tasting at HASR wine co.

Kelly and I went to a great tasting last week at HASR in Chinatown and had some decent value-driven California wines from Morgan and Bishop's Peak.  I keep forgetting the name of the guy who pours there on Tuesday and Friday nights but he is extremely nice, knowledgeable, and efficient.  The holy trinity of attributes for anyone working in a tasting room.

The 2011 Morgan Sauvignon Blanc was probably the star of the show with a surprisingly big body for the varietal and its clean, minerally, and old world flavor profile.   It is blended with small amounts Sauvignon Musque and Semillon as well as spends 6 months in mostly neutral oak to lend complexity and texture.   The 2011 Chardonnay from Bishop's Peak was lighter in body and color and had an extremely closed nose.  It had nice light clean citrus flavors but not much else to write home about.

BP's Pinot was temptingly priced at $20 and had a plump body with well-rounded tannins and true to the varietal rustic cherry flavors.  The Cabernet was also dominated by simple cherry notes on the front end that fell off too quickly.  It also had a bit too much oak and heat for me.  Finally, the Morgan rhone-style "cote du crow's" blend was much rounder and heavier on the palate with riper darker fruit.  There were some tertiary bitter subtle vinegary notes on the mid-palate that for some reason I was into.  
I would definitely recommend the free bi-weekly tastings at HASR.  And if you see a short dorky-looking haole scribbling tasting notes in the corner, say hi!

La Massa, IGT, 2010, Tuscany, Italy

This super Tuscan style blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Sangiovese gives you an introduction to the style with just enough body, complexity, and old school style to get your palate salivating.  It's got a sexy nose of raspberry, whipped vanilla, clean oak, and a bit of rust.  Though far closer to medium rather than full-bodied, the La Massa has a densely packed core of flavors.  Rhubarb, cranberry, raspberry,and sweet tobacco ride on a layer of roughly grained tanins.  The juice of the berries kicks in beautifully on the mid-palate like gushing juice from the center of hard candy.  The acid still dominates the fruit suggesting this is more of a food pairing wine.  The finish is very dry and long.  Priced in the teens, the La Massa comes highly recommended.  

Bonny Doon, "Contra" Old Vine Field Blend, 2009, Central Coast, California

The nose on this wine is a hearty mixture of cassis, black olives, tabasco, jerky, and lots of dry green spice like oregano.  Every once in a while, it's nice to get away from bright red fruit domination in a lot of red wine and the Contra delivered.  The dry spice rub carries through to the flavor profile as well along with the olive juice, dark plum, and subtle grippy tannins.  This is a light to medium bodied effort but with some serious flavors.   You know, like a young skinny thinking old wise man who furrows his brow when presented with a particularly difficult zen koan like question.  The acid is just barely present in this wine and lets the round fruit do the work on the front end.  The Contra is not super complex/layered but is unique and balanced in its approach.  Nothing like a value-driven cold night patio-pounder for the wine nerd in all of us!  I would pair this with lighter fare such as vegetarian Italian food or hearty brown stews.    

Masperla, Priorat, 2007, Spain

Kelly drank most of this wine without me.  Shame on her but I do remember a few things about it.  The nose was dominated by red fruits and veggies.  Think strawberries, rhubarb, and fresh from the garden baby radishes.  The flavors of this medium-bodied wine were also super bright and treblely.  The oak was supportive of the fruit but still this wine seems too young to drink at this time. This is an extremely dry wine but the fruit bounces a bit on the finish and I loved that contrast.   The tannin structure definitely foreshadows complexity over the years.  We'll get back to you in a few.

Guenoc, "Victorian Claret," 2010, North Coast California

Opaque, red in color, this Bordeaux-style blend has a pretty okay nose of slightly cooked red fruit, whipped cream, and fake maple syrup.  Red juicy juicy (but not jammy) fruit dominates the flavor profile along with a bit of smoke.  The mouth-feel is quite restrained compared to this Claret's strong aromatics.  This wine is best drunk quickly, as after about a sitcom-length time in the glass the heat completely takes over the nose.  A dry and rustic finish give the Guenoc some character not usually found in cheaper red blends from California.  Sorry, nothing too exciting today folks!

