But Sicily is changing, and changing for the better. Here is a region as large and geographically diverse as all of northern Italy. Its wines should reflect that diversity both in character and in quality. And they do.

This tasting explores the current drama of Sicilian wine – from richly brooding, almost Zinfandel like Nero d’Avolas to the Grand Cru Burgundy likeness of Nerello Mascalese. For anyone with a broad interest in wine we invite you to explore an Odyssey of Sicilian wine.

Start Time: 19:00
Date: 2012-03-07
End Time: 20:00

At the birth of Tignanello and Sassicaia,Tuscany’s inveterate Super Tuscans, Sangiovese was thought to be too weak a grape for making noble wine.  Using French varieties like Cabernet and Merlot Super Tuscan’s thus “strengthened” Sangiovese (or left it out of the blend entirely) in order to make the best wine possible.  And from my tastings that is exactly what Tignanello and Sassicaia (and others) accomplished: great Tuscan wine.      

But you see, there is a bit of a “trick” going on here – that Tuscan wine “needs” French grape varieties to be great.  This statement is not to discredit the long standing legacy of Super Tuscans.  Rather, it is to chart the progress of Tuscany’s vintners themselves.  By the late 1980s many of them were exploring the idea of a world class Tuscan wine based wholly Italian varieties – i.e., Sangiovese and its Chianti brethren of Malvasia Nera and Canaiolo. 

Taking almost four decades of research, clonal selection, vineyard management and winemaking the time has come for Chianti Classico to stand alongside Super Tuscans as the highest expression of Tuscan wine.  And two wines from Castellare amply demonstrate this fact.

Castellare’s Chianti Classico is a serious wine – this is no candle in the Fiasco bottle Chianti.  The nose opens with aromas of sweet red cherries, cypress, bleeding-heart tomatoes, chocolate, and roasted walnuts.  By “serious” I do not mean “powerful” – a word I associate with wines of density like Merlot or Shiraz.  Here, on the palate, is a display of muscle and balance – a ballerino in perfect form, taut with energy and liveliness, commanding a space much larger than its form through beautiful grace.  Many (most?) Chianti’s lack flesh, a sustenance that gives length to the finish, but not here.  Fruit carries through, backing the arenaceous tannins to completion.  It is a young wine and can be drunk now or hold for another decade in your cellar.

Castellare’s I Sodi Di San Niccolo reveals one of those magical spots in the world where climate, soil and grapes combine to give us a wine like no other.  Specifically this wine comes from a natural south west facing amphitheater that darkens its fruit character down into a black cherry, black truffles, anice, and roasted chestnuts.  To drink this is to find a wine of immense depth, yet also transparent – there is massive concentration here, but that is really not the issue.  The issue is flavor – lingering, lively, harmonious and unique.  There isn’t another spot in the world that could create this wine, and this is exactly what great Tuscan wine is all about.  You can drink this now yet many anticipate it will live for twenty more years in your cellar. 

These two wines from Castellare offer a brave new definition of what it means to be super in Tuscany.  I encourage you to drink with passion.

2009 Castellare Chianti Classico

Winery Release Price:  $24.99

Sale Price:  $19.99 (20% off!)

2007 Castellare I Sodi di San Niccolo

Winery Release Price:  $74.99

Sale Price:  $59.99 (20% off!)

We are not the only ones to find these wines exciting.  Here are the Robert Parker reviews cited in the top line:

2009 Castellare Chianti Classico – 90 points Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate:

“The 2009 Chianti Classico opens with sweet, refined aromatics that lead to succulent red cherries, flowers, spices, mint and hard candy, all of which come together beautifully in this radiant, seductive wine. The 2009 is a touch silkier and more polished than the 2008 tasted alongside it, but both are beautiful. A long, creamy finish adds to an impression of amplitude on the palate. The 2009 should drink well for another decade, perhaps more. A small percentage of Canaiolo (5%) is added to the Sangiovese. The wine is fermented in steel and aged in neutral French oak barrels. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2021.”

