Mount Eden 2007 Wolff Chardonnay

Mount Eden is very well known as one of the original modern-day wine producers of the Santa Cruz mountains, and their Chardonnay represents both a luscious example of what California Chardonnay is known for, plus an outstanding value on top of that.  Hailed on Wine Spectator’s Top 100 Wines list in several vintages, the Wolff Chardonnay from grapes sourced in the Edna Valley, it demonstrates exactly what people mean when they ask for a “buttery” wine.

For the 2007 vintage, Wine Spectator awarded another great score, with 91 points and a “Smart Buy” designation:

Ripe and floral, with fleshy peach, nectarine, melon and spice.  Full-bodied, focused and elegant, with a long, persistent finish that emphasizes the ripe fruitiness.  Drink now through 2012.

In recent years, the overabundance of poorly made and over-hyped buttery styles of Chardonnay created a backlash.  Now, the propensity of many wineries is toward producing un-oaked, crisp and clean versions.  As wineries scramble to prove themselves as non-conformist as every other winery by stopping their buttery/oaky production of Chardonnay, it’s the remaining neo-traditionalists that show just why this style became popular in the first place.   My recommendation is to remove the attitude.  There are plenty of unoaked wines throughout the world to choose from.  Sometimes the table begs for something rich, full, smooth and creamy.

The processes

The spectrum of styles comes from two winemaking methods working in tandem.  First, oak aging of the Chardonnay adds flavors including not just oak/cedar notes, but also butter and vanilla.  The newer the oak, the stronger the impressions.  This oak aging is a hallmark of France’s Burgundy region.  Unoaked versions are more in line with France’s Chablis style.  Secondly, the winemaking process known as Malolactic Fermentation is the use of a second strain of bacteria put to work transforming crisper Malic acids into the softer, creamier Lactic acids (like the acids in cream).

This Wolff Chardonnay is both 100% oak aged and has gone through 100% malolactic fermentation.  But rather than overdone, the rich and creamy appeal is in the full-bodied fruit in abundance, layed across a backbone of balanced oak flavors.  Thankfully, there are still enough great producers of this California style that we can craft savory and creamy chicken dishes, cedar-plank salmon or a sprawling holiday meal to enjoy alongside a great glass of Chardonnay.  This is one of the best anywhere near this price.

2007 was a classic year from this mature, thirty-year-old vineyard. The grapes were harvested in October because of the cool, maritime climate in Edna Valley, and the long growing season gave the wine firm structure and beautiful acidity with buoyant aromas of citrus zest, gardenia flower and toasty nuance. Aged for nine months in French and American oak, this chardonnay is full and rich on the palate reflecting its old-vine, barrel fermented, sur-lie approach. The finish is long and complete.

This wine is regularly sold for $19.99, but is available to wine club members for only $17.99!

 

• Visit the Mount Eden Winery website
• Read more about the Edna Valley wine appellation
• Discover California Wines is one of the best statewide wine information sites
• See complete information about Chardonnay at Wikipedia
• Watch a video about harvesting Chardonnay grapes at YouTube

• Cedar Plank Salmon from Salut! Wine Outlet
• Easy Smothered Bacon Chicken from Allrecipes
• Turkey with Cranberry & Bacon from Thanksgiving Recipes.biz

Have you tasted this wine? When you’ve had a chance to enjoy this wine, please return to this blog and leave your comments! Others will appreciate your input, unique viewpoint, and recommendations.

 

Longshadows 2006 Saggi

Perfect wine doesn’t have a single definition.  There will never be a machine that can turn out ‘perfect’ wines.  There are too many variables and it is the uniqueness of each artful release that brings forth a worthy story rather than a homogenous, measurable string of proper qualities. 

That being said, it is possible to hedge bets toward fantastic releases.  It requires attention to a number of variables:

• Buy the best grapes available from the areas most skilled grape growers (a step that requires longstanding relationships as well)
• Buy the most technologically advanced equipment and finest traditional barrels
• Enlist the help of the finest and most experienced oenologists, practiced using the grapes found in your final release

This is the basis for Long Shadows Vintners. 

