Recent Wine Blog Entries

My October Wine of the Month

Sleight of Hand Cellars 

2008 The Illusionist Cabernet Sauvignon

Columbia Valley

I’ve visited Washington several times now. It’s a beautiful part of our country, with some wonderful wines being made in several different locations. One of these areas is Walla Walla, a delightful town surrounded by the beautiful Blue Mountains.  There are a lot of great wineries and vineyards located here in this well-respected region. One winery that is hard to forget is Sleight of Hand.

The Wine – Ruby red in color, this aromatic wine has black currant, licorice, fig and a touch of roasted meat on the nose. On the palate are the black currant, black raspberry and a smooth velvety finish. This well-balanced Cab is blended with 8% Syrah and saw 60% new oak, but you’d never know it. This wine is singing right now and I wish that I has a case left in my cellar!

My Experience Visiting the Winery – My husband and I had no expectations upon arriving at Sleight of Hand for a tasting. My stepson is a magician, so we were intrigued by the name.  Little did we know we were walking into a REALLY fun experience. As soon as we entered the tasting room the co-owner and winemaker, Trey, greeted us with a question: “What do you want to hear?”  I was a little confused until I saw the row of albums he had lining the back wall. I suggested Bryan Ferry, and by gosh if he didn’t have some Roxy Music!  So he put on the album, (yes, VINYL!!!) and we started tasting.

The Journey – Sleight of Hand Cellars is located in a beautiful area of Walla Walla with open areas of vineyards and beautiful views. I can’t help but think that it may be similar to Napa Valley many, many years ago. Their original tasting room had been in the quaint downtown area of the city, but had just moved into the beautiful current location when we visited in 2011.

If you’re looking for some “magical” wines, check out Sleight of Hand Cellars in Walla Walla! We fell in love with many of them, and they all have magic themed names!!!

Visit their website at: www.sofhcellars.com

 

 

2011 Pascal Janvier Jasnières

This past weekend I cracked open a fun wine from the Jasnières region of France.  Jasnières, a small AOC in the Loire Valley of France, makes white wines exclusively using the Chenin Blanc grape, also known locally as Pineau de la Loire.  Located due north from Vouvray, Jasnières covers 65 hectares (about 160 acres) and is made up of calcareous-clay hillsides.

Chenin Blanc is a very versatile grape, producing fine wines in various styles and sweetness levels.  The wines of Jasnières, however, are often made dry and are known to age very well.

The 2011 Pascal Janvier Jasnières has sweet red apple and a touch of kirsch on the nose.  On the palate are the apple, white peach, sugared grapefruit and under ripe pineapple.  On the finish I detect a touch of residual sugar, but with the mouth watering acidity of this wine it is dry on the palate.  While smelling and tasting, I kept going back to my childhood with a memory of Sweet Tarts!  This wine is Sweet Tarts in a glass!

Pascal Janvier is obviously doing some great things in Jasnières.  This tasty, complex wine is still a baby and will only get better with time.  I wish that I had a case in my cellar that I could “watch” evolve over the next five or six years!

If you find yourself drinking mostly Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc for your whites and you need a change, give the Chenin Blanc wines of the Loire a try.  If you can find a bottling from Pascal Janvier in Jasnières, grab it and see what you think.  I have a feeling that you won’t be disappointed!

 

Canlis Restaurant in Seattle

While in Seattle a couple of weeks ago for the Society of Wine Educators annual conference, some friends and I hit some “must dine” restaurants before leaving town.  They all proved to have great food, wonderful service and fabulous wine lists.  That, of course, was our main focus:  WINE!

Today I’m going to tell you about Canlis, a Seattle landmark designed in 1950 by the well-know architect Roland Terry.  I love the design, which reminds me a lot of a Frank Lloyd Wright style building.  There are huge windows all across the back of the restaurant that looks out at Lake Union, as well as a special events room and some private dining areas above with breathtaking views.

My friends and I started in the bar with a bottle of Fergettina Franciacorta.  This sparkling wine, from the Lombardy region, is Italy’s answer to Champagne.  The Fergettina has a lot of character, with good brioche aromas on the nose.  The palate is very alive, with lots of elegant fruit and a nutty quality.  This non-vintage bubbly is well worth the list price of $65.

Once we were seated at our table we were introduced to their head sommelier and wine director Nelson Daquip.  What a great guide to help walk us through their list.  He is not only exceptionally intelligent about all things wine; he is also a really cool guy.

Canlis has one of the finest wine cellars in the world, and is the recipient of the Wine Spectator Magazine Grand Award for the past 17 years in a row.  With 18,000 bottles and 2,500 selections we definitely welcomed some advice from Nelson!  We knew we wanted a local wine, and we knew we wanted something good.  Together with Nelson we picked out some gems, the 2005 Cayuse and the 2009 God Only Knows, both out of Walla Walla, Washington.  I was very excited.  I’ve been on the waiting list for Cayuse’s mailing list for a few years now.  It may be the longest winery waiting list in North America!

