Tasting Dry Creek Valley Red Blends

It's that time again, where I recap another fun virtual tasting. This time it was with McCue Communications presenting the wines of the Dry Creek Valley. Once again it was a small group of bloggers participating, along with the winemakers from each of the three wineries. The wineries were a veritable who's who of Dry Creek producers, with histories stretching back through the decades.

The Dry Creek Valley AVA in Sonoma County, established in 1983, grows a wide variety of grapes. Grapes have been grown there since the late 1800's though, so the region is no stranger to high quality wines.

Chief among them are zinfandel and cabernet sauvignon. That said, a lot of wine geeks these days are interested in the Rhone varietals grown throughout the Valley. Syrah, cinsault, grenache, and mourvedre dominate the Rhone grapes, supported by carignan, petit sirah, marsanne, roussanne, and viognier.

Luckily, with over 50 wineries throughout the AVA, finding great wine is very easy. The three producers represented here all have rich histories and represent the authenticity that is so often lacking in other parts of California.

2006 Teldeschi Estate Reserve Terraluna Dry Creek Valley: Dark and smoky at first, lots of black plum, blackberry, oak and peppery spices. As it opens up, more tart red berry fruit comes out to balance that riper dark fruited element. I love the density on the palate, it's at once concentrated with red fruit and pepper yet retains a sense of lightness and excellent acidity. There's just a "pretty" quality to the wine that I absolutely loved. Carignane 40%, Valdigue 36%, Petite Sirah 24% 13.9% abv. Recommended.

2012 Amista "Tres" Dry Creek Valley: Opens with mild reduction that needs a few moments to blow off. That gives way to smoky/savory notes of jerky, red cherry, garrigue, and a fennel note on the end. Cool and grippy on the palate, this continues with the smoky/savory theme, buttressed by tart cherry and raspberry, oak, and hints of orange rind. With air, menthol and some barnyard starts to show up, but they're still subtle compared to the exuberant fruit. On the finish there's a dusty soil-plus mocha element that serves to clean up the palate. 34% Grenache, 33% Syrah, 33% Mourvèdre. 14.9% abv. Recommended.

2010 Frick Cotes du Dry Creek Dry Creek Valley: A dead ringer for Southern Rhone on the nose, with the grenache component going full speed ahead. It's all about bright cherries and strawberries, wild herbs, subtle oak, and dusty minerality. Cherry licorice comes through with some swirling. The aromas are so compelling that I actually held off tasting for a bit. Once I did, the firm tannins were a welcome foil to the bright, concentrated fruit. Again it echoes the southern Rhone Valley to me, because it's so fresh and pure. A tannic, drying finish cleans everything up, readying you for the next sip or bite. Syrah 40%, Grenache 40%, Cinsault 20%. 15.3% abv. Highly recommended.


At the end of this tasting I was struck by the high quality of each wine tasted. They expressed a very nice sense of place as well as their respective vintages. Each vintner was passionate about what they grow and produce, which left me feeling a connection to the wines as I tasted through them.

To buy any of these, visit the winery websites or better yet, the wineries themselves!

Teldeschi Winery Website
Amista Winery Website
Frick Winery Website

Thanks to McCue Communications for inviting me along and thanks to the winemakers for taking time to sit down and answer our questions.

These wines were samples received for this tasting.

Beau Carufel

Tasting Hyland Estates Current Releases

Once again I was invited to do a live Twitter tasting (shall we just call them LTt's?) but for a change, the winery featured is local to me. As many of you know, every Wednesday on Twitter, from 6-7pm PST you can use the hashtag #Winechat and see a passionate group of wine lovers chatting, usually with a fairly specific topic. It's a great way to learn about wine while connecting with people from around the world.

Hyland Estates, located in the McMinnville AVA, has vineyards dating back to 1971. There are several highly regarded wineries using the fruit too, and Hyland Estates is almost always comes up in discussion for premier grapes here in the Willamette Valley. My friend and Hyland Estates' Director of Marketing, April, invited me to participate along with fellow bloggers from around the USA.

From the press materials I received: "The initial planting is all self-rooted in volcanic Jory soil and has the largest planting of self-rooted Coury Clone Pinot Noir which was smuggled into the US presumably from Alsace by Charles Coury during the 1960’s. Hyland Estates is centered on old-vine, terroir-driven wines from the historic Hyland Vineyard located in the foothills of the Oregon Coastal Range near McMinnville. Originally planted in 1971, the 200 acres Hyland Vineyard showcases some of the best preserved self-rooted 40-plus year old plantings of Coury, Wädenswil, and Pommard clones in Oregon as well as some of the first Gewurztraminer, Riesling, and Chardonnay vines planted in the state. Since the purchase in 2007, Laurent Montalieu, Danielle Andrus Montalieu, and John Niemeyer have devoted their work to honoring its past through gentle stewardship of the land and terroir-driven grape production."

Pretty cool, right? Needless to say, I was looking forward to this tasting.

