Murrieta's Well Snooth Virtual Tasting with Winemaker Robbie Meyer

On July 19th Snooth co-founder Mark Angelillo and Murrieta’s Well winemaker Robbie Meyer participated in a video tasting of four Murrieta’s Well's wines while also discussing the history of the Livermore Valley winery. The winery traces its history back to 1883 with the planting of imported cuttings from France and the building of a gravity-flow winery into the hillside. In 1990, Philip Wente and Sergio Traverso revived the 92-acre property, and renamed the winery in honor of Joaquin Murrieta who discovered the estate in the 1800s.The well refers to the Artesian well where Murrieta and his band of desperados watered their horses.  The estate's 500 acres lie in the middle of the valley in generally gravelly soil with morning fog cooling the grapes before the start of a typical sunny day. The grapes for the four wines were harvested exclusively from these estate vineyards, blended from different blocks that exhibit slightly different soil types and mesoclimates.

Murrieta’s Well The Whip White Wine Blend Livermore Valley 2014 ($24 - 29% Semillon, 27% Chardonnay, 18% Sauvignon Blanc, 12% Orange Muscat, 8% Muscat Canelli, 6% Viognier) was aged sur lie for 12 months with 30% of the wine aged in used neutral French oak barrels. This process enhances the wine’s general texture and mouthfeel.  The tangerine aromatics from the muscat grapes are potent, followed by creamy apricot & citrus flavors (thanks to the  Semillon& Chardonnay), and finishes refreshingly acidic. Quite nice.

Murrieta’s Well The Spur Red Wine Blend Livermore Valley 2013 ($30 - 40% Petite Sirah, 26% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Petit Verdot, 8% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc, 8% Malbec) was aged for 24 months in French oak barrels, using a combination of new and previously used barrels. The result is a complex wine with chewy cherry flavors, some spice and chocolate with smooth tannins. Drink now and often.

Murrieta’s Well Chardonnay Small Lot Livermore Valley 2014 ($44) is made from isolated own rooted Ernest Wente clone. The wine was fermented slowly in barrel with native yeast and aged sur lie - once again enhancing the wine’s general texture and mouthfeel. Yet the oak doesn't overwhelm the wine, leaving the creamy chardonnay citrus flavors to acquire the spotlight. Textured and refreshing acids. And extremely nice wine.

Murrieta’s Well Cabernet Sauvignon Small Lot Livermore Valley 2013 ($58 -75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Cabernet Franc, 6% Malbec, 5% Petite Sirah, 4% Petit Verdot, 4% Merlot) was aged for 20 months in 70% new French oak. This is a meaty and juicy wine with some dustiness and lingering smoothness of dark chocolate. The acidity and strong tannins allow for long aging. Decant accordingly.

#VABreweryChallenge - Virginia Beach with Pleasure House Brewing (#39) & Commonwealth Brewing Company (#40)

While returning from the Outer Banks I stopped off at two local breweries Pleasure House Brewing (#39) & Commonwealth Brewing Company (#40). Both are located very close to each other, each on either side of the Route 13 Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel and both provide a laid back neighborhood atmosphere. Pleasure House is located in a small strip plaza and features nearly a dozen beers on tap with many of these in crowlers. I stuck to a three beer sample of Shark Tears Gose, GLO Belgium Blonde Ale, and the Duck-In Saison of Apricot & Ginger. The Duck In was spicy, just not sure of that combination. The GLO is a solid blonde, refreshing with more uumph than others in that style.And the Gose, fruity and tart - and more than refreshing - a crowler made it home.

Commonwealth is a stand alone establishment located near the Chic's Beach neighborhood in the old Chesapeake Beach Volunteer Fire and Rescue station. When visiting be prepared for food trucks, corn hole, dozens of picnic tables, and good beer. They specialize in Belgiums with eight available during my visit along with more traditional IPAs, Pale Ales, and Lagers. I chose another three beer sampler: the Cheval D'Or Belgium Golden Ale, Cheval Soleil Belgium Wit, and Romhilda Belgium Blonde on Citrus. These beers spoke for themselves, nailing the styles and providing refreshing relief during several challenging games of cornhole.  The Cheval Soleil was my favorite. And as always theCompass Winery, Brewery, Distillery Locator Mobile App will guide you to these breweries. Cheers.

