We made it through New Years and it is back to business as usual, tasting wine and looking for value. Here is one we found this last week. We only got one case of it, but why not open a bottle and let you taste too. Stop by on Saturday and check it out.
2015 Barone Cornacchia, Vizzarro Colline Teramane $20
Montepulciano d’ Abruzzo
Cornacchia’s flagship wine named for the founder. Intense, complex and fine bouquet with hint of ripe red fruit, jam, black pepper. The flavor is round, persistent and balanced, harmonic, with velvety tannins. Organic Was $35 now $20
We are counting out the end of 2022 and getting ready for the big 1 on Sunday. While we know we’ll need some bubbles on New Year’s Eve, we much more enjoy thinking about what we are going to drink with dinner on New Year’s Day. You have to start the year off right. In the mean time we’ll be tasting some good wines as we count the days.
Thursday 2019 Remo Farina Valpolicella Superiore Classico Ripasso $20
Corvina, Rondinella, and Molinara
Partially rasined on the vines, the Ripasso has fragrance of pepper, fruit marmalade (cherries, prunes) and spices, licorice and ginger.
Friday 2019 Kila Cava $15
40% Xarel·lo, 40% Macabeu, 20% Parellada
Ripe orchard/pit fruit aromas are complemented by subtle herb and candied orange zest nuances. Broad and spicy on the palate, displaying pear nectar and honey flavors and a touch of fennel
Saturday
It is bound to be good. Just drop in and see what we have open.
We will be closed New Year’s Day and reopen on Wednesday January 4th as we resume our most of the year Wednesday-Sunday hours.
We’ve boxed up boxing day and are getting ready to welcome the new year, but before we get there let’s take a deep breath, relax and have a glass of wine. The next two days we’ll be tasting a couple of good mid-week refreshers. Stop in and have a sip.
Tuesday
2015 Gerard Bertrand, Art de Vivre Rouge $15
Grenache, Syrah, and Mourvèdre
Oddly packaged in a ceramic bottle. The Vivre has some nice Balsamic notes that add a touch of class to the black cherry, red plum and wild raspberry notes of this juicy red, with savory touches of mineral and herb on the clean finish. Was $20 Now $15
Wednesday
Flegenheimer Bros. ‘Out of the Park’ Sparkling Shiraz NV $12
96% Shiraz, 4% Cabernet Sauvignon
This sparkling Shiraz from Australia has a bouquet of rich berry fruits, dark cherries and soft lingering hints of integrated oak. On the palate bright juicy red fruits and sweet plum are balanced with silky tannins and a velvety smooth finish.
Shop Hours
Tuesday-Sunday, 12-6PM
Closed Sunday, January 1st
See you again Wednesday, January 4th
The ice has melted, the rains returned, and the streets to the wine shop are wide open. Madrona Wine will be open today from noon to 6pm today for those last-minute holiday needs. And we will be heading to the Burgundy section and opening a Pinot Noir to celebrate the day. Stop by, see which one we pick out and have a taste.
Happy Holidays, Jim, Mark, & Patrick
Madrona Wine Merchants
Shop Hours
Tuesday-Sunday, 12-6 PM
Closed Christmas Day
Things are getting busy around here with the lords a leaping and the pipers piping. But it keeps them warm with the cold weather nipping at our nose. The other thing that keeps us warm is a sip of wine. We’ll have some open the next couple of days. Stop in and have a taste as well.
Thursday
2019 Château de Montfaucon, La Côte, Côte du Rhone $18
50% Grenache, 20% Syrah, 15% Carignan, 10% Cinsault, 5% Counoise
This Côtes du Rhône is full-bodied, tannic, with leather notes, herbal notes, cranberry notes.
Friday
2017 Franchetto, Valpolicella Ripasso $30
Corvina, Molinara, Rondinella
A rich and full Ripasso. Aromas of cured cherries, black pepper, spices and a palate packed with Bodacious summer fruit – black berries, cherries, vanilla, lush body and supple tannins.
What to do when you realize you didn’t get anything for the eight maids a milking, nine ladies dancing, and your wife’s cousin Richard who are all showing up at you house this coming weekend? Don’t worry, Madrona Wine is One Stop Shopping for those on your list who are 21 years and older. To make the shopping easier we’ll be opening a few things to taste over the next few days.
