Boise Coop Wine Shop

Wine Notes: A Mixed Bag

• June 5, 2008
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We’re featuring a wine of every color: red, white and pink. The white is a value priced Chardonnay from Argentina, the red a best buy Pinot Noir from Chile and the rosé a favorite from the south of France.

2006 Dona Paula Los Cardos Chardonnay, $7.99

Los Cardos translates from the Spanish as the thistles. The parent winery, Dona Paula chose that name because in the Mendoza region of Argentina it is believed that where the thistle thrives, the terroir is ideal for wine grapes. The vineyards for this Chardonnay lie 3000 feet above sea level. Located in the shadow of the Andes, a perpetual cooling breeze descends from the mountains. Cold fermentation and limited time in oak helps preserve the fresh fruit flavors that are crisp and lively.

2007 Cono Sur Pinot Noir, $8.99

Founded in the “Southern Cone” of South America in 1993, this Chilean winery’s motto is: No family trees, no dusty bottles, just quality wine. They have definitely achieved the latter, combining top quality with exceptional value. Pinot Noir is not an easy grape to manage and most priced under ten bucks taste like cheap red wine, showing little of the character and charm that make this grape so popular. But the Cono Sur tastes like very good Pinot Noir with rich fruit notes of cherry, raspberry, plum and strawberry. It has excellent structure and balance with fine tannins and light notes of leather and smoked meat. If that sounds more like a $20 Pinot, then you get the idea. This is one delicious bottle of wine at a bargain basement price.

2007 Mas Carlot Rosé, $9.99

Constructed around the seventeenth century, this old Provençal Mas was brought back to life by the Blanc family, who purchased the estate in the Sixties. Located on the western edge of the Rhône River, in the village of Bellegarde, southeast of the city of Nîmes, the vineyards are in the heart of the appellation’s cailloux-based soil. In the old Provençal dialect, “Mas” means farm, and Nathalie Blanc-Marès is beautifully managing this 187 acres farm with the aid of her husband Cyril Marès, owner of the neighboring property Mas des Bressades (yes, she married the boy-next-door). This Rosé is a blend of 55% Grenache, 40 % Syrah and 5% Mourvèdre all. This is a gorgeous Rosé, loaded with wonderfully intermingled flavors of strawberry and graced by hints of spring flowers and spice. It’s lush on the palate, with a long, harmonious finish.

3 Horse Ranch Vineyards

• May 29, 2008
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This week we are tasting the newest winery addition to Idaho’s own Snake River Valley AVA. Owners Gary and Martha Cunningham did things right, planting their vineyard in the foothills above Eagle with the finest Rhône varietal rootstock available, vines brought to the U.S. by Tablas Creek from their famous French parent, Chateau de Beaucastel. Their estate wines are grown utilizing environmentally sustainable farming practices, employing hand pruning, training and harvesting. Next, they brought on the talented Greg Koenig to make their wine. Now they are ready to share the fruits of their labor. Their first bottlings include a Viognier, Chardonnay and Rosé.

2007 3 Horse Ranch Vineyards Rosé, $14.50

A blend of mostly Merlot with some Grenache, this is an elegantly styled wine, nicely balanced but with just a light touch of sweet fruit.

2007 3 Horse Ranch Viognier, $19.50

Lovely aromas of white peach, apricot and honeysuckle. Unctuous stone fruit flavors come through on the mouth nicely balanced by soft acidity. The finish is delicate but long.

2007 3 Horse Ranch Vineyards Chardonnay, $17.99

A well-structured, fairly fully-bodied Chard with a smooth richness. Aging in new French oak adds a creamy, complex nuance. Flavors of honeyed apple and ripe peach are backed by toasty oak.

The Wines of Domaine de la Petite Cassagne

• May 22, 2008
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Domaine de la Petite Cassagne is located four kilometers from the village of St Gilles on south/south-eastern exposed slopes of the Costières de Nîmes in France’s Rhône Valley. The soils here are characterized by cailloux deposited by the Rhône River centuries ago. Diane de Puymorin is the dynamic young owner of this super property, which she purchased in 1998. Diane’s goal was to craft unique wines within the Costières de Nîmes appellation. She uses only organic farming methods and believes in strictly limiting yields. Unique pruning and leaf pulling techniques help her to optimize the maturity of fruit in her vineyards, and allow her to harvest before the autumnal weather changes.

2007 Petite Cassagne Blanc, $10.99

Diane has been expanding her holdings by planing new vines each year, and now she has 5 acres of white varietals in production. This is only the second year for her Petite Cassagne Blanc, a blend of 40 percent Rolle (Vermentino in Italy) and 60 percent Grenache Blanc. The fruit is pressed immediately after picking and fermented in temperature-controlled tanks to capture all the fresh and floral peach and citrus aromas. On the flavor front, creamy stone fruit is laced with sweet lime and orange zest, with a crisp and lively finish.

2007 Petite Cassagne Rosé, $9.99

The vines destined for this bottling are pruned explicitly for rosé production and are picked early for optimal fruit and freshness. After 12 hours of skin-contact, Diane employs pressurage directe, or pressing expressly for making rosé. The Petite Cassagne is a blend of Grenache, Syrah and Cinsault, super fresh and bright. Dry rosé is the perfect summer sipper, as charming as it is refreshing. This one offers a bold blast of ripe strawberry fruit on the nose and in the mouth, that’s nicely balanced by just the right hit of acidity along with touches of mineral and sweet herb. A refreshing wine that is absolutely delicious!

