[Cornell Wine] Cornell Club April Selections

[Michael Beard]

CORNELL WINE CLUB
APRIL WINE SELECTIONS

Below are details of the April selections for our Wine Club.  Wines  
are available for pick-up by members from Friday afternoon, April  
6th.  The wines will be available for all to taste on Saturday, April  
14th Noon – 5:00PM.  Remember, members get a 15% discount on monthly  
selections, so SIGN-UP AND SAVE!

EARL and COUNTESS LEVEL

ST. INNOCENT 2005 CHARDONNAY FREEDOM HILL VINEYARD, WILLAMETTE  
VALLEY, OREGON

This month you will receive two lovely wines from Oregon’s excellent  
2005 vintage.  Because this vintage was small in quantity, most  
wineries increased prices.  St. Innocent did increase prices but  
their wines are still modestly priced for their quality.  When I came  
to Oregon in 1989, I thought many of the Chardonnay wines available  
were poor quality.  There were some notable exceptions, especially  
the Chardonnays Bill Fuller was producing at Tualatin Vineyards.  He  
rejected UC at Davis advice to plant the Wente 108 clone and instead  
planted the Draper clone.  In those days the 108 did not ripen fully  
in most years and many wine makers over oaked the meager fruit.   
Today we have earlier ripening Dijon clones, and with the current  
warmer summers, even 108 is doing well.  St. Innocent was another  
winery making good Chardonnays in “the old days”, and based on this  
Freedom Hill bottling, they continue to make excellent Chardonnay.   
The grapes (all Dijon clones) were harvested at only 1.6 tons/acre  
leading to concentration and intensity on the palate, lovely  
structure and length.  It was barrel aged in used barrels and so the  
fruit is the star, not the wood.  The wine has a slightly stony,  
minerally character, and to me the wine is reminiscent of a ripe  
Chablis, or maybe a cross between a Meursault and a Chablis.

Regular Price: $21.75
Member Price: $18.49

ST. INNOCENT 2005 PINOT NOIR VILLAGES CUVÉE, WILLAMETTE VALLEY, OREGON

The Villages Cuvée is the winery’s one step up from their entry-level  
Willamette Valley blend and is a lovely wine – I can’t wait to taste  
the single vineyard wines later in the year.  Owner/wine maker Mark  
Vlossak has a wonderful knack of making Pinot Noirs that are very  
approachable on release, but can age beautifully for many years.   
This wine is good to drink now, but should continue to evolve for  
about five years, and last for a few years more.  The wine is a blend  
of fruit from Temperance Hill, Shea and Vitae Springs vineyards.  It  
was aged in French oak (20% new) for 13 months.  The nose offers  
floral aromas and red fruit, whereas this deeply colored wine shows  
black fruit on the palate with touches of spice.  It is full bodied,  
but is still very much a Pinot Noir, not a Syrah wannabe that certain  
wineries produce.

Regular Price: $21.75
Member Price: $18.49

Total Member Monthly Cost: $36.98


BARON and BARONESS LEVEL

CHÂTEAU GANDOY-PERRINAT 2005 ENTRE-DEUX-MERS, BORDEAUX, FRANCE

Entre-Deux-Mers (between two seas) is actually the area southeast of  
the city of Bordeaux between two rivers, the Dordogne and the  
Garonne.  The area is mainly known for white wines, and unfortunately  
many mediocre wines are produced.  This has given the area a bad  
reputation and some of the better producers are labeling their wines  
Bordeaux Supérieur to avoid the E-D-M stigma. Château Gandoy-Perrinat  
is proud of its heritage and happily labels its wine Entre-Deux- 
Mers.  The wine is a blend of 38% Sauvignon Blanc, 36% Sémillon and  
26% Muscadelle – an unusually high amount of Muscadelle.  This gives  
the wine greater aromatics than you would get from the area’s more  
common blends of Sémillon and Sauvignon Blanc.  The Sémillon gives  
the palate more weight and a waxy texture, and this is beautifully  
balanced by the grassy and citrus notes from the Sauvignon Blanc.  In  
this complex white, one can also find touches of gooseberry, white  
flowers and minerals.  This is a terrific value white to drink as an  
aperitif or to accompany light fish, shellfish and chicken dishes.

Regular Price: $09.00
Member Price: $07.65

ARNALDO CAPRAI 2003 MONTEFALCO ROSSO, UMBRIA, ITALY

The Arnaldo Caprai winery based in the Umbrian town of Montefalco was  
Gambero Rosso’s (the Italian wine guide) 2006 Winery of the Year.   
Their flagship wines are made from the local grape Sagrantino and are  
fabulous, but also fabulously expensive!  The winery’s Rosso is a  
blend of 70% Sangiovese, 15% Merlot and 15% Sagrantino.  From the hot  
2003 vintage, the wine is riper and plumper than usual and is  
drinking beautifully now.  It offers rich wild berry fruits, black  
pepper and sweet spices on the nose and palate.  The finish has good  
length and displays a slight touch of bitter almond from the Sangiovese.

Regular Price: $21.00
Member Price: $17.85

Total Member Monthly Cost: $25.00 (an extra 50 cent saving this month!)

Cheers,

Mick Beard
Cornell Wine Company
(503) 531-3981
mick at cornellwine.com

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