[Cornell Wine] Cornell Wine This week

[Michael Beard]

CORNELL WINE COMPANY
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December 28 – Zinfandel
January 4 – South/Southwest of France

THIS WEEK

FRIDAY, December 21st
4:30 - 7:00pm

TREATS FOR CHRISTMAS

As is usual on the Friday before Christmas, we will be pouring five  
wines at the “Premium Pour” or higher price level.  These wines are  
available for purchase by the individual taste or 4 ounce glass.  If  
you buy tastes of all five you receive a discount.

Also Pauline will bake some ENGLISH MINCE PIES that will be available  
on a first-come, first-served basis until they have all gone.  We  
will still offer:

CHEESE PLATES
This week, so as not to detract from the wines, we will keep the  
cheese simple by offering three different Cheddars.
Grass-fed Sharp Cheddar – New Zealand
Coastal Cheddar – England
Dubliner Cheddar - Ireland
CHEESE SAMPLER PLATE $3.00

FRIDAY, December 21, 4:30 - 7:00pm

NOTE: This wine selection is subject to the continuing availability  
of the wines.  We reserve the right to make substitutions.

1. We start with an intriguing wine rather than a “Premium Pour” – a  
wine to challenge your “wine snob” friends!  The ITALIAN ALTAVIA 2005  
ROSSESE di DOLCEACQUA comes from the western end of LIGURIA near the  
border with France.  The grape is ROSSESE, and I did not know about  
this grape until this summer.  The wine is medium-bodied with flavors  
of red and black raspberries.  It also offers hints of earth and  
herbs, similar to many wines across the border in Provence - $26.50
$3.50/taste, $6.00/four ounces

2. This year our OREGON entry is RAPTOR RIDGE 2006 SHEA VINEYARD  
PINOT NOIR.  This winery is small (<5000 cases) and it wins many  
awards (I did hear it was Wine & Spirits 2007 “Winery of the Year”).   
As with many Oregon wineries, prices are increasing, but with RR’s  
small production the wines sell-out very quickly.  Typical of most  
2006 Pinot Noirs, this wine is very fruit forward and accessible  
now.  It offers lots of sweetish black fruit, subtle oak and a long  
finish - $44.50
$5.00/taste, $9.00/four ounces

3. At this tasting we usually have a CHÂTEAUNEUF-du-PAPE but it is  
getting more and more difficult to find reasonably priced CDPs.   
DOMAINE PIERRE ANDRÉ is a new producer to me and this 2004 is  
produced from grapes from biodynamically farmed vineyards, some being  
more than 100 years old.  The blend is 80% GRENACHE, 10% MOUVÈDRE and  
10% SYRAH.  While still needing a little time in a cellar, the wine  
is remarkably forward now - $39.75
$4.50/taste, $8.00/four ounces

4. Occasionally I do look at Wine Magazines and was intrigued that  
RIOJA’S BODEGAS LAN had a wine in the Wine Spectator’s 100 Best wines  
of 2007 at #18 and 96 points.  I remember buying the basic wine years  
ago at about $1.70/bottle, and today the 2001 RESERVA at $15 is  
sensational value, so the thought of a $50 bottle of LAN was hard to  
comprehend – until the wine is tasted!.  The 2004 RIOJA EDICIÓN  
LIMITADA is their flagship wine, resulting from a thorough grape  
selection in their own PAGO EL RINCÓN vineyard where yields are about  
1.5 tons/acre.  The grapes undergo alcoholic fermentation in  
temperature-controlled stainless steel.  This is followed by  
malolactic fermentation in new French oak.  The wine is aged for 5  
months in new French oak followed by a further 4 months in new  
Russian oak.  After the soft 2003 version, this 2004 is a balanced  
wine with ripe red fruit with spicy and roasted notes and good  
acidity.  The finish is long and lingering with mineral notes and  
ripe tannins - $50.00/bottle
$6.00/taste, $11.00/four ounces

5. To me, BANDOL is the best wine region of PROVENCE for red wine,  
mainly because the principal grape is MOURVÈDRE.  The most famous  
estate is DOMAINE TEMPIER, but their wines are expensive and take a  
long time to reach their peak.  DOMAINE SORIN is in ST. CYR SUR MER  
which is northwest of the town of BANDOL.  The estate was founded by  
LUC SORIN who was raised in Burgundy but “went south” to start making  
wine.  His 2003 BANDOL is a blend of 85% MOURVÈDRE, 10% CARIGNAN and  
5% SYRAH.  From a hot vintage, the wine is drinking well at 4 years  
of age, and like all MOURVÈDRE-based wines, this wine has an  
unforgettable  nose.  There are many descriptions of MOURVÈDRE  
aromas, often somewhat off-putting.  To me it adds to the uniqueness  
of this grape.  When I visited Château Beaucastel in 1992, owner  
François Perrin described it as “dried blood”, others refer to a  
“feral herbiness”.  Do not let this stop you from tasting a  
fascinating wine.  The nose is followed by rich black fruit and  
noticeable tannins – $30.00 (current stock only)
$3.50/taste, $6.00/four ounces

TRY THESE FIVE WINES FOR $20.00
(a $2.50 discount)

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, December 22nd
Noon – 5:00PM
Free

As usual, we will have a couple of interesting wines open, the first  
of which we meant to open last week!

DOMAINE de BÉRANE 2005 LES AGAPES is from FRANCE’S CÔTES du VENTOUX  
which is in PROVENCE but is usually considered a SOUTHERN RHÔNE  
appellation – the red wines are very similar to CÔTES du RHÔNEs.   
This wine, a blend of 70% GRENACHE, 25% SYRAH and 5% MOURVÈDRE, is a  
dead-ringer for a deep-flavored CDR, but at a lower cost than most  
similar quality CDRs - $13.50

The other wine should be (if it arrives) LEDGEWOOD CREEK PQ “Pic  
Nique” Wine.  This comes from SUISUN which is to the east of NAPA  
VALLEY.  It is a blend of 50% MERLOT, 30% MOURVÈDRE and 20% CABERNET  
SAUVIGNON.  This is fabulous value wine offering lots of black fruit,  
spice and some oak influences - $10.00

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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