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CHARDONNAY FROM AROUND THE WORLD ($15) FRIDAY, MAY 13th 4-7:30 @ MT TABOR FINE WINES

12 May

Once again we’ve willed our way into a very nice Friday for our monthly white wine tasting; 69 with sun and clouds. So everything is set for a great tasting and all you have to do is show! Once in a while the wines that come together for the Friday tastings come together in a way that far exceeds my high lofted expectations and this is certainly one of them! For some, the thought of a California Chardonnay sends a chill over them and, I believe, this very style of white wine has made many proclaim “I don’t like white wine.” Of course I’m talking about the oaky, buttery style that California has become famous for. The trend has changed over the last 10 or so years and wineries have become aware that tastes have changed in favor of more balanced wines. And speaking of that we have two absolutely delicious versions of White Burgundy. And then there’s the Chard from the remote mountainous region of Valle D’Aosta in Northwest Italy. This is one of my favorite whites from Italy…and that’s saying something! And last but certainly not least the Evening Land Chardonnay represents one of the most exciting developments in Oregon wine ….period. This project will simply change the course of Oregon winemaking and grape growing forever. Without spending an hour discussing this, simply put, one of the very best winemakers in Burgundy, Dominique Lafon, has been hired to oversee this operation involving the Seven Springs Vineyard. In a few short years he has shown what real potential is here in Oregon involving Pinot Noir and especially Chardonnay. He has generously shared his knowledge and expertise concerning winemaking and grape growing with anyone who wants to know and believe me when I say when Lafon speaks, knowledgeable winemakers and grape growers here in Oregon are gratefully listening! In my opinion his presence will aid our growth towards ramping up the overall quality of our wines in a way that’s almost hard to imagine. This Chardonnay from Evening Land shows one the enormous potential of this great grape in our own backyard that had become almost given up on 10 short years ago. And why not, if our soils and climate are perfect for the great Burgundy red grape of Pinot Noir then it should make sense that the great Burgundy white grape, Chardonnay, should do equally well. And so it has in Lafon’s hands and it will in others because of his openness and willingness to share. This is a very strong lineup of world class Chardonnay and one that I’m very excited about sharing with you!

THE LINEUP

08 Eric Chevalier, Vin De Pays Du Val de Loire/ Loire Valley, France $13

09 Lioco, Sonoma County/ Sonoma Connty, California $20

08 Bernard Defaix, Chablis Vieilles Vignes/ Burgundy, France $22

08 Les Cretes, Vigna Frissonniere/ Valle D’Aosta, Italy $30

09 Evening Land, Madhatter/ Eola Hills, Oregon $43

PREMIUM POUR ($9)

07 Chateau Du Pulighny Montrachet, Meursault “Les Perrieres”/ Burgundy, France $95

Sandy

Sandy Thompson, Proprietor

Mt. Tabor Fine Wines
4316 SE Hawthorne Bl
Portland, Or. 97215
(503)235-4444

SPANISH REDS FROM 5 DIFFERENT REGIONS $15 Friday, May 6th/ 4-7:30PM @ Mt Tabor Fine Wines

5 May

As promised, we searched the whole of Spain to come up with this tasting of reds from 5 different regions and 4 different vintages. Many of these Bodegas will be familiar to many as they are considered some of the finest in Spain. And then there’s a brand new wine, the Black Slate, which is the brain child of importer Eric Solomon who has been importing fine Spainh wines for over a decade. This is his effort to bring in a high quality wine from old vines in the famous Priorat region at an affordable price. Spain has become one of the key sources for inexpensive, value priced, wines and all of these fit that category. A tasting of under $10 wines, to me, would be a snore. Sure, we all need those kinds of wines to fill our daily needs but for an interesting flight of wines you have to ramp it up a bit and my job is to give you all value whether the wine is $8 or $50. You need to remember that value happens at every price level. And if your goal is to learn about wine and grow your palate you simply have to taste at all price points. You’re not going to understand Red Bordeaux if you drink $10 Bordeaux Superior all the time. If going up the ladder doesn’t fit your wine budget get together with some like minded friends and pool your cash and put together your own tastings. Your palate will become much more finely tuned and you’ll have a great time doing it! I’d be happy to help you all put together your themes for these get togethers. And now, on to the wines.