Adelsheim Vineyard Introduces Breaking Ground, a 2014 Chehalem Mountains AVA Pinot Noir

David Adelsheim feels it's time for the Chehalem Mountains to take it's place among the great grape growing regions in Oregon, "We believe it is one of the very best regions in the Willamette Valley (and perhaps the world) to produce Pinot Adelsheim Vineyard is releasing Breaking Ground, a 2014 Chehalem Mountains AVA Pinot Noir ($45).  The Adelsheim's commitment to the Chehalem Mountains started in 1971 when the family purchased their first property and established the area’s first winery. Located in the northern Willamette Valley AVA, the Chehalem (pronounced Sha-HAY-lum) Mountains AVA is 20 miles long and 5 miles in width and it's mountains and ridges comprise three major soil types: volcanic basaltic (southeast), ocean sedimentary (northwest), and loess (northeast). The grapes for Breaking Ground were sourced from LIVE (Low Input Viticulture & Enology) certified vineyards among each of these three soil types. The wine is smooth, juicy and lively as blackberries and dark cherries roll into a dusty black tea flavor. Simply delicious.

"Topa Egin Dezagun" to Basque Country Wines from Rioja Alavesa

This summer the Smithsonian Folklife Festival featured Spain's Basque Country showcasing that region's unique music, language and cuisine.  In conjunction, Paul Wagner, President of Balzac Communications & Marketing, lead a trade tasting of Basque Country Wines from Rioja Alavesa, a sub zone in the larger DOC Rioja region. The geography of Rioja Alavesa is both Mediterranean and Continental, with the Cantabria Mountains sheltering the vineyards from cold wet air from the Atlantic Ocean. The proximity of the vines to the Ebro River provides additional warming. The soils are primarily calcareous clay.  

The Basque region is unique in that it's language predates all the Indo-European languages now used in Europe. The Basque name for itself is "Euskera", wine is "Ardoa", and "Topa Egin Dezagun" translates to Cheers. The region is also located in the crossroads of ancient trade and medieval pilgrimage routes bringing some influences from other cultures - grape growing and wine production being good examples. The Basque region also produces a second style of wine called Txakoli that is not part of Rioja Alavesa. These wines are "young, fruity, slightly sparkling white wine with low acidity".

As for Rioja Alavesa, Tempranillo is the favored red grape comprising 80% of plantings with another 4% dedicated to other red grapes and the remainder to several varieties of white grapes.  During this tasting, all the wines were at least 90% Tempranillo and followed the DOC Rioja requirements regarding Crianza (minimum of one year in casks and a few months in the bottle) and Reserva (aged for a minimum of 3 years, with at least one year in casks). In general these wines were very good, with the older vintages providing evidence of longevity and freshness.  Topa Egin Dezagun.

• CVNE Vina Real Crianza 2001 ($12) - light bodied, black cherries, a little dusty with lingering tannins.
• Marques de Riscal Reserva 2009 ($20) - very complex (creamy, spicy, some leather) with lingering tannins and acidity. Very nice.
• Remelluri Reserva 2009 ($25) - much more tannic than the Marques de Riscal, with more leather and dirt,
• Baigorri de Garage Rioja 2007 ($50) - a new age Rioja, fresh dark fruit then figs and green olives on the palate, finishes with dark chocolate.
• Remirez de Ganuza Reserva 2006 ($60) -  a traditional Rioja styled Tempranillo; very smooth, depth, with a bright finis. My favorite of the group. 
• DSL Vinedos y Bodegas DSG Phinca Lali 2010 ($68) - interesting mint characters with loads of tannins and acids - Wagner recommends 5-10 more years aging for this one.