Beckmen Vineyards (Santa Ynez Valley, CA)

Steve Beckmen (pictured left) joined us at Portalis this spring for a tasting, and we were delighted to meet the guy whose wine won the March 2009 Tasting Circle showdown between Washington and California Cabs (beating out much more famous and expensive wines, mind you).  So, here’s the scoop on Steve and Beckmen Cellers.  By the way, don’t think you’re limited to reds with this winery.  It’s summer and Jens (Who’s Jens?) thinks the Beckmen Sauvignon Blanc is the best Californian SB he’s tasted in the last couple years.

Founded in 1994 by Tom and Steve Beckmen, Beckmen Vineyards is a family-owned, estate winery located in the Santa Ynez Valley (Santa Barbara County).  After traveling to the Rhône Valley several times, Steve discovered his love for Rhône varietals. He started making wine without any experience, but after several vintages, Beckmen Vineyards has emerged as one of North America’s premier producers of Rhône varietals.

In Steve’s opinion vineyard management is the most important part of winemaking. It drives the whole winemaking process. All of their wines are biodynamic and in 2008 they became certified biodynamic. Their production remains small.

Beckmen Vineyards was named Food & Wine’s “Most Promising Winery” in the magazine’s 2000 American Wine Awards. Since then, Beckmen Vineyards has lived up to that. In 2007 it was selected as one of the “Top 100 Wineries” in the world by Wine & Spirits magazine. Not bad for a winemaker without any experience.  

Jens & Gina (Who’s Gina?) are part of a local professional tasting panel called the Tasting Circle.  They meet monthly to blind taste & rank wines in the Seattle marketplace.  At a customer’s request in March 2009, the Tasting Circle tasted a lineup of Washington vs. California Cabernet.  The Beckman 2005 Estate Cab won the tasting, beating out other more expensive and well-known competitors such as Caymus.  This vintage is no longer available, but the 2006 is outstanding as well.

Beckmen Vineyards 2008 Estate Sauvignon Blanc $18.50/case $14.80
The estate Sauvignon Blanc comes exclusively from biodynamic certified grapes grown on the Purisma Mountain Vineyard, mainly on limestone. Tasting Notes:  very aromatic. Offers rich, exotic, tropical fruit, with pineapple and melon. Lots of grapefruit and lime on the mid-palate. Full-bodied, ripe and balanced. Powerful, yet elegant and persistent. Great acidity. Wonderful, long finish. One of the best Sauvignon Blancs I have tasted in the last 2 years. Up to 2 years. Excellent sipper. Good with light seafood and salads.

Beckmen Vineyards 2007 Le Bec $23/case $18.40
A blend of 44% Grenache, 28% Syrah, 20% Mourvedre and 8% Counoise. The 2007 vintage turned out to be one of the best vintages to date. A well-balanced growing season with long hang time offered exceptional flavors with low alcohol levels, creating wines with great length and depth. Tasting Notes: Meaty, peppery scents on the nose followed by flavors of black currant, black licorice and black cherries. Ripe, firm and vibrant. This wine has power with finesse. Fine tannins and smoky notes on the finish. Barrel aged for 15 month in 15% new French barrels and 85% neutral barrels. Up to 3 years. Good with roasted chicken, white meat.

Beckmen Vineyards 2006 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon $27/case $21.60
Following the 2005 vintage (which won Seattle’s Tasting Circle Tasting in March matched up against more well-known and expensive competitors) this wine again shows stunning balance and depth. One of the best Cabernet deals in California. Tasting Notes: Very aromatic. Smoked plums and blackberry fruit on the nose followed by flavors of dark fruit and raspberries. Well-balanced, complex and elegant. Great acidity which carries the fruit to a lingering, long impressive finish with espresso and coffee notes.  Up to 3 years. Fire up the grill and start the rib eyes.
Don’t forget, we offer a 20% case & 10% half-case discount.  Mixed cases included.

