Wednesday, October 10 from 7-9pm at Table Wine, Asheville’s friendliest wine store – $10/person………..$8 for Grape Nuts includes a taste of 8 different wines and light palate cleansers – The weather is cooling down, the leaves are changing colors and football season is back in full force. That can mean only one thing – autumn is upon us and the change of seasons has many of us yearning for fuller bodied red wines and richer white wines. No problem folks……..we’ve got you covered with this upcoming tasting where we’ll explore some of our favorite cool weather reds.
Brian Bouressa from Mutual Distributing will join us to pour a very fine batch of eight wines from various parts of the globe that are guaranteed to make the fall colors more vibrant, the beef stew better and the football game more festive. We’ll be pouring some higher end selections for this tasting, thus the need for an entry fee, pre-payment and RSVP.
You can stop by any time between 7 and 9 p.m. and stay for as long or as short as you would like. All wines will be offered at a 20% discount for one night only, so the savings should more than make up for the cost to attend.
1. 2010 Lange Pinot Noir Willamette Valley, Oregon – This veteran Oregon producer has crafted a stunner and relative value in 2010. Smooth and elegant, it delivers a range of red fruits (cherry, cranberry, pomegranate) along with complex herb and spice on the finish. 91 points – Wine Spectator
2. 2009 Matchbook Tempranillo Dunnegan Hills, California – Every person who buys this wine loves it, and there’s good reason for that. Tempranillo cuttings were brought in from Spain and planted in a dry and warm growing zone in Yolo County, California – that’s the perfect climate for this grape. The result is a medium to full bodied, smooth and supple wine loaded with ripe berry fruit, subtle spice and cocoa notes. At less than $15, it is the extreme value of tonight’s tasting.
89 points – Robert Parker
3. 2008 Gabrielle Collection Vertex Red Blend North Coast, California – I had the pleasure to sit down with Gabrielle O’Connell and taste through her and her husband’s wines last week and came away deeply impressed. This is her fun, fruit packed red that is composed of 50% Cab, 20% Merlot, 15% Syrah, 10% Cab Franc and 5% Petite Sirah. It offers up a nose of rich and ripe dark fruit along with a top note of lavender and spice leading into a palate of rich, supple, ripe berry fruit, cassis, mocha, pepper and spice.
4. 2005 Pietro Family Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon North Coast, California – This wine is made by Gabrielle O’Connell’s husband Wayne, and it is named after his grandfather Pietro. Most of the fruit comes from Andy and Tuck Beckstoffer’s vineyard in the Red Hills AVA of California, and the wine is in prime drinking shape right now. The seven years of maturity on this wine are showing in a very good way – I’ll leave it at that!
5. 2011 Achaval Ferrer Malbec Mendoza, Argentina -The lone non-domestic wine in the lineup is from a producer that can do no wrong. Their just released Malbec will go down as one of the great red wine values of 2011 (in our humble opinions). It is juicy, but structured, with raspberry coulis, blackberry and cherry notes rounded out by layers of spice, flint and wild flowers. A wow wine to say the least! 92 points – Wine Spectator
6. 2010 Venge Vineyards Scouts Honor Napa Valley – For fans of the Venge Cabernet Sauvignon, this is equally delicious, but different! A blend of 70% Zinfandel, 13% Petite Sirah, 11% Charbono and 6% Syrah, this is a whopper of a wine. It is all about pleasure and delight with a jammy-ripe core of blueberry and blackberry fruit along with abundant spice, vanilla and toasty oak notes. You’re gonna’ love it!
7. 2008 Gabrielle Collection Cabernet Sauvignon “Juxtaposition” Napa Valley, California – We love the way the 2008’s from Napa Valley are drinking right now and this is no exception. Gabrielle O’Connell blends 75% Cabernet Sauvignon with 25% Syrah to create this complex and complete, classic Napa Valley red. It displays the tell-tale black cherry/black currant fruit of Cab, but the Syrah expands the wine and adds layers of lush blueberry and plum fruit along with some nice pepper and spice notes.
8. 2009 Tablas Creek Mourvedre Paso Robles, California -We’ll cap the night off with something different, but something utterly delicious. If you’re not familiar with Tablas Creek, it is the joint project of wine importer extraordinaire Robert Haas and the Perrin family, of Chateau Beaucastel fame. Mourvedre, a grape that is typically used for blending purposes, is driving the bus here and we’re glad it is. Layers of roasted fig, smoked meat, deep blueberry and blackberry and big-time spice and herb. Only 700 cases were made for the entire world and we’re going to let you taste it!