Fall is the season of rich meals.  The cold descends and we want fuller meals and bolder wines.  The season is crowned with the king of big meals Thanksgiving.  This Saturday we’ll be pouring a lineup of wine meant to match such rich and varied fare.  Grab a plate and come join us.
 
2014 Lioco, Sonoma Chardonnay $23
The Lioco Chard comes from four vineyards in the Russian River Valley and the Sonoma Coast, fermented and aged mostly in stainless steel & neutral oak.  The wine’s elastic texture is lively with brisk acidity, leaning from pear fruit and tangerine toward savory flavors and a touch of smoky minerality. It closes on a stony note, with very good clarity and lingering spiciness.
 
2014 Domaine Dupeubles, Beaujolais Rosé $15
Domaine Dupeuble has been running almost continuously since 1512. Today it is comprised of one hundred hectares, about forty percent of which is vineyard. Advocates of the lutte raisonnée approach to vineyard work, they tend their vines without the use of any chemicals or synthetic fertilizers. The grapes are harvested manually and vinified completely without SO2. The wines are not chaptalized, filtered, or degassed and only natural yeasts are used for the fermentation.  The rosé according to the Google translation “Dress salmon with raspberry nuances with many tears.  A fruity nose spawning and reveals aromas of gooseberry and white flowers.  Bouches fresh, drinkable, light and round.”
 
2013 Domaine Dupeubles, Beaujolais Rouge $15
Dupeubles drinks as well as many village level Beaujolais and make you never want to taste Nouveau again.  “Its super concentrated body is engorged with blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, olallieberries, boysenberries, cinnamon, cherry pit, violets, petunias, red currants, black currants and graham crackers? There is there, one might say, there. Multi-layered layers of sublime simplicity, a blood-boiling aftertaste, this is a palate hummer.”– Kermit Lynch
 
2012 Maison Ambroise, Bourgogne Rouge $20
Sourced from vineyards in Nuits-St-Georges the Ambroise Bourgogne is crisp, bright and just a bit earthy,.  There is plenty of fruit on the nose: redcurrant, raspberry leaf and a touch of bergamot, while the palate is clean and fresh with chewy tannins and a rustic, summer fruit finish. This is a solid, decent Pinot.
 
2012 Buty, BEAST Wildebeest Red $23
41% Syrah, 20% Cabernet Franc, 18% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Malbec, 6% Mourvèdre
BEAST is the alter ego of Buty winery in Walla Walla.  The 2012 was aged for 21 months in older oak barrels.  The Syrah gives dark berry jam notes & spice character, the Cabernet Sauvignon and Franc add structure to the BEAST, with Malbec contributing lovely floral and red berry notes, and a dash of Mourvèdre adding complexity. Throughout, firm tannins, alluring aromatics and a creamy texture underscore this wine’s purity and power.

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.