Washington wines are best known for their robust, juicy Cabs and their ripe, rich Chardonnays. But here are 4 wines that break out of that box and make it to the playoffs (go Ms). The whites are crisp and lively. The reds are deep and complex. They are sure hits.
2021 Cor Cellars, AGO Coulmbia Gorge Sparkling $25
88% Chardonnay | 12% Gewürztraminer
Fermented this wine in neutral oak. It is a distinct NW sparkler. It’s got the warmth of Lyle days, the freshness of the Gorge winds, and the texture of waves on the Columbia River. Don’t wait until Thanksgiving to try this one.
2021 Cor Cellars, Alba Cor $19
55% Pinot Gris, 45% Gewürztraminer
A blend of two traditionally Alsatian varietals into one Columbia Gorge wine from the Celilo vineyard. Co-fermented in a concrete tank, the Alba shows notes of peach, melon and honeysuckle accentuated by spicy notes of pear and lychee.
2017 Upsidedown, Wine Gold Drop Field Blend $40
60% Mourvedre, 35% Grenache, 5% Syrah
Washington Bandol? Gold Drop Field Blend shows red fruit aromas that meld with smoky undertones. The palate has a polished texture with freshness and verve. Medium body, fine tannins and delicate, berry and chocolate flavor at the end.
2019 Cadence, Bel Canto $70
83% Carbenet Franc, 17% Merlot
The Flagship wine from Cadence’s Cara Mia Vineyard. A big dose of Cab Franc smoothed out with a dollop of Merlot. Blueberries and cherries mingle with savory herbs and minerals on a gloriously rich nose.
Barolo is never cheap but it doesn’t have to be extravagant. Here are three Barolos that are new to our shelves hovering around the $40 price point. All three are tasting great now once they get a bit of air and all three will just get better with a few years of age. Come treat yourself to one of them or maybe all three.
2017 Ascheri, Barolo $42
Nebbiolo
Rich and composite bouquet of sweet spices, dried flowers, leather and undergrowth. The palate is well structured with elegant tannins and great balance and complexity.
2016 Brandini, Barolo La Morra $42
Nebbiolo
This fragrant, focused red offers enticing scents of rose petal, camphor, botanical herb and woodland berry. It’s all about elegance and energy, featuring juicy wild strawberry, Marasca cherry and star anise set against polished tannins and fresh acidity. Woman winemaker. Organic.Arrives at the shop on Friday
2013 Casetta, Barolo $40
Nebbiolo
Smoky with savory herbs and ripe red cherry fruit aromas on the nose. Savory, smoky red fruit and cherry nose. Smooth and juicy on the palate with rounded tannins.
It says October on the calendar, but the weather looks like a few more days of outdoor dining. Hopefully the only smoke will be from the barbeque. Come pick up some of these Spanish to help wash it all down.
2021 Sierra Cantabria Rioja Rosado $13
60% Viura, 30% Garnacha, 10% Tempranillo
Red and white grapes co-fermented to make a rosé. Pleasing, evocative, and well-textured on the palate. This wine shines with aromas and flavors of tart red fruit, sandalwood, and light chalkiness.
2020 Mendieta Osaba Mendi Rioja $14
Tempranillo
Carbonic Maceration Tempranillo. Packed with perfume on the nose, this is a very fresh, youthful rioja with intense aromas of blackberries and dashes of spices. Bursting with fruit, this wine is round and complex with licorice notes and a long finish.
2020 Pinord Diorama Ribera del Duero $14
Tempranillo
A full young Ribera red, with notes of eucalyptus, spice and ripe rich fruit.
2017 Grifoll Declara Predicat Priorat $21
45% Garnacha, 45% Carignan, 10% Merlot
A powerful red wine from Catalonia, the Predicat enchants with notes of plum, blackcurrant, plum and blackberry. Tracing the aromatics further, cocoa bean, dark chocolate and gingerbread spice come through.