Tuesday brave the snow is the way to go.
2017 Saint-Jacques de Siran, Bordeaux Supérieur $19
42% Merlot, 29 % Cabernet Franc, 29% Cabernet Sauvignon
Château Siran dates back to 1428. At one point in time, it was owned the grandparents of the famous French painter, Toulouse Lautrec. Their Saint-Jacques cuvée is sourced from a plot adjacent to their Margaux holdings, but outside that appellation and hence much more affordable. This wine is smooth, rich, and beautifully structured. Wednesday Winter Solstice
2009 Siglo, Rioja Grand Riserva $22
Tempranillo – with a bit of Garnacha & Graciano
Cool and foresty in tone, this wine feels integrated, with a lovely weave to its tannins and fruit. The wine melds tannins from oak, fruit skin and seeds in notes of caraway and walnut, with a vegetal anise scent adding complexity. The texture is plump and silken, with a ping of fruit that accelerates those tannins into a savory power drive. Classical Rioja.
‘Twas the week before Christmas and our heads are spinning with visions of sugarplums, gold rings and geese a laying. To clear our heads we are tasting some great wine this weekend. Châteauneuf-du-Pape on Saturday and on Sunday a lovely white Malagousia from the Aegean Islands.
Saturday –-gold rings 2019 Domaine Comte de Lauze, Châteauneuf-du-Pape $48
80% Grenache, 20% Syrah
This wine opens up onto a lovely bouquet surprising in its youthfulness; with red fruit, spice and garrigue (Provençal herbs) notes. The cherry and white pepper flavors open and lengthen out onto a refined licorice feel. The palate is full and shows elegance that is further demonstrated by the ripe tannins at the end.
We also have a couple of Magnums of the 2017 vintage for $85
Sunday — lazy geese 2020 Moraitis, Malagousia $23
100% Malagousia from the Aegean Islands. Intense peach aromas with a lovely purity of fruit that flow onto the palate. Crisp acidity and fresh with a lasting finish. Organic
Monday we are talking the day off to watch the swans swim. But we’ll be back on Tuesday with more wine to open.
There is a lot of poultry this time a year so we are popping the corks the next two days to help wash down four calling birds and three French hens. Even if you are a vegetarian, you should swing by the shop and have a sip.
Open late ’til 8. The Madrona Neighborhood association is promoting a holiday shopping event this evening in the hood with cookies and raffle tickets and a lot of the local businesses staying open until 8pm. Take a halftime break from the Seahawks game and come get a cookie and a bottle of wine.
Thursday
2016 Il Nespoli, Romagua Sangiovese Superiore Reserva $28
100% Sangiovese
A wine of great complexity combining typical marasca cherry, blackberry and plum notes of the Sangiovese variety together with notes of licorice and roasted coffee beans which come from the aging in French barrique, following by stainless steel tanks. A touch of vanilla is coming from the wise but modest use of American oak. Soft and warm, with well-balanced tannins, it has an excellent potential for ageing.
Friday
2016 Château Moncets, Lalande de Pomerol $21
86% Merlot, 14% Cabernet Franc
A good Bordeaux from a good vintage. This wine, hugely rich and packed with tannins, has equally powerful black fruits . . . rich texture and blackberry and licorice flavors
Wondering what to drink with the two turtle doves that showed up unannounced for dinner? Pull out a bottle of Chateau Daviaud. We’ll be sampling it today at the shop.
2019 Chateau Daviaud / Maison Sichel Bordeaux Rouge $14
45% Merlot, 21% Cabernet Franc, 19% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Malbec
This Bordeaux blend is quite charming with expressive notes of fruit and lots of spice; it reveals ripeness and is very fresh. On the palate, this wine is charming, with surprising fullness, smoothness and also a lot of depth.
We are trying to keep Santa happy right up to Christmas by popping corks for the next 12 days. Today we start out with a Refosco from Friuli. A perfect match for Partridge cooked with Pear.
2015 Giorgio Colutta, Refosco $20
From Friuli, this Refosco is intensely favored and wonderfully aromatic, yet not heavy or overwrought, it has dark berry and woodland flavors and aromas of cinnamon and herbs. Bold and powerful it has structured and defined tannins and invigorating acidity. Not fruity and sweet, like far too many New World reds, its bone dry and lengthy.
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.