2012 Hyland Estates Riesling: Lots of ripe apple and spices on the nose, along with a hint of summer melon and citrus. Plenty of acidity kissed by just a touch (.8%) residual sugar. That helps show some more apple and spice tones along with a little bit of leesy richness. Overall this a clean, simple, easy to drink riesling that I really want to pair with some spicy Thai food. $25 srp. 13.0% abv.

2013 Hyland Estates Gewurztraminer: The nose is all lychee and peaches, how lovely! On the palate it's got a lot acidity, a good thing, as well as an interesting oiliness which makes it taste a little bit richer. Pear and peach work with the lychee on the palate to balance out the wine nicely. Another one that does need to be paired with food, and be sure not to taste it too cold! The aromatics are lovely as it warms up. $28 srp. 12.2% abv.

2011 Hyland Estates Pinot Noir McMinnville: I opened this about 2 hours prior to tasting. On nose it veers into darker territory, with more focused black cherry and cola notes. Some lovely summer strawberry aromas come through with air, along with a touch of balsamic and a kiss of oak. This is definitely bigger on the palate too, with broad-shouldered black fruit and cola. The acidity is quite compelling, and there are firm tannins. It's got a bit of heat on the finish, but that isn't too distracting from the overall quality of the wine. Bring on the cheeseburgers! 13.3% abv. srp $38.

2012 Hyland Estates Pinot Noir "Coury": Spicy black pepper, forest floor, black cherries. A bit reticent on the palate, despite a 2 hour decant, this is young but strangely not as exuberant as almost every other 2012 I've had. On the other hand, excellent mouthfeel, it's rich and full-bodied (for a pinot) but retains good acidity and finely integrated tannins. More oak comes through with swirling, which helps rather than hinders. There's black tea and cola on the rich, smooth finish. All in a all, a wine to drink now but also to have the luxury of cellaring for several years. 13.5% abv. srp $60.





Thanks again to April for inviting me to participate. I think the tasting notes tell the story and if you're interested in the wines, check out the Hyland Estates website or Hyland Estates on Facebook.

These wines were samples for tasting purposes.

Beau Carufel

Tasting Caymus Vineyards 40th Anniversary Napa Valley Cabernet

This past Saturday I was invited to take part in a virtual tasting of Caymus' 40th Anniversary Cabernet Sauvignon. Proprietor Chuck Wagner hosted a webcast with his sons and daughter, who are also involved in the family business, making other labels like Belle Glos, Mer Soleil, and Emmolo. Total Wine stores around the country held special tastings too, where their customers could sample Caymus portfolio and ask questions to the Wagners. Since there is no Total Wine around me, I was sent a bottle of cabernet and some background information along with an invite to participate in a brief live tasting.

Caymus was of interest to me because I had sold this wine in retail since the 1997 vintage, up through 2007, and always knew it had a popular customer base. I even recall having a 1999 Caymus one year at Christmas - a gift from my then-boss - and absolutely loving it. Priced at around $55-60, it isn't a wine I purchase for my own consumption so when the chance to re-visit this iconic producer came up, I was looking forward  to seeing how consistent their style has stayed over the past 15 years.

Chuck Wagner gave a brief introduction to his cabernet and how they produce it, along with giving us some of his views on winemaking, vine age, and stylistic choice. It was interesting to hear him say he doesn't believe that older vines make better cabernet, replanting every 15 years, or that great Napa cabernet doesn't have a lot of acidity. He also discussed tannin management and how he likes very, very soft tannins in his wines. This too struck me as odd but obviously for the Caymus wines, it works. Just check their sales numbers!

2012 Caymus 40th Anniversary Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley:
The nose is massively ripe, with notes of blackberry and cassis jam. This holds true to what I remember about Caymus cabernets. Additional notes of cocoa dust, alcohol, and pipe tobacco come out with air. On the palate it's pure sweet, rich, black fruit. A true hedonists cabernet sauvignon. Notes of tobacco and anise come through with some swirling, as well as a sweetness that I suspect comes from a bit of residual sugar. This is like a smooth-riding Cadillac across your palate. It glides through, so cushioned and soft, till the finish. I kept re-tasting the wine to figure out what was going on, but the finish has some sort of burnt quality to it, like burnt wood or burnt sugar. I suspect this comes from American Oak barrels but am not quite sure. Given a few more months, I suspect that burnt quality will settle out. 14.6 abv. $55 SRP.

So there you have it, I re-visited this massive, hedonistic wine. It's a wine I could see Robert Parker giving a high score to, and it's easy to understand why this is so popular with steakhouses. For me, a bone-in New York Strip, medium rare, and a glass of this cabernet would certainly be a fun pairing. I think the meat would help add structure to the wine, whereas the wine's ripe fruit would act as a foil to charred, meaty flavors. That said, after one glass my palate would be screaming at me for something with acidity and structure.