Contributor:  Julie Howe

4th of July: BBQ Ribs with Wine/Beer Pairings

Chef Tracey just made these for Father’s Day and they were crazy good, so I hit her up for her insider tips to pass on and she flat out gave me her recipes.  So if you’re responsible for the food on the Fourth, here goes …

Chef Tracey’s BBQ Baby Back Ribs
It’s all about getting them to be moist and fall off the bone.  In the south (where Chef Tracey has cooked), the classic way to prepare ribs is to boil them and then finish them in a smoker.  She thinks it’s easier and more flavorful, though, to use a dry rub and then wrap them tightly in foil and put them in a 250 degree oven for 4-5 hours.  The beautiful thing about this is it can be done a day or two ahead of time. When you’re ready to serve, you finish the ribs by slathering them in your favorite BBQ sauce and putting them on a hot grill for 8 minutes or so until they’re bubbly and ready to eat.  Ingredients for the dry rub:  1/2 cup salt, 1/2 sugar, 3T each: chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, 1T smoked paprika, 1t ground mustard.

Chef Tracey’s Red Bliss Potato Salad
Serve up the ribs with this on the side …
Boil 1 lb Red Bliss potatoes (tip … 1T of salt & 1t sugar in the water will keep the potato peels bright red).  Let cool to room temperature then cut to desired size.  Add 4 hard boiled eggs (cut to desired size), 1/2 C diced celery, 2 chopped shallots, 2T snipped chives, 2T chopped dill.  For the dressing, mix 1/2 C mayo, 1T Dijon mustard, 1T whole grain mustard, 1t celery salt, 1t apple cider vinegar.  Add to potato mixture and serve.

Wine & Beer Pairings:
There are three ways to go with BBQ ribs …
1 – Beer (tried and true … can’t go wrong)  We suggest a pilsner as its tartness offsets the sweetness of the ribs beautifully.  Germans are the masters.  Try Radeberger Pilsner ($4/case $3.20) from Dresden, in the southeast corner of Germany near the Polish/Czech borders.  The Czech’s would argue theirs is better and they might be right.  Try Lev Lion Lager ($4/case $3.20).
2 – Rosé  A wonderfully refreshing summer drink and it’s amazingly flexible with regard to food pairing.  The cold, fruity, pleasant acidity of this festive drink goes well with everything from salads, to chicken to grilled meats, and it can even handle the spicy sweetness of BBQ sauce.  Try Domaine Saint Roch Les Vignes 2008 Rosé $16 (Provence) or if you’d like something local, try Saviah Cellars 2008 Rosé $14, Walla Walla rosé from Sangiovese.
3 - Zinfanel If you’re hankering for a bigger red, Zinfanel — with it’s big dark fruit (blackberry, boysenberry, black cherry) flavors with hints of licorice, cinnamon & black pepper — hand hold it’s own against the sauce.  Try Easton 2007 Zinfandel $17/case $13.60 (Wine Enthusiast 90 points).  It’s a great wine for the price especially if you’re serving a crowd.

Happy 4th of July!
Julie, Owner
Portalis Wines

Rosé … a beautiful, refreshing summer sipper

Rosé is the product of the fermentation of red grapes, where the skins are left on for a short time, resulting in a light color, lower tannins and a lower alcohol level compared to red wines.  The longer the skin contact, the bigger the body and the darker the color.  Rosé is usually made using the same grape varietals as the red wines from any given region.

The home of rosé is Southern France, with the French drinking more rosé than white wine. About 75% of the wine production in the Provence appellation is rosé. The production of the Tavel appellation in the Southern Rhone is 100% rosé. Other big rosé-producing appellations are Lirac, Côtes Du Ventoux and Côtes Du Luberon, with the most common grapes being Grenache, Cinsault, Mouvedre and Tibourin.

The best rosé I have ever had was Domaine Tempier, and it was damn near perfect:  an ideal balance of weight, fruit, elegance and acidity with wonderful flavors of strawberries, cherries and raspberries. We currently carry Domaine Tempier 2008 Bandol Rosé.  At $44 it’s quite pricey, but well worth the experience. Most rosé falls in the price range of $12 to $18 and most of them won’t disappoint you.

