[Cornell Wine] Cornell Wine This Week

[Michael Beard]

CORNELL WINE COMPANY
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August 31 – Wines for Your Labor Day Cook-out
September 07 – Rhône Valley
September 14 – Zinfandel
September 21 – Toscana
September 28 – Syrah/Shiraz

FRIDAY, August 24th, 4:30 - 7:00pm

Wines of the Loire Valley

Most people associate the Loire with white wines but many lovely reds  
are made.  They may not be on the scale of, say, a Walla Walla red  
wine, but many are pure expressions of their varietal, whether it is  
Cabernet Franc, Gamay Noir, or others.  This week’s tasting is a mix  
of red and white wines, and as such, we were not sure what food to  
offer.  Goat cheese goes well with the white wines, but can fight the  
reds.  We chickened out, and are not offering any cheese this week!

1. We start in the far west of the LOIRE VALLEY and the NANTAIS  
region.  This is the home of MUSCADET, the crisp white wines made  
from the MELON de BOURGOGNE grape.  Often said to be the  
quintessential oyster wine, most are meant to be drunk young.   
However some producers make wines that age very well – a lucky few of  
you bought some 1989 Luneau-Papin Le L d’Or earlier this year and  
discovered Muscadet can be as complex as a well-aged Burgundy at a  
fraction of the price (we still have a few bottles of the 1995 at  
$26, and the current release is the 2004).  This week we offer the  
DOMAINE de la PEPIÈRE 2006 MUSCADET SÈVRE-et-MAINE SUR LIE “CLOS des  
BRIORDS”, and while this may not live for 17 years, it is a lovely  
single-vineyard MUSCADET.  It offers surprisingly rich fruit that is  
balanced by lively acidity and an almost stony finish.  While lovely  
now, it will last for up to five years and is great value - $13.25

2. Moving east we come to SAUMUR that straddles the Loire to the  
southeast of the city of Angers.  The cooperative, CAVE des VIGNERONS  
de SAUMUR, in the village of Saint-Cyr-en –Bourg, was “Born of misery  
and despair” in the 1950s, and now produces over 30% of Saumur wine.   
Jacqueline Friedrich in her book A Wine and Food Guide to the Loire  
gives the operation a “Highly Recommended” rating. We offer their  
2006 SAUMUR BLANC “LES POUCHES”.  This is a Lieu-dit (single  
vineyard) dry CHENIN BLANC.  It is a great summer wine offering  
lovely fruit (peaches with citrus elements) followed by a bright,  
fresh, minerally finish - $9.0

3. Going further east to where the river turns south we come to the  
SANCERROIS, home of the finest SAUVIGNON BLANC in the world – OK, the  
Kiwis are doing a good job, as are some producers in South Africa,  
Chile and USA, but the wines from the villages of SANCERRE and  
POUILLY offer something different.  Maybe it is the soil – mainly  
limestone and silex.  Personally I prefer the wine of SANCERRE to the  
wines of POUILLY, mainly because many producers in the latter use  
more new oak.  We will taste the CHÂTEAU de SANCERRE 2004 SANCERRE.   
Since 1911, this property has been owned by the Marnier family of  
Grand Marnier and now Casa Lapostolle fame. The wine offers fruity  
aromas, ripe fruit on the palate but this is coupled with good citrus  
acidity and a racy minerality I associate with Sancerre- $20.00

4. We now go back westwards to TOURAINE, and specifically the  
Appellation Contrôlée TOURAINE-MESLAND.  CLOS de la BRIDERIE has been  
owned by the GIRAULT family sine 1811 and is now run biodynamically  
by VINCENT GIRAULT.  His 2006 ROUGE VIEILLES VIGNES is a blend of 40%  
COT (MALBEC), 30% GAMAY NOIR and 30% CABERNET FRANC.  The wine has a  
fresh, fruity nose somewhat reminiscent of a Cru Beaujolais; the  
palate is medium weight with touches of spice on the finish.  
Jacqueline Friedrich, who rates the producer “excellent”, said this  
of earlier vintages “A lip-smacking knit of ripe, warm fruit, with  
flavors of kirsch, plum, and macerated cherries”. - $14.25

5. Moving even further west we reach ANJOU that is often grouped with  
SAUMUR.  Fifty years ago ANJOU was a white and rosè wine area with  
only about 1% being red.  Now about 25% is red wine production.   
CHÂTEAU de la ROULERIE is directly imported by Don Oman’s Casa Bruno  
and their 2006 CABERNET FRANC is wonderful value.  While obviously  
CABERNET FRANC and not CABERNET SAUVIGNON, the wine does not have the  
excessive green bell-pepper flavors too often present in Loire  
Cabernet Franc in less ripe years.  While not an enormous wine, it  
offers lots of ripe cassis fruit suitable for quaffing on the deck -  
$12.00

TRY THESE FIVE WINES FOR $10.00

For our PREMIUM POUR we move back to TOURAINE:

For many people the best LOIRE REDS come from the village of CHINON  
(100% CABERNET FRANC).  I’m a great believer in the wines, but also  
love the reds from SAUMUR-CHAMPIGNY.  These are the world’s great  
CABERNET FRANCS, and if I had to choose I’d go for the CHAMPIGNY,  
especially from producers such as CLOS ROUGEARD, but the CHINONS are  
usually better priced.  One of the top CHINON producers is PHILIPPE  
ALLIET (rated “Excellent” by Jacqueline Friedrich).  We will taste  
his 2005 CHINON VIEILLES VIGNES.  I have not tasted this wine as it  
is so limited that the distributor does not sample it.  However the  
regular bottling was lovely, and this VV may well still be a “baby”.   
Alliet’s wines are aged in used Bordeaux barrels and are bottled  
unfiltered - $32.50

TRY THIS WINE FOR $4.00/Taste or $7.00/4 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, AUGUST 25th
Noon – 5:00 PM

As usual, we will have some interesting wines open for free tasting,  
and this week we go to SOUTH AFRICA:
Portland-based entrepreneur BOB LYNDE imports wines under the BOB’S  
AFRICAN WINES label.  10% of the company’s import revenue benefits  
non-profit international aid agencies fighting the HIV/AIDS pandemic  
in Africa.  Enjoy these wines and help support a worthwhile cause.

CHARDONNAY - $9.00
SHIRAZ - $9.00
PINOTAGE - $9.00

We offer a mix or match case price of $90.00 ($7.50/bottle), current  
stock or pre-paid orders.

Cheers,

Pauline & Mick
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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