2007 Castellare I Sodi di San Niccolo – 94+ points Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate:

“The 2007 I Sodi di San Niccolo is a massive yet seamless wine loaded with dark fruit. It possesses striking energy and textural richness, but those qualities will require some time to emerge. At times the 2007 shows signs of opening, but the underlying tannic material is quite substantial and dominant right now. A final blast of dark red fruit teases on the finish. The 2007 I Sodi is 85% Sangioveto and 15% Malvasia Nera aged in French oak barrels. It remains arguably the most under-the-radar of Tuscany’s truly great wines. Anticipated maturity: 2017-2027.”

We will be tasting these wines (as long as we don’t sell out) on Friday along with a selection of five other wines.  Stop in and join us!

$20 per guest – credited against purchase of six bottles or more

Australia’s wines are now tragically associated with critter labels such as the jumping kangaroo.  Yet to sum up this continent, as large as the lower 48 United States, under one wine making style is unjust.  And this tasting aims to change that.

Since 2008 a handful of family-owned, hand crafted Australian wineries have banded together to present Australia wine beyond the simple clutches of cheap Shiraz.  We at Waterford are proud to help these families showcase how distinguished Australian wines can be.

 Presented in an open house format we welcome any and all tasters but especially those who hold the belief that Australian wine cannot be more interesting than your typical grocery store critter-labeled Shiraz.  Please come and join us in celebrating Australia’s Day!

Wines to be tasted:

2008 Leeuwin Art Series Chardonnay $99.99

2007 Mitolo G.A.M. Shiraz, McLaren Vale $45.99

2008 Ringbolt Cabernet Sauvignon, Margaret River $18.99

2010 Mollydooker Blue Eyed Boy Shiraz, South Australia $54.99

2006 Pewsey Vale “The Contours” Riesling, Eden Valley $34.99

2009 Henshke Henry’s Seven, Barossa $44.99

 2010 Yalumba Y Series Unwooded Chardonnay, South Australia $14.99

2009 Yalumba Y Series Shiraz/Viognier, South Australia $14.99

2011 Yalumba Y Series Sangiovese Rose, South Australia $14.99

2009 Yalumba Bush vine Grenache, Barossa Valley $19.99

2006 Yalumba “The Signature” Cabernet Sauvignon, South Australia $49.99

2008 Jim Barry “the Cover Drive” Cabernet Sauvignon, Coonawara $19.99

2008 Jim Barry “The Lodge Hill” Shiraz, Clare Valley $19.99

2010 Brokenwood Semillon, Hunter Valley $34.99

2010 Cullen Ephraim Clark Sem/Sauv, Margaret River $49.99

2009 Plantagenet Estate Riesling, Great Southern $31.99

2009 Penley Phoenix Cabernet Sauvignon, Coonawarra $29.99

2007 Kilikanoon Prodigal Grenache, Clare Valley $44.99

2008 d’Arenberg Wild Pixie Shiraz/Rousanne, McLaren Vale $44.99

Founded in 1881 by three brothers Harvey, Bruichladdich became renowned for its elegant, floral and lightly peated rendition of Islay single malt.  It was Robert Harvey, youngest of the three brothers, who built and installed Bruichladdich’s tall, narrow-necked stills that are thought to give its signature expression.

But the twentieth century was unkind to both the brothers Harvey and Bruichladdich.  Like so many other distilleries, the founding family lost control and a series of closures, sales, repossessions and consolidations mark Bruichladdich for the next hundred years.

And then, in 2001, something magical happened. Control passed back to a local Scotsmen, Jim McEwan, and the soul of Bruichladdich was reborn in the form of “new make spirit” – what would become the Laddie Ten.  And now, a decade later, we are finally privileged to taste this expression of Bruichladdich.

The Laddie Ten opens with a clear and forceful declaration of soul: this is not corporate, spreadsheet made whiskey.  All the classic floral tones of Bruichladdich are here: heather, chestnut honey, primrose, and orange campion melding with a sense of the Hebridean and an underlayment of butterscotch.