Buy this wine if you love hugely ripe, opulent cabernets. It'll wow you with the ripe fruit and soft, smooth structure.

If you're like me and love high acidity, tart fruit, and loads of minerality, stay away. This is not the wine for you.

Visit the Caymus website here and the Wagner Family of Wine website here.

This was a sample for tasting purposes.

Beau Carufel

Hourglass Vineyards Blueline Estate New Releases

I recently had the pleasure of tasting through the Hourglass wines, specifically from their Blueline estate vineyard, in a virtual tasting along with a handful of other bloggers. Charles Communications organized the tasting, sending us four 375ml bottles from Hourglass Vineyards. We were joined by Proprieter Jeff Smith and Winemaker Tony Biagi. Tony took over in 2012, so we tasted the 2012 reds and 2013 sauvignon blanc. They discussed the wines, their philosophy, and some Napa Valley history.

The wines we tasted were:

2013 Hourglass Estate Sauvignon Blanc (SRP $40)
Big, rich on the palate, plenty of acid too. Feels like a big wine, but one that is balanced. Tropical and citrus with a touch of pear. Maybe a touch of wood too, showing up as some vanilla notes. Several tastes had me smacking my lips in anticipation of a bite of food. There is a touch of heat on the finish but honestly I was expecting more booziness based on the 14.2% abv so it was a very pleasant surprise. Suggested pairings would be fish tacos, grilled halibut, bbq chicken salad.

2012 Hourglass Blueline Estate Merlot (SRP $75)

Showing tart red fruit, balsamic vinegar, oak, and plums. The VA is a bit distracting at this point, though I think there is enough fruit behind it to help. On the palate it shows very traditional Napa-merlot flavors, think blackberry, plum, buttressed by oak and nicely integrated tannin. I like the finish most of all, perhaps, because there's a dusty, spicy element that finishes very cleanly. 91% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Petit Verdot. 14.8% abv. Suggested pairings include hamburgers, ribs, and beef or lamb stew.

2012 Hourglass Blueline Estate Malbec (SRP $75)
Think smokey, meaty, blackberry and blueberries. That's this wine on the nose. I like the odd note of grapefruit pith too. It's plenty ripe, showing black fruit, dusty soil, and grippy tannins along with chocolate and a burst of red fruit on the finish. This wine makes me want a fancy bacon cheeseburger, it's also something like 25% petit verdot, so you know it tugs at my heartstrings! 75% Malbec, 25% Petit Verdot. 14.2% abv. Suggested pairings include bone-in steak, lamb, pork ribs.

2012 Hourglass Blueline Estate Cabernet Franc (SRP $135)
I thought of the word "big" right away. I like the richness on the nose, with aromas of violet, chocolate, coffee, blueberry, and cherry. Plenty of oak on the palate, which works with very ripe blue fruit, chocolate, black pepper, and firm tannins. Heat on the finish comes not as a surprise, and I think would be mitigated by food. This is lush, elegant, downright fancy wine. I would age this for years or serve it now after a long decant. If the malbec demands a fancy burger, this cabernet franc demands you serve it filet mignon. 83% Cabernet Franc, 11% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Petit Verdot. 14.8% abv.

Overall I liked tasting these wines because it gave me a bit of a glimpse into what is going on in Napa Valley right now. Each wine is unabashedly "Napa", meaning big flavor, structure, and ample concentration. That is not at all a knock though, because in the case of the malbec and cabernet franc, it works. I enjoyed the sauvignon blanc much more than I expected to, but just can't plop down $40 a bottle. Again, no knock on quality, rather, I seek out different examples for my own cellar.

I want to address one thing, as sort of a disclaimer. I don't drink a lot of Napa Valley wines and can probably count on one hand how many producers I actively buy. For this tasting, I tried my very best to taste with context. That is to say that I tasted each wine with the understanding of where it was from, the style which Napa Valley tends to produce, and the vintage. For my friends who love high acid, low alcohol wines with less fruit and more tertiary flavors, these are not for you. For my friends who love rich, concentrated, bigger wines that still have good acid (and plenty of alcohol), I recommend the Hourglass Vineyards spring releases.

These wines were media samples for review purposes.

Beau Carufel

Rosé Me Away

Oregon has been having unseasonably warm weather, in the 70's and 80's this week. The day are bright, the skies clear, and the heat begs for a refreshing glass (or three) of wine. Rosé, sauvignon blanc, pinot gris, auxerrois, and plenty of other varieties are just the thing to help manage the heat. Light, acid-driven whites and pinks won't weigh you down like a hearty syrah or zinfandel might. Save those big reds for the barbecues and drink the rosé while you wait!

I'll focus on two rosé wines in this blog, from Teutonic Wine Company and Arnot-Roberts. Both are fantastic, small production, refreshing wines that are worth your time to seek out. Both are from producers who are passionate about making the best wines possible using the least amount of intervention. Non-intervention is a risky prospect in winemaking, the results can be exceptional or the wines can turn into stinky garbage. With Teutonic and Arnot-Roberts, we have two producers that consistently excel at turning their winemaking philosophies into great wine.

