[Cornell Wine] Cornell Wine This Week

[Michael Beard]

CORNELL WINE COMPANY
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UPCOMING TASTINGS
May 04 – Lesser known French Wine Regions
May 05 – Free tasting of wines from India!
2 – 4 PM
Rupendhar Kanuri of Premium Vintage Wine Company will be pouring  
wines from India.
May 11 – Pinot Noir other than Oregon and Burgundy
May 18 – South America plus
Robin Malinosky-Rummell will be at Cornell Wine Company to sell and  
sign her just published book Bring Your Own Children - South America  
(see Special Events on our web site).
May 25 – Aussie Reds
June 01 – Cabernet & Blends
June 08 – NE Italy/Veneto

FRIDAY, April 27, 4:30 - 7:00pm

ZINFANDEL

CHEESE PLATE
Once again we have relied on our favorite website to choose Zinfandel  
matches, and most of the recommendations were for sheep’s milk.
Gruyère                                                 Cow’s  
Milk                        Switzerland
Gruyère, and its close cousin Comté, seem to go well with most red  
wines.
Marquis de Castille Roncal                    Sheep’s  
Milk                      Spain
This cheese is from near the foothills of the Pyrenées in the Navarra  
region.
Zamarano                                             Sheep’s  
Milk                      Spain
This is a richer, and nuttier version of Manchego.
CHEESE SAMPLER PLATE COST $4.00
Most of you know Zinfandel is not my favorite grape, and so for  
Zinfandel tastings I rely more on customer comments and magazines  
rather than my own palate.  For this tasting we have concentrated  
more on “food friendly” wines and have avoided the 16.5%+ alcohol wines.

1. We start in LODI and IRONSTONE 2005 ZINFANDEL.  We have used  
earlier vintages from this winery which always offers great value  
wines, and this 2005 is fabulous value.  The fruit reminds me of  
blueberry with black raspberry on the finish.  This is coupled with a  
touch of oak and spice - $9.00

2. Our second wine is also a newer vintage of a wine we have used in  
the past.  Often we forget about the “old time” family wineries in  
California, but many, under second and third generation stewardship,  
are producing good wines.  PEDRONCELLI 2004 ZINFANDEL “MOTHER CLONE”,  
DRY CREEK VALLEY is one such wine.  The vines average 25 years of  
age, and all were cloned from the original 100-year old head-pruned  
vines.  Only 1/4 acre remains of the original vines and fruit from  
these vines is included in this wine, together with 8% PETITE SIRAH  
from 45-year old vines.  The flavors are brambles and wild berry,  
coupled with dusty spices, and the finish is dry and complex. The  
Wine Enthusiast says it “…brings a classic, Bordeaux-like control and  
polish to Zinfandel’s wild and woolly side…” - $14.00
3. Another older winery that I’d forgotten about is KENWOOD, a long  
time SONOMA resident.  Their SONOMA COUNTY 2004 RESERVE ZINFANDEL is  
rich with jammy, spicy, blackberry and cherry fruit that lingers from  
the palate to a long finish.  The Wine Enthusiast says “…it has that  
extra depth of complexity that makes it a classic Sonoma Zin.” - $20.00

4. RANCHO ZABACCO 2004 RUSSIAN RIVER ZINFANDEL – I was well aware of  
this winery’s DANCING BULL label but had not tried their “higher end”  
wines until earlier this year.  This bottling contains 11% PETITE  
SIRAH and is very much in the style of many RIDGE ZINFANDELS.  While  
offering lots of raspberry aromas, the palate shows ripe black plum  
and some oak.  The wine has a certain elegance making it very food- 
friendly - $26.00

TRY THESE FOUR WINES FOR $10.00

For our PREMIUM POUR we come closer to home:

MARYHILL is a WASHINGTON “show place” winery whose wines have not  
consistently met the quality expected.  While there have been more  
hits than misses, a change in vintage sometimes meant a big change in  
quality.  However their ZINFANDEL has usually been very good.   
Unfortunately they lost their old vine grape source in The Dalles and  
I was concerned what would happen to the wine.  The regular Zinfandel  
is so-so, but the winery now bottles a RESERVE ZINFANDEL and the 2003  
hit the mark with me.  It is a blend from three vineyards, 50% GUNKEL  
(which is owned by MARYHILL), 33% MILBRANDT, and 17% ALDER RIDGE.   
The wine was aged for 20 months in French oak, and while the wine is  
no weakling and has considerable alcohol, everything seems to come  
together in balance - $30.00

TRY THIS WINE FOR $3.50/Taste or $6.00/4 ounces

NB: All prices are subject to change without notice.  The above  
information is based on verbal information from distributors, and  
actual wine prices will depend on the price invoiced at delivery to  
Cornell Wine Company.



SATURDAY, April 28th

Noon – 5 PM

Free tasting

As usual we will have a couple of bottles open for free tasting.   
Provisional selections are:


PEÑASCAL 2004 TEMPRANILLO is produced by our favorite RIOJA producer,  
BODEGAS PALACIO.  This wine is from their operation in CASTILLA y  
LEON, and this 2004 just has to be the best value TEMPRANILLO on the  
market, and it is a challenger to PALACIO’S own CASTILLO RIOJA –  
fabulous value $8.50

A WALLA WALLA bargain may be an oxymoron, but SAVIAH CELLARS come  
close with their 2005 THE JACK.  While their UNE VALLÉE is one of the  
best Bordeaux blends to come out of the region, it costs north of  
$30.  THE JACK is a blend of MERLOT, CABERNET SAUVIGNON and CABERNET  
FRANC, and while not Une Vallée, it is spectacular value - $16.75

Looking forward to seeing you all,

Cheers,

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