Wine Club Newsletter - April 2021
Cosmic mouthful: Tasters savor fine wine that orbited Earth
Researchers study wine, vines that went to space station
BORDEAUX, France
It tastes like rose petals. It smells like a campfire. It glistens with a burnt-orange hue. What is it? A 5,000-euro bottle of Petrus Pomerol wine that spent a year in space.
Researchers in Bordeaux are analyzing a dozen bottles of the precious liquid — along with 320 snippets of merlot and cabernet sauvignon grapevines — that returned to Earth in January after a sojourn aboard the International Space Station.
They announced their preliminary impressions Wednesday — mainly, that weightlessness didn’t ruin the wine and it seemed to energize the vines.
Organizers say it’s part of a longer-term effort to make plants on Earth more resilient to climate change and disease by exposing them to new stresses, and to better understand the aging process, fermentation and bubbles in wine.
At a one-of-a-kind tasting this month, 12 connoisseurs sampled one of the space-traveled wines, blindly tasting it alongside a bottle from the same vintage that had stayed in a cellar.
A special pressurized device delicately uncorked the bottles at the Institute for Wine and Vine Research in Bordeaux. The tasters solemnly sniffed, stared and, eventually, sipped.
“I have tears in my eyes,” Nicolas Gaume, CEO and co-founder of the company that arranged the experiment, Space Cargo Unlimited, told The Associated Press.
Alcohol and glass are normally prohibited on the International Space Station, so each bottle was packed inside a special steel cylinder during the journey.
At a news conference Wednesday, Gaume said the experiment focused on studying the lack of gravity — which “creates tremendous stress on any living species” — on the wine and vines.
“We are only at the beginning,” he said, calling the preliminary results “encouraging.”
Jane Anson, a wine expert and writer with the wine publication Decanter, said the wine that remained on Earth tasted “a little younger than the one that had been to space.”
Chemical and biological analysis of the wine’s aging process could allow scientists to find a way to artificially age fine vintages, said Dr. Michael Lebert, a biologist at Germany’s Friedrich-Alexander-University who was consulted on the project.
The vine snippets — known as canes in the grape-growing world — not only survived the journey but also grew faster than vines on Earth, despite limited light and water.
Once the researchers determine why, Lebert said that could help scientists develop sturdier vines on Earth — and pave the way for grape-growing and wine-making in space.
Christophe Chateau of the Bordeaux Wine-Makers’ Council welcomed the research as “a good thing for the industry,“ but predicted it would take a decade or more to lead to practical applications.
Chateau, who was not involved in the project, described ongoing efforts to adjust grape choices and techniques to adapt to ever-warmer temperatures.
“The wine of Bordeaux is a wine that gets its singularity from its history but also from its innovations,” he told The AP. “And we should never stop innovating.”
Private investors helped fund the project, which the researchers hope to continue on further space missions. The cost wasn’t disclosed.
MacPherson and Charlton write for The Associated Press.
2019 Union Sacre Belle de Nuit, Gewurztraminer
Growing Region Los Ositis Vineyard, Arroyo Seco, California
Varietal Composition 100% Gewurztraminer
Fermentation Stainless Steel Tanks
Alcohol Content 12.8%
Suggested Retail $28.00
WineSellar Club Price $13.49!!!
Broad Strokes: 91 Points!!! 1,300 cases, sold out at the winery
From the Winery: Gewürztraminer is difficult to capture, on the vine it will go from pitch-perfect to over-ripe in a number of hours. As wine, it has an amazingly wide breadth of characteristics that it can display, it can be spice-driven, floral, sweet, bone-chillingly dry, clear, orange or pink. When it is done well it is a thing of rare, fleeting beauty that will last decades, much like the memory of a beautiful woman met once and disappeared.
Between the two friends, Xavier and Philip have 25+ years’ experience working in Central Coast wineries. Xavier has been cellar master or assistant winemaker for some of the Central Coasts’ most luminous wineries, including: Sans Liege, Arcadian and Herman Story. Philip cut his teeth at Proof Wine Collective before taking on the creative director role at Herman Story and Desparada. The wines of Union Sacre are focused on elegant, single vineyard, single varietal wines that are table friendly.