2020 Alvaro Palacios Camins del Priorat $25
55% Garnacha, 15% Syrah, 12% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, 8% Cariñena
A high scoring entry wine from Palacios. Notes of vanilla, toast, smoke, tobacco, dark fruit, red fruit, spice box, cedar, and mushroom. Rich flavors of black currant, blackberry, dust, leather, currant, blueberry, strawberry, cherry, bell pepper, licorice and anise.
When you think of Champagne you think of bubbles, when you think of white Burgundy you think of Chardonnay. Well, here are three wines that defy those notions. Different? Yes. Delicious? Yes!!
2020 Guy & Yvan Dufouleur, Bourgogne Aligote Vieilles Vignes $25
From old vines planted 1950’s to 1970’s in the commune of Meursault. This shows excellent intensity of flavor and character showing ripe orchard fruits with the fine lifted floral aspect of Aligote. Notes of pear and even apricot indicate the depth and ripeness apparent here. Still fresh and lovely yet with terrific texture and surprising depth.
2019 Jean Fournier, Orgines $35
67% Pinot Blanc, 33% Pinot Beurot (Pinot Gris)
Old School Burgundy from a time before Phylloxera wiped out most of Europe’s vines and Burgundy was re-planted with the higher-yielding Chardonnay. It has a brush of wild honey and almond on the nose. The clean, fresh palate is well balanced with a fine line of acidity and a slightly grassy finish. Biodynamic
Vincent Couche, Voulez Vous Couche Avec Moi? $42
65% Pinot Noir, 35% Chardonnay
A still white, this wine is an unusual curiosity. From vineyards in Champagne with clay and limestone soils, this wine is aged for 2 years in clay amphora and oak barrels. It transports all the yeasty complexity of a champagne to a still white wine. No sulphites. Organic
Recent oil paintings by Susan Roberts which will be enlivening our walls through October. Sunday, Susan will be here from 3 to 5 pm so stop on by and meet the artist.
You might also want to check out these two artistic wines from Sicily that have just hit our shelves.
2020 Petraio, Nero di Avola $14
This spicy, black-fruited Nero d’Avola feels fresh, lively, and generous. The juxtaposition of deep aromas with the freshness adds an intriguing tension.
2019 Tornatore, Etna Rosso $22
95% Nerello Mascalese, 5% Nerello Cappuccio
A uniquely rich and focused wine made of the indigenous Nerello Mascalese grape. It expresses itself with aromas of cherry juice and preserves, wild strawberry and a very characteristic volcanic and mineral intensity that is unique only to the wines of Mt. Etna’s volcanic soil.
Here’s a great wine we just got in just in time for the Equinox. Everything is in balance and the flavors have a great Autumnal depth. No smoky taste but we have had enough of that in the air at present.
2020 Saint Cosme, Cotes du Rhone $14
100% Syrah coming out of the southern Rhône but this has become one of the signature wines of the prestigious Gigondas producer Château de Saint Cosme. Crushed cherry and plum puree notes that meld with melted red licorice before singed juniper takes over on the finish.
Looking for big game this weekend? Try these two wines from La Spinetta’s Tuscan property.
2021 La Spinetta, Il Rosé di Casanova $20
50% Sangiovese, 50% Prugnolo Gentile
Tart and juicy, with citrusy grapefruit and tangerine dominating the nose and mouth, the wine’s aromatic profile is enriched by white peach and strawberry and floral and mineral notes. This Rosè shows great clarity, with a suave, penetrating finish that lingers with a floral tenacity.
2018 La Spinetta, Il Nero di Casanova $18
100% Sangiovese
Aromas of wild cherry, black currant and sweet plum. On the palate, this wine offers silky tannins and a fruity chewy finish as well as lots of cherry with elegant richness. A funky and intense wine.
Madrona Wine Merchants will be closed this Friday.
September 16th
We will be open Saturday and Sunday with Guest Proprietor Sarah Timbrook-Nugent sitting in for us while Mark & I are away doing family stuff. Please be nice to her, we want her to come back.
