Washington Wine Blog added 9 new photos.

Tuesday October 16th, 2018

Greetings from Cava and the town of Saint Sadurni, roughly an hour outside of Barcelona. We visited Cava Mestres, one of the top producers of Cava in the world. Here are some of our highlights 🍾🙌🏽 ... See MoreSee Less

Washington Wine Blog added 2 new photos.

Sunday October 14th, 2018

Chateau Phelan Segur Vertical TastingI have been patiently waiting for this day. Because I am sent so many wines from Washington, California, Oregon and Spain, I am rarely able to enjoy the wines from my personal cellar. I have been enchanted by the wines of Chateau Phelan Segur for many years, remembering some great wines made in the 1990s, in particular the 1996 and the 1998 Phelan Segurs being incredible (particularly since ’98 was such a challenge for left bank Bordeauxs). For those who are less familiar with this estate, Chateau Phelan Segur has a long history, similar to many Bordeaux properties. The Irishman Bernard Phelan bought both Domaine Le Clos de Garamey in 1805 and Ségur de Cabarnac in 1810. Ironically while living in Ireland, Bernard Phelan was a neighbor and friend of Hugh Barton who started the famed Bordeaux estate, Chateau Leoville-Barton. Following Phelan’s passing in 1841 the estate combined to form Château Ségur de Garamey, which passed on to his son Frank Phelan, who served as mayor of Saint-Estephe for 30 years. Many years later Chateau Phelan Segur was sold in 1919 to Joseph Chayoux who served as the president of Champagne Chamber of Commerce. In 1928 the property was again sold to a city consortium headed by Chayoux’s nephew Rene Chayoux before the financial crisis of 1930, upon the death of René the operation was managed by a trust that eventually sold the brand and its facilities. From 1985 to 2017, Chateau Phelan Segur has been owned by the Gardinier Group of Xavier Gardinier, and famed enologist, Michel Rolland is employed as their consulting enologist. In January 2018 the winery was sold to Philippe Van de Vyvere. Chateau Phélan-Ségur's wine is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (60%), Merlot (30%) and Cabernet Franc (10%). The grapes are initially fermented in temperature-controlled stainless steel vats and then aged in oak barriques (30% new) for 15 months prior to bottling. The wines I brought from my cellar are the 2004, 2005 and 2006 Chateau Phelan Segur. While 2004 and 2006 were not great vintages, 2005 is considered by most Bordeaux experts to be a classic vintage. I have enjoyed many wines from the 2005 vintage, and I was very eager to see how my 2005 Phelan Segur was showing. The 2005 is a marvelous wine that still has a very long life. One of the great surprises was how good the 2004 Chateau Phelan Segur was showing. I absolutely loved this wine that is a wonderful accomplishment from the vintage. Learn more about this storied Bordeaux estate at www.phelansegur.com/en/ Here are my tasting notes from my 2004-2006 vertical tasting of Chateau Phelan Segur. 2004 Chateau Phelan Segur Bordeaux- Lighter in color than the 2005, this shows a good degree of earthy terroir on the nose with wild mushroom, pipe tobacco, blood orange rind, and salted meats that fills the glass. The mouthfeel is really plush, as this delivers medium-bodied flavors of red cherry puree, truffled boysenberry, cassis and a strong saline streak. Plush and soft, this is drinking in its sweet spot. This has a wonderful sense of place. Drink 2018-2028- 912005 Chateau Phelan Segur Bordeaux- The nose here is considerably more powerful than on the ’04 or ’06. This has evolved nicely showing a darker fruit profile than the other two wines with wild blackberry cordial, peat moss, cigar ash and coffee grounds on the nose. The palate is both refined and shows a good texture and viscosity. Mocha, anise, creme de cassis, and hucklbebery flavors come to mind. I love the combination of tension and richness on the mid-palate. The Merlot in this wine appears to be shining particularly brightly. This will cellar well for another decade or more, but it is drinking marvelously right now. Drink 2018-2033- 932006 Chateau Phelan Segur Bordeaux- The 2006 Chateau Phelan Segur appears to be slowing down at the moment. Medium bodied, this shows a silky texture as the wine delivers nice earthy tones alongside red and dark fruits with wet tobacco. While not hugely complex, this shows some wonderful Bordelaise character. Enjoy this over the next five years. Drink 2018-2022- 90 ... See MoreSee Less

Washington Wine Blog added 2 new photos.

