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Featured Entries:
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Domaine Rose-Dieu Plan de Dieu, 2014
Domaine Rose-Dieu 2014 “Plan De Dieu”, 14.5% ABV, Approx $16/bottle in 2016. Most wine lovers have favorites when it comes to Côtes du Rhône village-level wines. This one I found locally for about $16, but I’ve seen as low as $12 online! Domaine Rose Dieu’s Plan De Dieu, a full-bodied, spicy blend of Grenache, Syrah, […]
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Troon Takes Orange Wine to the Next Level
Troon Vineyards 2019 Kubli Bench Amber, Estate Orange Wine; Applegate Valley AVA, OR. 13.3% ABV, MSRP $30/bottle. Kubli Bench Amber is an orange wine from Troon Vineyards, a Demeter BioDynamic, Certified Organic winery in the Applegate Valley AVA, located in the southwestern region of Oregon. The Kubli Bench Amber is a blend of 74% […]
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Smith Madrone: Blurring the Lines Between Old and New World Wines.
I recently had the opportunity to join in a live tasting of four wines I’d highly enjoyed a year ago. The winery, Smith-Madrone, is one of the best under-the-radar labels you can find. I’m still surprised their prices have not sky-rocketed, but their wines are selling out faster every year and their value is among […]
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Wines of the Dão
When I think about wines with tremendous value, my first reaction is the Iberian Peninsula. But move over Spain, the wines of Portugal are coming through! OK, so is this really new? Maybe you’ve tried some Portuguese wines before. But this IS new, unless you have truly paid serious attention to the wines of the Dão […]
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Old World Flavors From a New World Vineyard: Lucas & Lewellen Toccata Classico 2015
Lucas & Lewellen Toccata 2015 Classico Red Wine, Santa Barbara County, California, USA. 14.7%ABV, SRP is $29/bottle. Sample Provided. Winemaker Megan McGrath Gates blended 50% sangiovese, 30% cabernet sauvignon, and 5% each of merlot, cab franc, petite verdot, and freisa , from Santa Barbara County’s Los Alamos and Valley View vineyards. Color is a medium […]
Recent Reviews
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Troon Takes Orange Wine to the Next Level
Troon Vineyards 2019 Kubli Bench Amber, Estate Orange Wine; Applegate Valley AVA, OR. 13.3% ABV, MSRP $30/bottle. Kubli Bench Amber is an orange wine from Troon Vineyards, a Demeter BioDynamic, Certified Organic winery in the Applegate Valley AVA, located in the southwestern region of Oregon. The Kubli Bench Amber is a blend of 74% […]
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Smith Madrone: Blurring the Lines Between Old and New World Wines.
I recently had the opportunity to join in a live tasting of four wines I’d highly enjoyed a year ago. The winery, Smith-Madrone, is one of the best under-the-radar labels you can find. I’m still surprised their prices have not sky-rocketed, but their wines are selling out faster every year and their value is among […]
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Wines of the Dão
When I think about wines with tremendous value, my first reaction is the Iberian Peninsula. But move over Spain, the wines of Portugal are coming through! OK, so is this really new? Maybe you’ve tried some Portuguese wines before. But this IS new, unless you have truly paid serious attention to the wines of the Dão […]
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2016 Aridus Graciano and Syrah from Cochise County, Arizona
Aridus 2016 Graciano, Cochise County, Arizona. %14.4 ABV, SRP $37/bottle. By Jim vanBergen, JvBUnCorked. All Rights Reserved. Copyright by Jim van Bergen, JvB UnCorked 2019. May Not Be Duplicated Without Permission. Color is an opaque purple center with dark ruby edging. The nose shows black and blue fruit compote, eucalyptus, and a subtle herbal blend. […]
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Pazo Torrado Albariño Rias Baixas, Galicia
Pazo Torrado Albariño 2017, D.O. Rías Baixas, Galicia, Spain. 12.5%ABV, SRP around $11/bottle. All Rights Reserved. Copyright by Jim van Bergen, JvB UnCorked 2019. May Not Be Duplicated Without Permission. By Jim van Bergen, JvBUnCorked Color is a translucent medium straw. The nose offers a luxurious floral aroma, hyacinth, orchid and pineapple. […]
Recent Commentary:
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Evening Land 2011 Bourgogne Rouge
My love of pinot noir began with Burgundy and expanded rapidly around the world. More than ten years ago, I was attending an Oregon regional tasting and had been severely impressed with an Evening Land wine I tasted from the Eola-Amity Hills AVA of the Willamette Valley. When I found out they were also making […]
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Enjoying Aged White Wine & Pierre Morey 2011 Bourgogne Aligoté
Let me start with a wine review: Pierre Morey, 2011 Bourgogne Aligoté, Meursalt, Cote D’Or, France. 12% ABV; Case purchase in 2013 for $17/bottle. At nine years of age, the color has only slightly deepened to a maturing pale gold. Aroma is light and mellow, reductive of dried wildflowers and lemon zest. On the palate, the […]
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New Year’s Bottles and my “Dry” January
Several close friends decided to have a dry January. Everyone understands the idea, you’re dieting off the weight that got put on over the holidays, and your liver could use a break. While I had some time off from work, I saw my doctor and had my blood work done- so I know my liver […]
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Flattery in Wine?