2005 Petite Cassagne Rouge

A blend of Grenache, Syrah and old-vine Carignan, this is a medium-bodied wine, packed with black cherry and dark berry flavors, layered with earth tones and wonderful notes of indigenous herbs like lavender and rosemary. The tannins are very soft and the finish very long. Most of the reds currently coming in from the Costieres de Nimes are from the 2006 vintage, but the dense fruit in this wine stays closed in with a rustic roughness that needs time to open up and soften a bit. The extra year in the bottle works wonders. A wine that cries out to be paired with barbecued meat or fowl.

Red, White and Rose

• May 15, 2008
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It’s not true that all we ever sample is French wine, it just seems that way, and the past couple of weeks have done nothing to alter that impression. But despite the weak dollar, many of our best buys still come from France, so the trend continues. This weekend we will again be featuring wines from North Berkeley Imports (a Beaujolais) and Robert Kacher Selections (a white and a rosé).

2005 Michel Rey Juliènas Tres Vieille Vigne, $14.99

2005 was an outstanding vintage in Beaujolais, some say even better than 2003, which is high praise indeed. While 2003 produced wines of incredible concentration, 2005 has delivered everything we could want in great Beaujolais—abundant aromatics, sweet, juicy flesh, and a freshness that speaks of the region’s impressive terroirs. Juliénas combines the meaty structure you find in Moulin-à-Vent, with the delicious complexity of a Morgon and the flowery fruit of a Fleurie. Michel Rey’s vines are at least 90 years old, and many are undoubtedly older. Rey is truly a microproducer, bottling less than 1,000 cases a year. This wine offers a gorgeous nose of lavender and cherries with a super-chewy, delicious mouth of black and red fruits, perfect balance and a very juicy profile! Big, dark, deep and dense.

2007 Domaine du Tariquet Sauvignon, $9.99

Since 1912 Château du Tariquet has been home to the Grassa family. They first gained notoriety for Hélène and Pierre Grassa’s Armagnac, which is still produced today. In the 1980’s their children, Maïté and Yves, broke all the rules by producing their first still wines, a blend of Ugni Blanc and Colombard. Wine production is strictly controlled within the Domaine from viticulture to bottling and adheres to sustainable agriculture. To prevent oxidation the grapes are taken directly from the vines to the vats in isothermal tanks. The estate features a water treatment facility and they recycle and reuse all materials. The innovative “bottling to order” at Domaine du Tariquet guarantees consistent quality and freshness. This 100% Sauvignon Blanc displays intense floral notes, as well as great minerality. Its beautiful texture will be the perfect accompaniment to any fish or seafood dishes.

2007 Château Guiot Rosé, $9.99

Located in the Costières de Nîmes appellation, Guiot’s proprietors François and Sylvia Cornut grow both beautiful grapes, and incredible fruit (apricots & cherries), in the area where the Provence, Rhône and Languedoc regions all meet around the mouth of the Rhône River. All work is done by hand with great care and skill, and their wines reflect the authentic Provençal setting. This dry rosé is bursting with flavor and fruit, it is a blend of Grenache and Syrah, with a small dollop of Cinsault. This wine has lovely color, deeper than most Rosé.

Red, White and French

• May 8, 2008
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This week we are featuring wine from two of our favorite importers: a bargain priced white from Robert Kacher Selections, and a delicious red Rhône from North Berkeley Imports.

2007 Domaine du Pouy Côtes du Gascogne, $7.99

Yves Grassa, the proprietor of Domaine de Pouy, has invested intelligently in modern vinification equipment in order to assure that this exuberant, super aromatic, dry white is the standard to which others are held. The wine is a perennial Robert Parker best buy, and year in and year out it is our top selling white wine. The estate is located in the foothills of the Pyrenees in the Côtes du Gascogne about two hours southwest of Bordeaux. The region is best known for Armagnac which is made predominately from Ugni Blanc and Colombard, the same two grapes for the blend in this vibrant wine. The fresh and floral nose has notes of grass, grapefruit and lime. It is loaded with fresh fruit flavors including sweet grapefruit and loquat with a crisp texture and touches of mineral on the finish. Priced for everyday consumption we call it the perfect “refrigerator white,” and just to be sure you always have one in yours this spring and summer you’ll want to buy it by the case. You’ll save an extra 15% off the already low price when you do.

2006 Le Clos du Caillou Côtes du Rhône, Vieilles Vignes, $18.99

Clos du Caillou wines arguably represent some of the finest values in all of France. Proprietor Sylvie Vacheron and winemaker Bruno Gaspard (pictured left in the vineyard) are keeping the great work of the late Jean-Denis Vacheron alive with wines that are heady, robust and mouth-wateringly lush. Caillou tends wonderfully old Grenache vines, some of which are 70 to 100 years old. With older Syrah and Mourvèdre added to the mix, it’s no wonder that Caillou wines are across the board impressive for their power, extract and deep minerality. The estate’s Châteauneuf terroir borders the impressive domaines of Chateau Rayas and Beaucastel. Yet many of the Vacheron-Pouizin family’s old vines are classified, by a quirk of 1923 politics, Côtes-du-Rhône and Côtes-du-Rhône-Villages. It’s why our Côtes-du-Rhône barrel selection shows surprisingly like its kin in Châteauneuf-du-Pape. In 1996 Jean-Denis Vacheron took full control of the viticulture and élévage at this estate. Under his stewardship, the wines of Caillou steadily gained stature, and today are benchmarks for the appellation. He understood that temperature-controlled fermentation and a cool, clean cellar are necessary to craft wines with refinement and true complexity.