Starting first with the Teutonic Wine Company and then with the Arnot-Roberts I'll showcase two exceptional wines that match the weather and fare that warm springs call for.

2012 Teutonic Wine Company Laurel Vineyard Rosé: Made from 100% pinot noir and aged in neutral oak barrels, this $18 wine hits it out of the park with bright aromas of orange rind, sour cherry, fresh-cut grass, and green apple. On the palate the acidity screams out for food. Flavors of dusty orange, strawberry, limes, and a savory, salty finish keep me coming back for glass after glass. Rosé of this quality at only $18 is hard to find sometimes, the fact that a passionate small producer can deliver this much bang for the buck is a testament to just how great the winemaking climate is here in Oregon. 11.3% abv. $18 srp. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED




*Note* The 2013 Teutonic Rosé was just released to some markets but the 2012 is still available in distribution

2012 Arnot Roberts Touriga Luchsinger Vineyard Rosé: This is made from 80% Touriga Nacional and 20% Tinta Cao, and is the harder of these two wines to find. The easiest way to get them is to visit the Arnot-Roberts website and sign up for their mailing list. I am on that mailing list and take almost every single bottle of their wines that I'm allocated with each release. Paler than the Teutonic wine, this wine opens with loads of sour strawberry, lemons, green herb, and sea-spray. I love it. On the palate there's a huge dollop of acidity that supports a melange of lemon, strawberry, cherry, and raspberry. As the wine warmed up I also tasted herbs and cut grass. The balance is terrific and I kept wanting to pair this with chips and dip or some carnitas street tacos. 12.5% abv. $22 retail. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED


Both of these wines are worth your time to find and drink, though I must admit that the 2013 vintage is out for both too. I sometimes like to have rosé with an extra year of age on it because if the wine has enough acidity, you don't really lose any freshness and the flavors have more time to integrate, forming a beautiful tapestry of pure deliciousness. How's that for flowery bloggerspeak?

Buy both wines, I did. As someone who (now) has a small label of his own, the importance of supporting small producers takes on new meaning. While it may be easy to buy a rosé or any wine made by some big, corporate owned winery, it's more satisfying and fun to seek out new producers. You'll be glad you did, I promise.

Beau Carufel

Joseph Drouhin's La Foret Wines

A long time ago a nice, courteous PR professional pitched a blogger on some wines. These wines, French wines, were from a well known producer that many of us wine lovers hold in high esteem. What was particularly interesting about said wines was the pricing, much lower than this producers other offerings.

Maison Joseph Drouhin makes wines that cost $12 all the way to over $500. Here in Oregon, their Domaine Drouhin property is considered one of the states finest sites for great pinot noir and chardonnay. Winemaker Veronique Drouhin has redesigned the La Forets brand, more on that below.

As I read further into the pitch, I noted that these wines are designed for restaurants to pour by the glass. Perhaps the hottest category in on-premise wine programs, btg lists are fast becoming places not just to dump off cheap wines, but to also find unique, exciting, and delicious wines. American btg culture is changin, albeit slowly, into something far better than it was.

To taste these wines in approximately real world conditions, I took them to my fiancee's shop, Urban Decanter, and ate a meal with a glass of each wine. In between bites and sips, I took notes on what the wines were like. The food pairing was a meat and cheese plate to start, then one of Urban Decanter's famous paninis.

2012 Joseph Drouhin "La Foret" Bourgogne Chardonnay: Grass, butter, green apple, and fun! This just has a whimsical, happy element to it. When tasting, the word of the day is clean, clean, clean! It's so crisp and pure on the palate, with wonderful texture and a finish that's beautifully light and airy. For such an inexpensive chardonnay, this is firing on all cylinders. Recommended! $12.00 SRP.

2011 Joseph Drouhin "La Foret" Bourgogne Pinot Noir: Reminds me of macerated cherries, baking spice, wood, and tart strawberry. In other words, a perfectly normal set of aromas one finds in pinot noir from around the world. Soft and fruity on the palate, with a bit of acidity and tannin thrown in. Clean, easy-drinking, red Burgundy. Recommended! $12.00 SRP.







Wines like this on restaurant btg lists make a lot more sense than what is currently there. This goes doubly true for big chains like Landry's. If you're a wine lover and have ever looked at lists for places like McCormick's, El Gaucho, etc, you know that the list of high quality, unique wines is limited. It's mostly a bunch of boring stuff supplied by one of the mega distributors operating in the United States.

Ok, rant over.

These two wines are good and priced extremely well. If you see them on restaurant lists you can be assured they'll be food-friendly and of high quality. Should you see them on store shelves, I recommend considering each for that casual, Tuesday night bottle.

To find out more, visit the Drouhin La Forets website or the Maison Joseph Drouhin website.

These wines were samples for review purposes.

