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Roderer, Rosé of Pinot Noir, Philo, Anderson Valley, California 11.5%, US$19.00

Posted on August 15, 2013 by winellama

Here’s a style of wine you won’t find every day. In fact, it’s not even listed on the Roederer website; it was explained to me in March 2013 when we visited the winery that it was a bit of an experiment (https://winellama.com/2013/03/23/sonoma-and-napa-valley-california/).

The Roederer Estate is located 125 miles north of San Francisco near the Mendocino Coast. Roederer Estate was one of the very first French Champagne houses to establish a satellite winery in California and specifically chose the cooler Anderson Valley in 1988. Their first vintage cuvée (L’Ermitage) was released in 1993.

When we were at the winery we purchased a bottle of that L’Ermitage Brut 2003 (https://winellama.com/2013/04/14/lermitage-roederer-brut-2003-anderson-valley-sonoma-california-12-abv-us47-c17-tax-at-border/) as well as one of these – just because it was so unusual!

The Roederer Rosé of Pinot Noir is unfined and unfiltered yet of course, clear and bright until shaken (not stirred) and a lovely shade of onion skin with light legs. It was kept on the skins ever so briefly prior to fermentation accounting for its delicate shade.

Clean with light intensity, it’s youthful with the lightest scrape of tannins, medium minus alcohol and aromas of green grapes and pears. On the palate it’s dry with medium plus acidity and medium minus intense flavours of quince, Asian pear, grape skins and a lovely minerality. When it warmed in our glasses, we noted that good old ‘Pinot carpentry’ at work anchoring it down.

Refreshing, juicy and grippy, it’s WSET ‘Good’ and lots of fun on a warm afternoon.

Posted in California, Pinot Noir, ROSE | 1 Comment

White Rose Estate White Rose Vineyard, Pinot Noir, Dundee Hills, Oregon 2009, 13.9% abv, US$70

Posted on August 7, 2013 by winellama

Bucolic and pastoral hazelnut and walnut groves dotted amongst picturesque red barns and vineyards – that’s what the Willamette Valley is made of.

Having first tried the Dundee Hills AVA White Rose Estate wines at a Vancouver, BC tasting in 2012, we decided to visit the winery in person this past holiday weekend. Taking in their astounding 360 degree view from the top of one of those picturesque hills, it’s easy to see why the low yield fruit from this vineyard is widely sought after. It boasts neighbours who are as accomplished and well known as they are themselves – including Archery Summit, Domaine Serene and Domaine Drouhin Oregon.

The wines were as outstanding as the scenery. Ably led in the tasting room by Neil and Dago (whose brother, I believe is Jesus Guillen, the Head Winemaker at White Rose), we started with a palate cleanser shot of sparkling water – especially nice as this was the third winery of the day. This was also one of only three wineries out of the nine we visited in the Willamette that had personal spit buckets, a detail much appreciated by those of us who hate communal spittoons and freaking out others in the tasting room who are there to drink and not taste.

This is a boutique winery with capacity of about 3000-3500 cases per year, but their spit and polish (no pun intended, llama or otherwise) with regard to presentation, branding and presence is anything but small time; they’re first class, professional and knowledgeable. Neil went out of his way to find me winemaker’s notes on every wine I tried; top marks to their half page ‘our notes/your notes’ format. And they openly shared tips about where we should go to for our next stop (yes, we really enjoyed DePonte and their unique Melon de Bourgogne).

But back to the tasting – we started with the 2010 White Rose Estate Luciole Vineyard Pinot Noir. Made with 33% whole clustered fermentation from Dijon clones harvested on Parrot Mountain in the eastern Chelalem Mountains AVA, there were only 196 cases of this produced. It was full of raspberry and cherry, some floral notes and spice, juicy with medium plus acidity, and a satisfyingly rich and round almost medium plus body. It saw 15 months in French oak and was bottled in 2012.

We also tasted the 2011 White Rose Estate Guillen Vineyard Pinot Noir that was a medium garnet and medium plus intense aromas and flavours of mint, earth and truffle in addition to the expected cherry and raspberry. The 2011 White Rose Estate Anderson Family Vineyard Pinot Noir was an absolute pleasure; raspberry cordial and baking spices with violets and such well balanced and perfect tannins. This wine was made with 95% full cluster fermentation.