The Laddie Ten is not peated and this cuts two ways.  For those of you who fear being smoked out by your scotch this is not that dram.  For those of you who need enough peat to make your gums bleed rest assured, Islay is not betrayed nor forgotten by the Laddie Ten.  Which is to say:

The nose is amazing, but the palate takes the scotch to a whole new dimension.  Harmonious, seamless, supple, smooth – these adjectives don’t come close to describing the resilience of flavor and elegant grace on display here.  Nutmeg, toffee, almond and candied fruit all mingle together rising to meet the promise inherent in the nose, finishing with tradition, the savor of Islay.  The effect leaves you needing a cigarette, or at least some time alone to contemplate what just happened.

To sum up, there is a reason Whiskey Advocate named the Laddie Ten Islay Single Malt of the Year: it’s f**king great scotch.  I’m drinking it right now and perfectly agree.

You may ask why this offer comes now, especially if you are attending the Bruichladdich tastings at Waterford later this month.  The reason: the Laddie Ten just won Whiskey Advocate’s Islay Single Malt of the Year.  I was told by the powers that be that spirit would sell out immediately and be gone to places like L.A., New York, or DC and simply not be available here.  I didn’t want to let that happen.  I took a jump and I forcefully suggest you do the same: buy a bottle of the Laddie Ten.  You will not regret it.

Bruichladdie “The Laddie Ten”

Distillery Release Price:  $57.99

Sale Price:  $39.99

They didn’t make a lot, and it took ten years to get here.  I believe this will sell out.  If it doesn’t we will be offering a small taste on this Friday.  Slainte!  

The Whiskey Advocate review can be found here:

http://www.whiskyadvocateblog.com/2012/02/09/whisky-advocate-award-islay-single-malt-of-the-year/

We also currently have lots of other fascinating Bruichladdie drams available.  In the Uber Provenance series: The Organic and the 2004 Islay Barley; in the Concepts The Black Art 2 and Fino Sherry 15; as well as Port Charlotte PC7 and Octomore 4.1.  Come explore!

But also, on Friday we will be pouring a comparison of New World and Old World Burgundy Varietals.  Stop in and join us!

All orders must be secured with a name, credit card number, and phone number.  All orders will be available at the time of purchase.

When the wine is ordered your credit card will be charged.  The wine will be held in climate controlled conditions until you are ready to pick it up, free of charge.  Offer is good while supplies last.

Ben Christiansen wrote this article and Tim Hansen edited it.

Is there anything more romantic than Champagne?

Marilyn Monroe bathed in it, Maynard Keynes said he could never get enough, Madame De Pompadou romanced Louis the XV with it and Winston Churchill needed it through victory and defeat.  Yet for all this history, drama and romance Champagne has a dark underside.  But also a silver lining.

Champagne comes from Champagne – meaning it comes from grapes grown within the geographic region of Champagne, France.  And that region is made up of dirt.  Champagne’s dirt is worth talking about.

All French vineyards ( i.e., the dirt) are classified according to the quality of grapes that they produce.  Grand Cru is the best, Premier Cru is second, then Village, then regional vineyards.  For years, in Champagne, this system of classification has been obscured in favor of brand recognition.  Meaning it’s fun to know Lilly Bollinger drinks Champagne all the time, but its far more specific to know where her firm is buying all its fruit.

Further, Champagne’s vineyards in recent years have been a dumping ground.  Literally.  For years the French government maintained a policy of dumping Parisian garbage on Champagne’s vineyards.  But that isn’t all.  To establish a new vineyard, or replant an old one, managers “sterilize” the soil, meaning treat it with such harsh chemicals that nothing will grow for three years, and then stick vines in the ground.  Of course these vines will not grow, so a new round of chemicals is needed to stimulate growth and ward off pests.  You think I exaggerate but I don’t.  In 2010 the Producers Association held a press conference to cover the exciting news that earth worms could finally live in Champagne’s soils once again.

Obviously something is wrong here. 

To put a fine point on it – Champagne vines grow in dirt.  If that dirt is full of pesticides, herbicides, and industrial garbage the grapes will develop flavors based on these characteristics.  Garbage in, garbage out.  And our exception is the proof: Egly Ouriet’s Brut Tradition. 

