Platinum Wine Club - September 2012
Learn the finer points to many of the wines we offer each month. Our club wines are expertly researched and selected for quality, value and uniqueness and every one has an interesting history. Here are some of the wines we are offering this month:
Corvus Cellars - Walla Walla, Washington
2009 Cuvee Columbia Valley
Corvus Cellars is a partnership between Winemaker Steve Lessard and Winegrower Randall Hopkins. Corvus currently produces a limited 1200 cases of wine with emphasis on using fruit from the Red Mountain and Walla Walla AVA's. This includes estate fruit from their European inspired Corvus Vineyard in the Red Mountain AVA. For over 20 years, Winemaker Steve Lessard has been producing world-class award winning wines at establishments like Stag's Leap Wine Cellars in Napa Valley, Hedges Family Estate on Red Mountain and Whitman Cellars in Walla Walla. Steve and Randall focus on producing wines that are balanced, elegant and reflect the terroir of the fruit. Their 2009 Cuvee is a “left-bank” Bordeaux blend that simply over delivers for the price! A mélange of estate Red Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc combined with Merlot and Petit Verdot from Seven Hills Vineyard in Walla Walla. This is a very versatile and approachable wine that can either be paired with fine cuisine or everyday rustic favorites. Black cherry notes along with a little smokiness unfold into a well-structured and balanced blend that finishes nicely.
Cono Sur - Chile
2008 20 Barrels Syrah Limarí Valley
In 1996 Cono Sur decided to tackle the challenge of making their first ultra-premium wine. The chosen variety was Pinot Noir and for its inaugural production they set apart 20 barrels of the best fruit the 1996 vintage had provided. This exquisite range’s name was coined after those 20 initial barrels. Pinot Noir was followed by Cabernet Sauvignon in 1997, Merlot in 1998, Chardonnay – Cono Sur’s first ultra-premium white wine – in 2002, Sauvignon Blanc in 2005, and the latest member of the family, a Syrah from the 2008 harvest. This cooler climate red from the northern reaches of Chile's Limari Valley shows cool climate Shiraz at its finest. The nose combines a slight eucalyptus/mint top note, that with aeration submerges into the fruit, along with suggestions of espresso over darker currant and blackberry fruit aromatically. Sleekly textured, this has nice fruit concentration on its medium fuller frame, with dark currant fruit touched up with a wisp of darker chocolate and a mineral vein supported by finer tuned tannins on the finish. These characteristics are what make it a perfect ambassador of the new viticultural Chilean paradise: Limarí Valley. Showing well now this should hold up nicely over the course of the next 2-3 years.
Aloja Cellars - Spain
2011 Aloja Blanc Terra Alta DO
This Aloja Blanc is a delicious young wine made with 90% White Grenache and 10% Macabeo. The White Grenache is a sign of identity in DO Terra Alta, which hosts 90% of Catalan plantations of this variety and more than a third of the world’s surface. This variety gives a typically Mediterranean wine, yellow in color and tasty, fatty and persevering, with a personal character and quite distant from the now so fashionable ones from Spanish Atlantic Coast. In the glass in pours a deep lemon. The nose is a typical White Grenache: fresh pear and lemon zest along with white flowers, spice, stony minerals and honey. In the mouth the wine has good fresh intensity with more citrus and fresh pear followed by a creamy finish. You can enjoyed with seafood, especially if live (oysters or clams), and becomes an interesting alternative to the classic pairing with Albariños. It’s great with a plate of fried fish, but also with creamy goat cheese. Drink now through 2013. Only 30 cases of this wine was imported in the US. Wow!
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