At the other end of the globe there is a beautiful little island (two really) with a lovely country side that is well suited to cooler climate grapes. The wines from there aren’t big or juicy, high alcohol, over ripe. They are well balanced with good acid, lower alcohol levels and a sense of where they come from. Come try a few of them this Saturday.

2011 Cairnbrae Sauvignon Blanc $14 — 13.% Abv
Cairnbrae or “Rocky Hill” is a boutique winery in the favored Rapaura district of Marlborough, New Zealand, neighboring the well-known Cloudy Bay and Corbans Stoneleigh vineyards.. Rich and pure, the wine reflects the powerful landscape it comes from. Lifted citrus blossom floral notes with ripe tropical aromas mingle with lemongrass and guava nuances. Ripe fruit salad tropical notes abound with textural depth and an incredibly long finish. Rich and pure, the wine reflects the powerful landscape it comes from.

2010 Mission Estates Chardonnay $14 — 12.4 % Abv
Mission Estates, located in Hawkes bay, is the oldest winery in NZ, and as the name suggests started missionaries. Their Chardonnay is aged its lees giving it a soft style that is elegant and well structured. The nose has a slight smoky toasty aroma. The palate is full with soft mouth feel and fine flavors in the mid palate. They are reminiscent of stone fruit and citrus with subtle vanilla undertones from the oak. The fresh finish is clean and persistent

2010 Cairnbrae Pinot Noir $18 — 13.5% Abv
Cairnbrae’s Pinot Noir exudes classic ripe fruit flavors. Plum, cherry and blueberry fruit notes support a warm earth and spicy complexity. Damson plums, black cherry and blueberry fruit notes are supported with a warm earth and spicy complexity. The palate is rich and full on entry with ripe dark fruits, savory complexity and supple tannins. The mid-palate is creamy whilst the finish is flavorsome and persistent.

2010 Yealands Pinot Noir $18 — 13% Abv
From Marlborough, New Zealand, Yealands is a sustainably farmed estate winery that uses sheep instead of tractors and wind turbos for power. The exposure to high sun and wind, coupled with cool nights and low rainfall produce a smaller, thicker skinned berry. His Pinot has intense fruit aromas of dark cherry and savory spice. The palate is refined with notes of plum, complemented by silky tannins and a long savory finish.

2010 Mission Estate, Merlot $16 — 12.8% Abv
Not to be confused with Washington or California Merlot the Mission Estate’s is a lighter example. The nose has aromas of plum, sweet spice and savory notes. The palate is medium bodied with generous fruit in the mid palate. The wine finishes with soft fine tannins and lingering spicy fruit aromas.

We continue our celebration of Washington wine month this Saturday by pouring a great line up of unique wines from Southwest France. Stop by and try these wines from Gaillac, Cahors, and Gascony. They are great and undiscovered values with an array of bold and intriguing flavors.

2011 Philemon Gaillac Blanc Perlé $13
60% Loin de L’Oeil, 20% Muscadelle and 20% Sauvignon Blanc. Organic
The Vieules family has had a vineyard in Villeneuve since 1804 where they grow wheat, sunflowers and grapes. A good proportion of their vines are more than fifty years old and are goblet pruned keeping yields exceedingly low. The Perlé’s freshness in is achieved by preserving some of the natural CO2 that occurs during the vinification. It has concentrated flavors of mineral and citrus.
 
2011 Philemon Gaillac Croix de Azul $13
Fer Servadou Braucol
The Croix d’Azal is produced entirely from Braucol, the name used in Gaillac for the Fer Servadou grape. It is a wonderful expression with all of its typical spiciness and woodsy floral aromas. The word “braucol” in girondin patois signifies taureau, the bull. The Croix d’Azal is no raging bull but one who lives peacefully in the pasture content to smell the flowers.
 
2010 Château Chabiran Bordeaux Supérieur $14
90% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon.
Not exactly from the southwest (but we had to throw it in) Château Chabiran lies on a high plateau just outside of Fronsac with soils of a local blue clay and red gravel. The unusually high density of plants encourages low yields and maximum extraction of the soil’s minerals. The wine is fermented in both stainless steel and cement tanks with a long maceration and aged partially in barrel and partially in tank. The wine is dense and leathery with layers of tannins.
 
2011 Mas del Périé Cahors, Les Escures $18
80% Auserrois, (Malbec), 20% Merlot
Cahors lays an equal distance from the Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean and the Pyrenees. Mas del Perié has been in the Jouves family for four generations. The domaine is located in Trespoux-Rassiels, a small village located along the chalky plateau known as Quercy Blanc. The average age of the vines is 35 years and Fabien who recently graduated from enology school is taking the vineyard toward organic certification. A minerally and leathery Malbec.
 
2009 Laffite-Teston Madiran Reflets du Terroir $18
70% Tannat, 15% Cabernet Franc, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon
Madiran is situated among the northern foothills of the Pyrenées in the heart of Gascony. Due to its proximity to the Atlantic Ocean the climate is somewhat humid with moderate temperatures that benefit from the prevailing south winds that bring warm dry air in the summer and fall. A family domain where the wine was formerly sold in bulk, they began estate bottling in 1975. The vineyards are on chalky clay soil. The average vine age is 40 years . For the Reflet du Terroir the juice stays in contact with the must for 20 days during which time the tanks are drained twice with the juice being returned on top of the cap.. It is then aged in 1 and 2 year old barrels for 12 months. The wine is big dense and tannic.