Appearance:
This is about as busy, and unique a label can be. To be sure, you are not exactly sure where to look or exactly what it is. Adding to the little dilemma is the color of the wine, looking like a rose’ somewhat, exhibiting a very different copper-orange-pink hue. This is essentially the color of the grape, and they left the skins on the juice for sixteen hours to get it to this color.
Nose:
A wild and wonderful myriad of scents. Luscious and floral on the nose, with cantaloupe, ripe pear and apple, with white peach. I also enjoyed toasted brioche, honey and brown butter. Also, look for earth-driven notes of wet stone, mineral and dust.
Texture:
You’ll experience a wide, generous mouthful of expanding ripe fruit, which then tightens up with some gentle but lively acids. The fruit is still large on the finish, but the overall impressions is that of mouth-watering ripeness, firmed by the verve of the balancing acid.
Flavors:
Ripe cantaloupe, and very ripe white tree fruit, along with honey, and toasted brioche. Lychee nut flavors are also stout. It is long in the palate, and is a delightful, attention-grabbing bottle of wine!
Serving Suggestions:
At this price, less than ½ of the winery selling price, what are we waiting for? I didn’t, I already bought my case!
2017 Sidetrack Red, Pomar Junction Winery
Growing Region El Pomar District, Paso Robles, California
Varietal Composition 44% Syrah, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 1% Grenache Noir
Fermentation Barrel Fermentation
Alcohol Content 12.8%
Suggested Retail $30.00
WineSellar Club Price $24.29
Broad Strokes:
From the Winery: The Merrill Family’s agricultural heritage and grape growing history dates back at least 8 generations on California’s central coast. After nearly 30 years of growing grapes for many of the finest wineries in California, ranging from ultra premium small producers to the largest international brands, the Merrill’s decided to produce their own wines. In addition to the family estate, the finest blocks of grapes from Santa Barbara and Monterey Counties are selected from vineyards managed by a sister firm, Mesa Vineyard Management, Inc.
Appearance:
Such a creative label, I love it! The train tracks getting side-tracked on the black designer looking label. And it’s paperless too! Good back label story, which I always appreciate. The wine is a darker shade of garnet, and nearly black at the core.
Nose:
A brilliant, almost staggering whiff of blackberry catches your attention right away. This fruit grab is followed by a dash of herbs, vanilla oak, black and pepper. Look for ripe plum, blueberry and caramel as well.
Texture:
Medium plus in weight and mouth feel. The pleasant, gratifying entry of solid fruit is balanced and leveled out immediately by a well partnered touch of acid. The finish is clean, long and lingering.
Flavors:
Dark berries, coffee, vanilla oak, cappuccino/espresso, roasted nuts, balsamic, and yes, a lovely little nod of caramel.
Serving Suggestions:
Nice example of a well-made red wine from Pomar Junction, a top-quality producer from Paso Robles. Will go another 5-7 years in the bottle, but drinking very well right now. Lori and I were in Paso earlier this year, and had a wonderful private tasting with the Merrills, and in March winemaker Jim Shumate hosted a gorgeous dinner we had at The Brasserie. A good time was had by all!
2018 Pinot Noir, Tondré, Tondré Grapefield
Growing Region Santa Lucia Highlands, California
Varietal Composition 100% Pinot Noir
Fermentation 33% Hungarian Oak for 17 Months
Alcohol Content 14.3%
Suggested Retail $60.00
WineSellar Club Price $35.99
Broad Strokes: 95 Points Double Gold, SF Chronicle Wine Competition, 435 cases
From the Winery: Owned by Tondré Alarid and his son Joe Tondré, the Tondré Grapefield is right in the middle of the Santa Lucia Highlands just South of Gary’s Vineyard and adjacent to the Soberanes Vineyard. The Grapefield faces South/Southeast and is at between 300-400 ft. in elevation. It was originally planted in 1997 on 6 acres and now stands at 80 acres of Pinot Noir and 21 acres of Chardonnay. Tondré and Joe have almost a century of farming the Salinas Valley between them.
