[Cornell Wine] Cornell Wine This Week

[Michael Beard]

CORNELL WINE COMPANY
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January 18 – Central/Southern Italy
January 25 – Cabernet Blends
February 01 – OR’s “Orphan” Varietals
February 08 – Wines for Your Valentine
February 15 – Pinot Noir

THIS WEEK
FRIDAY, January 4th
4:30 - 7:00pm

SYRAH/SHIRAZ

MEAT PLATES
As a change this week we are offering a combination of Pâté and Meats.

For a Pâté we offer a Country Pâté which is a mix of Pork, Garlic and  
Black Pepper.
For meats we offer two Salamis:
One made with Pinot Grigio
The other made with Chianti
MEAT SAMPLER PLATE $3.00

This is a worldwide Syrah tasting as we have wines from FRANCE’S  
LANGUEDOC and NORTHERN RHÔNE VALLEY, CALIFORNIA, OREGON and AUSTRALIA.

1. CHÂTEAU CAMPLAZENS is located in the LANGUEDOC region in the sub- 
appellation of LA CLAPE.  The 2006 SYRAH we will taste carries a VIN  
de PAYS d’OC designation, whereas their premium wines carry LA  
CLAPE.  This gives the producer the flexibility to use non-estate  
fruit in the cheaper wine, if necessary.  This 100% SYRAH seems to me  
to be a cross between a Northern Rhône wine and one from the USA west  
coast.  It is rich with lots of dark berry fruit, but has the bacon  
fat, pepper and spice you’d expect from the Northern Rhône.  The best  
from the Old and New Worlds and great value - $10.75

2. After trying France meets California, let’s try California meets  
Australia!  When you taste the STERLING 2005 VINTNER’S COLLECTION  
SHIRAZ you will realize why they use SHIRAZ rather than SYRAH.  This  
is very much a “Southern Hemisphere Shiraz”, and tasted blind I might  
have said “Australia”.  The wine offers gobs of ripe berry fruit  
typical of Australia, but it has a few nuances which indicate  
something more serious than inexpensive Aussie Shiraz.  This is a  
crowd-pleasing wine at a modest cost - $11.75

3. We now move north to our own state – but not too far over the  
border from California.  I’ve been following ROXYANN WINERY for a few  
years, and now believe they are making some of the best wines in the  
ROGUE VALLEY.  The 2005 ESTATE SYRAH is a more complex wine than the  
relatively young vines would normally indicate.  Again, this is a  
wine that mixes west-coast style with classic European nuances.  This  
is also a wine that needs decanting at the moment (we will on Friday)  
and the aromas are of grilled plums and pepper with some earth  
notes.  The palate offers ripe blueberry and blackberry fruit with  
touches of spicy oak on a long finish.  Give this wine time and it  
will equal much more expensive Syrahs - $28.75

4. For our final wine in the basic flight we move to the Northern  
Rhône Valley, and in particular to the hills above the white wine  
Appellation of CONDRIEU.  Vines had been grown in this area since  
Roman times, but were wiped out by phylloxera in the 19th century and  
not replanted until after the creation of the various Rhône Valley  
Appellations.  This is why the YVES CUILLERON 2006 SYRAH carries the  
minor designation of VIN de PAYS COLLINES RHODANIENNES.  CUILLERON is  
a top-notch producer in CÔTE-RÔTIE, and this is a wonderful wine to  
have such a lowly VDP designation.  Just as with other Northern Rhône  
red wines, this wine is 100% SYRAH.  The wine offers lots of  
blackberry fruit, but also has those touches of earth, smoked meat  
and bacon fat that make Northern Rhône Syrahs so distinctive - $23.50

TRY THESE FOUR WINES FOR $10.00

For this week’s PREMIUM POUR we go to AUSTRALIA:

I thought it would be interesting to try a SHIRAZ that has been  
around for a while to see if “big”Aussie red wines improve with age.   
I’ve always liked the CHARLES CIMICKY 2003 THE AUTOGRAPH SHIRAZ from  
the BAROSSA VALLEY as it combines power with elegance.  This is what  
Robert Parker said in the October 2004 Wine Advocate #155: “Cimicky’s  
flagship offering, the 2003 Autograph, is an estate grown old vine  
Shiraz. Tipping the scales at 14.5% alcohol, it possesses abundant  
fruit, tremendous purity, and a wonderful ripeness and intensity that  
is not easy to obtain. A classic, full-bodied, well-balanced style  
offers copious quantities of blackberries, cassis, licorice, and soil  
undertones. Like most Cimicky wines, it combines sumptuousness with  
elegance, and tremendous intensity with superb balance. It should  
evolve nicely for a decade – 93 points” - $43.00

TRY THIS WINE FOR $5.00/Taste or $9.00/4 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, January 12th
2:00 – 5:00PM
Free

All being well we will have some or all of January’s Club Wines open:

SONOMA CUTRER 2005 CHARDONNAY “RUSSIAN RIVER RANCHES” - $21.00

DOMAINE DIOCHON 2006 MOULIN-À-VENT, BEAUJOLAIS, FRANCE - $24.00

COUSIÑO-MACUL 2007 SAUVIGNON GRIS, MAIPO VALLEY, CHILE - $15.00

SALADINI PILASTRI 2004 VIGNA MONTETINELLO, ROSSO PICENO SUPERIORE, LE  
MARCHE, ITALY - $13.25


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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