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Showing posts from July, 2012

Review: Two Wines from the Niven Family and Baileyana Winery

Let's get the party started! I'm happy they used screwcaps on these wines, to lock in the flavor and aromatics of the fruit, and for easy access too. Screwcap closures no longer worry me. I've had too many bottles of wine ruined by natural cork. Bottles of wine sealed with screwcaps also indicate that the wine is a buy me drink me wine. Should't they all be ready to drink? Theses wines were a pleasure to open and I enjoyed them both. What a great way to end this fun tasting from the California Wine Club - details below. Treat your friends to some Tangent Viognier. 1st Review: Tangent Viognier 2010 I like the clean look of this label. It hints at the wine inside the bottle. The Tangent Viognier had a clean nose, with peach and pear, a whiff of honey and orange blossom, very pleasing, quite feminine. The enticing aromas led to flavors of peach and pear, with gentle toast. Creamy mouth feel.  I liked the finish, it had lingering stone fruit, a touch of minerality.

àMaurice Cellars 2009 Malbec

àMaurice Cellars 2009 Malbec - decanted. Washington's Best Malbec. Two weeks a go I visited family on Bainbridge Island. Bainbridge Island is a 30 minute ferry ride from downtown Seattle. I had not visited with my cousin José in three years. To celebrate the occasion I brought a special bottle of wine...àMaurice Cellars 2009 Malbec. This May I was in Walla Walla for Spring Release weekend. It's the weekend when Walla Walla Wineries celebrate the season and showcase new releases by opening their tasting rooms. While I stopped at several wineries, one of the wineries I visited was àMaurice Cellars - whose winemaker is Anna Schafer. This was my first time at the Walla Walla winery, but not the first time I had met the winemaker. My first meeting with Anna Schafer was at the 2007 Washington Wine Country Grand Gala in Yakima, Washington. Winemaker Anna Schafer in the tasting room. In 2007 I wrote, "These are not lazy, rural wines - but big, expressive urban wi