A few years back we had the 2013 version of this wine in the Gary Parker Collection and the Two-Rouge Club, which also had high scores and great aging potential.
Appearance:
I like the packaging and the label. The visual on Tondré is well presented, though the rest of the font kind of gets lost. Warmhearted and thoughtful notes on the back label. The wine is still carrying a youthful cherry skin hue, that bleeds out to almost clear at the edges of the glass.
Nose:
The aromatics are complex: there is a lot going on here. Beautiful bouquet of Asian spices pop up over the dark berry/cherry fruit. Earthen notes of dark soil, wood notes of vanilla and spice, with more cherry fruit coming on. I enjoyed it to the point that was hard to keep my schnoz out of the glass.
Texture:
Medium in weight, but more like medium plus considering it is a Pinot Noir. It is rich on the palate, with a refined, elegant feel to it. And long-lasting, excellent presence.
Flavors:
Marvelous red and black cherry fruit are wrapped by the never-ending bestowal of spices: Asian spices, baking spices, and clove. This is the root of the evolving complexity of this class act Pinot Noir. Ripe plum, anise. Constantly becoming more remarkable in the glass by the minutes!
Serving Suggestions:
Do NOT miss putting some of this in your collection. It IS a class act, and will be a shining star in your wine collection. Keep it five to ten years.
2017 Sidetrack Red, Pomar Junction Winery
Growing Region El Pomar District, Paso Robles, California
Varietal Composition 44% Syrah, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 1% Grenache Noir
Fermentation Barrel Fermentation
Alcohol Content 12.8%
Suggested Retail $30.00
WineSellar Club Price $24.29
Broad Strokes:
From the Winery: The Merrill Family’s agricultural heritage and grape growing history dates back at least 8 generations on California’s central coast. After nearly 30 years of growing grapes for many of the finest wineries in California, ranging from ultra premium small producers to the largest international brands, the Merrill’s decided to produce their own wines. In addition to the family estate, the finest blocks of grapes from Santa Barbara and Monterey Counties are selected from vineyards managed by a sister firm, Mesa Vineyard Management, Inc.
Appearance:
Such a creative label, I love it! The train tracks getting side-tracked on the black designer looking label. And it’s paperless too! Good back label story, which I always appreciate. The wine is a darker shade of garnet, and nearly black at the core.
Nose:
A brilliant, almost staggering whiff of blackberry catches your attention right away. This fruit grab is followed by a dash of herbs, vanilla oak, black and pepper. Look for ripe plum, blueberry and caramel as well.
Texture:
Medium plus in weight and mouth feel. The pleasant, gratifying entry of solid fruit is balanced and leveled out immediately by a well partnered touch of acid. The finish is clean, long and lingering.
Flavors:
Dark berries, coffee, vanilla oak, cappuccino/espresso, roasted nuts, balsamic, and yes, a lovely little nod of caramel.
Serving Suggestions:
Nice example of a well-made red wine from Pomar Junction, a top-quality producer from Paso Robles. Will go another 5-7 years in the bottle, but drinking very well right now. Lori and I were in Paso earlier this year, and had a wonderful private tasting with the Merrills, and in March winemaker Jim Shumate hosted a gorgeous dinner we had at The Brasserie. A good time was had by all!
2018 Raen “Royal St. Robert” Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast
Growing Region West Sonoma Coast, California
Varietal Composition 100% Pinot Noir
Fermentation Whole Cluster, Neutral French Oak
Alcohol Content 12.5%
Suggested Retail $60.00
WineSellar Club Price $58.49
Broad Strokes: 96 Points, James Suckling
From the Winery: Pronounced “Rain”, our name reminds us that wine was rain first. It only becomes wine in our vineyards after being filtered by the rocks taken back up by the vines and sweetened up by the sun. The unique spelling is our society and ethos, which is translated to Research in Agriculture and Enology Naturally. As winemakers and farmers, Carlos and Dante attribute a great deal of what they have learned from the grandfather Robert Mondavi and Father Tim, both who influenced them from an early age. Carlos and Dante’s father Tim was a pioneer for California Pinot Noir in the early 1970’s, and has always had a tremendous regard for the great wines of Burgundy. To this day, his Pinot Noirs from the 1970’s and are showing incredibly well.