Hook & Ladder, "The Tillerman," 2009, Russian River Valley, Sonoma, California

This wine shouts from the rooftops, "I am from California!"  It's big, bold, juicy, and acts like there is no other way to be.  The color of this Bordeaux-style blend is uniform opaque purple up to the tiny shiny purple pink edges of the glass.  It has a surprisingly soft nose of sandalwood  rose potpourri, heat, and slightly unpleasant floor cleaner chemical edge.  The Tillerman is worrisome at first with the overwhelming sweet tart candy notes that repeatedly slap you in the face on the front end.  That being said the sugar ride is cut short by a satisfyingly dry pucker of cranberry and pomegranate on the mid-pallet.  The tannins are soft to non-existent demonstrating that this blend is best enjoyed now or in the next couple years.  A nice bit of pure cherry like the top of sundae lingers on the finish.  Overall, not a too bad choice for a kid with a sweet tooth that he is trying to keep in check.           

Lavau, Gigondas, 2010, France

Is that a Gigondas on the shelf or are you just happy to see me, Costco?  I really don't mean to ape this other blog's style but sometimes my wallet is empty and the bargain wine pickings are kinda slim here in Honolulu.  Either way, for less than 15 bucks the 2010 Lavau is a great opportunity to get a real taste of what the southern Rhone has to offer.  Wines from Gigondas or Vacqueyras are not too difficult to find in the states and can be a real step up in both complexity and body from your everyday Cote De Rhone without being nearly as expensive as a Chateauneuf-du-Pape.  

The Lavau is vibrant purple black in the glass.  It has very enticing nose of violets, raspberries, minerality and inkiness.  This wine has an initial austerity and lack of fruit right out of the bottle.  I picked up hints of woodiness and bell pepper with tar hitting on the back end.  As it opens up raspberry fruit and black licorice with creamy milk chocolate undertones really start to shine.  This is far from full bodied but the purity and richness of the fruit really give the Lavau a sense of grandeur (Did I really just say that about something I bought at Costco?)   The acidity and berry flavors beautifully bob and weave around each other like a young Cassius Clay.  I'm trying not to wax all poetic all the time about what I love but sometimes it just can't be helped.

French Kiss - Getting Fresh with France (a guest post by Ellis Holiday)

The Languedoc-Roussillon is probably not the first place that pops into your mind when you are trying to decide on a bottle of wine. It may be the last place on Earth you would think of unless you are lucky enough to have a few fond memories of travel in the south of France. In which case you are one of the lucky few who know how unique and delicious these wines can be.
Languedoc grouped with it’s neighboring Roussillon makes it one of the largest and most productive wine producing regions in France and also the world. This region represents villages with a history of wine making that stretches as far back as the Greeks who planted vineyards here in the fifth century BC.  Among the most notable AC’s are, Costieres De Nimes, Coteaux Du Languedoc, St. Chinian and Faugeres. 

Why have you not heard more about the wines produced in this beautiful Mediterranean climate?

Chateau Roc de Breuil, 2009, Cotes de Bourg AOC, Bordeaux

Every once in a while you smell something in a glass of wine and it sends you reeling back into the strange dream that was your childhood.  This right bank baby sure did that from me.  I remember going to stay with my grandma back in the late 70's at her shag carpet covered apartment in Skokie, Illinois,  a city full of single Jewish grandmothers.  I remember sitting at her little kitchen table watching "Murder She Wrote" and her going out on the patio for a smoke during a commercial break.  She would come back pop a Certs in her mouth and offer one up to me.

And BOOM, that's exactly what this wine smells like!  Smoke and Certs!  Oh yeah, I also pick up red pepper flakes, strawberry jam, and tart candy.  This Merlot-driven blend from the northern region of the right bank of Bordeaux is light-to-medium bodied and hazy crimson in color.  The flavor is dominated by raspberry with lively light spice and resiny notes.  It's got good acid, not much length, and tough but not too bitter tannins.  The Roc de Breuil reminds me of a slightly brawnier Beaujolais Villages.  Maybe it's all psychosomatic, but after some recent disappointing bottles this wine has an authenticity and realness that I can appreciate.  12 bucks at Costco and oh I wonder how this would pair with some tako poke!           

Kilikanoon, Killerman's Run Shiraz Grenache, 2007, South Australia

The Killerman's Run has a tough manly nose of black pepper, sweet porter, cologne, barnyard, and a bit too much fiery heat.  It's medium-bodied and dominated by red brambly fruit notes from the Grenache and dark chocolate from the Shiraz.  There's some acidity and grip on the front end but I don't really like what I was holding onto.  A persistent saccharine sweetness completely throws this wine off balance and gives the middle finger to whatever the terroir is trying to say.  On day two the wine tasted the same, the heat had yet to blow off, and I wanted my 20 bucks back.  

