2004 Azienda Agricola Vignalta Colli Euganei Gemola
2007 Cayuse Cabernet Sauvignon Widowmaker En Chamberlin Vineyard
I was first introduced to Matthiasson wines at the Wine Bloggers Conference last year inNapa. As part of the tasting on the 1st day, Jill Matthiasson pouring their white wine for a "speed tasting" event in the afternoon of the first day. Speed tasting, as I so quickly found out, is like speed dating. Winemakers wind through the room, stopping at each table along the way, and have only a few minutes to pour their wines and tell the table about them. So, you can imagine that many wines got lost in the shuffle, unless the winemaker or designated pourer is overly charming, very odd or wearing something funny. Or, they could grab your attention the old fashioned way - earning it through a damn fine wine. Two producers did that for me - Bonny Doon and Matthiasson wines.
2005 Groth Cabernet Sauvignon
2006 Papapietro Perry Pinot Noir Russian River Valley
2007 Thierry et Pascale Matrot Chardonnay Bourgogne Blanc
Citrusy, pithy, minerally...off balance and a bit challenging for me. Picked up as another recommendation for a wine that pairs well with butternut squash soup, but didn't compare to the 2008 Domaine d'Ardhuy Bourgogne Blanc (tasting notes on this wine posted earlier today) - in fact, I have a full bottle of this wine left while the d"Ardhuy was finished at dinner last night (and both were served with dinner). My rating: 84
2008 Domaine d'Ardhuy Bourgogne Blanc
I went to McCarthy & Schiering wine shop in Seattle looking for a good wine to pair with butternut squash soup and, man, did they nail it with this French Chardonnay. Good wine on its own, with more crispness than a US Chardonnay. Good citrus, apple and mineral notes. But, with the soup, it was a perfect blend of flavors complimenting each other. Whenever I make butternut squash soup again, this is the wine I will have on hand to enjoy it with. My rating: 88
2008 Woodward Canyon Chardonnay
Lemon, peach, sour apple, in a crisp and full white wine. surprisingly little oak and a long, lingering finish. Really nice wine, but a bit pricey for a Washington state white wine, so keeping my rating at an 89 (don't always do this, but only in situations where i feel the QPR is off a bit). My rating: 89
2008 Lucien Albrecht Pinot Gris Cuvée Romanus
Excellent Pinot Gris and under $20. Crisp lemon and citrus, with a smooth, buttery broad palate and long finish. Recommendation from the sommelier at Cafe Campagne in Seattle and absolutely hit the mark. If I could find any of this online, I'd buy a case without hesitation. My rating: 90
2007 Domaine Roger Perrin Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Very nice Chateauneuf-du-Pape, with a huge aroma - blackberry, bacon, mocha and chestnuts. On the palate, great acidity and a decent finish. doesn't live up to all the hype of the 2007 CDP vintage, but, then again, this is a $27 bottle and I think the QPR is very high on this wine. My only regret is that I didn't buy more than I did (only bought two bottles). My rating: 90
2007 Terra Blanca Roussanne
Reserve Terra Blanca Estate Buttery/creamy, meyer lemon, leeche and some minerals. Nice, easy drinker, but may be too buttery for some tastes. My rating: 87
2006 Long Shadows Wineries Pedestal
I had a glass of this last night at the met in Seattle and didn't take too many notes, but suffice it to say this is a beautiful wine. Dark, lush, ripe fruit and so incredibly well balanced, smooth and silky. Long, lush finish and zero heat. I thought I would need to wait on the '06's that I have in my cellar, but this is already showing very well. My rating: 94
2007 Tamarack Cellars Firehouse Red
Raspberry, blackberry, mocha, smoke (from the Carménère ...rare addition for a US blend, at least in my experience) and pepper - it's lush, broad on the palate and well balanced, with a long, lingering finish. This is an incredible wine for the price (about $15) and if I can find any more, I'll pick up everything I can let my hands on. My rating: 90 And, the blend on this thing is crazy (see below) - makes me want to be there for that blending party...probably takes a week to figure it all out.
BLEND
I've been experimenting a lot with Carménère lately and the good folks at Wines of Chile were gracious enough to let me in on a tasting of their selections a few months back. Unfortunately, at the time, I had to back out of the tasting so am just now finishing up the wines. Overall, a good flight of wines, some I really enjoyed, some that fell a bit flat, but none of them dogs. If you haven't tried Carménère, I suggest you try it - it's a varietal that will become more and more prominent and it's smoky features are always interesting to experiment with.
I don't generally recycle content, but, in this case, it's definitely worth it, given the plight of so many people in Haiti. Below is a an article form Palate Press describing their auction efforts to provide relief to Haiti from worldwide wine lovers. Please read the below and take a look at the Wine for Haiti auction catalog on Palate Press. Many thanks to David Honig for pulling this all together.
Wine For Haiti – A Global Effort
When a magnitude 7.0 earthquake hit the island January 12, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere suffered losses beyond compare. Hundreds of thousands are now injured or homeless, and CNN reported January 18 that the death toll may top 100,000.
