Posts filed under ‘Dessert’
A memorable evening with Sophia Bergqvist, co-owner of Quinta De La Rosa
Tuesday, January 26th we had the honor of hosting Sophia Bergqvist, co-owner of the Quinta De La Rosa Estate in the Douro Valley and a delightful and dynamic guest for our customers to get acquainted with.
Her story is a fascinating one: The Bergqvist family has been making port since 1815 and Quinta De La Rosa was bought as a christening present for Claire Feuerheerd, Sophia Bergqvist’s grandmother. Sophia’s great-grandfather Albert Feuerheerd once owned one of Porto’s biggest shipping companies but due to the economic downturn in early 1930s, he was forced to sell his company to Barros. The La Rosa estate was kept and run by Claire and her husband Eric Bergqvist, during which time (1933 to 1987) the grapes of the La Rosa estate were sold to the well-known port manufacturers Croft and Sandeman.
In 1988 Sophia and her father, Tim Bergqvist decided to restart the family business and launched Quinta De La Rosa as a top quality port producer. In the early 1990s the Bergqvist family started making Douro red wines, which got a big boost in 2002 when Jorge Moreira became their leading winemaker. From then on Quinta De La Rosa has been producing outstanding ports and Douro Tintos, both of which we had the pleasure of tasting:
Quinta De La Rosa 2007 Vale Da Clara Red Wine
Reg $13.99 | Case $11.19
This table red is a blend of Touriga Nacional, Touriga Francesca, Tinta Barroca and Tinta Roriz from nearby vineyards with a higher altitude, above the Douro Valley, than Quinta De La Rosa. The wine is medium-bodied with good structure, acidity, and an attractive freshness. Mainly aromas and flavors of blackberries and blackcurrants with some earthy tones.
Quinta De La Rosa 2006 Douro Tinto
Reg $22.99 | Case $18.39
Same blend than above but the grapes come mainly from the Lamelas Vineyard at La Rosa which was planted by Tim Bergqvist over 20 years ago. This red is medium-bodied, very elegant with a round, balanced structure. Very aromatic with lovely red fruit flavors, especially strawberries, raspberries and white cherries, with a touch of lime. This wine is lighter and fresher in style.
Quinta De La Rosa 2005 Tinto Douro Reserve
$44.99 | Case $35.99
A blend of Touriga Nacional, Tinta Roriz, Tinta Cão, Touriga Franca and many others. The grapes are coming from Sophia Bergqvist’s finest vineyards. Big, full-bodied, with expressive fruit, like blackberries, blueberries, blackcurrants, with herbal and earthy notes. Beautiful structure, complexity, elegance and acidity. Fine tannins on the finish. Up to 5 years.
Quinta De La Rosa NV Tawny Port
Reg $15.99 | Case $12.79
This tawny is a blend of Touriga Nacional, Touriga Francesca, Tinta Barroca, and Tinta Roriz. The vines are all estate grown and the wine is aged in old oak 550 liter barrels. A fantastic Tawny for the money. Toffee, caramel and nutty flavors with great acidity. Beautiful, long finish.
Quinta De La Rosa 2003 Late Bottle Vintage Port
Reg $31.99 | Case $25.59
Same blend as above. This Port comes from an excellent, generally declared vintage year which was perfect for LBVs as well. It is an enormous, but elegant LBV with aromas and flavors of cocoa, chocolate as well as cherry, raspberry and other berry fruit, and soft tannins on a long finish. This LBV were matured in large wooden casks (also called “tunnels”) for 4 to 6 years and bottled in 2007.
Quinta De La Rosa 2004 Vintage Port ~ WE93/Top 100 Cellar Selections
Reg $69.99 | Case $55.99
Same grapes as above. This Vintage Port was definitely the star of the tasting (and sales). A Port of highest quality, wonderful length and impressive depth. Full-bodied, with great concentration and excellent texture. Beautiful aromas and flavors of dark chocolate, cocoa, dark berries, raspberries, and black cherries. We will taste that again in 30 years.
It was a great tasting and a pleasure to have Sophia with us. Enjoy these wines!
Jens Strecker
Owner, Portalis Wines
jens@portaliswines.com
Holiday Suggestion: Spanish Sherry
We haven’t come across many Seattleites who are really into sherry. We agree that it tends towards the esoteric, but you don’t have to turn into a sherry nut to have a general idea of what sherry’s all about and you certainly don’t have to know a darn thing about it to enjoy sipping a little glass of it, whether that be before your meal as a little dry aperitif or after your meal with dessert.