The 2009 White Rose Estate Guillen Vineyard Pinot Noir was different as the cool year produced a higher acidity wine with a red licorice, flat cola notes and ripe raspberry profile. This was 45% full cluster fermented.

But the one I bought was the last one – the 2009 White Rose Estate Pinot Noir made from 60% whole cluster fermentation and fruit from the four oldest blocks in the estate’s stunning vista vineyard.

Clear and bright, deep garnet with elegant legs, on the nose this wine is developing with medium plus intense aromas of Bing cherry, red plum, anise, baking spice, cranberry, raspberry and subtle oak. The palate is dry with a medium plus acidity and the most perfectly delicate and integrated tannins. The alcohol is medium plus and the flavour characteristics are medium plus and consist of more raspberry, plum and cherry, whispers of truffle, wood, dry leaves, cedar, clove, nutmeg with a long finish.

This is WSET ‘Outstanding’ wine. Really beautiful and a stunning companion to our west coast salmon and quinoa with fresh garden salad and basalmic vinaigrette.

Posted in OTHER | Leave a comment

Laughing Stock Pinot Gris, Naramata Bench, Okanagan Valley, BC, 2012, 13.9%, C$22

Posted on August 7, 2013 by winellama

This is no laughing matter.

After attending the Wine Bloggers’ Conference of North America in June, I decided to visit Laughing Stock Winery. Although I’d heard about them for years, I had never actually tried any of their wines. Lo and behold, I’d pretty much fallen in love with their big red Bordeaux varietal blend, Portfolio at the conference. So, I wanted to check their winery out for myself.

We had a super tasting and visit with gracious tasting room manager, Addie Gowe that morning – she was full of information and didn’t mind getting geeky about the wines at all. She’s living my life – having escaped from Vancouver with kids and husband in tow. And I love the co-owners’ story – former finance industry ‘suits’, David and Cynthia Enns literally bought into the winery lifestyle and left their former Bay/Wall Street lives in the dust – well, as much dust as you can when you’re taking your fortune and making it into a smaller fortune by running a winery. Isn’t that what they say usually happens?

But what they’ve created is a work of art borne out of sincere love and obvious talent as well. The wines are beautifully crafted, marketed (each bottle actually has the ticker tape entwined and printed on it showcasing the stock market details of the actual day each was bottled) and they taste outstanding.

I bought several, but took home this Pinot Gris intent upon enjoying its food friendliness with some like-minded individuals.

And so we did – clear and bright, pale lemon green with legs, on the nose it’s got intense and youthful aromas of silky Bartlett pear, quince, lime and rock melon. The palate is essentially dry (only 1.8 g/L RS) with high acidity and medium plus alcohol. The body is medium and there are medium plus intense flavours of more pear, citrus and green melon with a medium finish. WSET ‘Good’ wine verging on very good with none of that bitter aftertaste one gets from many Okanagan products.

Enjoy now and often – went great with Ali’s roasted summer pepper soup and pulled pork with salad. Refreshing, juicy and balanced – it met our bill.

Posted in BC, Pinot Gris, WHITE | Leave a comment

Vinaceous, Raconteur, Barossa Valley, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2010, South Australia 14.5% abv, C$21.99

Posted on July 28, 2013 by winellama

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, welcome to the greatest show on earth!

Okay, while that may be slight hyperbole, for a mere $21.99 this Aussie wine is not only a smoking deal, it’s delicious to boot. The vineyard, Vinaceous sports a playful circus motif, but this is seriously great stuff.

Clear and bright, this wine is a deep, opaque bricked ruby – almost garnet with significant tear drop legs. On the nose it’s developing with a medium plus intensity and black fruit including blackberry, cassis and Damson plum along with violet, mint, eucalyptus, spice.

The palate is dry and has medium plus acidity with slightly dusty tannins. The alcohol is high but innocuous. It has medium plus intense flavour characteristics of more blackberry and cassis, vine, eucalyptus, black pepper, vanilla and fresh cedar. The finish is medium plus and tasty.

WSET ‘very good’ wine, this is a deal you can’t pass up. Go, run quickly, to your closest BC Liquor store and buy several. It’s a steal and it tastes fabulous. This could even be cellared for 2-5 years – there’s enough fruit, acidity and tannin to help it last beautifully.