I really fell in love with wine for the first time when touring the cooler Yarra Valley and the Grampians region of Australia.  Whenever the haters come out, I'm quick to defend the land down under as many of their best wines aren't distributed in North America.  Wines from the hotter regions in the south completely dominate the export market.  As wine consumption has increased worldwide and consumers have developed more sophisticated palates, the Australian commercial wine powerhouses haven't kept up with the times.  And for me, wines like the mid-priced Killerman's Run aren't doing anything to dig Australia out of the rut it has found itself in.        

aloha oregon (no, not that aloha)

Okay, I moved to Honolulu, Hawaii a few months ago after in Portland for 13 years straight.  I needed to put northwest winters behind me once and for all.  Don’t hate me.  Right now, after way too many shitty light beers and overly sweet tropical drinks, I’m missing Oregon wine.  Here are some reviews I somehow forgot to put up from a visit to the lovely east-side urban Enso Winery.  More review to come soon . . . promise. 

Enso, Resonate #2

This is a nice clean if a little unassuming white wine for the summer.  It a blend Oregon Gevurtraminer and Washington Riesling.  It’s got heaps of peach and sugar cane on both the nose and flavors.  It’s got a slight syrupy sweet edge but still ends quick and clean.  I would have liked more spice from the Gevurtz or mineral notes from the Riesling.  Still not bad at all.  Also, it’s a nice treat to be able to scoop up a wine with such a tiny production (52 cases!) at under 15 dollars. 

Enso, Pinot Gris, 2010, Wheatland Vineyard

A much brighter and drier wine compared to the resonate.  Lemon, golden raisin, and pear dominate the nose with a touch of wet rock.  This gris has some real unique qualities compared to a lot of others I have tasted lately.  It’s fruit forward but loaded with lemon candy and dried apricot as opposed to a lot of the day old puckery lime flavors I get from a lot of other Oregon Pinot Gris.  The fruit from this wine comes from Arcane Cellars Wheatland Vineyard, where the winemakers at Enso used to work.  You can tell that this fruit is in good hands.

Enso, Rose, Alder Ridge, 2011

This bottle was tasted about 3 weeks after being bottled.  It’s a southern French style blend of Syrah, Grenache, and Mouvedre.  The fun factor on the nose (strawberry, watermelon, and bubble gum) is balanced out by some nice background herbal notes.  The strawberry carries through on the flavor profile with the addition of vanilla bean and tar.  The tannins are a bit bitter on the end.  This wine is definitely still young even for a Rose.  The 2010 Enso Rose was made up of different varietals.  It wasn’t as focused or clean as the 2011 but I do think it was a little more interesting.

Enso, Resonate #2, Washington, 2009

This 50/50 blend of Sangiovese and Counoise has super enticing nose with lots of clean earthy notes,  musk, and shoe leather polish.  Considering the strength of the nose, the resonate #2 is light on its feet on the flavor profile.  It’s a medium bodied wine dominated by plum, cinnamon, and cocoa powder flavors.  There is a nice acidity running throughout as well.  The winemakers call the resonate #2  “dominate yet strong” and I couldn’t agree more.  This wine would pair really well with lots of food and I think is a real value at $16 a bottle!

Enso, Resonate #3, Washington, 2009

The #3 is a blend of 50% Mouvdre, 25% Grenache, and 25% Syrah from the Alder Ridge Vineyard in the Horse Heaven Hills AVA.  This wine is also a brand new release for Enso.  It’s got a much darker color than the #2.  The nose is not as open ended and much darker.  There is a hefty dose of creamy oak rounded out by rose, violet, and crushed blueberry.  The #3 is closer to full bodied with a milky mouthfeel.  I found this wine to have lots of awesome sweet notes but still not dominated by fruit.  Think caramel, coffee, and fudge!  There is also a nice dose of black pepper and currant.  This is quite a rich wine that I couldn’t find much acidity in.  Still it’s far from flabby.  Good stuff to drink on its own once the weather cools down a little.

a jaunt to a few wineries in newberg and carlton

Nora and I set out with my parents for some wine tasting on the day before my birthday and hit a few places I have never been to before. The first stop was August Cellars. August is actually the first winery one comes upon when taking 99 from Portland out to wine country. August has a rather upscale and open tasting room. Unfortunately, the wines were pretty uneven to say the least. The first of the line up was the 2008 Oregon dry Riesling. The nose was a mixture of canned pears, lime, and balsa wood. It was an extremely fruit forward wine with a very thin body. A one dimensional puckery lemon flavor dominated the profile. Nora said it was like drinking water with citrus fruit in it. I concurred.

