May has arrived and it has started off with beautiful weather. We’ll be tasting some lovely wines this weekend to match the Spring weather. Saturday we’re tasting a pair of wines that show the heart of Burgundy, but without Burgundian pricing. Sunday we have a fresh and floral red from the Marche region of Italy. Come have a sip and see where the bouquet leads you.

Saturday – Burgundian Outliers

2021 Ventoura, Petit Chablis $24
Chardonnay
From 25 year old vines on clay-limestone, , this shows some intriguing aromas of white flowers with some light spice flavors intermingled with grapefruit and lemon. Nice weight and fleshiness with plenty of purity.

2022 Domaine de Chênepierre, Chenas Vieilles Vignes $18
Gamay
Super pretty, floral Beaujolais from a producer specializing in old-vine Chénas. This wine has a “warm” personality that includes fruit and spicy aromas. The palate is full and fleshy, with a great structured.

Sunday – Springtime red

2020 Marotti Campi, ‘Rubico’ Lacrima di Morro d’Alba $16
Marche
This varietal’s scents are evocative: wonderfully intense rose, cherry, bramble and citrus. Charming in its apparent simplicity, its succulent, balanced structure is pleasingly tannic and irresistible in the mouth. You can even put a chill on it.

This weekend we’re taking a break from reading the headlines and instead heading to Spain. We have a newly arrived rosé and a pair of Tempranillos to test out. Stop by and have a sip. Sunday we have Patrick back in the house. Come see if he still remembers how to run the cash register.

Saturday

2024 Azul Y Garanza, Rosé $12 –1 liter
50% Garnacha 30% Tempranillo and 20% Merlot
Navarra
A Spanish Rosé just arrived with aromas of red fruits and floral notes. On the palate, you will find strawberry and rose hip flavors with a hint of blood orange. Clean, and crisp with excellent acidity – harmonious and persistent.
Organic,

Was $18 Now $12

2020 Pago del Cielo, Celeste Crianza $25
100% Tempranillo
Ribera del Duero, Spain
Some nice depth here with a mix of red and black berries and cherries. A hint of moss, sweet spices and dark earth. This is quite juicy and bright on the palate with tight, dusty tannins and a vibrant, lengthy finish. Structured and bright. Excellent balance here.

Sunday

2018 Palacio del Burgo, Rioja Tinto $14
100% Tempranillo
Intense fruity nose of blackberry and licorice over sweet mocha aromas. Vibrant with smooth tannins; long-lasting, powerful and smooth. An incredible Rioja value.

It is Easter this Sunday and 4/20 as well. It’s up to you to decide how to celebrate. In any case you’ll need some wine. What wine pairs with hard boiled eggs?

Saturday – Two Organic Rhônes

2020 Bois d’Arlène, La Comtesse Méditérranée $22
40% Vermentino, 40% Viognier, 20% Piquepoul
This Vallée du Rhône Blanc hits all the marks. It exhibits delicate florality at first with bright fruit notes of quince, golden apple and slightly overripe peach. Salt-laced ginger and baking spice round this out with a slight minerality provided by Piquepoul. Organic

2022 Olivier Pithon, Mon P’tit Pithon Rouge $21
34% Grenache, 33% Mourvedre, 33% Syrah
Côtes Catalanes
A chillable, thirst-quenching red, light-bodied, soft tannins, juicy and deliciously fruity with aromas and flavors of black cherry, tart cranberry, and a light tasty herbaceous finish. Organic

Sunday – Perfect for Easter dinner.

2023 Enrico Serafino, Grifo del Quatraro Gavi $22
Piedmonte
Fresh and clean, this Gavi evokes the essence of stone and salt rock. Vibrant notes of Key lime, tart kiwi and delicate jasmine unfold on the palate, creating a pretty and mouthwatering experience, leaving a lasting impression of purity and elegance.

Things are booming all over Madrona. And it looks like it might dry out enough for us to enjoy it. Get out and take a little walk down to the wine shop and check out what we are pouring.

Saturday

2019 San-Lurins, Malvasia Pet Nat $18
100% Malvasia
Friuli-Venezia Giulia
A lightly sparkling wine made according to ancestral method, with a salty and mineral profile, one that perfectly reminds the surprisingly nearby Adriatic Sea. This wine ferments spontaneously in bottle without being disgorged. Gastronomic and rustic. Organic

2021 Ronchi di Pietro, Refosco Dal Peduncolo $15
Friuli Colli Orientali
A rustic Northern Italian red with deep aromas of dark berry fruits accented with notes of anise and sandalwood. The palate is full-bodied and packed with ripe plum and blackberry flavors marked with a hint of bittersweet chocolate. Firm, full-bodied, dry, slightly tannic and pleasantly bitter.
Was $20, Now $15

Sunday

2023 Thierry Delaunay, Le Grand Ballon $16
100% Sauvignon Blanc
Loire Valley
This is a satisfying, floral-led Sauvignon Blanc. The wine offers layered aromas of white nectarine, bruised crabapple and crushed stones. Honeysuckle plays with chamomile on the midpalate and naps under orange blossom on the finish.