Posted in Australia, Cabernet Sauvignon / Blends | 1 Comment

Desert Hills, Gewurztraminer, Okanagan Valley, BC VQA, Canada, 2011, 13.35% abv, C$22.90

Posted on July 27, 2013 by winellama

It’s summer and I’m looking for one of those not-so-ubiquitous, but commonly nicknamed ‘summer sippers’ to have post-work. The only cold stuff in the fridge is this Gewürztraminer from Desert Hills Estate Winery on the Black Sage Bench in the southern Okanagan Valley; it’ll have to do.

This is clear and bright, medium lemon green with light legs. On the nose, it’s youthful with medium plus intensity lychee fruit, citrus, honey and rose, but a slight harshness detracts with some bitterness.

The palate is dry with medium alcohol and medium plus acidity, medium minus body and medium plus flavour intensity of orange, more lychee, rose petals and some spice. The finish is medium.

This wine is on the lower end of WSET ‘Good’; the flavours and aromas are not especially balanced and are slightly watery. Nice acidity is noted, but the finish is only average.

There are other reviews online that rate this wine higher, but this didn’t hit the spot for me. The search for this evening’s summer drink continues…

Posted in BC, Gewurztraminer, WHITE | Leave a comment

Pierre Paillard, Brut, Millesime 2002, Grand Cru, Bouzy, Montagne de Reims, Champagne, France, 12.5%, C$78.99

Posted on July 24, 2013 by winellama

We took our own bottle to Provence Marinaside to enjoy with friends.

Clear and bright, medium gold and with long lasting bubbles we enjoyed this on the restaurant’s patio on a fine Vancouver summer’s eve.

On the nose, this wine was exceptional – clean and developing, it has medium plus intense aromas of brioche and yeasty fresh bread, almond, ripe macintosh apple, creamy citrus lime and honey.

On the palate, it’s dry with medium minus alcohol and a creamy long lasting mousse in two of our four glasses (I suspect two of the glasses had recently been polished so the static electricity killed the mousse). It has medium plus acidity and medium plus intense flavours of fresh apple pastry, apple sauce, caramel and toffee, lemon creme and cooked yellow grapefruit with a long finish.

WSET ‘Outstanding’ wine – incredible complexity, development and secondary characteristics having been kept on its lees for 8 years in 10c cellars. Stunning. Drink now and often.

Posted in Champagne, Chardonnay, France, Pinot Noir | 3 Comments

Cristom, Eola-Amity Hills, Willamette Valley, Pinot Noir, Jessie Vineyard, 2007, 13.5% abv, half bottle

Posted on July 22, 2013 by winellama

I’ve been eyeing this half bottle for a while and as it was a salmon evening tonight, opening it just seemed right. We were also celebrating the gold medal win at the Nation’s Cup in England by the Canadian U20 Women’s Rugby Team.

Unabashed plug at this point; Winellama’s daughter Jess Neilson is the team’s fly half and kicker and was the tournament’s high scorer with 45 points – more than double the number of the closest competitor from the US.

When we visited Cristom in March 2013, I’d had a hard time deciding which bottle to purchase and spirit back across the border and I’d chosen this one because it’s from the ‘Jessie Vineyard’. So, drinking it in honour of a certain rugby player only made sense this evening.

Clear and bright, medium garnet, and with light legs noted, this wine is clean and developing with medium plus intense aromas of cherry, sweet wood, sweet raspberry, cranberry and a surprising minerality.

Dry with medium plus acidity, smoothly almost imperceptible tannins, medium alcohol, medium plus flavour intensity of more Byng cherry, raspberry, oak and sweet vanilla, cedar plank, wet leaves and acidic cranberry, it has a fabulous medium plus finish.

WSET ‘Very Good’ wine – well integrated and balanced with great complexity. Kind of like Team Canada’s U20 Women.

Posted in Oregon, Pinot Noir, RED | 2 Comments

Meopham Valley, Rosé, Sparkling Wine, Kent, England, 2009, 12%abv, 26.99 UK lbs

Posted on July 21, 2013 by winellama

Post Vinopolis, Laithwaite’s and an outstanding Whisky Exchange experience, I found myself in the Borough Market looking for, well, a drink. I mean, really. One can only take so much teasing – Vinopolis was closed, Laithwaite’s didn’t have any tastings and neither did the Whisky Exchange. A llama can only take so much.