THE LINEUP

08 Fabla, Old Vine Garnacha/ Calatayud $12

09 Emilio Moro, Finca Resalso/ Ribera Del Duero $15

09 Borsao, Tres Picos Garnacha/ Campo de Borja $17

08 Mas d’ en Compte, Black Slate/ Priorat $21

05 Finca Allende, Tinto/ Rioja $27

PREMIUM POUR ($5)

06 Sierra Cantabria, Collecion Privada/ Rioja $50

Happy Seis De Mayo,
Sandy

Sandy Thompson, Proprietor

Mt. Tabor Fine Wines
4316 SE Hawthorne Bl
Portland, Or. 97215
(503)235-4444

TOP NOTCH OREGON PINOT NOIR; FRIDAY, APRIL 29TH/ 4-7:30PM

28 Apr

I keep forgetting to ask all of you to please “Friend” us on facebook. Since we’ve added the blog to our web site and connected it to our facebook page we’re adding important content all of the time and we’d love to be a part of your “facebook” lives. Suggestions and comments are always welcome. If you have a great idea for a Friday tasting or any other thing we’d love to hear from you!

I just realized… this is only the second Oregon Pinot Noir tasting of 2011! Usually we’re good for every six weeks or so but looking back the last one was at the end of January. And I think that must be the reason that I had so many obvious choices and this certainly is a week of “what to leave in, what to leave out!” As I look at the lineup I am aware that most of the wineries are Mt Tabor favorites. I mean, the very top of the heap. Cameron, L. Volkman, Artisanal, Arterberry Maresh…..these are wineries that we’ve aligned ourselves with because we feel that these are the best of the best. We’ve done offers with all of them and as you know, the only wines that we do offerings on are only the very best. And we’ve sold a boatload of the other two; Dusky Goose and Scott Paul. And you should realize that this is looking like a very special Oregon Pinot tasting. Oh, and I promise that we’ll be more frequent with these tastings of our local treasures.

THE LINEUP

09 Cameron, Willamette Valley/ Dundee $18

09 Laura Volkman, St. James Estate/ Chehalem Mtns. $24

08 Scott Paul, La Paulee / Carlton $30
A blend of 3 vineyards; Maresh, Ribbon Ridge & Momtazi

07 Artisanal, Adams Vineyard Reserve/ Chehalem Mtns. $39

09 Arterberry Maresh, Maresh Vineyard/ Dundee Hills $50

PREMIUM POUR ($6)

08 Dusky Goose, Dundee Hills/ Dundee Hills $62

And don’t forget…..please friend us.

Sandy

Sandy Thompson, Proprietor

Mt. Tabor Fine Wines
4316 SE Hawthorne Bl
Portland, Or. 97215
(503)235-4444

WEST COAST WHITES 4-22-11 $15 AN ATTITUDE OF SUMMER

21 Apr

Yep, that’s it. If the weather gods won’t bring on the heat then we’ll do our share to help them out a bit. For the last few years it seems that when we schedule a white wine tasting the weather, somehow, cooperates. We may be starting our white tastings a month earlier than usual but if EVER there was a year that needed it, it’s this one! Nuff said. Yoooze locals know of what I’m talkin’.

So, it looks as if it will be 65 and sunny for this weeks Friday tasting so, once again, our little manipulation seems to have taken. And so we have out first white wine tasting of the season. I’m so very pleased that so many of you have put aside your bias against white wine and have come to see what I mean when I say “ if you don’t like white wine you just haven’t had the right one.” Over the last few years the white tastings have grown into some of the most well attended of all which really pleases me in that just a bi-decade ago I was wondering if I should continue with them at all. I just love that and I’m sure we’ll even do a dry rose tasting this summer which would have been unheard of in the recent past. It all brings back one of my favorite sayings………………. “The one thing that will keep a person in everlasting ignorance is CONTEMPT PRIOR TO INVESTIGATION”. And so we’ve investigated together and for that I thank you!

Really good lineup this week with a couple of my real favorites; the DePonte “Melon De Bourgogne” comes from a true Oregon treasure of a vineyard in the Dundee Hills. These vines are old and knarly and look like some of those really old Zin vines you see often in Sonoma. Head pruned and dry farmed these old boys give us a fantastic white wine from Oregon. When this wine is available I just can’t seem to stop drinking it. This, along with the Fausse Piste Viognier, is one of the few 2010’s to be released and indicates the quality we can look forward to from this almost “not” vintage. Mark my words, the best 2010 Pinot Noirs will be the finest EVER. More about that in the coming months and years. And those of you who have enjoyed the Kalin wines in the past will be very excited to see the 1994 Cuvee LD Chardonnay as the premium pour. Yep, I said 1994! A 17 year old stunning Burgundian style Chardonnay from Marin County’s Kalin Winery. I could go on and on about Kalin but let’s just say they’re esoteric, to say the least. Terry Leighton and his wife are/were professors at UC Berkeley and really don’t need the cash flow. Their intent has always been to make wines in the European style made to age and improve in the bottle. They release their wines when they think they are at their peak of drinkability and they have maintained and stayed true to this philosophy. Their current releases of Pinot Noirs are from the mid 90’s! I think it’s terrific that for many of you that have never had the opportunity to taste what happens to great wine aged under perfect conditions you have that chance with Kalin. And when you taste this Chard and realize that it’s only $42……………man, now that’s a bargain!