Here’s what we are pouring this weekend.

Saturday—Sellas Winery

Athanasios Sellas’ father started cultivating vines in Nemea in the 1950’s. When Athanasios took over the land in 2000, he decided to invest in a winery and start their own line of estate wines. The estate has 8 hectares of private vineyards, and then they contract with 15 other producers around for additional grapes.

The family’s favorite varietal is Agiorgitiko, but they also grow Savvatiano, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Roditis, Moschofilero, Malagouzia and Assyrtiko. Their wines are certified organic, vegan, and lower alcohol.

2023 Sellas Winery, Rizes Dry White $14
60% Assyrtikp, 40% Roditis
Nemea
A blend of Assyrtiko & Roditis. Nose is full of white flowers with pears in the background. Flavors are soft, light. Beautiful flavors of honeydew melon, pears and firm, flavorful peaches. Nice, dry, citrusy, kind of earthy finish.
Organic 12% alcohol by volume

2023 Sellas Winery Rizes Rosé $14
Agiorgitiko, Moschofilero
Nemea
A pretty rosé with aromas of roses and cherry. A sunny Aegean porch pounder.
Organic 11.5% alcohol by volume

2023 Sellas Winery Rizes Red $14
100% Agiorgitiko
Nemea
A lighter version of Agiorgitiko, this St George has exciting red fruits on the nose. Raspberries (red & black), red plums, red cherries. Great acidity. Light & fresh.
Organic 12.5% alcohol by volume

Sunday – Fresh Frapatto

2022 Barone di Bernaj Frappato $15
100% Frappato
Sicily
Fresh herbs, vibrant cherry, and black pepper aromas on the nose complement a palate bursting with ripe red fruit, gravelly minerality, and lovely floral notes. Very fine tannins and a refreshing, bright acidity make this an excellent red to put a slight chill on.

So we’ve made it through the ides. the equinox, the tornado that wasn’t and the start of baseball season. Let’s end the month with glass of wine. Here’s what we are pouring.

Friday —

2023 Landhaus Mayer, Gruner Veltliner $16
Peppery notes mingle with clear grapefruit aromas. Well-balanced on the palate with a pleasing acidity and a delicate herbal spiciness; quite lively.

Saturday – Bold Italian Reds

2020 Fattoria del Cerro, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Silìneo $24
Sangiovese
Tuscany
Notes of cherries, olives, oranges and peach pits here, with some vanilla. It’s lively and balanced, with a medium body, nicely polished tannins and a long, firm yet supple finish.

2019 Santi Solane, Valpolicella Classico Superiore Ripasso $22
80% Corvina, 20% Rondinella
Intense notes of fresh red fruit and maraschino jam, wrapped in hints of vanilla. The taste is warm and frank, balanced, with an elegant spicy and toasted bottom.

Sunday – Looking forward to Spring

Encostas de Baiáo, Vinho Verde $11
65% Avesso, 30% Arinto, 5% Fernão Pires
Aromas of lemon zest, grapefruit, mandarin orange, white flowers, and peach pit. The wine showcases crisp acidity and just a touch of Vinho Verde’s classic refreshing fizz,

Spring is here. Welcome the season with dome fresh wines. Here’s what we have lined up to taste this weekend.

Friday– Bordeaux

2020 Château Puynormond, Montagne Saint-Emilion $24
100% Merlot
Aromas of cherries and blackberries with hints of spice. It offers a warm, round oak; a delicious and generous wine with the same flavors on the palate as on the nose.

Was $32 Now $24

Saturday – 2 from Samur

2022 Jérôme Choblet, Saumur Blanc $16
100% Chenin Blanc
Loire Valley
This dry, white wine charms on the palate with dense and honeyed fruit aromas and mineral on the palate. A beautiful expression of the Chenin Blanc grape.

2022 Arnaud Lambert, Saumur Brézé Clos Mazurique $22
Cabernet Franc
Aromas of pencil shavings, a touch of bell pepper, a violet-floral-perfumed nose, dark ripe plums, medium-weight, light tannins. The palate is light, fresh, and energetic, with red plum, herbs, and ripe cherry flavors. The refreshing finish feels like biting into a fresh-picked juicy, mouth-watering Morello cherry.