Today, most wine producing areas produce rosé, including Spain, Italy, California, Oregon, Washington and more.  Here are wine notes on several rosés that we currently carry.  Keep in mind that you drink these wines young and for the most part they hit the market starting in late May and are gone by fall, so enjoy them while they last:

Domaine Saint Roch Les Vignes 2008 Rosé (Provence, FR) $16/case $12.80
Notes: Dark peach color. Aromas of ripe strawberries followed by flavors of melon & peaches. A well-balanced and delightful rosé. Dry finish.

Domaine Ott 2008 Les Domaniers Rosé (Provence, FR) $21/case $16.80
Notes: Golden peach color. Just beautiful. Aromas of strawberries and melon. Smooth, velvety texture. Well-balanced and structured. Great integrated acidity. Strawberry and melon flavors all the way through. Hints of herbs. Provence, baby!

Fuente Del Conde 2008 Rosado (Cigales, Spain) $14/case $11.20
Notes: a dark pink color with aromas of wild raspberries followed by flavors of raspberry tart and blackberries. Great acidity and refreshing finish.

Triennes 2008 Rosé (Provence, FR) $18/case $14.40
Notes: Peachy pink color.  Beautiful aromas of sweet strawberries, honey dew melon. Smooth, velvety texture with perfect acidity. Elegant and very focused. Great finish. Fantastic rosé.  (Note: currently served at the Portalis Wine Bar by the glass for $8.25.)

Contributor:  Jens Strecker

Wines to pair with grilled meats

From Portalis Wine Shop + Wine Bar:  Food + Wine

The weather has been beautiful and we know you’re grilling because I had plenty of time over Memorial Day Weekend to compile this list of wine pairings for all kinds of grilled meats.  Hope this gives you some fun, reasonably priced suggestions for the next time you’re cooking out:

Chicken – The light meat of the chicken goes best with lighter, crisp wines as well as reds with low tannins and nice, bright acidity:
Neil Ellis 2007 Sauvignon Blanc (South Africa) $20/case $16
Ruggeri Corsini 2006 Barbera d’Alba (Piedmont, Italy) $20/case $16

Ribs – Here you’re looking for rich, full-bodied reds and dry to slightly off dry whites.  Think Zin, Italian whites or dry Riesling:
Nota Bene 2005 Syrah (Washington State) $32/case $25.60
Fattoria Laila 2007 Verdicchio Dei Castelli Di Jesi Classico Superiore (Marche, Italy) $13/case $10.40
Four Vines 2006 Maverick Zinfandel (Amador County, CA) $28/case $22.40

Steaks – Seek big wines with lots of flavor and medium tannins; Cabs, Syrah and Malbec are all a perfect complement:
Beckmen Vineyards 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon (Ynez Valley, CA) $27/case $21.60
Luigi Bosca 2005 Malbec Single Vineyard (Mendoza, Argentina) $22/case $17.60

Pork – You’re looking for straight-forward wines to not over power the light meat of the pork. Go with Spanish reds and reds from Montepulciano and Chianti:
Centorame 2006 Montepulciano D’Abruzzo (Abruzzo, Italy) $21/case $16.80
Legado Munoz 2007 Garnacha (Tierra de Castilla, Spain) $11.50/case $9.20

Salmon – Richer flavored fish needs a richer flavored wine, but with low tannins. Pinot Noir is perfect:.
Byron 2007 Pinot Noir (Santa Maria Valley, CA) $25.50/case $20.40
Isabel 2008 Sauvignon Blanc (Marlborough, NZ) $16.50/case $13.20

Enjoy & cheers!
Ross, Server (Fri, Sat, Sun)

Saskia Prüm visits from the Mosel Valley (Germany)

Saskia Prüm, winemaker at S.A. Prüm, with Jens Strecker, owner of Portalis Wines in Seattle