Beau Carufel

Catching My Breath In Bordeaux

The recuperative properties of a glass of white Bordeaux and the sun are amazing. Upon arriving at Chateau Sainte Barbe, I embraced the simple act of sitting outside and gazing at the river.  As if in a trance, I was able to lounge on the front steps of an 18th century chateau and absorb every moment of existence. This was, of course, accompanied by a glass of wine. I felt there was a certain poetry to it all.

Antoine took Jameson and me on a quick walk through the vineyards, a chance to see where his wines come from. The limestone and clay crunched underfoot and the vines were weighed down by clusters of nearly-ripe grapes. He explained that he would be harvesting very soon, perhaps the week after we left. I wanted to stay and help.

Mike and Joe were on their way so there wasn't much to do at the house, except fuss with the WiFi, as it seemed to dislike all the American devices attempting to connect. A bowl of tiny white shrimp materialized on the counter top in front of us. Lucy correctly assumed we were hungry. Jameson and I dove in, devouring the tiny, crunchy morsels. Again, accompanied by a glass of wine. Or was it glasses? White and rosé ruled the warm, humid afternoon.

Attempts at serious conversation were kept to a minimum, mostly a meet-and-greet atmosphere over those languid hours. To feel completely immersed in France, I did want a cigarette at times, but with the foreknowledge of multiple wines to be tasted later that evening, I abstained.

A Mercedes van crunching its way along the driveway announced Mike and Joe had arrived, hands shaken and smiles all around. We met Jana too, finally. We already met her husband Luc at the Chateau upon our arrival. Two people I am now proud to call my friends.

Small pastries, conversation, and Bordeaux flowed within that sanctuary. We learned about each other, or got reacquainted in some cases. Joe and I discussed blogging and audiences, I wish I had a recording of what we said. This time, spent in the kitchen of an old Chateau, was the calmest of the entire trip. Each subsequent day brought a fast-paced series of visits to wineries and vineyards, the city of Bordeaux, the coast, and several other cool spots.

More to follow...

Beau Carufel

Into Bordeaux

The airplane gently shuddered as it descended through the clouds, waking me from an hour of fitful sleep. In another few minutes I would be setting foot in Bordeaux, the most famous wine region on the planet. Ten hours behind, my body clock struggled to understand why the sunlight streaming through the windows was on the wrong side of the sky. A brief moment of disorientation passed quickly as my brain hit the fast-forward button, speeding through the airport back home in Portland, another, more cavernous one in Amsterdam, and the little twinjet delivering me into a small airport in southern France.

Twin bumps signaled the wheels meeting the tarmac, twin bumps in my chest betrayed my heart skipping a beat or two. My still-groggy brain had enough clarity to say "wow, I'm really here" before I scanned the cabin searching for the other members of the party I was going to spend the next five days with. We, the collective "we", disembarked into a warm and humid September midday. Two of our party, Michelle and Tracy, were in from San Francisco, Jameson from Seattle, and me from Portland. Joe was inbound from Philadelphia and our fearless leader, Mike, was on a later flight from San Francisco.

We were guests of Planet Bordeaux and Balzac Communications, we wine bloggers and wine professionals. For the next five days this little group would be exploring a slice of the Bordeaux region. We'd be eating, sleeping, drinking (of course!), and learning all we could. I suspect we all had some preconceived notions about this trip, what we'd see and do, what we'd drink and eat, and what we would come away with. You'll have to check with the others for their thoughts though.

Andre, a tres cool Dutchman, was to be our driver for the week. He picked us up from the airport and whisked us off to Chateau Sainte Barbe. This gorgeous 18th century Chateau would be a place to rest and refresh for a few hours. We had to still wait for Joe and Mike to arrive, then we'd get going to dinner at another local Chateau.

As our van pulled up the narrow, crushed limestone driveway to Chateau Sainte Barbe, my eyes tried to devour every element of the house and grounds. It was unlike anything I'd ever seen before, in person, but the immediacy of the moment fulfilled my visions of Bordelais Chateaux perfectly. Broken slate, glowing blue-gray in the light, marked paths around the front yard. Stone planters held a mixture of rose bushes and vibrant green bushes.

Inside, the house felt old, lived-in, and comfortable. There was no stuffy atmosphere, but to call it "classy yet casual" seems to debase the entirety of the elements. It was a home, a place to inhabit, not merely some monument to centuries past. Our hosts, Lucy and Antoine, showed us to our rooms, the men in one wing and the ladies in another. After an adventurous shower and much wiping of the floor, I felt refreshed enough to remain vertically oriented. Jameson too, but the ladies crashed for a few hours.

More to follow...

Beau Carufel

Why So Quiet?

This blog has been quiet lately, with the blame falling squarely at my feet. After months of relative inactivity, punctuated by the occasional post, I decided it is time to talk a little bit about what has been keeping me busy as well as sapping my energy to post blog entries on a more regular basis.