When people make fun of your passions, or when personal and professional interests crossover, it must be a sign your blog is doing something right. Right? A friend of mine texted me today with this gem: It was funny, in a laughing-at-Sideways kind of moment. But now I’m suddenly feeling like a glass of merlot! […]
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What You Learn When Pouring for Others
I love pouring wine for others. I recently donated several cases of wine to a fundraiser, and in addition to the wine, I poured glasses to the attendees. They walked up to a wine bar, I asked them what they liked to drink, and then poured them a taste. Sometimes I poured them tastes from […]
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Jean Foillard Morgon 2016 “Côte du Py” Beaujolais
6 MarJean Foillard Morgon 2016 “Côte du Py” Beaujolais. 13% ABV, Purchased @ $38/bottle from Crush Wine Co’s advance offer.
The color is bright, translucent ruby, while the nose is stunningly floral with ripe cherry blossom, rose bush, and violet. On the palate, bright cherry, strawberry, and sweet raspberry blend with stunning acidity. One sip reminds me why I collect Morgon, why every bottle is a treasure to me. Another sip, the flavors and balance make my eyes close halfway and it puts me on the hills outside Lyon, France. An unmistakable scent of the land, visions of the rolling hills, the low, un-trellissed vines, brown earth dotted with chunks of granite and schist that you remember from tasting in the glass. Small memories bring back larger ones, from the gentle rivers and byways to my first tasting of gamay then an actual Cru Beaujolais, compared to a serious Burgundy– and realizing what the differences and similarities are between these, and what everyone else thinks of: Nouveau Beaujolais. And how vastly different true Beaujolais is!
Getting back into the glass! Behind the fruit and sheer wall of vast acidity is a complex series of notes, hints of forest, leather, and earth hide underneath the fruit with chewy tannins exposed after more air.
I steer myself away from the glass and open a laptop. Pull up the invoice from the seller and hit their online store: Gone. Trying a wide search shows decent amounts of the vintage available, as well as why it is harder and harder to find: scores of 96 from Suckling, and two 95’s from RP’s Wine Advocate and Vinous yet STILL under $40/bottle? Damn. I only bought a couple of bottles on the offer, and opened this tonight thinking I should let the 2013 get another two years to be perfect. THIS wine is going to be simply unbelievable in ten years- but my bottle will never grow that old. I’m too much of a sucker for great Gamay. It will be done in quick time.
I can just hear my friend and fellow wine blogger, Thea Dwelle say, “Well JvB, you should have invested in a Coravin.” You’re right, Thea, but at least I’ll have a few nights to really enjoy this fabulous gamay and empty this bottle, thoroughly!
In a decade, this wine will be unbelievable. The structure will be stunning, the fruit diminished and gossamer, the feel will be glamourous. But right now, this is a live performance at the Academy Awards: tasting raw emotion, a little terror with lust and joy and expression of starlight and rainbows and darkness and anger all at once. The wine is stunningly lovely, yet raw- just an adolescent full of emotion and SO MUCH TALENT. If you can wait ten years, then wait. If you can’t, you’ll enjoy every single note. A moment of brilliant mouthfeel, and series of unbelievable flavors. Raw beauty, unfiltered, aged vines, showing intimacy, depth, and what is to come. An entire story shown in a fleeting moment.
What’s in YOUR glass?
à votre santé!
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Tags: Beaujolais, Commentary, Featured, Gamay, Gang of Four, Jean Foillard, Morgon, Review, Wine Review