Saskia Prüm holds an honored position for us at Portalis.  She is the first German winemaker to do a tasting at our shop since we opened in 2003, and it was well worth the wait.  She was lovely.  She told me a little about the history of the winery … Located in the village of Wehlen (southwest Germany) near the one of the most famous vineyards in the Mosel Valley, the Wehlener Sonnenuhr, the estate has been in her family since her great grandfather began in 1911.  The estate flourished under father, who began running the estate in 1971, and as of 2005, it has been in Saskia’s hands.  She said that she knew from an early age that this was her calling.  With a smile, she said she had probably participated in her first wine tasting at age 9. She received a Diploma of Engineering in Winemaking from the Technical University in Geisenheim.  After that she completed a series of internships in Pfalz/Reingau, Baden & Alto Adige.  Her time in Alto Adige must have been particularly interesting, 1) because it was a huge 200 hector co-op compared with the 16.5 hectars of the S.A. Prüm estate and 2) she got to go hang out in Northern Italy, after all.

Americans so often have a block against white wine that’s not dry, but I can’t encourage you enough to open your experience to these wines as German Riesling is considered some of the finest white wine in the world (and S.A. Prüm is an excellent example of this style of wine).  It’s a thinker’s white wine … beautiful fruit flavors with an amazing acidity that off-sets the slight ending sweetness of the wine.  It’s refreshing as a stand alone sipper, but Riesling also rates as the most versatile white wine to pair with food.  The acidity as well as the fact that it’s not dry allows it to pair beautifully with appetizers, fish, shellfish, chicken, pork and especially cheeses.  It can also handle sweeter & spicier flavors (perfect for Asian cuisines) and the tanginess and heat of Middle Eastern & Mexican dishes.

Here’s what we tasted with Saskia, as well as her commentary on the wines:

S.A. Prüm 2007 Essence Riesling $12.50/case $10
This wine has a spiciness to the fruit which is lovely, off-set by beautiful acidity.  Lighter than the next wine, it is a beautiful sipping wine.

S.A. Prüm 2003 Bernkasteler Lay $39/case $31.50
This wine has a little more body and a little more yellow in the color.  It has lovely grapefruity flavors and surprisingly, Saskia suggested pairing this wine with a red meat such as lamb.

S.A. Prüm 2007 Wehlener Sonnenuhr Kabinett $24/case $19.20
This Riesling comes from the most famous vineyard in the Mosel, the Wehlener Sonnenuhr. As a Kabinett, this wine is sweeter than the first two, but pleasantly so with the tingling acidity off-setting the sweetness beautifully.

S.A. Prüm 2003 Wehlener Sonnenuhr Auslese $39/case $31.50
Auslese, from a selection of highly ripened grapes, is sweeter still than the Kabinett, and moves into the dessert wine category.  Try this with your favorite artisan blue cheese, for an amazing salty sweet combo.  You can enjoy this wine now, but Saskia said that you can lay it down for up to 20 years.

Contributor:  Julie Howe

Food+Wine: On the Menu … Frog Legs

It’s traditional French bistro fare with Chef Tracey’s most recent addition to the menu.  Her art for preparing the frog legs is similar to brining.  She marinates them in buttermilk, Worcestershire sauce & tobasco.  Frogs legs can be tough, but this marinating process makes the meat tender.  After about a day and a half in the marinade, the meat is so tender that it flakes when fried.  In France, you’d most likely have your frog legs sautéed, but Chef Tracey is serving these frog legs fried with a side of whole-grain mustard-tarragon potato salad for a nice seasonal twist with some American flair. 

This dish pairs beautifully with a broad range of wines, including white, rosé and more medium-bodied reds.  Here are some suggestions to choose from based on your mood:

Boedecker Cellars 2007 Old Vine Pinot Gris $8.00
Domaine Lecomte 2006 Quincy $9.00
Boedecker Cellars 2008 Rosé $8.00
Bishop Creek Cellars 2006 Pinot Noir Barrel Selection $9.00
Domaine des Espiers 2007 Gigondas $9.50

Stone Brewing Co. with Jeff Porter

With nice weather around the corner (hopefully), we’re heading into beer season.  I’m thinking big fans of Stone (and there are plenty) are year round beer drinkers, but for many of our customers, warmer weather puts them in the mood.  Something like what happens with rosé.