Palate Press has joined the relief effort for Haiti’s nine million residents. “When I saw the news from Haiti, I knew I had to do something,” said David Honig, the publisher of Palate Press. Proceeds from their “Wine for Haiti” fundraising effort will go directly to support humanitarian relief.
Honig had previously created “Brother, Can You Spare a Bottle?”, an organization that permits charities to request bottles for silent auctions. Now, Palate Press has teamed with that organization to encourage wine lovers to contribute to Haitian relief.
“If there’s one thing I learned from Brother, Can You Spare a Bottle?, it’s that the wine community is an incredibly generous and caring group of people, from the vineyard to the cellar. Combining the goal of ‘Brother, Can You Spare a Bottle?’ with the reach of PALATE PRESS: The Online Wine Magazine seemed like a natural match.”
How can you get involved? Pull something from your cellar and donate it to the cause—maybe a bottle you’ve been saving for a special occasion, or simply one from your favorite wine store—a bottle that will make wine lovers say “I’ve gotta have it!” It needn’t be a Brunello, Cab, or Bordeaux, just something special others might bid on as part of a lot.
Then, go to the Comments section of this post and post a note with your contribution to the Palate Press auction. Honig will then create auction lots for bid. Then, please come back to the site and bid on these fantastic wines.
Honig has been busy. “The response so far has been humbling, and absolutely amazing,” he said. “We had hoped to collect enough bottles to put together a case or two,” the Indianapolis, Indiana, attorney said. “Instead, the wine has been flowing in by the case, by the magnum, by the Joroboam, by the Methuselah. Wine has been contributed by individuals pulling bottles from their cellars, and by wineries donating from their libraries and special collections. An artist contributed an original Wine Goddess print, and University of California Press contributed wine books. New York vintners are competing to prove they can out-contribute California, and California will surely respond,” Honig said.
“People are dying and we can do something about it. But we can’t do it without your help,” Matt of Boozemonkey wrote to his readers on January 18. “Five dollars or five hundred—it’s not about who’s is the biggest, but if we can get a little generosity from everyone, that will make for a hell of a lot of wine, a hell of a lot of donations at the auction and please believe me that every dollar counts in Haiti right now.”
Within minutes of Matt’s post to his blog, several Australian wineries donated cases. Wine bloggers soon began adding the logo to their sites, and other wineries lined up to contribute, including 2 Mates, Caught Redhanded, Gibbston Highgate Estate, Lankey’s Creek Wines, Lindis River Wines, The Little Wine Company, Overhill Winery, and Barristers Block.
Palate Press contributors and the US wine industry are stepping up at a similar pace. Already, Rodney Strong, Cornerstone Cellars, Lynfred Winery, Liebe Cellars, Twisted Oak, and others have made substantial contributions. “The generosity of the wine community is inspiring,” said Honig.
How it Works
Donors are invited to post items in the comments section of this post. Honig will then create auction lots, already underway, for bid. Lots will be posted here with a link to the individual lot. Individual 750ml bottles will be collected into larger lots, while large format bottles will be posted right away as individual lots.
Then, readers will enter a bid in the comments. Palate Press will not close bids quickly, but but once we do, the auction will end once 24 hours has passed without a bid. If a bidding war between two or three people transpires at the end of the bidding period, we will schedule a final bid at a set time to which the contestants (and anybody else lurking and waiting, but interested) agree. Honig will ship the wine to the winning bidder.
To see all the Wine for Haiti auction items, please see the Wine for Haiti Auction Catalogue.
Please direct all inquires to WineForHaiti@palatepress.com.

For those of us fully entrenched in the online wine world, there are few better places to be or better things to do than partake in Twitter TasteLive. Billed as the "world's premiere wine tasting community," TasteLive hosts events on a regular basis in which bloggers like myself and others "get together" in the virtual world to share tasting notes and thoughts about the chosen wines for the night. Kind of like a big tasting of a winery's new wines, but with people spread out all over the world...literally...giving those of us partaking a way to get involved with our friends and peers and share what we think, while also giving the wineries an opportunity to share their wines, get exposure and interact with the online wine community.
2007 Ridge Chardonnay Santa Cruz Mountains
It seems like it's been a while since I sat down to a tasting of wines I knew absolutely nothing about. No history. No word of mouth. No tasting notes on Cellar Tracker. No Twitter comments. Not even a mention from the too many wine shop proprietors on my wine shop route (not as consistent as, say, a USPS mail route, but at times could be mistaken for one).
