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by Oregon Law
This Wednesday, April 30, is the final week of Wednesday Wine Tastings. Join Rob Filliponni from Galaxy Wine Co. for an Oregon wine flight from Chehalem, and Elk Cove Vineyards. Only $10 for eight wines.
Tomorrow is the last day to register before the Oregon Primary on May 20. If you’re not registered this is a great opportunity to make sure your voice is heard. Register Today.
We also encourage you to make your voice heard in the Gusto Awards. Whether you love The Blacksmith for steaks, desserts, cocktails or mac & cheese, now’s your chance to tell the world. Cast your vote for The Blacksmith in the Third Annual Gusto Awards. Winners will be announced in the Summer Issue of Gusto Magazine, due out in June.
This week The Blacksmith’s Wednesday after-work Wine Tasting features wines from Woodward Canyon, a Washington winery located in the Columbia Valley. A representative from Woodward Canyon will be on site to pour and discuss Woodward Canyon wines. The winery is known for Cabernet Sauvignon.
During April, Kevin Gilman, the Blacksmith’s sommelier, will host Wednesday Wine Tastings. Cost is $10 to taste approximately eight wines, and every week will feature different vineyards, varietals, vertical tastings and other fun ways to experience the beauty of the bottle.
Bottle: 2006 EIEIO “Cuvee I”
Varietal: Pinot Noir
Winery: EIEIO
Location: Willamette Valley, OR
EIEIO was started by Jay McDonald in 1995. (Old McDonald had a farm… very clever!) He started this label as a negociant making 200 cases of wine, and grew the name into a full winery, tasting room and all. The reason for this growth… Mr. McDonald can make Pinot!!
EIEIO makes several single vineyard designates as well as a couple of cuvees’. This is the most recent vintage of the Cuvee I. A cuvee is a distinctive selected blend. In my opinion this must be Jay’s version of creating a sort of Burgundian village wine, which means Pinot Noir is sourced from several vineyard sites selected from a few different areas of the same region and blended together. I researched the wine a little and couldn’t find much on which vineyards are blended in making this wine.
When I pulled the cork the wine showed colors of dark violets, with notes of brick red and light brown. The nose was very tight and revealed very dark, dark aromas and flavors of chocolate-covered raspberries, and baked red dirt. The flavors on the palate are much bigger than the sniff on the nose, but the wine seemed to grow on my palate and finished for a real, real, long time. On the long finish I even got a little taste of strawberries and watermelon Jolly Rancher.
The Cuvee I is very tannic for a Pinot, which in my opinion, would allow it to drink well for another 10 years or so. This makes it a little more approachable after a little air exposure. A once fairly muted nose turns into a potpourri of violets, roses, cinnamon and nutmeg, with an aroma in the background similar to ready mix concrete. The palate remains very dry with very dark, spicy flavors. The acids become more present with a little O2, as does the alcohol. At 14.5% it isn’t an extremely hot wine, but a little burn is present. To me, Pinot Noir needs a little heat due to the amount of fermentation needed to get it dry. Being such a delicate grape, the alcohol is a little more noticeable in Pinot Noir.
Being soft and subtle, but having such a long and bold finish makes this a fabulous food wine. Lamb and duck are my favorite pairings for Pinot Noir, as well as a softer cut of beef like tenderloin filet. Anyone who has drunk a Pinot Noir along with a mouthful of seared duck fat knows the true meaning of happiness. Add these proteins to some earthy flavors like mushrooms and some cheeses, and you will find something special.
I wouldn’t call this the most complex Pinot Noir I’ve ever had, but it remains very true to the varietal, being that it isn’t over extracted and proves that Oregon still has some soft, silky, sexy Pinot out there. In my opinion EIEIO is making some serious Pinot Noir. All of their cuvees and all of their single vineyards take on their own characteristics. They are really working hard to express the terroir of each site harvested and every cuvee made. I promise to review more of these gems in the future, to discover their significance a little more in depth.
Enjoy the vino!
Kevin
Here’s a low-cost opportunity to taste great wines with guidance from experts. The Blacksmith Restaurant has started Wednesday Tastings after work, and each month spotlights a different beverage. During April, Kevin Gilman, the Blacksmith’s sommelier, will host Wednesday Wine Tastings. Cost is $10 to taste approximately eight wines, and every week will feature different vineyards, varietals, vertical tastings and other fun ways to experience the beauty of the bottle.
Join Kevin Gilman and Rick Maurer from D’Vine Wine Co. this evening, starting at 5, for big Washington reds from Sheridan, Fidelitas, K Vintners, Five Star Cellars and Bergevin Lane.
Bottle: 2006 K Vintners “The Boy”
Varietal: 94% Grenache - 6% Syrah
Winery: K Vintners
Location: Walla Walla, Washington
“I’m the boy that can enjoy invisibility” – Serge Gainsbourg
Charles Smith started K Vintners in 2001 with a focus on making Syrah… (K Syrah, Syrah - get it?) It is no wonder he put his winery in Walla Walla, Washington where Syrah takes on many of the same characteristics as it does in the Rhone Valley. “The Boy” however steps away from the norm in Walla Walla and is predominately Grenanche in this vintage.
The above quote, which is written on the back label, must (I’m only guessing) refer to the obscurity of Grenache. There are many people who enjoy Chateaneuf du Pape, Vaqueras, and Gigondas not realizing that it is the Grenache with a little Syrah that makes them smile. American Grenache by itself is not a top seller, maybe because the varietal name Grenache is actually less recognizable than the afore-mentioned French regions. For me, Grenache shares more in common with Pinot Noir than any other grape. When done right it has the most subtle, brilliant flavors found in grapes.
“The Boy” (at around $45) is hard to find, but worth the search. While extremely tight right out of the gun, “The Boy” certainly evolves into a man after some time in the glass. At 14.5% alcohol it starts very alcoholic on the nose. I felt like my nasal cavities got a whiff of moonshine masking notes of tar, black cherry, and anise. This blows off very quick however, and aromas of blueberries, raspberries, redwood, clove, and mulling spices take over. The acids which barely seem present at first, start jumping out of the glass like Dwayne Wade. While the nose starts off very creamy and very typical of Walla Walla wines, a little O2 turns this gem into a very southern Rhone-like experience.
The alcohol never quite dissipates on the palate, so if you like hot wines, this is for you. However, it doesn’t mask the brilliant flavors that are ever evolving in this wine, and actually seems to compliment the spice, so I wasn’t disappointed by the heat. Like the nose, the palate started off very tight with hardly any presence of acidity. Molasses-covered cherries and Puerto Rican cigar saturate the taste buds, evolving into chocolate-covered cherries (the ones with the cream, not the liquid), cinnamon, pink cotton candy, and a taste that seems like raspberries mashed together with nutmeg and dirt.
I can see myself enjoying this wine with a baked ham served with a bacon mushroom sauce, topped with some gouda cheese along with a side of steamed artichokes tossed in a red bell pepper vinaigrette and topped with avocado.
Walla Walla, which is one of my personal favorite wine regions (if you haven’t been, please do yourself the favor), never ceases to amaze me. There are such Rhone-style wines coming from here that it proves that great wines can be made anywhere, as long as desire and passion are present.
Until we meet again… Cheers!
Kevin