Featured Wines - July 2012

Winemaker Kate Michaud’s 1805 Columbia Valley Chardonnay reflects the cool weather that prevailed throughout 2010 as well as the well-drained slopes that gaze upon the Columbia River below. Grown on south facing slopes reaching over 1,300 feet, the 2010 1805 Chardonnay exhibits a bright, fresh robe and delicate floral aromas that mingle with apple and peach scents. And, with a bit of aeration, spice and seductive oak tones come to fore and meld with the wine’s fresh fruit flavors, but happily never overpower them.

Jim Rowe’s 2007 Pezzi King Old Vines Dry Creek Zinfandel is no wilting wallflower. But, although potent, deep, and highly extracted, this Old Vines Zinfandel hasn’t forgotten its manners. It offers up a captivating aroma of crushed black cherries, raspberries, and plums mixed with bramble and spicy wood tones – all of which follow through on the palate. Copious quantities of crushed berries, bark, and exotic spices fill the mouth and are carried by ripe tannins that mask the wine’s powerful punch.

We’ve been a fan of Vergenoegd’s complex, age worthy Cabernets for over a decade, and were delighted with their new Runner Duck Red, an exhilarating and exotic blend of Touriga (a Portuguese varietal), Malbec, and Cabernet Franc. The 2010 Runner Duck Red offers a complex aroma of wild berries, wood smoke, and spice. In the mouth, it spreads its warmth and lush exotic flavors before finishing with a flourish. Drink this young exciting red now or lay it down for another year to two.

Another brilliant effort from Clelia Romano, this wine’s complex set of aromatics render it positively alluring. The scents of spring flowers, freshly picked orchard fruits, dried honey, and spice present an exhilarating counterpart to the wine’s broad palate, which resonates with the savory notes of peach and citrus mingled with a most pleasant minerality. Elegant and sophisticated, Colli di Lapio’s 2010 Fiano is absolutely brilliant now, but will continue maturing for at least another year.

Pietra Santa’s 2009 Cienega Valley Pinot Noir is the winery’s first 100% Estate Grown Pinot Noir, and it’s a beauty. Aged extensively in oak, it offers up an aromatic bouquet of ripe Bing cherry, wild strawberry, and lavender. Polished fruit flavors, imbued with a touch of cinnamon, forest woodlands, and vanilla, caress the palate, and then exit with just enough brightness and zip to remind us that this wine is still reveling in its youthful ardor.

Pietra Santa’s 2010 Signature Collection Amore Pinot Grigio sports a brilliant color and striking aromas of fresh, vine-ripened fruit that meld with an uplifting minerality. Pietra Santa has successfully managed to combine the best attributes of Alsatian Pinot Gris and Italian Pinot Grigio, and in the process create a whole new way of enjoying Pinot Grigio. And if you are patient enough to allow this youthful wine a little time in the glass before guzzling it down, you will discover its subtle charms as well as its overt appeal.

Full and rich from start to finish, this modern style of Gigondas not only captures the magic of one of the Rhône Valley’s greatest appellations, it raises the bar. Deep aromas of blackberry, cassis, cherry, and anise meld with a light waft of incense, while on the palate, it’s downright juicy, luscious and ripe, but not the least bit flabby or over the top. Lavau’s 2010 Gigondas is held perfectly in check by ripe, polished tannins that afford it considerable body as well as a smashing finish, even in the ardor of its youth.