It is going to be a toasty weekend with temperatures in the mid-80s. Perfect weather for a crisp glass of Sauvignon Blanc. We got you covered. Stop by and get some relief from this unusual September heat.
All these wines are 100% Sauvignon Blanc.
2021 Domaine des Forges, Sauvignon $14
This comes from a tiny parcel of the 4th generation Forges estate that lies within the Savennieres region of the Loire. Lemon/lime citrus and Granny Smith apple flavors, with fabulous purity and focus, and has the hallmark saline minerals, and granitic, grassy aromas.
2020 Wairau River, Sauvignon Blanc $15
A New Zealand SB with intense tropical and stone fruit aromatics with delicate citrus and floral notes, full flavored and textured. The wine has fine mouthwatering mineral acidity on the finish that refreshes the palate,
2021 Gérard Bigonneau, Quincy $17
From a neighboring village to Sancerre, this Quincy is a soft wine, full of ripe apple and white currant fruit flavors. It’s fresh, but also has a steely edge that gives a strong texture.
2021 Capitello, Sauvignon Blanc $20
Willamette Valley
Cool fermented and aged in Concrete Egg, with no malolactic fermentation, resulting in a crisp aromatic classic Oregon Sauvignon Blanc with a savory touch of salinity, honeysuckle, and bright citrus flavors.
2021 Domaine des Vallees, Sancerre $25
An alternate labeling from a mystery Sancerre producer. But it has all the right notes. Crisp and fresh with a solid backbone of minerality.
2020 Philippe Raimbault, Les Fossiles Sancerre $28
Fine fruit aromas with citrus flavors (grapefruit, lemon) and vivid acidity on the palate.
2021 Jean-Marie Reverdy, Sancerre Terres Blanches $30
A single vineyard Sancerre with fresh and floral scents mixed with dried fruit aromas. The wine is supple with a beautiful volume while retaining a certain vivacity. Freshness and smoothness blend perfectly and give this wine a good balance and a pleasant aromatic persistence.
2020 Domaine Daulny, Sancerre $30
Made from 40-year-old sauvignon blanc vines, this Sancerre captures the essence of the grape with floral, mineral and ground coffee bean aromas and grapefruit, white peach flavors.
2021 Jean Reverdy, Sancerre La Reine Blanche $31
From a mix of soil types throughout Sancerre. The diversity of soils brings complexity, power and minerality to the wine. It displays intense aromas of flint, citrus, white peach and linden flowers. Rich and fresh in the mouth with mineral notes, citrus fruit and a long finish.
2020 Lucien Reymond, Sancerre Silex $37
White grapefruit, green melon, peach pit, honeysuckle, and green mango peel balanced by mineral notes of sea salt, herbs, wet stones, and crushed chalk. Spot on Sancerre. Biodynamic.
2020 Philippe Gilbert, Mentou Salon $32
30-year-old Sauvignon Banc on marl over Kimmeridgian limestone. Beautiful Sauvignon Blanc with great focus on mineral texture rather than green aromatics. Delicately briny and maritime on the nose, round and broad on the palate with a lingering chalky mouthfeel. Delicious young but has the capacity to develop its oystery-earthy side for a couple of years. Organic/Biodynamic
2019 Fantinel, Sun Goddess $15
Sauvignon Blanc
Produced with love and passion from sun-kissed vineyards owned by Fantinel family in Friuli Venezia Giulia in northern Italy. This is a big-shouldered Sauvignon Blanc. Aromatic with tropical and spicy notes of yellow bell pepper, banana, and melon. The palate is particularly structured with a balance between an intense acidity and a velvety smoothness with a long finish. 12.5% alcohol by volume. Was $20 Now $15
To ensure that we can provide you with the specific wine that you are looking for, please call or email us with your request. It’s important to note that the vintage and availability of wines can vary from year to year.
