Sometimes we have concise themes for our Saturday tastings, and sometimes they are a bit looser.  Every so often we throw away the theme altogether and just pour wines we want to show off.  This Saturday we have a little bit of this and a little bit of that.  We think you’ll find they’re all delicious. 
 
2015 Slavcek, Sivi Pinot Grigio $17
Slavcek farms 10 hectares on the outskirts of the Vipava Valley of Slovenia.  The family winery has existed for over two centuries. A brief duration of skin-contact gives this wine a faint and delicate pink hue and also instills the wine with a gorgeous, silky texture. The wine is then aged in neutral acacia and Slovenian oak barrels made from trees just beyond the vineyards. Organic with minimal sulfur added.
 
2012 Maison Bleue – Metis Blanc $20
60% Marsanne, 35% Grenache, 5% Roussanne
Walla Walla winemaker Jon Meure has a touch for Rhône varietals. From Boushey Vineyard, the Metis has potent aromas of grapefruit and flavors of rind and pith. It’s crisply defined, with excellent density and natural acidity.
 
2015 Gran Corbiére, Vin Gris Rose $15
Grenache Gris and Blanc, Syrah
A family-run estate in Corbiére with 28 hectares of organically-farmed vines.  You can taste the sea and sand in this wine, which is exactly the region where it was grown. This lovely, fresh rosé that has a nose of fresh-picked strawberries and cherries with hints of maritime air.
 
2013 Azienda Agricola Martilde, Oltrepò Pavese DOC Bonarda $13
100% Croatina
Croatina is a fruity and mildly tannic grape that is sometimes compared with Dolcetto.  Oddly enough, in Lombardy they call it Bonarda (no relation to its Argentinian counterpart).  The Martilde is a rustic wine with a great body, color and tannins.  Organic.
 
2012 Maison Bleue, Bourgeois Grenache $25
90% Grenache, 10% Syrah
Another delicious wine from one of Washington’s Rhone Rangers, the Bourgeois is a small production wine that hits it on the head. Provençale herbs, smoked meats, red cherry anise and oak on the nose. The palate has black cherry, anise, cassis and nice acid structure.  Now on deal.  Was $40 now $25

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.