We’ll have my friend Brian Martin from Prufrock Wines pouring some highlights from his book this Friday 4 - 8pm for our flight. Wines from Columbia Gorge, Willamette Valley, Austria, Sicily, Chianti and Bordeaux.
This is a great lineup so grab a friend and come on down.
Timothy Malone Nebbiolo Rosato Columbia Gorge 2024 $19 - I've know Tim for years as the winemaker at J Christopher and have watched the success he's had with his own label. Nebbiolo from the Garnier vineyard out in the Gorge. Light, bright and refreshing!
Weninger Ponzichter Austria and Hungary NV $20 - Named for the German speaking “bean growers” that farmed between the vines of the Austrian and Hungarian borders. This light red blend of Pinot Noir and Zweigelt has a nose of fresh spring meadow and a palate displaying notes of bright red fruits, black pepper, alpine herbs, and earth.
Oedipoda Gamay Beaujolais, France 2023 $21 - From declassified plots of Gamay from Jullié and Émeringes (just south of Jullié) with soil types of pierres bleues andschist. In order to achieve a lighter extrac4on this wine is pressed before alcoholic fermenta4on has fully completed and as higher alcohol levels extract more tannin, they achieve a brighter and frui4er wine that could be served a few degrees cooler than the village or cru wines.
Champfleury Bordeaux, France 2020 $20 - This is mostly Merlot from the St Emilion area, and offers classic notes of blackcurrant, tilled earth, dark chocolate and vanilla bean mark the nose, and palate shows deep black cherry, currant, fresh raspberries and black dirt among gentle yet firm tannins.
Calabretta Nerello Mascalese Gaio Gaio Sicily, Italy 2022 $23 - Ripe rhubarb, strawberry pie, blueberry, fig, cedar, pine needles, forest floor, purple flowers, violets. Palate is fresh strawberries and crème on a vibrant palate with fresh garden herbs + rustic tannins. Honoring centuries old traditions in natural farming, the Calabretta family tends these historic vineyards on the volcanic soil of Mount Etna, intertwined with olive trees and fruit orchards, for now 4 generations. Since 1997 Massimo & Massimiliano built a new winery and started to bottle and sell the Calabretta wines all over the world.
Bonus Wines
Twill Cellars Pinot Noir Willamette Valley, Oregon 2023 $26 - I met with the winemaker last week and tasted through the Twill wines and loved them all. I'm bringing in a few of the wines and thought the Pinot Noir would work for the flight. Deep, crimson red. Immediate and sweeping aromas of rose petal, rhubarb,blood orange and raspberry. Brooding secondary notes of salt, cranberry and earth provide layers to the more agile and forward red aromas. Flavors feel pure, poised and tense with primary notes of pomegranate and nutmeg.
i Clivi Schioppettino Venezia Giulia Friuli, Italy 2022 $29 - Ferdinando Zanusso lived and worked in Africa for forty years, before returning to Italy and his wife’s hometown. Here in Corno di Rosazzo, Gramogliano, he founded I Clivi in the mid-1990s. Shortly after its founding, his son Mario joined him in the winery where he continues to oversee all aspects of the vineyards and winemaking. Ferdinando and Mario share a vision to showcase Friuli’s prized terroir and unique, singular expressions of Friulano, Ribolla Gialla, Cabernet Franc, and Schioppettino. Bright notes of strawberries and cherry compote hover over notes of peppercorns, dried thyme and rose water. A silky mineral-forward texture steals the show before a savory, fruity finishes crisp with lingering mouthwatering acidity.
Castell'in Villa Chianti Classico DOCG 2019 $39 - The 2019 Chianti Classico is a very pretty, open-knit wine. In most vintages, the Castell'in Villa Chianti Classico is quite forbidding young, but the 2019 is surprisingly approachable. Cedar, sweet pipe tobacco, menthol, licorice, dried herbs, ripe red cherry fruit and a suggestion of new oak all open effortlessly. Readers will have a hard time keeping their hands off this gem. In 2019, the Chianti Classico is quite aromatic and decidedly medium-bodied. 94 points from Vinous
4 - 8pm $16 for 5 pours with 3 additional wines available for purchase.