This October, I started making wine for the first time. This is the real thing, and will be released as a commercially sale-able product when ready. I had initially picked roussanne and mourvedre to work with, but ended up with neither this year. The mourvedre was already allocated to people higher on the grower's customer list than I (typical and completely fair in this industry). The roussanne I so lusted after ended up being lost to Mother Nature, as the relentless summer sun caused the vineyard to lose around half its yield. What remained went to prior customers.

I ended up with petite verdot and tempranillo, two grapes I am thrilled to be working with. Total intake for 2012 was .82 tons of petite verdot and 1.1 tons of tempranillo from the Horse Heaven Hills AVA south of Prosser, Washington. The clusters on each were absolutely beautiful, with minimal raisining, no rot, and hardly any bugs!

Fortunately for me, I had a lot of assistance from the Kramers, especially Kim, in walking me through the process of selecting yeasts, must treatments (or lack thereof), barrels, and much more. The Kramers also helped with the nitty-gritty, punching down and pumping over the fermenting bins when I was away at my day job.

The day job. I began to look for another job in mid-July, when I realized I was not a good fit for Cathedral Ridge. To succeed in the wine business you must be passionate about the wines you are selling, and I simply couldn't find that passion. In September, I went to work for a distributor here in Oregon, working the Portland Metro area, selling Pacific Northwest wine and craft beers. The job is great in many ways, offering good compensation and benefits, while challenging me to see how far I truly want to go in sales. Each month I am amazed with what I've learned about selling for a distributor, and I'm taking away many things both good and bad from my experiences.

The last week of September saw me in Bordeaux with a group of wine bloggers including Jameson Fink and Joe Roberts. Balzac Communications and Planet Bordeaux were generous enough to include me on this trip, for whatever reason. I confess that despite the incredible experiences I had, I struggle to write about my time there. Whenever I begin to write about Bordeaux, I get frustrated that my writing skills aren't enough to suck you in, dear reader. You will see more Bordeaux posts from me in the future though.

2012 ended with a flurry of activity, and I proudly proclaim that in the last six to eight weeks of the year, I drank more Champagne than I ever have before. A rough guesstimate puts it at a case and a half. As you can tell, I am quite proud of this factoid.

What does 2013 promise then? The search for new grape sources. I haven't given up on my dream of working with grenache, and I may have a source for some of the finest domestic cabernet franc grapes, period. White wines also call to me, to that end I am actively seeking white Rhone varieties and sauvignon blanc. I hope that my Tempranillo will be released this fall, and that the petite verdot will be released in spring of 2014. Hope is just that, because as we know, the wines themselves will decide when they're ready to be released.

2013 also will bring some changes to this blog, when I move away from reviewing wine and more towards just talking about cool wines I drink. To my PR/Media friends, I'll still accept samples for review, but not nearly as many as before. I'm tired of all the crappy wines and Becky says they take up too much space in our house. She is right.

My personal journey with wine will see me buying more aged Bordeaux and Burgundies as well as continuing to explore Champagne, Alsace, and the Rhone Valley. Of perhaps some interest to my readers, I'm also embarking on a quest to find California Pinot Noir that my palate enjoys. After nearly a decade in California wine sales, I tasted most of the big name, "cult" pinot noirs, and can't stand them. The search is on for cooler climate, higher-acid, restrained examples of what the state can do. Of course, this will limit my search to more recent vintages, but that's ok.

Here now I ask you, did you make any wine resolutions this year? Did you have any wine epiphanies last year?

A toast to 2013, thank you for reading along!

Beau Carufel

Wines of Chile: Masterclass

(attribution: http://starchefs.com/cook/features/chilean-wines)

Earlier this year I participated in a fairly extensive tasting of wines from Chile, organized by the Wines of Chile trade group. I've done these virtual tastings before, with mixed results. Chile remains a bit of an enigma to me (and my palate) because often the wines seem insipid, or in other cases, just poorly made, but then I'll taste several that are outstanding. To discount the country entirely would be an error though, because I am often impressed with Chilean sauvignon blanc, syrah, and pinot noir.

This tasting consisted of three sauvignon blancs, three pinot noirs, three carmeneres, and three cabernet sauvignons. The latter two having wines that were also blends in the flight. Pricing ranged from around $13 all the way to $65 for one of Chile's most famous wines, the Los Vascos "Le Dix" Cabernet Sauvignon.

I'm not sure how the wines were selected or by whom, but I know that Master Sommelier Fred Dexheimer was once again our gregarious, energetic host. He's being paid by the Wines of Chile trade group to promote their member wineries throughout the United States. Fred also makes a mean Pisco Sour. Representatives from each winery in the tasting were also on hand (via satellite) to discuss the wines and answer any blogger questions.

Unfortunately I've lagged on finishing this blog post. Still, I'm glad to share with you a tasting of twelve wines, white and red, from all over Chile. Instead of assigning numbers or grades to the wines, look for a simple "recommended" or "not recommended" after each tasting note. To explain, if I recommend a wine here it's because I feel it represents good quality-to-price ratio (QPR), tastes delicious, and is (relatively) flaw-free.

