[Cornell Wine] Cornell Wine Club June

[Michael Beard]

CORNELL WINE CLUB
JUNE WINE SELECTIONS

Below are details of the June selections for our Wine Club.  Wines  
are available for pick-up by members from Saturday, June 2nd  The  
wines will be available for all to taste on Saturday, June 9th Noon –  
5:00PM.  Remember, members get a 15% discount on monthly selections,  
so SIGN-UP AND SAVE!

EARL and COUNTESS LEVEL

HERBERT PAZEN 2005 RIESLING SPÄTLESE ZELTINGER HIMMELREICH, MOSEL,  
GERMANY

PAZEN is a relatively low volume producer in the town of ZELTINGEN,  
and the only state where you can buy his wine is Oregon.  This is  
because of local German wine guru, Ewald Moseler’s long term  
friendship with the winery’s owner.  The wines represent fabulous  
value – this Spätlese is cheaper than most wineries’ Kabinett  
bottlings.  The wine, from the HIMMELREICH VINEYARD, has a classic  
nose of peach and apricot with touches of petrol.  The sweetness  
level of a Spätlese is balanced by good acidity, making the wine a  
good sipper and a match for food.

Regular Price: $20.00
Member Price: $17.00

DOMAINE Le SANG des CAILLOUX 2003 VACQUEYRAS “CUVÉE AZALAIS”, RHÔNE  
VALLEY, FRANCE

While $28 may seem high for a VACQUEYRAS, this wine is a bargain –  
better than many CHÂTEAUNEUF-du-PAPES costing much more.  The name  
means “blood of the stones” which aptly describes the very old,  
organically farmed, vineyard.  The soil is packed with stones from  
the size of grapes up to the size of melons.  This rocky blend  
filters the rainfall to the roots of the 50+ year-old vines.  A blend  
of SYRAH, GRENACHE. CINSAULT and MOURVÈDRE, the wine is aged in old  
large barrels and a few two year-old barriques.  Typical of the hot  
2003 vintage, the wine is lush and low in acid – a wine to drink now,  
and not cellar.  Aromas of kirsch, pepper, and black fruit are  
followed by a medium-bodied wine with good balance and supple tannins.

Regular Price: $28.00
Member Price: $23.80

Total Member Monthly Cost: $40.00 (an extra $0.80 saving!)

BARON and BARONESS LEVEL

PICOLLO 2005 GAVI di GAVI, PIEMONTE, ITALY

GAVI has been one of my favorite Italian white wines for some time;  
unfortunately many cost $20+.  PICOLLO has been a value producer for  
years, and this 2005 is excellent.  The wines come from around the  
small commune of GAVI in southeastern Piemonte near the border with  
Liguria, and are made from 100% CORTESE.  While not very aromatic,  
the wine offers good fruit (apple and peach), and a classic chalky  
minerality on the finish (the soils in Gavi are a limestone-rich clay).

Regular Price: $13.50
Member Price: $11.48

TORRE ORIA 1999 RESERVA, UTIEL-REQUENA, SPAIN

If I’d tasted this wine blind, I would have guessed it was a RIOJA  
from a ‘traditional” producer.  I had never heard of UTIEL-REQUENA  
until three years ago, perhaps because it used to be one of the  
workhorses of the Spanish bulk-wine industry, and its much-needed  
overhaul is a recent phenomenon.  TORRE ORIA is a relatively old  
quality producer for the area, and while still growing the local  
grape BOBAL, it is now concentrating on TEMPRANILLO, CABERNET  
SAUVIGNON and MERLOT.  This wine is 100% TEMPRANILLO, aged for 24  
months in AMERICAN OAK – a classic RIOJA formula!  The vines are over  
30 years old (even older vines are used for the Gran Reserva).  The  
wine has an unmistakable nose of Tempranillo and American oak, the  
palate has gobs of sweet plum fruit and oak, and the finish is  
balanced and long.  A RIOJA of the same quality would be much more  
expensive.  Bring on the wild boar, suckling pig, or best yet, saddle  
of hare!

Regular Price: $15.75
Member Price: $13.39

Total Member Monthly Cost: $24.86

Cheers,

Mick Beard
Cornell Wine Company
(503) 531-3981
mick at cornellwine.com
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://mailman.pacifier.com/pipermail/cornell-list/attachments/20070601/888058be/attachment-0001.html