Saturday, October 27^th — 2pm

Come by this Saturday when we will be pouring some tasty wines from Oregon and Washington. The Northwest is bursting with great wine and we’ve rounded up these examples that have great quality and are modestly priced. Come wet your whistle. Local oenophile Steven Brown will be on hand to tell you all about them.

2011 Anne Amie Pinot Gris $18
From Yamhill-Carlton and the Chehalem Mountains the grapes for Anne Amie’s showcase the heart of the Willamette Valley. The cooler 2011 vintage was great for white wines. Their Pinot Gris has intensely aromatic floral notes that give way to a palate of Asian pear, Meyer lemon and rose petal. The body is balanced and crisp,

2008 Vista Hills Winery, Treehouse Pinot Noir $20
Vista Hills is a 40 acre estate in Oregon’s Dundee hills that uses a consortium of winemakers. The 2009 Treehouse was produced by Dave Petterson at Panther Creek Cellars who also manages Vista Hills. The Treehouse Pinot Noir offers an earthy nose with notes of roasted coffee, dark chocolate, plum and nutmeg on the palate. Round tannins provide sturdy length and structure. It is a good example of Oregon Pinot at a great price.

2008 Cana’s Feast Brico Red $15
Located in Carlton Oregon, Cana’s Feast specializes in Italian varietals. The fruit for the Brico red comes from Coyote Canyon, Ciel du Cheval vineyards in Columbia Valley. This Sangiovese-predominant blend is a full-bodied and lively wine with zesty Old World appeal that is complemented with a rich and full palate more often expressed in the New World.

2008 St. Laurent Winery, Syrah $16
Fruit growers who expanded out into grapes and then wine, the folks at St Laurent make some tasty Washington wines at quite reasonable prices. The Syrah comes from their Wahluke Slope vineyard which they sustainably farm. Bright and flavorful, this Syrah has a juicy mouthful of dark blackberry and raspberry with hints of spice. It was barrel aged for 18 months mostly in French oak with 21% of that being new.

2008 Bunnell Family Cellars, Mourvedre $36

After winemaking at Chateau Ste. Michelle, Beringer and Kendall-Jackson, Ron Bunnell turned his hand to making his own wine. Bunnell specializes in small handmade lots of wine from Rhône Valley grape varieties. The Mourvedre, from Northridge Vineyard on Wahluke Slope, has aromas of white pepper and grapefruit pith, soft tannins, complex flavors of cassis and Rainier cherries, white pepper, star anise with a hint of grapefruit rind.

A few of the things we love in wine are small producers, older vines, sustainable practices, and great quality value. These all play second fiddle to pure hedonic pleasure, but there is no reason to not have it all. This Saturday we’re tasting some wonderful French wines that fill the whole bill. They come to us from Wine Traditions, a small but discerning importer who specializes in all the above. Come discover them for yourself.

2011 Château Magneau, Graves Blanc $14
45% Sauvignon Blanc, 40% Semillion, 15% Muscadelle
Château Magneau has been run by the Ardurat family since before the reign of Henri IV. Its 30 year old Bordeaux vines are sustainably farmed without chemicals. Muscadelle used in a small proportion gives the wine an extroverted and inviting bouquet. Semillon offers both ripe stone fruit flavors and a rich texture on the palate. Sauvignon Blanc adds melon and citric flavors and provides a clean citric finish to the wine. The result is a full bodied wine with a nice progression of mixed fruit, clean citrus and rich texture.

2011 Domaine Les Grands Crays, Viré-Clessé $20
Clos du Chateau ,Chardonnay
In Viré-Clessé in the Haut-Maconnais, Dominique Terrier farms 20 hectares of vineyards, sending 25% of his crop to the local co-op and vinifing the rest himself. Clos du Chateau comes from the estate’s upper parcels (average age 40 years). The soils are very stony with some veins of flint and very little topsoil. Vinification is done using indigenous yeasts. The wine then rests sur lie until bottling. The Clos has a big voluptuous body with herbal and mineral notes throughout and a clean citrus core. It’s an amazing Burgundy for the money.