We were pleased to welcome Jeff Porter to lead us through the tasting.  He’s the NW Regional Brewery Representative and a knowledgable beer drinker who led us through the tasting as the best of the wine guys would.  Lots of swirling, sniffing, (low key) talk of aromas, and even food pairings.  It was a lot of fun and kind of gave me (a hard-core wine drinker) the beer bug. 

A little on Jeff ...
He’s been with Stone Brewing about three years, the first two as a rep in San Diego and now as the NW brewery representative in our neck of the woods.  He was a home-brewer before going professional with his hobby, and he’s originally from Van Nuys (LA).

A little about Stone Brewing …
The Stone Brewing Co. was started by two beer-lovers: Steve Wagner (beer-lover/brewer) and Greg Koch (beer-lover/business guy).  They boast that between the two of them they have visited (and drunk beer at) over 140 different breweries in the US & Europe.  Long story short, they got some investors and in summer 1996 they tapped their first beer – Stone Pale Ale.  Since then they’ve developed a nice healthy cult following of people who love their brews.  Here are the beers we tasted & some tasting notes to go with:

Levitation Pale Ale (12oz)$4.00/case $3.20 
Notes: This beer is a new one for Stone Brewing and enjoyed its national release the same day as our tasting, and apparently it has taken off.  Jeff said that in the week since the launch that they’ve gone from producing 1 vat a week to 5.  It’s deep amber in color with big hoppy flavors and a solid malt backbone.  At 4.4%, it enjoys a lower alcohol content.  

Arrogant Bastard Ale (22oz)$7.00/case $5.60 
Notes: The first words Stone uses to describe this beer on the website, is: “You probably won’t like it”.  Jeff was a little friendlier, calling it aggressive. Now I only had a 1-oz sip of this beer, but I liked it.  It was a little in you face, but it was interesting and you knew where it stood. It’s classified as an American Strong Ale and it’s characterized by strong malty, hoppy flavors.
    
Stone IPA (22oz) $7.50/case $6.00 
Notes: India Pale Ale is by definition higher in hops and alcohol. Stone IPA has both strong aromas and flavors of hops creating a pleasantly bitter experience.
    
Cali Belgique IPA (22oz) ~ limited ~ $11.00/case $8.80 
Notes:  Stone’s brewers went and hung out at Duvel in Belgium and visited other Belgian breweries to see how they created this type of beer.  What they ended up with is their Stone IPA recipe with a special Belgian yeast strain, creating an interesting new beer, a fusion of Belgian style with American influences.  The Cali Belgique IPA is a little sweeter than the Stone IPA, with flavors of coriander & orange peel.   

Old Guardian Barley Wine (22oz) ~ limited ~ $11.00/case $8.80 
Notes: Barley wines can be sweet, and this one is, but the sweetness is offset by the bitterness of the hops, making for well-balanced experience. You also get nice orange, citrusy flavors from the hops. Can drink now or store for several years.  

Stone Smoked Porter (22oz) $7.50/case $6.00 
Notes: This was a rich, dark brown beer, with suble flavors of smoke from the peat smoked malt (similar to how scotch is made), chocolate and coffee. This is a great food beer. Delicious with roasted meats & BBQ(due to the smoky flavors), but also recommends going sweet.  They serve jalapeno blue cheese smoked porter cheesecake at the brewery that he says is killer.     

Stone Imperial Russian Stout (22oz) $11.00/case $8.80 
Notes:  This Russian Stout ranks top 3 in the world.  It’s a massive beer, hoppy (as all Stone’s beers are), but with lovely, slightly sweet flavors of licorice and chocolate.  At the tasting, we tried both a 2007 & 2009, to see the difference.  As with wine, the older vintage was smoother, more mellow.