Jancis Robinson’s Purple Pages has a helpful (http://www.jancisrobinson.com/articles/travel050228.html) piece about experiencing all that is wine in London and deep into it at the bottom, there is mention made of The Pantry – a little hole-in-the-wall spot that specializes in wines from England and Wales.

Sit down I did and right away I had two samples in front of me. It was a beautifully hot day, so sitting on the little bar stools on the pavement (they’re not called sidewalks here) was a great idea. The only part which didn’t work out was sucking in the cigarette smoke of those sitting outside the stores nearby. It tends to interfere with one’s tasting experience – and the lovely Pantry pourers recognized this and commiserated with me.

In the picture below there are two wines – on the left is the sparkling rosé from the Bolney Wine Estate in East Sussex and the right is Meopham Valley’s, hailing from Kent – half way between London and the limestone cliffs of Dover.

Both were excellent examples but I confess to have been smitten by the Meopham Valley. This wine is a blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes, hand harvested and made in the traditional method according to organic standards, using sulphur only as necessary.

It is clear and bright, a pale Chinook salmon hue with a long-lasting creamy mousse. On the nose it’s clean and youthful with medium minus aromas of yeast, green lime and Granny Smith apple.

On the palate it’s dry with an almost off-dry core and rapier acidity. Medium minus body and medium minus alcohol, it has medium plus flavours of lime and lemon citrus, pink grapefruit, summer strawberry and fresh bread. The finish is medium plus.

WSET ‘Very Good’ quality with exceptional acidity – drink now or may be kept for 5-7 to develop that acidity and beautiful yeastiness.

As the pourers, put it – don’t look for any tannins in English wines, but if it’s acidity you’re after, you’ll find it here. Jolly good work, England!

Posted in Chardonnay, England, Pinot Noir, Sparkling Wine | Leave a comment

Rosé, Clos du Soleil, Similkameen Valley VQA, Okanagan, BC, 2012, 12.5% abv.

Posted on July 21, 2013 by winellama

Another purchase from a recent trip to the Similkameen and given my extreme jet lag on this hot summer day, I’ve decided it’s a great way to recover from cross-Atlantic flights.

Clear and bright, medium salmon with even and light legs, on the nose this wine is clean and youthful with aromas of field berry, soft jalapeño, ripe strawberry and the lightest brush of green bough.

On the nose, it’s dry, has medium plus acidity, a tiny scrape of soft tannin, medium alcohol, with medium intensity flavour characteristics of more field berry, strawberry, raspberry and piquant red pepper.

Crisp, juicy, lovely depth for a rosé, flavourful and refreshing, this is solid WSET Good.

Versatile with a picnic of cheeses, crackers, fresh fruit, nuts and meats, it’s made with 100% Cabernet Sauvignon – and worth another trip to the valley to this outstanding artisanal winery.

Posted in BC, Cabernet Sauvignon / Blends, ROSE | Leave a comment

Domaine Naudet, Sancerre AC, Loire, France, 2011, 13% abv, 12.99 UK lbs

Posted on July 20, 2013 by winellama

History was made today, but were we ever early. Ahead of our time. Waaay bright and bushy-tailed.

We arrived from St. Alban’s in Long Eaton near Nottingham well in advance of the U20 Women’s Rugby Nations Cup match between England and Canada. We’d thought it was to start at 2pm, but arrived to find out we’d misunderstood and in fact we had to wait until 5pm.

No problem. We staked our place, got out the Canadian flag and the maple leafs. And when one has a fine picnic and a bottle of Sancerre to enjoy with it, time flies.

This wine is clear and bright, pale lemon and I assumed it had light legs. Hard to tell though as we enjoyed it in classy paper cups.

On the nose, it is clean and youthful with medium plus intense aromas of gooseberry, guava, light lemon, sweet green grass and gentle herb.

The palate is dry with a satisfyingly high acidity, medium alcohol and medium minus body. The medium plus flavour characteristics include more gooseberry, guava, some lychee, green hay, orange and lemon drop and knock off with a medium plus finish.

Juicy, crisp and refreshing on this 30c day, it was a solid WSET ‘Very Good’ – beautifully acidic and perfectly fabulous wine for the picnic.

And as I’d mentioned, history was made – to top it all off, the Canadian girls beat the British team handily – the first time a men’s or women’s team had EVERY done so in rugby history at any level.

Well played, all around.

Posted in France, Sauvignon Blanc, WHITE | Leave a comment