| 2006 Abeja Cabernet Sauvignon Columbia Valley | |||
This is way bigger than i thought it would be - reminded more of a California cab than a Washington cab. big fruit, big oak and a bit hot on the finish. decent fruit and a huge mouthful, but has a pithy, somewhat bitter finish. lush tannins and I'm going to try this again tomorrow night to see if it opens up any more. 2nd day follow-up: not much change. My rating: 88 | |||
| 2007 Cadence Cabernet Sauvignon Camerata Cara Mia Vineyard | |||
| My first experience with Cadence, but have been wanting to try their wines for a while. This one did not disappoint - a very well balanced Cab from WA, with notes of blackberry, blueberry, espresso and dark chocolate. A huge mouthful, including a lingering finish and enough acid to cut through some of the lush ripe fruit. Still feels young, even after having decanted it for three hours. The disappointing part of this wine is the price - at $55, this is too expensive. At $30, I probably would have given it a 90, but this wine is just too expensive in my opinion. My rating: 88 | |||
| N.V. Bortolomiol Prosecco Valdobbiadene Brut | |||
| I'm a huge fan of Prosecco and this is one of the better ones I've tasted. Some good lemon citrus and pith and the nose with an added dryness and minerality that makes this an easy drinker and interesting at the same time. My rating: 88 | |||
| 2007 Schild Estate Shiraz Barossa Valley | |||
| Cherry chocolate tobacco rolls, with a hint of herb and sage on the finish. Big fruit on the palate with an even delivery throughout the palate. Really liked this one and I'm not typically a fan of Shiraz. #43 on Wine Spectator's 2009 Top 100. My rating: 89 | |||
| 2007 Santini Wines Trentatre Salento IGT | ||||
| Blackberry and dark cherry (ripe), with oak, vanilla and powdered cocoa. This wine is a mouthful, with a broad distribution on the palate and a decent, but hot, finish. more acidity than would be expected in this blend, which helped cut through the lasagna we had with it. Overall, a very nice wine for $6. 33% Montepulciano, 33% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot, this one was an interesting combo of elements, One i haven't seen before, but I was longing for more of the Montepulciano to come through. My rating: 86 | ||||
| 2006 Luna Vineyards Merlot | |||
| This is a cherry covered chocolate - big fruit, chocolate on the finish with a nice stretch of very mild leather and darker fruits, like blackberry. I haven't had a Merlot in a while, so it was nice to see dive into one again. Tight at first, hot on the finish, but after a 2nd glass, decanted for 15 minutes, it really opened up and became a more broad wine on the palate. Some nice acidity, which adds to the balance. Overall, very pleased with this wine. [note: this bottle was sent to me as a sample] My rating: 89 | |||
| 2007 Luna Vineyards Pinot Grigio | |||
| A nice citrusy, minerally, easy drinker. In fact, I was surprised by how much i did actually like it. I think I would like it even more on a hot summer day, out on the back deck. [note: provided to me as a free sample] My rating: 86 | |||
| 2006 Justin Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon | |||
| Well, here's another case of not agreeing with wine spectator who gave this wine a 79. 79? Median of 88 from CellarTracker tasters, with only one coming in at 80 [from a user called duckyfufu], who sounds like he might have had a corked bottle. I liked this one, as did my wife and her mom and dad, who generally don't drink Cabernet Sauvignon. for me, cherries, dark chocolate, vanilla and anise seed. Surprisingly prominent acidity, that helps cut through the palate, with a very nice, long finish. Just a tad hot. This is a nice $20 Cabernet from Paso Robles, from a very trusted producer. My rating: 89 | |||
| 2007 Odfjell Carménère Armador | |||
Been trying a lot of Carmeneres lately and this is the one I've been looking for. All the smokey, peppery characteristics of Carmenere, but also the most balanced and easy drinking of the dozen it so I've tried. blackberry, plum, tobacco, smoke, white pepper. Very nice acidity. If you haven't tried Carmenere, this is a great one to start with. My rating: 89 [sent to me as a sample from Wines of Chile] | |||
A few quick post-holiday wine reviews, one a Carménère from Chile, the other a Malbec from Washington state.
I've been tasting a lot of Carménère's lately, partly in thanks to Wines of Chile. I like the varietal, with its smokey and peppery notes, but I don't think it's for everyone. The Odfjell is the first one that I think is truly accessible to a large group of wine drinkers. Easily the most balanced and easy drinking of the dozen or so I've tried, this one is 100% Carménère, with blackberry, plum, tobacco, smoke and white pepper. Remarkably nice acidity, allowing the wine to slice directly through the palate, but balanced with a nice, long finish and a quick, broad mouth feel.
me to a great Terra Blanca Malbec a few years back. The Townshend is a nice fruit -forward Malbec, with dark cherry, fig and white pepper on the nose. Remarkably well balanced and full palate, especially for a wine this young. It's big and broad on the palate and then narrows into a lasting finish. All in all, this is a fantastic Malbec from Washington.
Been a while since I've done a book review, mostly because what I've been reading hasn't really captured my attention. But, about a month ago, I finished "New Classic Winemakers of California: Conversations with Steve Heimoff," a book that reignited my imagination about wine. A collection of who's who in today's wine world - Andy Beckstoffer, Heidi-Peterson Barrett, Merry Edwards and more - "Conversations" is literally that, oral histories that these accomplished and up and coming winemakers have with Steve Heimoff, the West Coast Editor of Wine Enthusiast magazine.
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