A little tip that Jeff gave re: whether or not to lay beer down …
Drink IPA as fresh as possible.  Bigger beers with higher alcohol and higher hops content can be cellared for a few years.  Are they better after a little time?  That’s for you to decide …

Contributor:  Julie Howe

Australia’s Hunter Valley: a report from down under on a weekend out …

This is an email we received from Phil last summer (7/22/08) when he was in Australia to interview for a job.  Wine makes a great diversion … and these are some great tips if you’re looking for a wine country day trip outside of Sydney:

this past weekend i decided to escape the papal visit to sydney and swarms of 15 year old world youth day pilgrims for the Hunter Valley and a bit of a drive and wine tasting. the rest of sydney seemed to decide to do the same thing, but by staying on the outskirts i’d say i did alright… 5 top ranked wineries, 2.5 cases of wine to take home, a decent brewery hotel as a base, and a fast car to drive around in. no real complaints here in the end…

So a bit of a synopsis in links:
Some photos from the weekend http://www.flickr.com/photos/philmang/sets/72157606307475896/

The wineries I went to:
The first one was Kringlewood on Saturday at about 1130am after a 
morning drive out into the edge of the valley. Saw the sign on my way 
back towards town and stopped, looked at the book, saw that it was 
well ranked and pulled in. All biodynamic vines, with delicious French 
style wines. brought home a shiraz worth of hermitage, a chardonnay & 
a botrytis chardonnay (very rare…) http://www.krinklewood.com/

the next stop was the most commercial of the wineries i visited, and 
in many ways, the least enjoyable: http://www.keithtullochwine.com.au/
the shiraz was good, the rest were all decent, the ambiance cut it 
down a lot… the view of the valley was wonderful

from there, i stopped in at blue tongue brewery and had a beer and pie 
for lunch before heading on: http://www.bluetonguebrewery.com.au/

after lunch i headed up to Piggs Peake. An amazing boutique negotiant 
in the same model as Sinnean in Oregon that I have collected so much 
wine from, these guys make amazing stuff. They have fun with the 3 
pigs line of naming, with the wines running form straw to sticks to 
bricks in terms of intensity… I got to taste some pretty damned good 
wine and fortified wine (they make loads of port and madeira style 
fortified wines as well as standard desert wines) and had already 
picked up a few bottles when the winemaker took myself and a few other 
customers with similar interests back to taste a few of the barrel 
Bricks wines… we had a bit of 08 Zin and 08 Shiraz… wow. i can 
understand why the sell out of all of these wines at release… http://piggspeake.com/index2.html

almost done for the day on saturday… while wandering back into town 
I stop at the cheese store to pick up some fixins for dinner. The 
Hunter Valley Smelly Cheese Shop has a nice array of cheeses, and can 
indeed be smelled from the parking lot. the cave doesn’t hurt matters 
and neither does the antipasti fixings side of the house. http://www.huntervalleysmellycheeseshop.com.au/

a brief stop for tasting at the small winemakers shop — tasted 
Margan, Little Wine Company & Andrew Thomas good stuff, a nice end to 
a day of wine tasting, more things for the case… http://www.smallwinemakerscentre.com.au/wine_makers.php

back to the potters hotel & brewery to nap and watch a bit of tri-
nations rugby in the pub…and eat some of that cheese i collected 
that was smelling up the car… http://www.pottersbrewery.com.au/ http://www.hunterbeer.com.au/

Good times, as it’s a local’s joint and the Wallabies won…

Sunday I headed out to drive back via the mountains, and happened to 
stop at yet one last incredible winery with absolutely no planning – 
it literally looked like my last chance to go to a winery on my way 
out, so I stopped. Turns out to be an incredible place, where the 
viticulturist lives on site and does the tastings, and where I got to 
spend over an hour talking about the vines and wines and facility. 
good times, great juice, and the only Tannat in all of australia (give 
or take a few plants.) again, amazing. http://glenguinestate.com.au/
finally, The basic route map:
http://tinyurl.com/55hyug

it was a good time. could have used a bit of company perhaps (still could given the collection of vino i brought back.) hope all are well

Cheers
Phil

Food + Wine: Experiment with wine pairings

We’ve started a new Thursday bar special, where (in addition to our regular menu) we are offering a small bites menu with 4 or 5 items priced at $5 each.  Aside from the fact that these small plates are delicious, each provides a little wine pairing fun.  Here are several of the small plates from the first month of the special with suggested pairings. If you need some help pairing upcoming dishes, we’re happy to oblige …

