[Cornell Wine] Cornell Wine This Week

[Michael Beard]

CORNELL WINE COMPANY
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June 02 – Northern Italy

June 09 – Bordeaux

June 16 – Fathers Day Specials

June 23 - Loire Valley

June 30 – Wines for Your Cookout


FRIDAY, May 26th, 4:30 - 7:00pm

Wines of Spain's Priorat

Our last few Spanish tastings have concentrated on the upcoming areas  
which offer great value.  We have tended to avoid PRIORAT as most of  
the wines from this area became expensive after the area became the  
“hot” area in the late 1990s.  Now we are seeing much more reasonably  
priced wines from the area, some being “second labels” from the “big  
guys”.  This week’s tasting is slightly more expensive because of the  
prices of the wines being poured.
1. We start with one of the oldest wineries in the area, SCALA DEI.   
Literally this means “God’s Ladder or Staircase”, and the winery is  
based in an old monastery.  The monastery was founded in 1163, and  
the Carthusian monks introduced wine growing to the region.  The  
current winery dates from the 19th century as a result of the sale of  
church lands.  The current owner’s great-grand parents purchased the  
Scala Dei monastery’s lands and became pioneers of wine making in the  
Priorat.  The winery’s entry-level wine, NEGRE, remains one of the  
bargains from the area.  The 2004 is more forward than many Priorat  
wines.  The wine is 100% GARNACHA (GRENACHE) and is fermented and  
aged in stainless steel tanks.  The nose is lightly floral together  
with Garnacha’s signature black raspberry aromas.  The palate is  
meaty with good structure, and the finish long with a mineral  
component - $18.75

2. We now go to ROTTLAN TORRA and its RESERVA 2000.  ROTTLAN TORRA is  
one of the great (and expensive) producers in the area, and this is  
its “entry level” wine which is misleadingly called RESERVA.  It  
represents barrels that did not make the main wines - some of you  
might remember the $55 Rottlan Torra wine we had in an earlier  
Spanish tasting – the Reserva meaning “held back”.  A blend of  
GARNACHA, CARIGNAN and CABERNET SAUVIGNON, the wine is a very  
traditional Priorat having an earthy “edge” to the spicy black fruit,  
together with noticeable tannins, giving a real feeling of the old  
mountain vineyards - $18.00

3. The next wine represents a more modern approach to Priorat wines.   
The VALL LLACH 2002 EMBRUIX is a blend of GARNACHA, SYRAH, CABERNET  
SAUVIGNON and MERLOT.  The wine offers lots of lush, concentrated  
ripe black fruit, together with well-integrated oak.  The finish is  
stunning – great length and intensity backed by moderate tannins -  
$25.00

4. Now we will sample one of our “bargain” “second labels”, FONT de  
la FIGUERA and their 2003 PRIORAT .  The wine is made by CLOS  
FIGUERAS, the Priorat property of English wine merchant Christopher  
Cannan whose company Europvin USA is the USA importer.  The  
property’s main wine sells for about $70, and is a richer, much more  
tannin version of this wine.  The FONT is made mainly from the  
property’s younger vines and is a blend of 60% GARNACHA and smaller  
amounts of CARIGNAN, SYRAH, MOUVÈDRE and CABERNET SAUVIGNON.  The  
wine offers an exotic nose of sweet black cherries, spicy oak  
together with classic Priorat mineral tones.  The palate is quite  
lush and “grapey”, but this is kept fresh by firm acidity.  While  
this wine is very drinkable now, it will improve over the next five  
or so years  - $29.50.

TRY THESE FOUR WINES FOR $12.00

For our PREMIUM POUR we offer a wine from the small bodega, CLOS  
MARTINET:

The main wine from this property sells for over $75, but they have  
introduced a “second label” MARTINET BRU.  This winery produces about  
3000 cases (equally split between Clos Martinet and Martinet Bru)  
from 10 hectares of vines which range in age up to 60+ years.  The  
2003 MARTINET BRU is a blend of 30% GARNACHA, 30% CABERNET SAUVIGNON,  
30% MERLOT and 10% SYRAH, and it is aged in French oak barrels.  The  
vines are grown on “llicorella” soil; this is a Catalan word for soil  
composed of alternating layers of slate and quartz.  In April I  
tasted both Clos Martinet 2003s side-by-side, and while the Clos  
Martinet is a terrific wine, it seemed hard to justify its price as  
compared with the Martinet Bru (which has been rated “outstanding” in  
The Wine Advocate).  Both wines have massive black fruit and  
concentration coupled with classic minerals and spice.  The Bru was  
only slightly less concentrated and less complex.  Both wines were  
excellent examples of melding modern wine making with tradition.  The  
MARTINET BRU is spectacular value - $34.00

TRY THIS WINE FOR $4.00/Taste or $7.00/4 ounces

I think all these wines are great value at the quoted prices, but to  
encourage you to buy these wonderful wines we are offering special  
deals on Friday.  If you purchase two or more Spanish wines you will  
receive a 10% discount, a mixed case of Spanish wines will receive a  
15% discount. BUY MORE AND SAVE!

SATURDAY, May 27th

 From NOON – 5:00 PM as usual we will have a couple of bottles open  
for free tasting.

If Zancanella Importing unload a container in time, we will have this  
shop’s favorite VIOGNIER open.  The 2005 HUGUES de BEAUVINAC VIOGNIER  
is from the LANGUEDOC and offers what many west coast Viogniers do  
not – drinking pleasure!  Why most USA Viognier wines have to have  
high alcohol, I do not know, but this is what spoils them for me.   
The Languedoc is pretty hot, so how do they keep the alcohol to 13%  
and below?

For a red we we will have open the STERLING 2003 CENTRAL COAST  
MERLOT.  “Central Coast” is a catch-all that can cover lots of  
mediocre wine.  STERLING were the first winery to bottle a varietal  
MERLOT (in 1978), so they know what they are doing with this grape.   
So many Merlots at this price level are soft and/or sweet fruit  
bombs, but this wine has class that would be more appropriate with a  
$16.00 Merlot.  FANTASTIC VALUE AT $9.00

Looking forward to seeing you all,

Cheers,

Mick
Cornell Wine Company
14740 NW Cornell Road, #90
Portland, 97229-5400
(503) 531-3981
mick at cornellwine.com
www.cornellwine.com
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