Francois Egly Ouriet is the second generation of a farmer Champagne grower.  Meaning he grows the fruit that makes up his Champagnes.  In the rest of the world this concept is not radical, but in Champagne – like so much else Egly Ouriet does – it is.  Typically small farmers sell their fruit to be added anonymously to the vats of the large houses.

Francois’ father began like so many other farmers in Champagne – with chemicals and garbage.  But then his life took a different turn.  He saw his Grand Cru vineyards , the only vineyards he owns, begin to deteriorate, as if melting under an intense, chemical, radioactive heat.  He quickly switched away from the proscribed mainstream practices and turned towards the vineyard, shunning chemicals and all other additives.  His vineyards are our silver lining, and it shows.        

Egly-Ouriet Brut Tradition opens with aromas of black cherries and golden sultanas greeting the drinker as they rise from the glass.  Egly’s fruit is like no other, being from the Pinot Noir grand crus of Ambonnay and Bouzy.  Most of us have never truly experienced a Champagne’s aromas, and this one may be shocking.  But along with the fruit character there is more – Francis believes in extremely long elevage, or aging.  This Champagne sees four years in bottle, bringing a toasty, freshly baked croissant aromas to the nose.  The palate eases into its rich creaminess, yet the wine is intense and focused.  It is as pure as a great white Burgundy yet as balanced and fresh as only Champagne can be.      

But my greatest advice to you on this most romantic day comes from F. Scott Fitzgerald – too much of anything is bad, but too much Champagne is just right.  This Valentine’s Day enjoy a Champagne like no other – Egly Ouriet’s Brut Tradition Grand Cru.  

Egly Ouriet Brut Tradition Grand Cru

Suggested List Price:  $74.99

Sale Price:  $49.99

Egly Ouriet makes a very small amount of Champagne.  If we do not sell out of it we will be pouring it on Friday night!

But also, on Friday we will be pouring a comparison of New World and Old World Burgundy Varietals.  Stop in and join us!

All orders must be secured with a name, credit card number, and phone number.  All orders will be available at the time of purchase. 

When the wine is ordered your credit card will be charged.  The wine will be held in climate controlled conditions until you are ready to pick it up, free of charge.  Offer is good while supplies last. 

Ben Christiansen wrote this article and Tim Hansen edited it.

Bottled tag: Lively and pure, don’t hold back.  Great, of course, on its own, perfect with gastronomie – fish, chicken, rich cream sauces, even the odd steak or two.  Drink now, or hold indefinitely.  Disgorgement date is on the back.    

So it was with raised eyebrow and stiff proboscis that I greeted her repine prognostication that I am not “dirty” enough.  A Martini that is, “the American invention as perfect as the sonnet.”

And she’s right; with qualifications: I am no tender-footed gink snuffler nor prurient vodka embalmer of the Appletini crowd.  “Dirty” so often means truculent piss-water-gin made palatable with the dalliance of questionable olive “juice” whose tenure at the bar transcends that of the nuclear maraschino cherry but reveals its’ qualifications only upon exit – mainly your precipitations containing a funky savory note not quite identifiable as human or fungus.  Why not just drink the dregs of a sour-kraut barrel?  At least it ferments purposefully instead of through neglect.

To take a stance: I avoid the dirty martini, unless it’s mine.  But my job is not to obfuscate – I will not leave Grandma high and dry.  This Valentine’s Day I’m going to do what every male college sophomore is attempting to do, but better – I’m going in wet.  To be clear:

I am going to make your Grandma wet.  A wet martini that is. 

You fear me and the tension cuts both ways.  First are the timid lutists who “can’t handle Gin’s taste”.  Second are the Brahmins of the Stiffy who believe Gin’s purity is sacred and structural intensity rules above all.  We shall deal with both via description:

This Wet Martini glides in smooth and subtle, suggesting all the flavors of gin, but with more grace and elegance than your ex-boyfriend.  This is Old Tom Gin and our secret recipe. 