The 2007 Washington Riesling didn’t fair much better. Its nose reeked of laughing gas and the inside of a balloon with a hint of confectionary sugar. The awkwardness of the nose carried through on the body. Finally, the sweet Riesling with fruit from Eola-Amity Hills had a nose like gummy candy and mashed over-ripe peaches. Its touch of acidity and understated sweetness gave it a better balance than the other two efforts but it was still nothing to write home about.

The only Pinots on the tasting menu were from the 2004 vintage. The staff admitted that it was an extremely difficult vintage and that the grapes got picked a little later than they would have liked. He further explained that they tried to make up for the watered down flavor profile with exposing the grapes to more oak. There was a Willamette valley pinot as well as a single vineyard designate from the Aubre Vert vineyard. Both the wines were still alive and vibrant but without a doubt overly-oaked. They had a crimson color with hints of brown beginning to take over on the edges. The smells reminded me of smoke from a BBQ with hints of smoked cheese and a bit of cherry. The wines did have a silky big body for such a rainy vintage probably imparted by the oak. Nora said they tasted like an oak sponge. I got beef jerky, tar, and bitter fruit as well.

The 2005 Washington Merlot was probably the best of all. It also had a big punchy nose with English garden rose, chocolate cake, red fruits, and a hefty dose of alcohol. It was a rather simple wine with an explosion of strawberry on the front end and a white pepper tinged acidity with a fairly short finish. There was a fair amount of burning alcohol on the end as well.

Our next stop was the Dark Horse Wine Bar in Newberg. The wine bar operates as a tasting room for Sineann Wines, Medici Vineyards, and Ferraro Cellars. We were able to taste through a number of selections. Sineann sources most of its fruit from vineyards in Willamette and Columbia Valley. But they also make some wine from California and even New Zealand. We tasted two northwest gewurtztraminers that both had beautiful fresh fruit and spice noses and round exotic flavor profiles. A Columbia Valley Sauvignon Blanc proved to be clean and full bodied with hints of peach and candied nuts. It’s Marlborough counterpart was true to the variatal and style with an overwhelming fresh red grapefruit flavors and a persistent acidity.

A pair of 2008 entry level Pinot Noirs from the Columbia Valley had pleasant dark fruit flavors with toned down acids while still remaining balanced and lean. Next up was a 2002 and 2003 estate block designate Pinots from Medici. Time in the bottle had rounded out the tannins beautifully and brought to the foreground hints of spice and caramel. Still the cherry fruit notes were lively as ever. The 2003 block 1 and 2 designate was my favorite wine of the bunch with its abundance and purity of fruit. It’s a great value at $30 and will drink well for at least another 5 years. The Columbia Valley Cab-based wines from Ferraro and Sineann were all about candied and sweet pastry fruit. Still they were fairly elegant for the price point.

Trisaetum Vineyards is a fairly new project based in the Carlton AVA. They have gotten a lot of buzz recently for their Rieslings. A 94 point rating from Wine Enthusiast for their twenty some dollar 2008 release had me excited. Though it wasn’t quite up to the hype, I was still impressed with how open the wine already had become with layers of ripe lemon and pear fruit and spice. The tasting staff gave us a sneak peak of the 2009 dry Riesling which was still quite tight and lean but showed good potential. We tasted an entry level 2008 Pinot as wells as a 2008 artist series (barrel select) and a higher end 2007. As so often is the case, I was most impressed by the entry level with its wet stone and brambly fruit notes on the nose. Those same notes came through on the flavor profile as well as a strong dose of anise. It had a medium body and a nice long finish with those seamless fruit flavors carrying through to the end.

Our final stop was Lemelson Vineyards and admittedly at this point I was feeling a bit of palate fatigue. We tasted a decent Pinot Gris and dry Riesling. The 2007 reserve Chardonnay was a real stand out. It was the most fragrant wine of the day with exotic notes of sandalwood, sweet incense, ginger bread, and key lime pie. It was silky smooth on the palate with a pronounced lime flavors and a nice acidic lift in the middle. The oak had been integrated so beautifully and was a perfect platform for the fruit to shine. The higher end Pinots leaned more toward a lush style and were perfectly fine but I was slightly unimpressed with their 2007 “6 vineyards” Pinot. It was fairly fruit forward with fresh strawberry but fell off pretty quickly. The acidity was super salty throwing it off the balance. The “6 vineyards” goes for only 20 or so dollars but I have had better Pinots even at that price-point.

