This Saturday we are tasting our way through the Loire Valley. The vineyards of the Lore benefit from cooling breezes from the Atlantic Ocean. These wines are crisp, fresh and a perfect match for summer. As you know summer starts July 5th in Seattle. Get ready.
2016 Pierre Henri, Muscadet Sevre-et-Maine Sur Lie, St Fiarce $12
Melon de Bourgone
Named after Pierre-Henri Gadais whose family also owns Domaine Gadais, this is a bright, lively wine, rich with layers of ripe fruit, minerality and tight acidity. It is intense, with great fruitiness and a cool edge of final acidity.
2018 J. Mourat IGP Val de Loire Blanc “Collection” $13
Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay
J. Mourat is located on the far south-west of the Loire Valley in the appellation Fiefs Vendéens. Their hillside vineyards see a combination of southern exposure and a sea breeze, with schist and volcanic soils rich in quartz, are farmed organically. This is a fresh and satisfying white blend with flavors of green and red apple, white peach and preserved citrus–tasty, dry and distinctive.
2018 Domaine du Salvard, Cheverny Rosé $17
65% Pinot Noir, 35% Gamay Noir
Domaine du Salvard has been a working Domaine since 1898, through five hardworking generations of the Delaille family. Their forty-two hectares of vineyards are sustainably farmed in the sand, clay, and limestone plains of northeastern Touraine. Their Rosé is very pleasant and surprisingly complex with aromas of red berries and a distinct hint of lime. On the palate it’s bright and tart, bone-dry with fresh acidity, red-berry flavors shifting subtly into an intriguing stony minerality that lasts into a very long, finish.
2018 J. Mourat IGP Val de Loire Rouge”Collection” $13
40% Pinot Noir, 30% Cabernet Franc, 30% Negrette
This surprising red-blend packs a juicy cherry and sweet orange aroma. The fruit is ripe, sappy and jewel-bright: redcurrant and cranberry, with a pencil-graphite slender minerality that betrays the presence of Cabernet Franc –the brisk tannins jiving with energetic fruit. The finish is neat, dry, snappy, like a gymnast finishing a perfect somersault in your mouth, and then a little line of herbs lingering on the tongue.
2016 Domaine Nerleux, Samur Champigny Clos des Chatains $18
Cabernet Franc
Amélie Neau is the 9th generation of Domaine de Nerleux (Black Wolves in Old French) and she sublimates this superb heritage. Her Clos des Chatains shows a beautiful nose of black fruits, blueberry, elderberry, cherry with brandy. In the mouth there is lots of flavors of kirsch, elderberry and a slight bitterness. A traditional style in a generous vintage, it is ready to drink now, but can evolve 5 to 7 years without worries.
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.