You see, “Old Tom” Gins are a touch off-dry.  No, they aren’t sweet.  They are the classic, pre-prohibition style of gin.  The idea is that there is flesh on the bones, something to ride on, mud-flaps for the dually.  The “kiss” brings forward softness in the botanicals, coupled here with caramelized orange peel and wildflower notes from the vermouth. 

But really, the beauty is its wetness: the palate, while tasting of gin, is like no other gin drink you have ever had.  Gin can be soft and mellow; it doesn’t need maladroit “flavorings” like cucumber to make it smooth.  Every flavor here is in harmony, tasting of itself yet combining to make a greater whole.  It gives, and gives generously as you roll it around your tongue and swallow.  It remains, as all gin drinks do, a heady, intellectual cocktail – yet this one with a warm glow of dotage.     

This Valentine’s Day do as I do: remain sophisticated, but not dry; go in wet but not dirty.  And always remember – while you’re chasing Cosmos across sadly out-dated Prix-Fixe menus I’ll be right where the action is hottest: serving a wet martini to your grandma.

The Wet Martini Package

1 bottle Hayman’s Old Tom Gin

1 375 ml bottle Dolin Dry (Green Label) Vermouth

1 bottle Bitter-cube caramelized orange bitters

Suggested List Price:  $59.99

Sale Price:  $44.99

All orders must be secured with a name, credit card number, and phone number.  All orders will be available at the time of purchase. 

When this package is ordered your credit card will be charged.  The wine will be held in climate controlled conditions until you are ready to pick it up, free of charge.  Offer is good while supplies

Directions:

Coat Riedel Vinum O Series tumbler with ¼ tsp of Bitter cube orange bitters.  Load a shaker with ice.  Pour 3 oz. of Hayman’s Old Tom Gin into shaker followed by 1 oz. of Dolin Vermouth.  Shake murderously hard as drink should be served stingingly cold.  Pour into glass neat or with cubes (your choice).  Garnish with olive and orange zest.  Get cocky and garnish with grilled olive stuffed with candied orange zest.  Serve!

But through all these changes around it the estate has stayed the same.  While others have pursued styles of wine that range from jammy, alcoholic richness to blockbuster, wood-slivers-in-the-mouth high oak monsters, Mont Olivet has maintained tradition.  And tradition, here, means great wine.

Although Mont Olivet is most famous for their Chateauneuf du Pape they also make a Cote du Rhone, which comes from two separate vineyards in Montueil and Levade.  Their Cote du Rhone is based on 60 year old Grenache vines fermented and matured traditionally – in concrete and old oak barrels.  This gives the wine a rich base of cherry fruit and underlying cassis.  The traditional wine making brings out further flavors of Provencal herbs, truffles and licorice.  But that is not all.

There is a good dollop of old vine Carignan in this Cote du Rhone as well.  Many producers are setting aside their Carignan as a “not-fruity-enough” grape variety.  But here it provides structure and lift, making the cherry and blackberry notes of the nose pop and leaving the palate fresh.  A final touch of Syrah adds a note of sous bois and black pepper, a twist of complexity that lingers on the palate for minutes.

While still “only” a Cote du Rhone this wine drinks better than many Chateauneuf du Papes, but it is decidedly less expensive.  For its intense aromatics, concentrated fruit character and balanced finesse Mont-Olivet’s Vieilles Vignes Cotes du Rhone can’t be beat!  Cheers.

2009 Mont Olivet Vieilles Vignes Cote du Rhone Montueil-Levade

Winery Release Price:  $19.99

Sale Price:  $9.99

All orders must be secured with a name, credit card number, and phone number.  All orders will be available at the time of purchase.

When the wine is ordered your credit card will be charged.  The wine will be held in climate controlled conditions until you are ready to pick it up, free of charge.  Offer is good while supplies last.

Ben Christiansen wrote this article and Tim Hansen edited it.

Bottled tag: Fresh and fruit Cote du Rhone.  Will pair with almost anything – roast chicken, pork, heavier fish, fuller vegetarian dishes.  A great user friendly wine, a little bit on the fruitier side of the Cote du Rhone.  Drink now until 2015.