Appearance:
I really like the package. The overall look is that of Grand Cru Burgundy. The bottle is heavy, and a very craft wax capsule enclosure looks debonair, well dressed. And don’t worry, just put your corkscrew in it and pull like always. The wine has the hue of pale apple skin, and that hazy look that comes from un-fined and unfiltered wines. Check out the cork!
Nose:
Ripe cherry fruit aromas, with a nice touch of herbs, roasted nuts and a hint of strawberry. Black tea, forest floor, floral, like rose petal or violets. Red licorice, cigar box, it has a candy like sweetness to it.
Texture:
This distinctive Pinot Noir has a very racy, lean entry to the palate. It feels medium to medium light in body, and is a bit nervy on the acid. I was patient, and after an hour, the wine began to calm down and turned into this incredible, sensuous, textural thing that I found astonishing and just about magical.
Flavors:
While it’s definitely wine like in flavor, I was recognizing things that don’t seem wine-like: coffee bean, stones, mineral, mint/menthol, dried strawberry, black tea, stones, mineral, floral, patchouli oil, sweet rosemary, and incense. Wild and WONDERFUL!
Serving Suggestions:
GP Collection people, put 6-12 bottles in the cellar? And wait 10-20 years, you’ll love me.
2017 Cabernet Franc, Dominion Tantara, Estate
Growing Region Mateo Vineyard, Los Olivos District, California
Varietal Composition 90% Cabernet Franc, 8% Petite Verdot, 2% Carmenere
Fermentation 60% New French & American Oak, 28 Months
Alcohol Content 15.8%
Suggested Retail $60.00
WineSellar Club Price $40.49
Broad Strokes: 95 Points Double Gold, SF Chronicle Wine Competition, 435 cases
From the Winery: The owner of Tantara is Bill Cates with winemaker Jeff Fink producing the wine. Tantara was the name of a horse owned by Bill Cates some years ago. After Tantara was retired to pasture, she defied predictions of an imminent demise and lived to a ripe old age. Horses symbolize elegance, grace and power and in Tantara’s case, long life, all of which are qualities we embrace for our wine. Friends for over twenty years, Jeffrey Fink, an architect and Bill Cates, were both originally from Virginia. They converged in California on a mission: to transform noble fruit into world class wine and have a good time doing it. Created in 1997, Tantara has quietly been producing world class wines primarily from the famed Bien Nacido Vineyard in the Santa Maria Valley. Tantara wines can be found in the very best restaurants throughout the U.S.
(Very few retail wine shops are able to access these killer wines).
Appearance:
All black themed heavier bottle packaging, with the sketch of Tantara on the label in silver, looking pretty cool. Good info on the back label too! The wine is a dark ruby-red, and black at the center, clinging to the glass as it drips down very slowly.
Nose:
Assertive aromatics of boysenberry and blackberry fruit burst from the glass, followed by vanilla, chocolate, smoke, coffee and licorice.
Texture:
Full and rich without being “jammy”. An excellent, full mouthfeel coats the palate with plush fruit, with sweet tannins in the middle, and a fine, firming bit of acid on the finish to hold it all together very well.
Flavors:
Sweet and tart cherry fruit, Luxardo, cocoa, dense raspberry, earth, plum, and Kirsch. A distant touch of herb/bell pepper to delightfully remind one it is a Cabernet Franc. What a jewel!
Serving Suggestions:
Why not put 6-12 bottles in the cellar? It will be beautiful in 7-12 years from now.