On November 20, we hosted a tasting with the San Francisco Wine Exchange’s local sherry expert, Brian Patterson (he’s also their Northwest Division Manager) and he gave me a very helpful little overview of sherry which was done in such a charming way that it a) stuck with me and b) I was itching to try the stuff with the pairings he suggested. Thus, I decided that you might feel the same way:
All sherry starts out dry and then it’s fortified, with all resulting types of sherry falling into one of two categories: fino (lighter, drier sherries) & olorosos (which are a varying range of dry to extremely sweet sherries). There is a third category of very sweet Sherries that are produced from the Pedro Ximenez grape that has been allowed to dry into raisins. Our tasting featured 1 oloroso and 2 Pedro Ximenez’s:
Gonzalez Byass NV Dry Oloroso Alfonso ($21 | Case $16.80) was dry and nutty, a more versatile oloroso in that it could easily be paired with savory, autumnal flavors. Brian said that traditional pairings would be sliced ham, manchego with quince, lots of little fried tapas such as a ham & cheese croquette or boquerones … “the Spanish are master fryers”. Brian suggested that another nice NW pairing would be a mushroom dish such as braised barley with chanterelles, smoked salmon as well as various cured meats, and game dishes such as venison, pheasant, wild boar and foie gras. Serve this sherry room temperature.
Gonzalez Byass NV Pedro Ximenez Nectar ($21 | Case $16.80) was 100% PX and was young (aged 7 years in barrels). It has simple, sweet flavors of maple, dates & earth and would be a delicious dessert accompaniment to an uncomplicated, simple dish such as vanilla ice cream, short bread or flan.
Gonzalez Byass NV VORS Noe ($51 | Case $40.80) Brian explained that sherry is non-vintage because it’s aged in a solera, which is a process whereby the sherry is moved through the newest to the oldest barrels in a collection, potentially gaining contact (the longer it’s aged) with remnants of sherry as old as the estate. The VORS designation indicates that a sherry has been aged a minimum of 30 years. This beautiful drink is a lovely, slow sipper, where layers of chocolate, nuts, coffee, molasses, prunes and more unfold as you enjoy.
Other sherries that we carry at Portalis:
Bodegas Pedro Romero Dry Oloroso Sherry $14 | Case $11.20
Alvear 1927 PX Solera (375ml) $30 | Case $24
We’re considering having Brian back next year to do a sherry class in our back room, so please let us know if you’d be interested in joining.
Cheers,
Julie, Owner
Portalis Wines
O’Shea Scarborough Winery (Seattle)
A cool label goes a long way in my book and these guys have some of the best labels in town. They range from edgy to mystical to beautiful with sort of a historic depth. (They also use the big, sturdy bottles that make the wine feel important in your hands. Nothing says big, worthy (gift) wine like this type of bottle.) But the label isn’t what’s important … it’s the wine, and these guys are producing some notably outstanding local wines.
O’Shea Scarborough Winery is a partnership between Travis Scarborough and Darryn O’Shea. Travis and Darryn both called on us at Portalis in their former lives as wine reps for local Seattle distributors. I remember when Travis stopped by with one of his first vintages – no label, no approvals, just a bottle of Washington Syrah for Jens and Gina to try. Jens said it was good, but I’m not sure at the time that I realized they were going to make a go of it.
Their winery started in a garage (for real), and for more on their garagiste roots, check out this interview from 2006. They have upped the ante since then, moving to a grown-up facility in Tukwila. As well, they are past just having a bottle of red, producing an impressive array of varietals, including reds, whites and a dessert wine. I can tell Jens likes these wines and so I asked what makes them different. He said that for their first vintage, they are “pretty darn impressive wines”. He said that most of the time when he tastes first vintage Washington wines they are fine, but they all sort of taste the same. These, though, ”have good acidity, balance and are pretty complex, with well-integrated oak. It’s a promising beginning.” Here’s Jens’ take on their lineup:
O’Shea Scarborough 2007 Semillon
Red Mountain, WA; $22
We currently serve this wine by the glass at the wine bar & people love it. Wonderful pear and melon flavors with some citrus. Great acidity. A good sipper.
O’Shea Scarborough 2007 Proprietors Chardonnay
Horse Heaven Hills, WA; $34
Vibrant citrus fruit combined with toast and vanilla flavors. Excellent Chardonnay.
O’Shea 2007 Riesling “Cease & Desist”
Dineen Vineyard, Yakima Valley, WA
Bright & dry, German-style, good sipping acidity, good minerality. Good future. Store up to 2 years.
