The two magnificent sunny and 80-degree days we just had have already yielded to gray, drizzle, and 60-degree days – but they have also pushed the vines to wake up a bit and start their annual march toward producing some ripe Pinot Noir. I haven’t seen any leaves popping out in any of our vineyards yet, but some sites are reporting bud-break, and we’re definitely just a matter of days away. (He says with a mix of great confidence and fear.)

Buds about to burst at Azana Vineyard - 4-22-12

Moving on to things that are somewhat in our control (as life is way too short to dither about those things we can’t), we’ve got some seats open for our Burgundy seminar in Portland Friday night, focusing on the great reds of the Côte de Nuits. We’ll be exploring all of the famous villages and appellations, and sampling examples of Gevrey-Chambertin, Morey-St. Denis, Chambolle-Musigny, Clos Vougeot, Vosne-Romanée & Nuits-St. Georges. $65 covers the class, the wines, the charcuterie and cheeses. Email Kelly Karr to book -  please join us if you can…

Hot on the heels of our Audrey release party last weekend, it’s the release of the 2009 La Paulée Pinot Noir coming up in Carlton on Saturday May 5th. The ’09 La Paulée is another succulent beauty from our old-vines at Maresh Vyd. in the Dundee Hills, with great concentration of flavors, and a seductive fruit richness that delivers big pleasure right out of the gate (though it should continue to improve over the next 5-7+ years.) The warm 2009 vintage gave us great fruit to work with, and the wines are built to please. I truly can’t wait to share this one with you…

I’m writing this in the midst of angst and sorrow after watching my beloved Barcelona lose to the hated Chelsea in the Champions League semi-finals today. Please join me in hoping that either Bayern Munich or Real Madrid crush them in the final. It’s only fair…

I can’t stay down in the dumps long, though, as I have to rally and get pumped for the Eugene Marathon on Sunday. My training has been good, I feel strong, and I’m as ready as I’m gonna be. Now it’s just 26.2 miles between me and a great deal of soreness. If you’re down that way, come watch the finish in historic Hayward Field at the U of O – I’ll be the very tired older gentleman wheezing across the line in 4-hours and some minutes if all goes well. Wish me luck! 

It’s always one of our favorite days of the year, when we get to unveil the new vintage of Audrey. Named after the cinematic icon of elegance, grace, and natural beauty, Audrey is our selection of the best few barrels of the vintage, and always from our oldest vines at Maresh Vineyard in the Dundee Hills (planted in 1970.)

Only 7 barrels of Audrey were produced in 2010, and it is a contender for the best Audrey yet. In terms of refinement, finesse, and silky texture, it may well indeed be the best we’ve done so far. 2010 was a difficult year in the vineyards, with extremely low yields of less than a half-ton to the acre in many of our blocks. The resulting wines have proved to be exceptional, however. Mother nature may have not given us much in 2010, but what she gave us was simply beautiful.

Join us in Carlton on Saturday April 21st from Noon ’til 5 for the official release of our 2010 Audrey. (If you purchased Audrey Futures last fall, you can pick up your wines at this event, and the remaining cases of Audrey that were reserved for general sale will be available for purchase as well.)

In addition to the Audrey, our special tasting flight will include two micro-production Grower Champagnes and two newly arrived top-value Burgundies from the acclaimed 2010 vintage – delicious Bourgogne Chardonnay from Domaine Huber-Verdereau and gorgeous Bourgogne Rouge from Thierry Violot-Guillemard.

Tasting fee for this special flight is $15,  refundable with any 3-bottle purchase of the featured wines.

We’re excited to bring the Willamette Valley to the Big Apple again this year, with a mega-tasting scheduled for April 16th at City Winery in Soho. New York, New Jersey & Connecticut – we look forward to seeing you there in force!

We love Anne & Hervé Sigaut, and their gorgeous wines from Chambolle-Musigny (our favorite appellation in Burgundy, bien sûr!) Over the last few vintages, however, they’ve raised their prices beyond what the market is willing to pay for them. We need to close-out our remaining inventory of all of their lovely 1er Crus, and are offering below wholesale pricing on all wines in stock.

All wines will be open for tasting – one day only, Saturday April 14th, from Noon ’til 5p at our tasting room in Carlton -

2009 Chambolle-Musigny les Fuées 1er  BH87-90 Was $100, now $65

2009 Chambolle-Musigny les Chatelôts 1er BH87-90 Was $100, now $65

2009 Chambolle-Musigny les Sentiers 1er BH89-92 Was $105, now $68

2008 Chambolle-Musigny les Fuées 1er                                   Was $99, now $65

2008 Chambolle-Musigny les Chatelôts 1er  BH87-89 Was $105, now $68

2008 Chambolle-Musigny les Sentiers 1er  BH89-92 Was $99, now $65

Plus, take an additional 5% off your total on any purchase of 6 bottles or more of these wines.

