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October 2007 Specialty Club
2005 Vieux Donjon, Châteauneuf-du-Pape
Although Burgundy has rightfully received tremendous acclaim for the
2005 vintage, it was also a great year in the southern Rhone. Of the Châteauneufs
released so far, this one is clearly the star of the vintage. Vieux Donjon is one of the
most traditionally run estates there, so it´s not surprising that proprietors Lucien and
Marie-Joseph Michel have resisted the current fashion for producing special high-end cuvees,
instead putting all their best barrels into this wine. The wine has a saturated dark ruby
color, an elegant nose of licorice and roasted meat, and is elegant and beautifully balanced.
It will need 2-3 more years in the cellar, and will continue to evolve for another 15 years after
that. It costs $60.00 and we do have a little bit more available.
2006 Viñedos de Ithaca, Odysseus, Pedro Ximenez
Pedro Ximenez?!? Isn’t that Sherry? Not necessarily - but
first things first: Joseph Puig (pronounced "pusch") and his daughter Silvia are
doing some exciting things in the Priorat region in northeast Spain, using some unique grape
varieties and vinification methods. And people are starting to take notice. We got
to taste through their wines recently when Joseph was in town. (A long-time restaurateur,
he makes a mean paella!) Sylvia, at only 28, is the fifth generation winemaker.
Now, as for Pedro Ximenez. Yes, this is the grape used to make sweet, fortified
Sherries. But Joseph and Silvia are making the only still PX in Spain and this one bears
no resemblance whatsoever to the "stickies" from the south. In fact, there is some
evidence that PX is related to Riesling, and Joseph told us that some of the wines he has held
onto for years have begun to take on the same petrolly characteristics of aged Rieslings.
This one was fascinating - a crisp, dry white wine with fresh minerality and lovely soft
floral tones. They produced only 150 cases and we grabbed all that was left in
Seattle. Enjoy it now, with seafood, tapas or light Asian fare, or try hanging onto it
and seeing how it ages. It was $29.75.
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