Sometimes when you look at the spaces between things you find the hidden gems. That’s what we’re doing this Saturday with some exceptional wines from the Rhône that lie north of Chatêau Neuf du Pape and south of Cornas. This in between region produces some distinct and intriguing wines that are worth discovering. William Woodruff of Chloe Imports will be on hand to tell us all about them.
 
2011 Domaine de Couron, Viognier $12
In Saint Marcel d’Ardeche, 45 miles northwest of Avignon, the Dorthe family farms their domain that was are among the first to be officially classified in appellation Cotes of Rhône in 1937. Their Viognier comes from 27 year old organically vines and has honeyed apricot and pear aromas that are sweetly floral with subtle hints of cinnamon, good structure and balanced acidity.
 
2010 Domaine de Rozet,Côtes du Tricastin $9
Grenache (60%), Syrah (35%), Cinsault( 5%)
Originally tenant farmers, the Bernard family inherited this property in Donzere after the French Revolution. Today Dominique Bernard crafts this beautiful herb scented wine. “Bright violet and anise aromas are followed by a beam of sweet black cherry fruit, with a clean, fresh finish.”–WS
 
2011 Domaine de Couron, Marselan $10
Marselan is a hybrid of Cabernet Sauvignon and Grenache. Couron’s grows on a terraced vineyards of large granite stones covering limestone. They only make 700 cases each year. “Dark and toasty, but open knit, featuring soft textured plum and blackberry fruit backed by a hint of roasted vanilla“WS
 
2009 Domaine de Couron Côtes du Rhône ‘Cuvee Marie Dubois’ $16
100% Syrah planted in 1946.
The flagship wine of Couron is made from an old vine parcel that only produces 225 cases each year. The wine is aged for 2 years before release. A few miles north and you would pay 2 to 3 times the price for this wine.” Quite toasty, with bacon and coffee notes holding sway over a core of medium-weight crushed black cherry and plum fruit. A toasty edge assumes control of the finish”
 
2009 Domaine du Grangeon, Chatus $24
Christophe Reynourd started this small domaine on the steep terraces of his grandparents farm where he grows Chatus (pronounced cha~two) an ancient 16th Century grape variety cultivated only by three estates in the Ardèche. The grapes are cultivated by hand with no herbicides or chemicals used. The wine ages for 2 year, unfined and unfiltered, before bottling. It has a bouquet of violets, purple flowers, and tanned leather. It is both supple and tannic with spices and warn leather and dark coffee.

This Saturday we’ll be stomping around the Spanish wine regions. Some are old and respected while the reputation of others is on the rise. All are a blend of tradition and modernity; old vines and new equipment. It’s the best of both worlds.

2011 Bodegas del Medievo Blanco (Rioja)$11
100% Viura
Medievo is located in Aldeanueva de Ebro at 500 meters high, in one of the most prestigious of Rioja where the clay-calcareous poor soils are perfect to grow high quality vines. The Blanco is very fresh with aromas of tropical fruits, pear, with a crisp clean finish.
 
2011 Bodegas Naia, Las Brisas (Rueda) $11
50% Verdejo, 30% Viura, 20% Sauvignon Blanc
Bodegas Naia is located in La Seca, a region that is considered grand cru in Rueda, focuses on making great white wines from indigenous old vines Verdejo. Their vineyard has untrained vines (some pre-philloxeric) and includes some strains that are more than a century old. “Bright citrus and mineral aromas, plus a hint of quince. Smooth and silky on the palate, offering lively orchard fruit and tangerine flavors and a hint of ginger. Finishes with good tangy bite and a suggestion of pear nectar.” –International Wine Cellars:
 
2011 Bodegas Terra Sigilata, Filón (Calatayud) $10
Garnacha from 30- to 40-year-old vineyards
The Calatayud region in Northern Spain resembles parts of Utah or Arizona with tall red buttes and dry arroyos in a high plains atmosphere. The arid landscape is punctuated by old vine Garnacha grape vineyards as well as cherry and almond orchards tended by the local farmers. The old Garnacha vines have deep root systems to draw moisture from the arid soil. These old vines produce dark, concentrated fruit that in turn makes rich expressive wines. The Filón is full of aromas of cherry and other fruits smoke and licorice.
 
2009 Pazos del Rey, Sila, (Monterrei) $14
Mencia
Monterrei is located in the south-eastern corner of Galicia, bordering Portugal is warm and dry with very little rainfall. Here Mencia takes on a more robust and darker in comparison to its other traditional homes Bierzo and Ribeira Sacra. The Sila has bright cheerful red berry fruit with integrated aromas of sandalwood, cracked pepper and spice and a longing velvety texture finish from time aged in French oak.
 
2010 Bodegas Tabula, Damana 5 (Ribera del Duero) $18
Tempranillo (Tinto Fino) 20 years old vines.
Bodegas Tabula farms 22 hectares of limestone rich soil in Olivares de Duero on the far western side of the Ribera del Duero DO with prestigious neighbors such as Pesquera & Vega Sicilia. The Damana 5 is dark and intense with a nose of blackberries, black cherries, creamy notes of fine oak, some spices and underbrush aromas. On the palate there is a wealth of fresh, lively berry fruit flavors leading to a sumptuous yet elegant finish.