Dear Feastlings,
Fruit is a lovely quality to have in wine. So is structure. Tannin? Sounds delightful. But what is it that makes wine such a great companion to food? We think it’s acidity. that doesn’t mean a wine has to be bracing. It doesn’t mean it has to have a harsh finish. This month’s Last Sunday Tasting brings in our friend Donald Davis and half a dozen wines with food-friendly acidity that’ll make your next dinner party easy and memorable. If you’d like to join us, give a call at 326-9363- we can’t save you a spot at our wine events with a web or email reservation. The tasting will take place on Sunday, June 30 at 3:30. It’s $35 plus tax and tip to join us, but that will include Donald’s extensive knowledge and charm, a food pairing with each wine, and a discount on whichever of the wines you fall in love with. Come check it out.
Acid Trip
2017 Can Sumoi “La Rosa” Rosado of Sumoll, Penedès $30.00
Grapes from outlying Capella plot of the estate (the most remote). The soils here are primarily clay and limestone and very compact. Vineyards are farmed organically with biodynamic practices in place. This PÉT-NAT is made in the traditional method with no additives, stabilization or filtration. Harvested on August 30th (leaf day) in small bins and underwent primary fermentation with indigenous yeasts in stainless steel tanks for 13 days followed by 24 days in bottle. Floral with super fresh black fruit aromas and flavors that are accented by saltiness and a slight (but pleasant) bitter note. Bone dry and the ultimate lightweight wine with gentle fizz.
Herri Mina Irouleguy Blanc (Gros Manseng/Petit Courbu/Petit Manseng) 2016 $39.00
Deep in an area renowned for its independent and strong ancestral culture, the Basque Country is in the southwestern-most part of France, just half an hour from Spain. Here, Irouléguy received its appellation contrôlée in 1970, with about 250 acres of vineyards cultivated by 60 growers. Jean-Claude Berrouet is an Irouléguy native who left home to serve for more than three decades as the winemaker at Château Pétrus. The Basque region has a powerful pull, and Jean- Claude eventually returned home to his native soil. He purchased the 4.5 hectares property in 1992, naming his estate “Herri Mina”. In Basque, herri means “country,” and mina means “homesick.” Jean-Claude makes a splendid white blend of Gros Manseng, Petit Corbu and Petit Manseng. The vines are planted on the somewhat-steep southfacing slopes of the Pyrénées, no higher than 400 feet above sea level, to enjoy the climatic influence of the Atlantic. In small quantities, Jean-Claude also produces a character-driven red wine.
2018 Mas Que Vinos “”Ercavio” Rosado de Tempranillo, Tierra de Castilla $12.00
From younger vineyard parcels of the estate with an average age of 20 years grown on limestone and clay soils at 750 meters altitude. Handpicked at the end of September. The grapes are macerated for 8 hours and then the rosé juice is drawn off and fermented separately in stainless steel tanks under strict temperature control. Aged sur lie in stainless steel until December. The Ercavio Rosado simply screams bowl full of wild strawberries. It is a light to medium bodied Rosado, with plenty of juicy fruit and tangy acidity.
2018 Stolpman Vineyards “Love You Bunches” Sangiovese, Santa Barbara County $24.00
Bursting with vibrant energy, this carbonic Sangiovese is a light-hearted wine meant to drink cold. Firm, crunchy cherries, red grapefruit with loads of acid and a popping tannin structure that makes the wine extremely food friendly.
2017 Walter Scott “La Combe Verte” Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley $33.00
La Combe Verte translates to The Green Fault or The Green Valley. This phrase is a tribute both to the incredible Willamette Valley in which we are lucky to produce wine and to the amazing team at Patricia Green Cellars, whom without their support we would never have been able to start Walter Scott. Essentially, it is Patricia Green Cellar’s “fault” that we were able to start this winery. The 2017 La Combe Verte is composed primarily from the volcanic Eola–‐Amity Hills vineyards of Clos des Oiseaux, Justice, Prophet and Sojourner with the marine sediment of Freedom Hill tying it all together. This Pinot Noir is fermented with ambient yeast and aged in barrel for 10 months. The resulting wine is a serious and beautiful example of the 2017 vintage, immediately appealing, but layered with power and structure giving this wine the ability to age in your cellar for several years. The nose suggests red & black fruits, flowers and spicy earth. The fruit, tannins and acid all come together to produce what we feel is a lovely & balanced example of what the Willamette Valley gave us in 2017.
2017 Domaine Charles Audoin Bourgogne Rouge $38.00
Cyril Audoin is part of the next generation from renowned winemaking families, and his energetic, outgoing personality is a refreshing counterpoint to wines that are among the most serious in their appellation.Cyril’s father, Charles, was a visionary in the Burgundy region, as he’d already selected and vinified the best parcels in the 1970s, before Marsannay was even an appellation. He and his wife, Marie-Françoise, an oenologist, began their domaine in Marsannay-l- -Cote, in 1972.Cyril is the fifth generation to join the family business. He continues his parents’ commitment to producing fine red, white and rosé Marsannays, primarily from single vineyards, that are well-structured and wonderfully mineral.