All related grapes.  Two cousins, one parent and one off-spring to be exact.  This tricky grape variety family tree tells a fascinating story of an underappreciated, yet spectacular wine: Petite Sirah.

Our story begins at the end of the First Crusade.  Out of the misty depths of the Moorish East, a war-weary solider returns to his family vineyard in France.  Here, at a chapel on top of the hill named Hermitage, our nameless Hero plants a singular, modest vine – Syrah.  The vine is successful, and Hermitage becomes the birthplace of Syrah.*

The vintages roll on and by the 19^th century we find Syrah on two separate world-wide journeys.  First, James Busby imports Syrah, then known as Scyras, into Sydney, Australia.  Spreading across New South Wales its name is simplified to the Aussie pronunciation of “Shure-as”, or Shiraz.  Second, Dr. Durif, a practicing viticulturist in France, attempts to develop a grape resistant to the ravages of Downey Mildew.  He crosses Syrah with the obscure grape Peloursin and names the child after himself: Durif the grape.

Durif (the grape, not the man) makes big, inky, dark wine.  Deciding that Durif is just too darn macho the French authorities ultimately ban it.  However, by this point, Durif has immigrated to the land of opportunity – America, and into the hands of Italian immigrants, quick to turn its virile characteristics into bold drinking wine.

Maybe the early Italian immigrant farmers just didn’t know how to pronounce its name, or maybe they  thought it too coarse for something that makes such beautiful wine, but by the time Durif makes it to California its name has changed to Petite Sirah.  And Petite Sirah is ideally matched to California sunshine, as Pennywise Petite fully shows.

Just by looking at a glass you can tell this is truly a robust wine – its color is as dark and inky black as a starless night sky.  Petite Sirah has one advantage over every other grape in California; it soaks up the California sunshine and turns it into powerful wine that tastes of fresh baked blueberry cobbler, figs, blackberries and raspberry jam without losing its power and structure.  In Pennywise supple, fine grain tannins support its richness adding a lingering note of cinnamon latte and caramel to its soft, lingering finish.

But best of all, Pennywise is exactly as its name describes – deliciously affordable!

2009 Pennywise Petite Sirah

Suggested List Price:  $12.99

Sale Price:  $9.99

We will be tasting this wine Friday along with a selection of five other wines.  Stop in and join us!

All orders must be secured with a name, credit card number, and phone number.  All orders will be available at the time of purchase.

When the wine is ordered your credit card will be charged.  The wine will be held in climate controlled conditions until you are ready to pick it up, free of charge.  Offer is good while supplies last.

Ben Christiansen wrote this article and Tim Hansen edited it.

Bottled tag: dark, dense and robust Petite Sirah.  Serve with boldly flavored braised, grilled or roasted red meats.  Drink now until 2014.

*Actually, this part of the story is complete French malarkey.  The most recent research indicates Syrah is probably a spontaneous crossing Dureza and Mondeuse Blanche.  But this version is far more romantic.

Bordeaux used to be an area defined and managed by the 1855 classification system.  However, within the last five years wines from outside that classification are taking the world by storm in terms of their high quality and low prices.  Come join us for this informative, “open house” style tasting and explore some of these great finds in Bordeaux!

Wines to be tasted:

2010 Chateau Graville Lacoste Graves Blanc $19.99

2007 Chateau Bellevue Lussac St. Emilion $24.99

2006 Chateau Ferrande Graves $18.99

2008 Chateau de Fontenay Cotes de Castillon $12.99

2009 Chateau L’Argenteyre Medoc Cru Beourgeois $17.99

2009 Chateau de Bon Ami Bordeaux $8.99

& more!

Due to the Satan-esque “micro-oxygenation” proclamations made by Michelle Rolland, wine consultants now have a bad name.  They are thought to swoop in on a winery, offer up a series of techno-gadgetry to “fix” wines, and then leave a seven figure bill in the dust as their limo speeds away.