Founder Allen Shoup has earned an influential placement at the pinnacle of Washington’s wine industry.   He began with humble beginnings at Gallo in California and rose through vast achievement to CEO of Stimson Lane (owner of Chateau Ste. Michelle & Columbia Crest), Washington’s largest wine company.  With his broad assets of professional relationships, prime properties and ample finances, he’s been able to pair Washington’s best grapes with the world’s finest talent to create tremendously well-made expressions of our Northwest’s best.

Through these efforts come the 2006 rendition of Saggi, the Long Shadows “Super Tuscan” style blend of Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah.  Shoup has invited the talents of the Tuscan winemaking father and son team of Ambrogio and Giovanni Folonari to craft the wine using grapes grown in the Horse Heaven Hills and Alder Ridge vineyards.

The added bonus of this wine is an additional year of age in the bottle.  The 2007 has been released, but the silky smoothness of the 2006 is showing through with increasing balance and contemplative layers.

Dark cherry aromas and flavors combine with a hint of nutmeg in this Super Tuscan style blend. An elegant entry in the front of the mouth reveals refined tannins with focused concentration, enhanced by the wine’s silky mouth feel and lengthy finish.

This wine is regularly sold for $36.99, but is available to wine club members for only $31.99!

 

• Visit the Long Shadows Vintners website
• Read a few more specifics about Super Tuscan wines
• Check out a clickable map of the castles of Tuscany
• Learn about Horse Heaven Hills, one of Washington’s newest appellations

• Take your pick of Pasta Recipes from the Italian Chef.com
• Here’s a video on how to make Moroccan Chicken Casserole
• Jamie Oliver can help with fantastic Pizza Recipes

Have you tasted this wine? When you’ve had a chance to enjoy this wine, please return to this blog and leave your comments! Others will appreciate your input, unique viewpoint, and recommendations.

 

The event is coming! We’d love your help promoting it

On November 12th we’re assembling the largest event we’ve ever held, with

100 wines all offered at 25% off

at the Jupiter Hotel at 800 E. Burnside.

It’s a great win-wine situation for all and we hope a great number of people attend.

Will you be there? Help us tell others!

Here are three easy ways you can help:

• We have a flyer you can hand to wine-loving friends, or email to give all the details.
• You can forward this link: http://bit.ly/jE84u to our events page
• You can print this ad/card to hand to anyone (shown below).

We look forward to the success of this event and hope to create many more when this one proves to be appreciated by all!

Thank you in advance for your support!

See you there

 

DiStefano Winery 2005 Meritage

The very recently released DiStefano 2005 Meritage (a blend with roughly equal parts Merlot, Cab Sauvignon and Cab Franc) will do well to calm down for a little while.  We just sampled it for the first time at a recent trade event, and it was a bit warm and just slightly tight…  characters that will rest into the darker fruit structure underneath with a short bit of aging (just 2-6 months).  To be sure, it was delicious and balanced.  The 14.9% alcohol is a high mark in winemaking (a ranting discussion about the creeping alcohol levels in wine can be found on another blog) but knowing this ahead of time can help you match this wine to the occassion you desire.  Drinking this wine conjures up feelings of structure, warmth and relaxation.  Enjoy accordingly!

The release notes mention:

One of our boldest Meritage blends, the 2005 is full of robust flavors. Lots of black berries, blueberry, caramel and spice. Delicate aromas of violet and sweet cigar balance and undertone of dusted earthiness. The palate is alive with juicy berry flavors and wooded spices. Mature, round tannins give great structure to this wine, with a touch of oak giving way to a long, toasty finish. Drink now thorough 2012.