Pear crostini with blue cheese mousse & candied walnuts $5
    … bubbly can handle the salty & the sweet: Montesel Extra Dry Prosecco $9
Gougère with proscuitto & pea salad $5
    … a richer white fits perfectly: Jean-Luc Colombo 2006 La Redonne $8.25
Warm potato salad with chorizo & poached egg $5
    … be a rebel: Celler Tomas Cusine 2006 Vilosell $8.25
House chicken liver mousse pâté $5
    … a match made in heaven: Domaine des Espiers 2007 Gigondas $9.50
Mushroom brie galette $5
    … another match made in heaven: Château La Neuve 2005 Saint-Emilion $9
Spicy meatballs with tomato conserva & garlic toast $5 
    … fruit forward is the way to go: Planeta 2007 La Segreta Rosso $7.75

Enjoy & cheers!

A visit from Rocca delle Macie

Vito Candela (left) gets passionate about Chianti!

With blue skies abounding, last Tuesday was a perfect spring evening for our Rocca delle Macie tasting. Visiting us was Vito Candela, Vice-President of  the Tuscan winery which is located in the heart of the Chianti Classico zone. I especially enjoyed this tasting, since I had just returned from Tuscany and stayed on the Rocca property, witnessing first-hand their impressive estate & facilities.

Two Portalis guests enjoy a taste of Tuscany

Rocca della Macie began with one man’s lifelong dream, of purchasing land and turning it into a world-class vineyard. Italo Zingarelli did just that over 35 years ago by purchasing “Le Macie” estate. His youngest son, Sergio now runs Rocca della Macie, and has begun his own legacy by bringing Rocca to a new level as one of the best quality Chianti’s in Tuscany.
 
Our charming Italian host, Vito entertained the group with interesting stories – everything from the history of Chianti wines to Italian culture (they’re lack of fondness for garlic).  The wines themselves lived up to their reputation. Here is what we tasted:

ROCCA DELLE MACIE 2006 VERMENTINO – $16.50 Fresh and slightly fruity with floral notes and earthy minerality.  A small percentage is barrel fermented which produces an elegant and balanced white.
ROCCA DELLE MACIE 2006 CHIANTI CLASSICO - $17  A blend of 90% Sangiovese, 5% Merlot and 5% Canaiolo aged 10mths in both Slavonian and French oak.  A classic Chianti with juicy cherry flavors, medium spiciness and a soft finish. 
ROCCA DELLE MACIE 2004 CHIANTI CLASSICO RISERVA - $28.50  One of the highlights of the evening was this riserva blend of 90% Sangiovese, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Merlot.  Barrel-aged all in French oak for 2 years, then minimum 3mths in the bottle, this is a dark, rich and intense wine. Smoky tannins and dark cherry notes make for a complex Chianti to enjoy for years.       
ROCCA DELLE MACIE 2005 MORELLINO DI SCANSANO - $17  A soft and fruit forward blend of Sangiovese 90% Cabernet 5% Merlot 5%.  Expressive notes of violets, raspberry flavors and subtle tannins make this a wonderful choice for spicy dishes.
ROCCA DELLE MACIE 2001 FIZZANO RISERVA – $41   Produced exclusively from the Fizzano Estate and mostly from Sangiovese grapes.  This Supertuscan is aged in both French oak barrels and large barrique, then one year in the bottle.  Dark red fruit and with prominent tannins, this has great aging potential. SOLD OUT
ROCCA DELLE MACIE 2004 SANT’ALFONZO – $23 This 100% Sangiovese Chianti is one of the most prestigious crus from Rocca delle Macie.  It is aged nearly a year in French oak barrels.  Its smooth texture, rich red fruit and balanced acidity makes this one of the favorite wines at the winery. 

To order these wines contact us at info@portaliswines.com.  I highly recommend staying at Rocca delle Macie’s beautiful estate if you are ever in Tuscany: www.roccadellemacie.com

The tasting room at Rocca delle Macie