With that, I present twelve wines from across Chile's varied growing regions:

Sauvignon Blanc

1. 2012 Vina Casablanca "Nimbus" Sauvignon Blanc Casablanca Valley: Plenty of grassy notes mixed with citrus come rushing up out of the glass. They persist on the palate too, helped by plenty of crisp acidity. There isn't a lot going on in this wine but what does exist is proportioned quite well. If you need a versatile food white, pick up a bottle and see for yourself, it will pair with most anything. All for only $13. Recommended.

2. 2011 San Pedro 1865 Sauvignon Blanc Leyda Valley: Amping up the aromatics and mouthfeel (as well as the price), this beautiful sipper brings the same green grass note as in the first wine, but it's restrained by more citrus and hints of tropical fruit, considerably brightening up things. Plenty of acidity helps the wine move along across your palate, but it veers into the "bitter wine face" a few too many times. That disjointed nature dooms this sauvignon blanc for me. Not recommended. $19 SRP.

3. 2011 Casa Silva Sauvignon Blanc Colchagua Valley: Things start to get really interesting with this wine, and they should for $25 a bottle. It had some hallmarks of Sancerre, with the mineral and lime notes, but also a beautiful undercurrent of tart pineapple and other tropical flavors. I was impressed with the complexity and kept coming back to it as the night went on. Some of the other bloggers weren't too keen on it, but I felt that Casa Silva nailed the flavor profile for a cool climate sauvignon blanc without going too far into the gooseberry/cat piss side. Highly recommended.

Pinot Noir

4. 2010 Emiliana Novas Pinot Noir Casablanca Valley: My tasting notes refer to lots of fruit on the nose, with red cherry, strawberry, and hints of spice. I like how straightforward and unassuming this pinot noir is, but wish for more complexity. At $19, it's not expensive at all but I could pull a lineup of $20 Oregon pinots out that would blow this pinot out of the water. The finish was a bit short as well, but I liked the sheer "yummy" factor. Simple wine, yet tasty. Still, not recommended.

5. 2009 Cono Sur 20 Barrels Pinot Noir Casablanca Valley: My first bottle was corked so the Wines of Chile folks kindly sent another. This big, 14.5 percent abv pinot has some "interesting" attributes. On the nose there is a bit of alcoholic heat coming through. Also present, aromas of vanilla, earth, and red fruit. Where this gets tasty is after you take a sip. Plenty of tannin (odd, no?) frames bright red fruit, dusty soil, black pepper, and baking spice. The finish is clean and taut, indicating that this is still a baby of a wine. Yes, it's $32 a bottle but it has a lot of potential! Recommended.

6. 2009 Morande Gran Reserva Pinot Noir Casablanca Valley: I couldn't figure this pinot out. Aromatically it was like a red cherry jolly rancher mixed with eucalyptus oil and dried-out pizza box. On the palate there was plenty of acidity to keep things light, but that weird cardboard thing kept showing up. The bright fruit was nice and the herbaceous flavors kept things interesting. The bottle wasn't corked or suffering from brettanomyces, as far as I could tell. Not recommended. $17.99 srp.

Carmenere

7. 2010 Concha y Toro Marques de Casa Concha Carmenere Cachapoal Valley: Weirdly enough, this bottle was also bad, with something happening after it was made and before I received it. Another bottle replaced. On the nose there was oak and buttered popcorn aromas (diacetyl) that overlaid secondary aromas of sliced jalapeno. After sitting for about an hour, the wine calmed down quite a bit. Nicely integrated tannin helped along by some vibrant acidity enfolded flavors of green pepper, dried herb, red berry fruit, and wood. This wine desperately needs food, if you buy it. $22 srp. Recommended.

8. 2010 Carmen Gran Reserva Carmenere Apalta Colchagua Valley: Thin to the point of being delicate on the nose. More of that green aroma and some wood influences, but also notes of plum and cranberry. I can't say this wine was a tour de force of carmenere but I did like how food-friendly it was. Good acidity that brought high toned red fruit and spices along for the ride. A clean, quick finish that readied the palate for another sip, and a very nice price point. Just wish for more interesting flavors! Still, $14 is hard to beat. Recommended.

9. 2009 Koyle Royale Carmenere Colchagua Valley: A blend of carmenere, petite verdot, and malbec. Some bloggers loved it, I felt it was a mess. Too much VA (volatile acidity) to make any sense of what was going on. The people tasting with me felt it was downright unpleasant to drink. $25.99 srp.

Cabernet Sauvignon

10. 2009 Ventisquero Grey Cabernet Sauvignon Maipo Valley: Six percent petite verdot, the rest cabernet sauvignon. Seemed a bit undeveloped and too soft. What I mean by that is there wasn't much in the way of flavor integration, and there was a perceptible lack of tannin. Also, the wine simply didn't bring much complexity to the table. I re-tasted it several hours later and it had not appreciably developed anything interesting. I'm not sure if it was over-oaked or from young vines or what. For $29, there are far better choices to spend your hard earned money on. Not recommended.