Foris, "Fly-Over Red" 2007, Rogue Valley

This meritage blend (67% Cabernet Sauvignon, 28% Merlot, and 5% Cabernet Franc) is deep cherry red color but still somewhat translucent. The nose reminded me of red hots candy, canned cranberry sauce slices, little hot green peppers, and a nail polishy chemical component. There was a fair amount of heat present as well. The Foris has a surprisingly mid to light body for this style. Layers of under-ripe rhubarb, sweet cranberry, and smoky oak chips stick to the front end of ones mouth and don’t move much from there. The flyover has a decent grip from the mid-palate to the finish but lacks tertiary flavor components. It finishes quite dry. An hour of decanting gave the alcohol a nice shove out of the picture, cleaned up a bit of the chemical-iness, but also deadened the fruit as well. I’m a huge fan of the Foris Cabernet Franc and think their Pinot is killer value. I remember liking the 2003 flyover but the 2007 vintage is a bit of a stinker. P.S. I am curious to try the 2008 since over half the fruit is sourced from Washington.

Penfolds Koonunga Hill "Seventy Six" Shiraz Cabernet, 2006, South Australia

The nose is full-on alcohol. I mean when I put my schnaz all up in its grill I could feel my nose hairs burning and a short coughing fit ensued! Underneath all that alcohol I did pick up a touch of vanilla, white pepper, and heaps of sweet cheap red candy. The Koonunga Hill is as dark as a purple night in the glass and has crazy ass legs when you swirl it around. The alcohol is kept in better check on the flavor profile. I picked up a lot of juicy brambly red fruit with a good dose of white pepper that carries on through the lengthy finish. The fruit is definitely a little more pure than I would have thought based on the candy-ness of the nose. There are a few underlying hints of tar and white chocolate. It has good entrenched tannins that are drying but not too bitter and that’s about it. Overall the Koonunga Hill Seventy Six is decent effort that lacks charisma but doesn’t kill you with oak or jam like some of its peers.

Domaine de la Pepière 2006 "Cuvée Granit" Vin de Pays du Jardin de la France Marches de Bretagne

The Cuvee Granit is named after the high concentration of granite in the soils from which the grapes were grown in the Muscadet region of France. It is a blend of Cabernet Franc, Malbec, and Merlot. The Domaine de la Pepire is deep cherry red in color and is fairly opaque. The nose is massive, complex, and oh so old school. I picked up cranberry and savory notes of marinara sauce, jalapeno pepper, basil, truffle oil, and smoke. The fruit takes over a bit more on the flavor profile. Strawberry really hits you on the front end and transitions into more tangy cranberry and rhubarb pie into the finish. I also got hints maple syrup and something resembling a green Indian chutney! I love how the wine-maker didn’t need to rely on the use of oak to bring out those interesting secondary flavors. The granit doesn’t have a massive body or crazy complex flavor profile but it more than makes up for it with charisma, originality, and vibrancy. I think this would pair well with a lot of different vegetarian foods. It’s got the acidity and subtle tannic backbone to cut through the vinegar in a bean-based or pasta salad.

Edmunds St. John "Rocks and Gravel," 2005, California

This southern Rhone style blend has light glowing translucent red color like an expensive California pinot. The rocks and gravel is a blend of Grenache, Mouvedre, and Syrah. Sweet cherry, plum, cedar, mossy wet soil and a bit of gameyness typify the nose. This guys got a little bit of bottle age and the tannins have softened out nicely but there is still a nice lift in the middle. This is a medium bodied wine with a silkiness to the texture. It is aslo remarkably clean given the hint of funkiness on the nose. I like its delicateness and elegance but perhaps it’s bordering on being a little too unobtrusive. The fruit is pure and not too sweet but I also found it a little buried at first. Cedar really dominates the flavor profile with a hints of tar, fresh herbs, and malt-ball candy. This wine is appealing to me for its balance of terroir-like flavors, purity of fruit, overall structure, and varietal correctness. I think decanting would be a good idea, as the fruit became more foregrounded as the wine was open for a few days. Fresh Strawberry and concentrated cherry juice became a lot more noticeable. I found this wine in the orphan bin at Wild Oats for 13 bucks and that is a steal. It normally retails at about 20 and that’s not so bad either!