There I go again. Always long winded when I get excited but you’ll see what I mean on Friday. This is a delicious, strong lineup for our first whites of the year.

THE LINEUP ($15)

08 Luna, Pinot Grigio/ Napa Valley, Ca. $13

08 Brooks, Riesling (DRY!)/ Willamette Valley, Or. $14

09 St. Innocent, Pinot Blanc “Freedom Hill”/ McMinnville AVA, Or. $20

10 Fausse Piste, Viognier “Ma Conviction”/ Columbia Valley, Wa. $20

10 DePonte, Melon De Bourgogne “D.F.B.”/ Dundee Hills, Or. $24

PREMIUM POUR ($4)

94 Kalin, Chardonnay “Cuvee LD”/ Dry Creek-Sonoma, Ca. $42

Sandy

Sandy Thompson, Proprietor

Mt. Tabor Fine Wines
4316 SE Hawthorne Bl
Portland, Or. 97215
(503)235-4444

A Visit with Giuseppe Vajra Including a Tasting of the Fantastic G.D. Vajra Wines of Italy’s Piemonte

14 Apr

I can vividly remember the first time I heard about the wines of G.D. Vajra. I was reading an interview with one of the legends of Barolo and Barbaresco, Bruno Giacosa. Now, when Bruno talks………Sandy listens. Along with Chave of Hermitage fame, the Giacosa wines are my very favorite in the world. I’ve had more out of body wine drinking experiences with these two wineries…..by a mile! I even named one of my hens Bruna, in honor of Giacosa. NOW THAT’S BIG! Anyway, as I said, I was reading with great interest when I came to a part that intrigued me. Bruno said, “when I drink others Barolos, for me, it’s always the ones from Aldo Vajra. This was about 15 years ago and I had never heard of Vajra so I immediately set about doing some intense research and I was very pleased to find that the wines were available here in Oregon and at great prices as they were, and are, imported directly bypassing brokers and another importer! And after becoming familiar with all of the wines of this historic estate I understood why Bruno was such a fan. The winery and its vineyards are in and surrounding the village of Barolo. Their best vineyard is the Bricco Delle Viole which they use for their best Barolo bottling. They own it exclusively. The winemaking and farming are of the traditional manner. There are no rotofermenters or small French oak barrels. Everything is done the old fashioned way. These are not coctail wines and when aged properly they give pleasure at the very highest level. Here we’re talking about the Barolo’s but the true mark of a great winery is that quality is maintained at every level and for every wine. And here, Vajra really shines. The Dolcettos, Barberas and even the Nebbiolo/ Barbera/ Dolcetto blend (Rosso) are all top notch. The Rosso, at $15, has been a staple among our stacks of “bang for the bucks” for years. They recently purchased a very small estate called Luigi Baudana in Serralunga d’Alba. This has allowed them to add a bit of Chardonnay Langhe and some fruit from the very famous Barolo vineyard called Cerretta. We’ll begin the tasting with this delicious Chardonnay and taste through many of their wines ending with the amazing 2004 Barolo “Bricco Delle Viole.” We had Giuseppe here a few years ago and it was one our most enjoyable tastings of that year. Here is a young man working closely with his father and after meeting him there is no doubt that the estate of G.D. Vajra is in very capable hands indeed. He is such a sweet and personable young man you all will enjoy him immensely….not to mention the wines!!!!!! I’m very pleased and honored to be a part of his visit!

THE LINEUP

09 Chardonnay Langhe/ Serralunga d’Alba $25

08 Langhe Rosso / Barolo Zone $15

09 Dolcetto D’Alba / Barolo Zone $18

08 Barbera D’Alba / Barolo Zone $23

06 Barolo, “Albe” / Barolo $34

PREMIUM POUR ($7)

04 Barolo “Bricco Delle Viole” / Barolo $72

This will be memorable and very worth your time and attention.

Sandy

Sandy Thompson, Proprietor

Mt. Tabor Fine Wines
4316 SE Hawthorne Bl
Portland, Or. 97215
(503)235-4444

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