Hillary Sjolund,
Winemaker

“Meritage” is a coined and trademarked wine marketing term used to identify specific Bordeaux-like blends now that we’ve agreed to follow the laws that prevent wineries from simply labeling it “Bordeaux” like they did in the 70’s.   The Meritage Association guides use of the term, which can be used to identify either red or white wines, although Meritage white wines remain quite obscure.  The reds are created from blends mostly using Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Petite Verdot and Carmenere. 

DiStefano Winery in Woodenville was born not so long ago from owner Mark Newton’s passion.  His original releases bore his last name until questioned by the older Newton winery of California, giving Mark the perfect opportunity to rename his winery after his soon-to-be-wife Donna DiStefano, and to issue the first DiStefano Sauvignon Blanc as a part of his wedding gift. 

This wine is regularly sold for $16.99, but is available to wine club members for only $14.99!

 

• Visit the DiStefano Winery website
• Read about Meritage at the Meritage Association website

• Learn to make a perfect rib roast at Suite 101
• Create flavorful and tender Pork Tenderloin in a slow cooker
• Braised Duck from SouthernFood.com

Have you tasted this wine? When you’ve had a chance to enjoy this wine, please return to this blog and leave your comments! Others will appreciate your input, unique viewpoint, and recommendations.

 

Bodegas Lurton 2007 Malbec Reserva

There’s a lot of Malbec out there nowadays!  Once a relatively obscure grape grown in France’s Cahors region (and still blended in Bordeaux style blends in France or around the world), Washington is now growing quite a bit of it!  Barnard Griffin, Beresan, Columbia Winery, Dusted Valley Vineyards, Fidelitas and many more wineries are making single-varietal examples nowadays.  In each case, the somewhat-drier, darker-fruit characters show through with enough light spice to create a match for ultra-flavorful foods such as Mexican, Spanish, Indian and Cajun fare. 

But it’s Argentina that has developed a world-wide reputation around Malbec.  The economics help…labor is cheap and so is the transportation to get it up here to North America.  What we receive are outstanding wines at great value, including the delicious Bodega Lurton Reserve Malbec we just discovered at a recent trade tasting event. 

Bodega Lurton is just one of five countries in which the Frenchmen Francois and Jacques have stretched their winemaking arms.  Since the late 80’s Francois has handled the business end while Jacques has created the wines from grapes grown in France, Chile, Portugal, Spain and Argentina. 

This particular example is a feather in the cap of great red value wines, with a dry finish allowing the light spice to smoothly flow off the palate.  Ultra-fine tannins help dry out the palate when oily fats are involved, making this wine a great match with sausage dishes.  It’s also immenently quaffable when a craving for a glass of red hits you.

The winery expounds:

“Malbec finds its most typical expression in this wine. After aging in oak, the wine is bottled and placed on the market after six months, or even a year, so that it can continue to age It is a fine and elegant supple wine. Malbec, the great traditional grape variety of Argentina, gives wines with remarkable depth of color and lots of body. We have selected a raw material that allows us to produce structured wines, enhanced by aging in oak.

The body is a deep ruby red. The complex nose shows notes of spice and meat with a hint of toast. On the palate, the balance is subtle with very fine tannins giving it an aging potential of several years. It is a wine that can be enjoyed young with red meat dishes or in a few years with game dishes”

This wine is regularly sold for $12.99, but is available to wine club members for only $11.99!

  

• Visit the Bodega Lurton Winery website
• About Malbec at Wikipedia
• Peruse the Argentine Wine Guide or Wines of Argentina website
• There’s plenty left to know at French-Malbec.com

• Don’t be afraid to make your own Italian Sausage, adding spice to your own liking!
• Watch videos from a sausage making expert to learn all the culinary skills
• Whip up a great Paella from Spain Recipes
• Enjoy Kolhapuri Sukka Chicken with this recipe from Indian chef Sanjeev Kapoor

Have you tasted this wine? When you’ve had a chance to enjoy this wine, please return to this blog and leave your comments! Others will appreciate your input, unique viewpoint, and recommendations.