11. 2010 Maquis Caberent Sauvignon Colchagua Valley: I tasted this wine several times over the course of the night and felt it opened up beautifully. The nose revealed aromas of cassis, spices, dried herb, tobacco, and oak. The more I swirled, the better all those aromas integrated, creating a wonderful tapestry. On the palate it was equally impressive, with plenty of tannin surrounding flavors of plum and black currant, tar, leather, dried herb, and cocoa. The finish was a bit quick, but I think this is a young wine that will get better with another year or two in bottle. For only $19, it nails the QPR quotient. Recommended.

12. 2009 Los Vascos "Le Dix" Cabernet Sauvignon Colchagua Valley: Don't drink this right now if you go out and buy it. My notes say "lots of potential.......I think". The ingredients are here for a great wine. Lots of tannin, flavors of leather, plum skin, tobacco, and cassis. Sound like a Bordeaux? Lots of stylistic similarities to young Haut-Medoc wines. The only question is whether or not all those flavors will merge with the tannin and acid to form a complex, compelling wine, or continue to stick out in jagged edges and at rough angles to each other. At $65, and with this producer, it's a pretty safe bet that in several more years, things will take a turn for the glorious. Recommended.

There you have it, 12 Chilean reds and whites to consider. It was a great walk through some of the regions and a fun opportunity to taste how the Chilean wine industry is coming along. I think they have a long way to go to become truly "world class" but there are very encouraging signs of progress. For my palate, the most promising wines coming from Chile are still sauvignon blanc, pinot noir, and syrah.

What I'd like to see wineries down there do better is manage volatile acidity, keep their cellars free of brettanomyces, and make better picking decisions to keep the pyrazine levels lower. There is potential too in the Bordeaux-based wines, in part due to the varied growing areas of the country. Right now it seems as if the Chilean winegrowers are finding out which grapes grow the best at which sites. To that I say, keep up the good work!

Thanks to the Wines of Chile trade group and The Thomas Collective PR firm for inviting me to taste along with my fellow bloggers.

These wines were media samples.

Beau Carufel

Happy New Year!

As 2011 draws to a close, the inexorable march of time once again comes to the forefront of our consciousness. Since the beginning of the week, the wine blogosphere has been awash with posts highlighting "Top 10" lists, year-end wrap ups, and Champagne-education posts. Forgive me, but this won't be one of those.

I choose to look forward in 2012, to a job here in Oregon managing a tasting room, new wines on my radar, and a shift in the tone and direction of my wine blog. I also am setting some goals, both personal and professional, that I will endeavor to accomplish next year. Looking forward, I feel excited and invigorated about the prospects for next year and chronicling it will be very satisfying.

Since the internet wine scene is evolving quickly, so must wine bloggers. As more consumers start to read wine blogs and actively seek out blogs for information, what they read becomes far more important than whom they read. Therefore, the weight of integrity and transparency is upon all of us who call ourselves wine bloggers. Associated with those responsibilities is the need for better writing, and at the very least the use of spelling and grammar checks by most of us. You know who you are.

Part of the change in tone of my wine blog will seem strange to longtime readers, but I hope new readers will find it refreshing, and longtime readers will enjoy what I have to say. Since a large part of my posts are wine reviews, I won't change that focus very much. However, the majority of my wine reviews will not include grades anymore. If I like a wine, I'll recommend it and tell you why I like the wine. On the other hand, if I don't like a wine, I'll be precise as to why I don't like it and obviously will not recommend buying that bottle. In other words, I'll be a stricter critic of the wines I review, while striving to maintain at least a polite tone. What remains to be seen is how the marketing and public relations professionals adapt to that, if they do at all.

The shift in direction of my blog is a goal I've wanted to bring to fruition for a while, to shift away from almost 100% wine review posts to more focus on living in wine country, the people I meet, and finally, living the wine lifestyle. No, I am not writing a book on that, because there are certainly enough crappy books on wine out there already. The shift I'm talking about will be confined solely to my blog posts, and I hope you enjoy them as much as you enjoy my wine reviews.

Beau's Barrel Room wouldn't have survived in 2011 without you, my readers. I want to thank you all so much for taking the time to read and comment on my blog, whether we agree or disagree, I value your thoughts so much. With each post I try to become a better writer, a more engaging host, and a more adept communicator in the hopes that you will keep reading and enjoying my words.

To many of you, I suspect we'll get to share a bottle at some point this year, which only serves to heighten my anticipation for 2012. To others, I hope we finally meet in real life for the first time, because I would love to shake your hand and learn more about your own personal wine journey. To everyone, I offer my humblest Thank You for being a part of my life in wine.

Beau Carufel