Join us in Carlton for this great tasting and sale, and fill your cellar at the best prices you will ever see on highly-rated Chambolle-Musigny 1er Crus!

Well, it looked and felt like spring here for a couple of days, anyway. The abnormally warm spring in France has cooled down, on the other hand, bringing a frost to parts of Champagne over the weekend and some hail in Burgundy today. I guess I’ll take another late start to the growing season here rather than fret through the ravages of hail and frost. Nobody said this was ever going to be easy, indeed…

Things I love – After Burgundy & Champagne, Chocolate would certainly top the list. I truly cannot go a day without it. I think I run marathons so I can continue to indulge my choco-holic ways. Just one square of some really good dark 70-85% chocolate does it for me. If you want to throw in some salt-caramel, or just some sea-salt, that’s good too. These days I’m especially partial to Portland chocolatiers Xocolatl de David (Olive oil bar, salt-caramel bar, Bacon bar, Parmesan Cheese bar), and Woodblock Chocolates (salt bar and salt & nibs bar). Insanely good stuff…

More things I love – watching Barcelona play the game we call soccer. We are fortunate to be on the planet at the same time as Lionel Messi, Xavi, Iniesta & Cesc Fabregas. Not since the heyday of hockey’s Wayne Gretzky at the Edmonton Oilers has one athlete so completely dominated a sport like Barcelona’s Messi. He gets my vote as the best team-sport athlete alive. He is an absolute wonder, and his play makes it a joy to be alive. Really, he’s that good. (I am also thrilled that my beloved Arsenal have turned their season around to finish strong, and are headed to finish several places above the dreaded Chelsea. There is a god after all…)

Things I never thought I’d love – Running. I’m 2+ years into my running habit, and am honestly and truly enjoying it immensely. I’m in my last week of high-mileage training before the Eugene Marathon on April 29th, and I’m contemplating an ultra-marathon for the fall. Yes, I must be insane. I have no idea what the so-called “runner’s high” is all about, but somehow I just keep putting one foot in front of the other and it all works out. Please remind me how much I love it the day AFTER the marathon, when I’ll be hobbling up and down the stairs in great pain, much to the delight of the family…)

Technology I love – Spotify. $10 a month and all the music you can eat, and all easily downloaded right onto the iPhone. Everything from obscure CS&N demos and old Dolly Parton singles to the latest from Adele and everything in between. That album you used to listen to in college, but could never find anywhere again? It’s on there. For a music freak, it’s digital heaven…

Guilty pleasure that I love – SMASH. I’m not much of a TV watcher, in fact have at times gone years without it save for sports. But I am hooked on this NBC series, a soap-y behind the scenes look into the production of a Broadway musical. The dialogue can leave a lot to be desired, but the cast and music are great, and I have been thoroughly sucked in. Watch at your own risk… 

Open to All (not just Alliance members)…it’s Alliance Française de Portland night at Scott Paul PDX! Join us in NW Portland at Scott Paul PDX for our ongoing series of First Friday happy-hour tastings on Friday April 6th from 5-7pm. Free parking is available nearby at Selco Community Credit Union (corner NW Thurman and 25th).

We’ll be pouring three of the BEST VALUE Burgundies from the outstanding 2010 vintage  – including Fleurie from Domaine des Nugues, Hautes-Côtes de Beaune from Huber-Verdereau and Mercurey from Domaine Ninot (plus of course our ’08 La Paulée Pinot.)  Tasting fee is $5, refundable with any 3-bottle purchase. For an additional $5, we’re offering a SPLURGE pour of the amazing 2008 Clos de le Maréchale 1er Cru from Burgundy superstar Frédéric Mugnier (Splurge pour is FREE for members of the Alliance Française).

Kick off your weekend with us, with good cheer and great wines in NW Portland! Join other Francophiles and learn about the French classes and other offerings at the Alliance.

While the rest of the northern hemisphere enjoys spring, we’re still in the depths of a soggy and chilly prolonged winter here in Oregon. A mild winter, to be sure, but it seems like an exceptionally long one this time around. We get those rare occasional glimpses of the sun, followed by several more days of incessant rain…

Not that I’m complaining. I knew what we signed up for when we moved here 11 years ago. Once, however, just once, couldn’t we get an early start to the season? Could we possibly get through bud-break and flowering before July? Is that too much to ask?

Buds are out in Pommard!

Climate-change has removed any regularity to weather patterns. Not just here, but seemingly world-wide. Or wherever Pinot Noir is grown, at the very least. Once again they had full-on bud-break in March in Burgundy this year – meaning that they could be headed for another August harvest over there. That would be the 4th time in the last 10 years. It has only happened six times in the last 300 years!