O’Shea Scarborough 2005 “The Immortal” Syrah
Columbia Valley, WA; Reg $38/Sale $34.50
Dark fruit, with espresso and coffee notes. Medium- to full-bodied, well-balanced and elegant.
O’Shea Scarborough 2006 Proprietors Cabernet Sauvignon
Yakima Valley, WA; $40
Black currant, cassis, dark fruit. Complex, elegant, with fine tannins on the finish.
O’Shea Scarborough 2007 Eiswein
Yakima Valley, WA; $34
One of the best WA “Eisweine” we have tasted. If you are interested in tasting this sweet dessert wine, grab it as we only have 1 bottle left.
Try these out if you get a chance. They are excellent examples of what can come out of Washington State.
Contributor: Julie Howe
VIN SANTO (Tuscany, Italy)
A view of Tacinaia property in Pistoia, Tuscany.
Last spring I had the rare privilege to travel to Italy and visit some of their most celebrated wine regions, including Piedmont, Tuscany and Veneto. The cool factor is that I got to tag along with my friend Ari Manzin, owner of Bianco-Rosso Imports of Seattle. Ari makes this trip annually with the objective of visiting as many producers from his portfolio as he can within a two week period. Naturally, I was like…sign me up!
Winemaker Lorenzo Lunardi talks to us about Vin Santo.
One of the wineries we visited was the charming family of Azienda Agricola Tacinaia. Located in the hills west of Florence and near the beautiful town of Pistoia. Tacinaia is a family owned-operated winery whose only export is Vin Santo. Vin Santo is the famed dessert wine of Tuscany, often golden-amber in color, intoxicating aromas, and silky texture. This was such a treat for me, as I’ve always enjoyed Vin Santo, but had never been this close to the source.
If you have never tried Vin Santo before, you must put it on your list of wines to drink in 2009. The translation of Vin Santo is literally “saints’ wine” or “holy wine”, no explanation needed. The Tuscan version is the most famous, but other regions produce their version in Umbria, Trentino-Adige and Veneto. Tacinaia uses Trebbiano and Malvasia Bianca in their Vin Santos, and age them a minimum of 3 years. Lorenzo Lunardi, third generation winemaker for Tacinaia, took us through the maze of little “cabins” (as we affectionately called them) where the Vin Santo lay resting and aging. We noticed that the barrels seemed to be damp on the outside, and Lorenzo explained the moisture was important so the barrels wouldn’t dry out. The highlight was tasting newly pressed Vin Santo, from the honey-sweet to the nutty-dry style (which I preferred). After our tour of their property, we were invited over to Lorenzo’s parents, to enjoy a rustic Tuscan meal. At dinner we found out that not only does his family produce Vin Santo, but they make red & white table wine (only available to the locals), their own charcuterie (in the parent’s basement), olive oil, limoncello, and an irresistible walnut liqueur. The meal was graciously prepared by Lorenzo’s mother and included such delights as lardo, homemade pasta bolognese, rabbit, pheasant, and roasted veggies. I wish I could post all my photos from that meal, but I think you get the idea. It was an amazing evening and one I will not soon forget!
A family dinner at the home of the Lunardi's.
Azienda Agricola Tacinaia 2001 Vin Santo del Empolese (available by the glass or bottle at Portalis ).
MAKING VIN SANTO
During the months of October-November the grapes are hand-picked and hung from the rafters of an airy dry attic (or room) for 3-6 months. Once dried, the grapes are pressed and the juice, combined with a madre (a small remnant of residue from a previous batch) is poured into small oak or chestnut caratelli (small cigar shaped barrels) for fermentation. The caratelli are not filled all the way, but a little room is left in the barrel to allow oxidation, which is a part of the aging process. During the aging process, the wine produces a nutty-caramel characteristic and deep golden color. After the initial fermentation the caratelli are sealed and placed under the roof of the winery, sometimes as long as ten years. Vin santo is to be enjoyed after dinner along with cantuccis (almond biscuits) or in the case of dry Vin Santos, as an aperitif.
Recommended Vin Santos
Azienda Agricola Tacinaia Vin Santo Del Empolese – 500ml $27
Azienda Agricola Tacinaia Vin Santo Del Chianti – 500ml $27
Villa Artimino Del Carmignano – 500ml $32
Poggio Salvi De Chianti – 375ml $35
Mannuci Droandi Del Chianti – 375ml $47
*Please contact us if you are interested in purchasing any of these wines