But Tony’s not that kind of guy and his work in Napa proves it – specifically his work with Shafer on their Hillside Select Cabernet.  Very few wines can claim the track record of Shafer Hillside Select.  Its modern pantheon of successive 98 point or higher (via Robert Parker) vintages is matched by very few wines in the world.  But despite its current glory, Hillside was not always dominant.  In the late 1980s the wine-making team could not seem to take Hillside up to its full potential.  They turned to Tony. 

Like a great coach Tony taught the Shafer wine-making team to trust themselves and the vineyard.  His inaugural wine at Shafer set the modern blue-print for Hillside Select, and scored 99 points from Parker.  When his one year contract was up the Shafers were desperate to keep him.  But Tony told them “You don’t need me, you can do this.  And hey, if you get in to trouble, give me a call.”

Tony’s down to earth coaching now covers Napa Valley – not only did he work at Shafer but also Araujo, Spottswoode, Viader, Dalle Valle and his own winery, Etude – all Napa luminaries. 

And so it was a difficult decision to stop his consulting work.  But Tony returned home to the Willamette Valley to raise a family – and use his talents to create his own wine.  Finding an ideal location at Mineral Springs Vineyard he now crafts two exceptional Pinot Noirs: North Valley and the Mineral Springs vineyard itself.

North Valley Pinot Noir shows off Tony’s exceptional talents as a wine-maker.  It opens with bramble aromas of red cherries, kirsch and sultana raisins.  It is sourced from vineyards within a ten mile radius of Mineral Springs, which contributes to its silken mouth feel and well integrated tannin with very little new oak. 

The Mineral Springs Pinot Noir shows one of Oregon’s great vineyards for Pinot Noir.  Facing due south, Mineral Springs is a gentle sloping, high elevation vineyard of well-drained sedimentary rock.  These characteristics create Pinot Noirs of blackberry, black cherry and floral aromas that recall violets or roses.  Every vintage shows an exotic spice character that seamlessly integrates with the solid core of pure and supple fruit.  The wine is as resolved as it is balanced, and it drinks generously now but will hold in your cellar for a decade or more.        

We are lucky to represent Tony’s exceptional Pinot Noirs at these great prices.  Cheers! 

2009 Soter North Valley Pinot Noir

2009 Soter Mineral Springs Pinot Noir

Please call 414-289-9463 for pricing on these two outstanding wines.

We are not the only ones to find Tony Soter’s new Pinot Noirs exciting.  Here are the Robert Parker reviews cited in the top line:

2009 Soter North Valley Pinot Noir – 91 points Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate:

“In the 2009 vintage, Soter Vineyards handled the conditions as well as anyone. The entry-level bottling, the dark ruby-colored 2009 North Valley Pinot Noir was aged in only 10-20% new oak. Potpourri, incense, and bright red fruits inform the nose of a savory, round, nicely balanced wine that will deliver considerable pleasure over the next 6+ years.”

2009 Soter Mineral Springs Pinot Noir – 93 points Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate:

“The 2009 Pinot Noir Mineral Springs is a 300 case bottling sourced from the tenderloin of the vineyard. More expressive and elegant than the Mineral Springs Ranch, it shows off the best aspects of the vintage. Beautifully proportioned and impeccably balanced, it is one of the stars of the vintage.”

We will be tasting this wine Friday along with a selection of five other wines.  Stop in and join us!

All orders must be secured with a name, credit card number, and phone number.  All orders will be available at the time of purchase. 

When the wine is ordered your credit card will be charged.  The wine will be held in climate controlled conditions until you are ready to pick it up, free of charge.  Offer is good while supplies last. 

Ben Christiansen wrote this article and Tim Hansen edited it.

Bottle tag North Valley:  bramble aromas of red cherries, kirsch and sultana raisins.  Serve with robust fish, lighter meats, or roasted hearty winter vegetables.  Drink now through 2016.

Bottle tag Mineral Springs: blackberry, black cherry and floral notes.  Palate is pure and supple.  Serve with robust fish, lighter meats, or roasted hearty winter vegetables.  Drink now through 2024.