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Domaine Trouvére Umpqua Valley Syrah 2015

Domaine Trouvére Umpqua Valley Syrah 2015

A proper Umpqua Valley Syrah, this particular bottle is maturing into something that feels very much like an aged Côte Rôtie with earthy soulfulness shining through in cascading waves of plum and blackberry, sooty earth, grilled meat, dried violets, and pink peppercorn. It’s much more nimble on the palate than the nose suggests, like any […]

Reustle Prayer Rock Winemaker’s Reserve Tempranillo 2014

Reustle Prayer Rock Winemaker's Reserve Tempranillo 2014

Precise as all Stephen Reustle’s wines are—the 2014 Winemaker’s Reserve Tempranillo is opaque quinacridone violet in the glass, with a swirl one can coax from it classic varietal aromas of earthy sun-warmed terra cotta tile, aged leather and dried herbs, all neatly folded into a background of black cherries and plums. It’s softly textured on […]

Umpqua Undercover

Terry Brandborg, Stephen Reustle, and Earl Jones

The Umpqua Valley has a streak of wildness to it. Sparsely populated, its towns lie scattered amidst a series of rugged, undulating hills thatched in spikey Ponderosa pine and black oak. The Umpqua River and it’s winding tributaries churn and tumble through a network of valleys formed by the collision of three mountain ranges—the Klamath, […]

Abacela Reserve Tempranillo 2005

Abacela Barrel Select Tempranillo 2005

Abacela’s 2005 Reserve Tempranillo is opaque, with only the oxblood-rim belying age. It’s mature now, but has a long drinking window ahead of it, perhaps another 5-8 years. The nose is rich and complex, a melange of black cherries and plums, Christmas cake, leather, and dusty earth. The attack reveals mouth coating, grippy tannins and […]

Abacela Reserve Tempranillo 2009

Abacela Reserve Tempranillo 2009

Tempranillo grown in Southern Oregon, in this case Umpqua Valley, shows great promise, as Abacela has demonstrated time and again through their bottlings of this earthy, Spanish queen. The 2009 Reserve Tempranillo is resplendent in an earthy mantle of dried blood, brick dust, roasted black cherries, and plums. The balance on the palate is spot […]

CHRISTINE HAVENS
McMinnville, OR

christine@christine-havens.com