Moving on, as there’s no use stewing on matters beyond our control – I am looking forward to a very busy “spring”, with a bunch of great events scheduled at the winery and our new Portland space, as well as a quick trip to New York, and then running the Eugene Marathon on April 29th. (As I write this I’m nursing sore quads from the Race for the Roses Half-Marathon last Sunday. I beat my previous best time by 15 minutes, but the body is letting me know it feels slightly abused!)

We’ll be kicking off the month with our continuing series of First Friday Happy Hours in Portland from 5-7p on Friday, with a great flight and a SPLURGE pour of some ’08 Mugnier! If you haven’t checked our new Portland event space yet – please come on by on Friday – we’re at 2537 “A” NW Upshur, Portland 97210.

Saturday the 14th in Carlton we are putting Chambolle-Musigny on sale! All of the remaining ’08 and ’09 Chambolle 1er Crus from Anne & Hervé Sigaut will open for tasting and on sale at 33% off – the best prices you will ever see on these hand-crafted beauties. Come early before we run out – we’ll be open 12n-5p that day…

And then, it’s the official debut of our 2010 Audrey Pinot Noir, with a special release party and futures pick-up event in Carlton on Saturday April 21st. We held on to a small stash of this one, so if you didn’t order futures last fall you can still get your hands on some. The ’10 model may be right up there with the ’08 as the best Audrey yet, so be sure and join us and taste, as this is probably the only time it will be open for tasting this year…  

Plenty more on the way on top of all that – details soon…

Be here in Carlton on Saturday March 24th from Noon-5p for our Burgundy Express Club pick-up day and tasting. (The event is open to all, and the Spring 2012 Club package will be here to pick up for Club members. The Burgundy club is currently full, but we’d be happy to put you on the waiting list for future openings – just email Kelly Karr.)

This Spring, the Burgundy Club package focuses on the hidden values in Burgundy, and we’ll be pouring a selection of wines from the package, including Marsannay Blanc from Marc Roy, Fleurie from Domaine des Nugues, Hautes-Côtes de Beaune from Huber-Verdereau, and Mercurey Vieilles Vignes from Domaine Ninot.

UPDATE – We’ll also be pouring the full line-up of stunning ’09 Gevrey-Chambertins from Domaine Marc Roy. These are extremely limited, and this will be the one and only time they’re available for tasting in Carlton!

The Burgundy Club tasting flight is free for Club members, $10 for non-members, refundable with a 3-bottle purchase of the featured wines. The flight of Marc Roy Burgundies is $10 (free for Club Members), refundable with a 3-bottle purchase of the featured wines.

You’re invited to join us for an intimate winemaker dinner with Burgundy’s rising star Alexandrine Roy, of Gevrey-Chambertin’s Domaine Marc Roy. Only 10 seats are available for this special dinner at Portland’s Little Bird Bistro, the latest hit from James Beard Award-winning chef Gabe Rucker.

We’ll be featuring a full array of Alexandrine’s wines, matched with a four-course dinner from the outstanding Little Bird kitchen, along with some treats from the Scott Paul cellar as well.

Dinner is set for 7:30pm on Wednesday, March 14th. THIS DINNER IS SOLD-OUT! Email Kelly Karr if you’d like to be on the waiting list for this event…

Alexandrine Roy and "Merlot"

We’re excited to welcome winemaker Alexandrine Roy to Portland for a special tasting. “Alex” is the 4th generation to helm her family’s tiny 10-acre estate, Domaine Marc Roy in the legendary village of Gevrey-Chambertin. Her wines are drawing raves from all the critics, and have developed a cult following here in Oregon over the last several years.

In the vineyard with Alexandrine Roy

Here’s the word from Burghound’s Allen Meadows – “For those readers who are not familiar with the Roy wines, the style is a mix of old style classicism coupled with moderate new oak treatment that doesn’t upset the balance or transparency. The wines are absolutely worth trying should you see them and at the prices that I have seen on offer, they represent fine value as well.”

Join us at Scott Paul PDX – and meet the charming Alexandrine for a special Happy Hour Wednesday from 5-7pm for a tasting of the gorgeous 2009s – the lush and yummy  Gevrey-Chambertin Vieilles Vignes, the single vineyard Gevrey-Chambertin Clos Prieur (90Pts-BH), and the stunning Gevrey-Chambertin “Cuvée Alexandrine”, a micro-production bottling Alex makes only from the tiny millerandage grapes picked individually by hand (“a terrific effort! 92Pts-BH.)

Tasting fee for this special flight is $5, refundable with any 3-bottle purchase of the Roy wines.