Sunday October 14th, 2018

Bodega BeroniaGreetings from Barcelona! Today we bring you one of the great wineries in the La Rioja region, Bodega Beronia. Having visited this historic winery a few years back, I have been enchanted with the Beronia wines for more than a decade, having enjoyed some great Beronia Gran Reserva wines in particular from the 1990s. Bodega Beronia has always been relatively easy to find in the United States and the continue that trend today as many of these wines can be found in Pacific Northwest wine shops and grocery stores. Bodega Beronia is surrounded by 25 hectares of estate vineyards and their team control a massive 870 hectares of vineyards situated within a 10km radius of the winery in the Rioja Alta region of La Rioja. The average age of these vineyards is 30 years and more than 50 hectares of their plantings exceed 60 years of age.Beronia winemaker Matias Calleja, has crafted some seriously good new wines. He has crafted an absolute home run with his 2015 Bodega Beronia ‘Crianza’ Rioja (WWB, 90) which is an amazing value wine to buy by the case. For a decadent treat, look to the 2009 Bodega Beronia ‘Gran Reserva’ Rioja (WWB, 93) which has wonderful mouth-watering acidity and shows beautiful red and dark fruits. Learn more about this special estate at www.beronia.com Here are the great new wines by Bodega Beronia.2017 Bodega Beronia Rose- There is a wonderfully pure nose with rose petals and red fruits that line the glass. The wine shows a silky mouthfeel with delicate red fruits that connect with rose water and cranberry flavors. Drink 2018-2022- 882016 Bodega Beronia Rueda Verdeho- This 100% Verdeho wine starts off with kiwi and pink grapefruit on the nose. The palate shows a good combination of weight and minerality with kiwi, starfruit and green melon flavors shining the most brightly. This is an exceptional value. Drink 2018-2022- 892015 Bodega Beronia ‘Crianza’ Rioja- This shows prune, dark cherry and nice roasted figs on the nose with some toasty oak. The palate takes on good weight and minerals with red fruits and dark fruits mingling next to a touch of chocolate. This is a spectacular, weighty ‘Crianza’ that will cellar well over the next decade. Drink 2018-2026- 902014 Bodega Beronia ‘Crianza’ Rioja- Prune and red cherry largely mark the nose with some toasty oak. The palate combines citrus tones with lighter red fruits. Forward, this wine needs food. Drink 2018-2022- 882013 Bodega Beronia ‘Reserva’ Rioja- With just a touch of Graciano and Manzuelo blended in the 2013 Bodega Beronia ‘Reserva’ begins with a bouquet of dill, red cherry and red currant with toasty oak elements prominent. The palate shows good acidity and balance. While not possessing great weight, the elegance of this red and black fruit driven wine is quite impressive considering the challenges of the vintage. Drink 2018-2024- 902009 Bodega Beronia ‘Gran Reserva’ Rioja- The 2009 Bodega Beronia ‘Gran Reserva’ is a harmonious wine that is restrained considering the warmth of the vintage. That said, it is a glorious wine, somewhat different than other ’09 Gran Reservas that I have sampled. Right away the whiff of oak and red fruits captivates you. Lighter damp earth and citrus tones come into the glass after some time. The wine reveals a really tasty combination of red and dark fruits that build in the glass after an hour decant. Wonderfully poised, this has the weight and tension to cellar well for two decades. Drink 2018-2035- 93 ... See MoreSee Less

Washington Wine Blog added 17 new photos — in Barcelona, Spain.

Friday October 12th, 2018

Happy Friday to to you all. We’ve been enjoying highlights from visiting La Segreta de Familia and taking a paella cooking class to dining at 2 Michelin Enoteca Paco Perez. 😋 Cheers to the weekend 🇪🇸🍷 ... See MoreSee Less

Washington Wine Blog added 20 new photos.

Wednesday October 10th, 2018

Friends, we wanted to share some of the photo highlights of our early week adventures in Barcelona 🇪🇸🍷👌 ... See MoreSee Less

Washington Wine Blog added 6 new photos — at Die Tannenburg.

Sunday October 7th, 2018

We enjoyed a marvelous German countryside wedding, including a Game of Thrones themed dinner with singing and dancing ⚔️🕺🎵🇩🇪 ... See MoreSee Less