocé and the Château de la Roche.  Their eldest son Francois is the managing director of the company. He also owns the Clos de Nouys and Clos wu Gaimont vineyards in Vouvray. Their two other sons, Louis and Philippe, are in charge of exports.  We’ll also be pouring two favorite reds from the Rhône to round out your palate.  Come taste with us.
 
2013 Pierre Chainier, Château de la Roche, Touraine  $12
Sauvignon Blanc
The Château de la Roche is one of the oldest single estates of Loire Valley, planted mostly with Sauvignon Blanc.  The vines provide a complex wine on the nose, aromatic and mineral with ripe fruits and citrus aromas, very subtle and delicate on the palate.
 
2014 Pierre Chainier, Les Hospices Sancerre  $19
Sauvignon Blanc
A great Value in Sancerre the Les Hospice is lively and full of fruit, with pleasant aromas, backed up by blackcurrant buds and wild flowers.
 
2013 Charles Thomas, Côte du Rhône  $11
A great little Côte du Rhône made by the Burgundy producer Jean-Baptiste Bejot.  The CT rouge is fresh spicy red overtones of red berry fruits. The body is found and supple with smooth aftertaste.
 
2012 Alain Jaume, Haut de Brun, Côte du Rhône  $15
60% Grenache, 30% Syrah, 10% Cinsault
This winery dates back to 1826, having been founded at that time by Mathieu Jaume. Since 1979, Alain Jaume has run the Domaine and now has the help of his two sons, Sébastien and Christophe, and daughter Helene. The Haut de Brun is a delicious full Rhône with layered aromas of black plum, blackberry, violet and earth, along with distant whiffs of game and smoke.
 
2012 Pierre Chainier, Roc de Chateauvieux, Chinon $21
Cabernet Franc
Pierre Chainier’s beautifully elegant 100% Cabernet Franc from the Loire Valley is very crisp and clean with aromas of mulberry, wild strawberry, and black cherry joined by a touch of dried fallen leaves and a hint of a fresh spring garden.  The flavor is black cherry, sweet plum, and fresh raspberry are framed against tobacco leaf, dried cranberry, cassis, and a lovely dried herbal element that perfectly frames the other flavor components.

Madrona Wine Merchants offers free wine tastings featuring 4-5 selections on a theme every Saturday from 2 until the bottles run out and on Sunday we offer a mini-tasting of two wines all day from 11-5.