NV Alexandrie, Brut Sparkling Wine
Growing Region: North Coast, CA
Varietal Composition (Cepage) : 50% Pinot Noir, 50% Chardonnay
Vinification (From the winery): Methode Champenoise
Dosage: 10 g/l
Alcohol Content: 12.5%
Suggested Retail: $40
WineSellar Club Price: $37.79
We thought Alexandrie was a perfect sparkling to offer our Sparkling Champagne Club Members for April and May ….. with a gorgeous bottle for Easter and a perfect wine celebrating a
a female owned winery for Mother’s Day!
From the Winery:
Chloe Bello named this sparkling wine in honor of her daughter, Alexandrie. This sparkling wine is lovingly produced in small batches at Chloe’s boutique, female-owned winery in Napa Valley. Chloe is an active member of the Napa Valley Wine Alliance. Chloe loves the character, atmosphere, and charm of the region. This has a dramatic influence on the production of Alexandrie, which emphasizes unmatched quality,
discerning taste, and a timeless bottle design!
Gold at 2019 The Women’s Wine & Spirits Competition
Appearance:
Meyer lemon hue with golden highlights
Nose:
Sourdough, key lime, ginger, peach, apricots, pears and white cherries
Texture:
Crisp and fuzzy like peach skin!
Flavors:
A charming wine with notes of peach, key lime, ginger and toasted sourdough
Serving Suggestions:
Brunch! Alexandrie is wonderful with your brunch favorites; apricot stuffed french toast,
bacon & swiss quiche and stone fruit salad!
NV Pommery, Brut Royal Rosé
Growing Region:
Varietal Composition (Cepage): 50% Pinot Noir, 40% Chardonnay, 10% Pinot Meunier
Vinification (From the winery): Selected from 30 crus from the Cotes des Blancs and Montane de Reims, aged 4 years on the lees in the Cellar
Dosage: 8 g/l
Alcohol Content: 12.5%
Suggested Retail: $62
WineSellar Club Price: $57.59
From the Winery:
From one of the most important houses in Champagne history! Madame Louise Pommery was widowed at a young age and grew the Pommery business with a new baby to care for. Madame Pommery essentially created the Brut (dry) style of Champagne. The Pommery Brut Royal Rosé is a faithful variation of the classic Pommery Brut Royal created through the assembly of a red wine made with this mind, and different wines vinified in white,
within a great proportion of chardonnay.
91 points, Wine Spectator
Appearance:
A festive salmon pink with copper highlights
Nose:
A charming scent of fresh roses, red currants, and raspberries
Texture:
Refreshing and lively!
Flavors:
Juicy fruits on the palate; strawberries, Rainie cherries, kumquats, lemon, ginger, biscuits and a whisper of a savory note as well!
Serving Suggestions:
Perfect with Spring hors d’oeuvres! For example, prosciutto wrapped asparagus or deviled eggs crowned with fresh chives (or Caviar if you really want to gild the lily)!
Lemon Bars
Here is an age-old recipe sent to me by WineSellar Club member Donna Nichols. The Bars are fantastic, and with our crop of Meyer Lemons falling to the ground, it is a perfect time to be making this delicious snack/dessert. Makes 24-30 bars.
Crust
Ingredients:
- 2 cups of all-purpose flour
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1 cup of soft butter
Method:
-
Preheat oven to 350 F.
-
Line a 13” x 9” x 2” deep baking pan with heavy duty foil
-
Lightly butter the sides, set aside.
-
In a large bowl, combine the powdered sugar, flour and cut in the butter using a pastry cutter until mixture is a fine crumb (food processor works also!)
Lemon Filling
Ingredients:
- 2 cups of sugar
- 2 tbls all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/8 tsp salt
- ½ cup fresh lemon juice
- 4 large eggs beaten
- Powdered sugar for dusting
Method:
-
Combine sugar, flour, baking powder and salt in a medium mixing bowl
-
Stir in beaten eggs until well blended
-
Add lemon juice and blend lightly
-
Pour over the baked crust
-
Bake 25-30 minutes or until filling is set
-
Cool completely
-
Very carefully (crust is tender) lift using the foil lining from the pan.
-
Dust with powdered sugar and cut into bars