2009 Château Jouclary, Cabardès $12
Merlot, Syrah, Grenache
Cabardès gets influences from both the Atlantic and the Mediterranean creating a unique clime allowing it to grow these differently suited varietals. Merlot supplies the backbone of the wine, while the old vine Grenache and Syrah from the stony upper hillside contribute ripe flavors and warmth on the palate. The wine has fine mineral aromas and deep dark fruit.

2002 Chateau Guerosse, St. Emilion Grand Cru $30
85% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc 
Chateau Gueyrosse has slightly under 5 hectares vineyards of 40 year old vines that they farm without any chemicals. Yields are kept exceptionally low. It undergoes a long maceration of 3 to 5 weeks. The wine is aged in tank for 1 to 3 months and then in older barrels for 18 more. The 2002 is showing lovely fruity aromas, and a good full structured body with a long finish. It is aged and ready to drink.

2008 Loupiac- Gaudiet, Loupiac $16 / 500ml
80% Semilon, 20% Sauvignon Blanc
Château Loupiac-Gaudiet dates from the 15th century in the village of Loupiac directly across from the appellations of Barsac and Sauternes. Harvesting is done in stages to allow botrytis to fully affect the grapes and concentrate the sugars. The wine is one of delicate flavors and pristine balance. It is a lovely desert wine with good fruit and noble rot at a better price than a Sauterne.

Saturday, October 13^th, 2pm
This Saturday we have a great line up of intense and intriguing wines from the diverse regions of Spain. Come get a taste of Cataluña, La Mancha and of course Rioja. They’re diverse and delicious.

Mas Fi, Cava, $10
40% xarel-lo, 35% Macabeo, 25% Parellada
Mas Fi is a family run estate winery in Vilafranca del Penedès. The Cava is an elegant and balanced sparkling wine. Undergoing second fermentation in this bottle, it is aged for 10 months providing its fine bubbles and complex and structured palate. There are notes of white flowers and citrus on the nose, with fresh stone fruits and pleasant creamy flavors in the mouth.

2011 Gramona, Gessami, $17
40% Sauvignon Blanc, 15% Muscat Alexandria, 35% Muscat Frontignan, 10% Gewürztraminer
The Gessami is made for sustainably farmed 35 to 50 year old vines in Penedès by a family estate known for their Cava. This wild blended white has a very floral bouquet of roses, jasmine and spice, along with fennel, apricots and earthy forest notes.

2008 Bodegas Almanseñas, La Huella de Adaras $12
65% Grenacha, 30% Monastrell, 10% Syrah
This sustainably farmed, estate Bodegas in La Mancha sits at 25oo feet on the Almansa plateau. The wine is aged for 12 months in Stainless steel tanks followed by 6 months in oak barrels. The La Huella has notes of smoke and underbrush along with leathery dark fruit and a good finish.

2009 Celler Cal Pla, Black Slate Porrera, $20
60% Garnacha and 40% Carinena,
From Priorat, the Black Slate ages for two years in neutral oak barrels to soften and concentrate the wine. “Intense blackberry, cassis and licorice on the nose. Powerful and densely packed, with a structured impression to its dark cherry, black fruits and spices. Finishes weighty, sweet and long, with silky tannins and an echo of licorice.” — International Wine Cellar

2006 Orben, $35
97% Tempranillo & 3% Graciano
Orben’s high altitude vineyards are located in the Rioja Alavesa in scattered small parcels of slopes and micro valleys heavily influence by the Atlantic breezes. The vines average 60 years old and are organically farmed.. The wine is aged for 15 months in fine grain French barrels. “It offers up a superb kinky, sexy perfume of toasty oak, pencil lead, leather, black cherry, and blackberry. Rich and elegant on the palate, it has layers of succulent fruit, well-concealed tannins, impeccable balance and a 45-second finish. So loaded that it can be enjoyed now, it will nevertheless age effortlessly for 4-6 years and drink well through 2026.” – Wine Advocate 93pts.