We were served the wines together, so that we could try them side-by-side

Christophe Baron, who is originally from the Champagne region in France, makes both of these wines.  His family owns the Champagne house Baron Albert and has worked the land there since 1677.  He fell in love with the wines of Burgundy and had plans of opening a winery in Oregon to focus on the Burgundian varietals.  After doing an internship in Walla Walla Washington, however, he discovered a vineyard that reminded him of the Rhone Valley in his home country of France.  Being unable to resist this unique terroir of softball sized stones, reminiscent of the Southern Rhone, Monsieur Baron set up shop in Washington State!

The wines certainly didn’t disappoint.  The ’05 Cayuse Cailloux Vineyard Syrah is a dark ruby in color with aromas of ripe blackberry and black cherry, anise and smoky meat.  The palate has the lush sweet dark fruits along with cassis and olive brine.

The 2009 God Only Knows Grenache is another wine from Cayuse Vineyards.  The name comes from the fact that no one knows the true blend in the bottle (except for the 75% Grenache required if it is labeled a Grenache, which this is), or so they say.  Baron claims that this particular vintage is made with roughly 90% Grenache and the rest “God only knows!”

This wine has some fabulous old world funk on the nose, along with sweet strawberry and black tea.  On the palate are ripe red fruits along with meatiness and a hint of the black tea.  This is a well-balanced wine with a lovely finish!

After dinner we were fortunate enough to get a tour of their lovely restaurant.  As I mentioned earlier, the building is beautiful.  My favorite part of the tour (OF COURSE) was their wine cellar!  Their selection is almost overwhelming.  I could have spent hours there looking at their vast bottles from every region in the world.

The food was great as well, but again, I was really there for the wine list.  My final conclusion of the wines?  I sure am looking forward to my name leaving the Cayuse waiting list and showing up on the mailing list!

My final conclusion of the evening???  I highly recommend a visit to Canlis the next time you’re in Seattle.

www.canlis.com

2010 Borsao Tres Picos Garnacha

I’m hanging out in Seattle tonight waiting for the Society of Wine Educators annual conference to begin.  I wanted a fun bottle for my room that wouldn’t break the bank, so a couple of wine buddies suggested the 2010 Borsao Tres Picos Garnacha.  Boy, it’s smart to listen to fellow wine geeks!

This 100% Grenache wine is from the Campo de Borja DO in Spain, and is made from old vine Garnacha vineyards that grow in rugged terrain on the slopes of the Moncayo mountain.

In the glass the wine is a deep red with hints of purple, and still shows a lot of youth.  The nose is very aromatic with lots of dark cherry, cassis and gobs of glorious mocha.  The palate explodes with concentrated black cherry and cassis, along with ripe plum, blackberry, coffee and vanilla.  This juicy wine is pretty darned complex and has a fun spicy finish.  And … it’s so well balanced that you can’t tell it has an alcohol level of 14.5%!

I bought this bottle at a market geared toward tourists for $20, but you can find it for less.  Even at the $20 I paid, it is well worth it.

So … I’m drinking a fun Grenache from Spain getting ready for some great tastings!  I can tell it’s going to be a great week!

To check out more vintages and other wines from Borsao, here’s their website:  http://bodegasborsao.com

2011 Aaron Paso Robles Petite Sirah

Most wine lovers agree that wine is to be shared and enjoyed with friends.  It’s so much fun to share some of my favorites, and I also love when friends do the same for me.

Last week I was introduced to a new wine, and I enjoyed it so much that I knew that I needed to blog about it!

Aaron Jackson is the owner and winemaker at Aaron Wines, located in the Paso Robles region of California’s Central Coast.   He’s a young guy who loves surfing and loves wine.  In fact, he knew at a very young age that he wanted to be a winemaker, and I for one am glad that he is!

The wine I had last week was his 2011 Aaron Paso Robles Petite Sirah.  As you probably know, Petite Sirah is NOT Syrah.  This is a common mistake made by many casual wine drinkers.  These two varieties do, however, share some similarities and perhaps some geographical history.  Petite Sirah vines have grown in California since the 1880s, and DNA research has suggested that this grape is likely Durif, a cross of the grapes Peloursin (an ancient Rhone varietal) and Syrah (another Rhone varietal), which was created in France in the 1880s. 

The 2011 Aaron Paso Robles Petite Sirah is Jackson’s flagship wine, and is a blend of his very best barrels of Petite Sirah.  The ’11 is a deep purple in color.  On the nose are blackberry, black currant, pepper and some leather.  The palate confirms the blackberry and black currant and has wonderful mocha flavors on the mid palate.  It has great complexity and yet is made in a pleasant easy to drink style.  After tasting this I was shocked to see that it contains 15% alcohol.  The wine is so well balanced that I would never have guessed that the alcohol is that high!

While I know nothing about Aaron Jackson’s surfing skills, I can certainly tell that he’s a darned good winemaker!  I also know that I will seek Aaron Wines out the next time I’m in Paso Robles.

If you’d like to learn more or purchase some of his wines go to: www.aaronwines.com

 

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