Sunday – the little pig is back

2020 Villa Pillo, Cingalino $15
65% Merlot, 35% Cabernet Franc
A fresh and easy Bordeaux blend that is more Tuscan than varrietally dominated.

Stop by the shop this weekend and enjoy some tasty non tariffed wines from France and Italy.

Friday—Daddy’s little girls

2022 Grands Bois, Cuvée Les Trois Soeurs $18
65% Grenache, 30% Syrah, 5% Carignan
The Trois Soeurs is from estate grown fruit from 30- to 60-year-old vines in the Rhone valley, and is named for the winemakers three daughters. It is “a delicious mouthful of wine for a song.” The wine has notes of dark chocolate, crushed berry fruit, earth, licorice and dry tannins.
Organic

Saturday – Two for Campania

2021 Feudi di San Gregorio, Falanghina $18
A white wine from Campania, with lots of green pear and lime with some stone and almond undertones. It is full-bodied, layered and very intense with beautiful fruit and focus.

2021 Cantine Vitematta, Fossa Greca Aglianico $20
Campagnia
The nose blends florality with savoriness, as roses and violets hold their own against bolder notes of tar and pepper. On the palate, sugar plums join the roses to bring additional sweetness before the pepper returns on the finish to accentuate fierce tannins.
sustainable, solar powered

Sunday –Pure Pinot

2023 Alain de la Treille, Pinot Noir $16
100% Pinot Noir
Loire Valley
Fermented and aged in stainless steel with no oak aging, this is a spicy, dark fruited Pinot Noir made in a suave, ripe style. Light bodied, modest tannin, bright acidity with notes of early season cherries, cedar, and oyster mushrooms.

There are two sides to everything. Sunday we lose an hour of the day we could have been enjoying a glass of wine. But on the upside the evening light will be longer, robbing the morning of some of that precious daylight. We’ll be celebrating the time change with some wines from Italy and Corsica. Stop in and join us.

Saturday

2019 Colpaola Verdicchio di Matelica $15
Made with organically farmed grapes, this delicious white opens with aromas of citrus blossom and white stone fruit. The tangy, medium-bodied palate offers a lovely depth of flavors that include juicy tangerine, lime, white peach, bitter almond and mineral. Crisp acidity brightens the rich flavors and carries through to the clean finish. Organic

2015 Colpetrone Montefalco Sagratino $28
100% Sagratino
Sagratino is Umbria’s serious red varietal that takes a bit of time to develop. This one has had 10 years and is still a baby. A darkly alluring bouquet of ripe woodland berries, crushed rocks and forest floor is lifted by a hint of mentholated herbs. Rich balsamic spices and mocha giving way to black cherries and a hint of sour citrus. This is persistent and structured, though not painfully so, leaving a staining of blue and red fruits to linger long.

Sunday

2022 Orso Ile de Beauté Rosé $10
100% Sciaccarelu
Corsica
Orso IGP Ile Beauté Rosé is made from Sciaccarelu, a native Corsican variety which literally means Crunchy. Fresh with bright citrus aromas and red berries as well as spice and garrigue that are typical to the Corsican Rosés.

Was $15 Now $10

It could be the days getting longer, or this little bit of warm weather, but March is starting off with some promise. We are starting the month with a trio of wines from the Savoie. Come have a taste.

Saturday – Labbé all day

Domaine Labbé is a 10 hectare estate in Abymes a Cru in the Savoie an Alpine region of France neighboring Switzerland. Abymes comes from the French word “abimé” which means broken and refers to the broken stones in the avalanches from the mountains (Alps).

2021 Domaine Labbé, Abymes, Vin de Savoie $14
100% Jacquere
Savoie
This white has aromas of sliced apples, cantaloupe, and lime sitting in a bed of wildflowers and loamy earth. The palate continues the apple and lime flavors and pulls to a long refreshing finish that adds chalky minerals and subtle white pepper.

2022 Domaine Labbé, Savoie Rosé $12
Pinot noir/Mondeuse
Savoie
Easy-drinking, light and fruity with delicate aromas and balanced acidity. A nice rosé for the price.

2019 Domaine Labbé, Mondeuse $18
Savoie
Mondeuse is an ancient grape variety hailing from France’s mountainous alpine Savoie region. A distant relative, Mondeuse can share some of the floral, spice and game elements of Syrah yet with a bit more cranberry brightness. Lots of black pepper and cherries in the nose and on the palate. A nice acid to balance it all.

Sunday — Tempting Tempranillo

2019 Ontanon, Rioja Crianza $16
90% Tempranillo, 10% Garnacha
Thise Crianza Showsintense aromas of black fruits, spice, and balsamic vinegar. The wine is fleshy on the palate, with balanced acidity and notes of black fruit and wood.