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 Emeritus Pinot Noir Releases

A month ago I was scheduled to do a live tasting (I sure do a lot of them!) with Charles Communications and Brice Jones of Emeritus Vineyards. Unfortunately, life got kind of crazy for a time and I wasn't able to join in the small crew of bloggers invited to this exclusive tasting. Fortunately for me, the wines had arrived and the folks at Charles Comminucations were understanding of my absence.

Fast forward several weeks and things had calmed down, somewhat, so I was able to open and taste the wines, taking some notes along the way. We were sent two single vineyard pinot noirs, from Sonoma Coast and Russian River Valley AVA's, respectively. Also, a rosé made from 100% pinot noir, in the saignée method.

I'll spare you from an attempt at explaining the Emeritus Vineyards story and get straight to the wines, but you can scroll down to see a little bit of it and then click the link to find out more.




2013 Emeritus "Ruby Ruby" Saignée Rosé Russian River Valley:
Pours a candied red, gently paling towards the rim of the glass. On the nose I get some herbs and tart red berry, oak barrel, and alcoholic heat. At 14.0% abv (listed), this is about 2.5% higher than I usually go for with a rosé. On the palate there's that same nice mix of herbaceous and red fruit, like fresh red cherries. It's a touch sweet (perhaps from the alcohol) and tastes like it's seem some oak too, but I can't find any mention in the tech notes. I like the acidity because it helps restrain the exuberance of the fruit in this, whilst setting the wine up for pairing with summer foods. For those of you who enjoy more full-bodied rosé wines, this is right up your alley. $25 SRP.

2011 Emeritus William Wesley Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast:
Nice garnet in the glass, good depth, lightly pale at the edge. With some air, aromas of raspberry, strawberry, pie crust, and baking spice rush out. The mouthfeel is quite lovely, with great acidity and very fine tannins. I like how the flavors don't overload my palate, rather, they gently usher themselves in. Lots of tart strawberry and a touch of oak, spicy peppercorn, and licorice. There is a touch of heat on the finish but it's certainly not a big deal. I have to say I was impressed with this pinot, it's got all the elements in play and maybe just needs a touch more bottle age. $68 SRP. 14.0% abv. Recommended.

2011 Emeritus Hallberg Ranch Pinot Noir Russian River Valley:
Light purple going towards garnet at the edges of the glass. On the nose I get baked cherry pie, forest floor, mushrooms, and black peppercorns. With more swirling, these elements find an impressive balance. This is riper than the Sonoma Coast bottling, but still maintains nice acidity and balance. There is more sweet cherry pie going flavors here, which indicates ripe fruit and perhaps new French oak, along with a softer baking spice flavor that meanders across the palate. I think this is a bit young, it hasn't had time to develop any secondary flavors. The finish is excellent, a gentle tapering of flavor that cleanly disappears after a solid 15 seconds. $42 SRP. 14.0% abv. Highly Recommended.

I suggest surfing over to the Emeritus Vineyards website and checking out their story. Brice Jones has had a very cool life, from flying in the Air Force to starting Sonoma–Cutrer, then selling it and buying a large vineyard and devoting himself to producing premium Pinot Noir. He now has two sites, the two bottlings I tasted.

California Pinot Noir is not in abundance in my cellar but these two wines would certainly be welcome, that Russian River Valley bottling was excellent. It's priced fairly too, at $42. I preferred it to the Sonoma Coast, which is rare but always fun, because there seemed to be better acidity and a more interesting set of flavors. That said, either bottle will make pinot lovers happy and both will pair with food. I'd recommend salmon, duck, even marinated, grilled pork chops.

Visit Emeritus on the internet.
Emeritus Vineyards on Facebook

These wines were samples for review purposes.

Beau Carufel

Charles Krug Winery New Releases

The lovely folks at Charles Communications invited me once again to a live virtual tasting of wine, this time featuring four wines from Charles Krug Winery in Napa Valley. I'd recently participated in one featuring the Hourglass Vineyards wines and thought that the opportunity to taste more current release Napa Valley wines was too good to pass up. Also, I hadn't tasted Charles Krug wines since my days working in wine retail in San Diego.

The tasting format was similar to before, with me logging onto a website where a live stream was played for all of us bloggers. Peter Mondavi Jr. and winemaker Stacy Clark tasted along with us, answering questions and giving some great background on the history of both the winery and the Mondavi family's ownership. I highly recommend visiting the Charles Krug website for more detailed information.

Below are the four wines we all tasted:

2013 Charles Krug Limited Release Estate Sauvignon Blanc ($35 srp)
A very pretty opening with plenty of ripe tropical fruit, grass, and hints of jalapeno. Broad and expansie across the palate, showing sweet ripe tropical flavors mixed with spicy jalapeno, cut grass, and a leesy richness. The finish is all citrus, a mix of ruby grapefruit and lemon pith. I'm impressed, this is pretty serious sauvignon blanc but has a playful side too. I suggest pairing it with grilled scallops, pesto pizza, and fish tacos. 13.6% abv.

2011 Charles Krug Napa Valley Merlot ($25 srp)
Opens with bright, spicy red fruit before a rich vein of chocolate and blackberries come into play. Further swirling brings out a persistent but welcome note of green pepper, which acts as a foil to the ripe fruit. Smooth and rich on the palate, this brings a light touch that does a good job expressing merlot's feminine side. Plenty of ripe, red fruit and notes of coconut showcase the smart picking decision and American oak while a fine-grained tannin helps build character. Very, very drinkable merlot that begs for red meat or something hot off the grill. 13.7% abv.

2011 Charles Krug Family Reserve ‘Generations’ ($50 srp)
All sorts of subtlety going on here for me. Lots of green pepper initially, but as you get past that there's beautiful cassis and blackberry mixed with oak and baking chocolate. A hint of herb and fennel comes along too, followed by anise. Firm, with plenty of acidity and tannin, this has all the hallmarks of classic Napa cabernet. Blackberry, cherry, and cassis for the fruit. Herbs and bell pepper on the nose, all bound together with firm tannin and plenty of acidity. This wine toes the line between the old school, low alcohol Napa Valley and the newer, riper style that we've seen since the 90's. Impressive. 13.9% abv.

2011 Charles Krug Family Reserve ‘Howell Mountain’ Cabernet Sauvignon ($75 srp)
On the nose, I believe this could be served to people with the explanation that it is the typical high-end Napa cab aroma profile. Cassis, oak, blackberry, cocoa. They rush out of the glass, followed by black pepper and dried herb. The first word I thought of upon tasting this was "serious". As in, I think this is still a baby and needs several more years to show itself fully. Still, there's a depth and concentration on the palate that left me smiling. 13.7% abv.

Overall the wines were more to my palate than the Hourglass Vineyards selections, though some bloggers did have trouble with the green pepper notes. I welcomed them though, as a foil to the ripeness. Each wine was very well made, showing both balance and accessibility. They just had a rightness to them, a delicious, fulfilling component that I thoroughly enjoyed. Though these wines carry hefty price tags, I believe you do get what you pay for.

Charles Krug Facebook Page
Charles Krug Twitter Account

These wines were media samples.

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

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