Join us Thursday, October 16, from 4–6pm for a relaxed tasting that brings together French, American, and Spanish wines.
We’ll be pouring a Meadowcroft Chardonnay, a Les Roches Touraine Sauvignon, a Chateau Cabredon Bordeaux and a Spanish Priorat.
It’s a friendly, unhurried way to explore new wines, share tasting notes with others, and enjoy the lingering warmth of the season along the harbor.
Tasting notes follow below:
2023 Chardonnay, Carneros Napa Valley
TASTING NOTES
A lush and aromatic wine, the 2023 vintage of our Carneros Chardonnay is delightfully complex, with aromatic notes of fresh baked brioche, honeydew melon, crisp green apple and marzipan. The long finish delivers refreshing acidity and subtle toasted oak flavors.
SUGGESTED FOOD PAIRING |This wine will carry you through pairings for elegant entertaining, weeknight dinners, and everything in between. Fresh Dungeness crab or seared bacon wrapped scallops make this wine sing.
TECHNICAL INFORMATION
APPELLATION: Carneros, Napa Valley
VARIETAL: Chardonnay
HARVESTED: September 2023
BOTTLED: March 2024
PRODUCTION: 1059 750ml cases/ 146 375ml cases
ALCOHOL: 13.5%
pH: 3.60
ACCOLADES
Gold Medal – Critics Challenge Intl Wine & Spirits Competition
Silver Medal – 2025 Press Democrat North Coast Wine Challenge
Les Roches Touraine Sauvignon 2023
Since 1957, the winery has gathered about twenty winegrowers spread over the neighboring communes of Saint Romain, in the Touraine appellation. They produce and age our wines with tradition (conservation cellar dug in the tufa) and modernity (pneumatic pressing, tangential filtration…Committed to ever more rigorous plot selection procedures, the winemakers strive to improve the quality of our wines each year in order to bring you the greatest satisfaction. Les Vignerons des Coteaux Romanais belong to Alliance group. Alliance Loire is a group of winegrowers who decided in 2002 to pool their resources in order to offer a complete range of authentic, well-balanced wines from Muscadet to Vouvray along the Loire River. Loire wines in general are known as reasonably priced refreshing wines.
Vicinity of the loveliest chateaux of the Loire: Chambord and Chenonceau, 80 miles West of Sancerre and South-East of Paris between Blois and Tours. The vineyards are between the Loire and Cher rivers and stretch out along the Cher Valley on either side of the river from St. Aignan s/ Cher to Montrichard. Siliceous clay, clay on flint or clayey limestone . Vines : 15 to 20 years – 300 acres – Yield : 65 Hl/ Ha.
Tasting notes
This pale yellow wine streaked with green is dry and refreshing with straightforward but typical aromas; the mouth is full and develops into fleshiness with the characteristic fruitiness of our Côteaux wines.
Food pairing
It goes perfectly with seafood, raw vegetables, charcuterie, fish and simply on its own.
CHATEAU CABREDON BORDEAUX
The 2022 Château Cabredon is described as a fruity, spicy wine with blackberry and black fruit flavors, balanced by oak notes of vanilla, cedar, and clove. It features a well-structured profile with lightly structured tannins and good acidity, making it a juicy, fresh, and bright red Bordeaux that is mainly Merlot.
Aromas & Flavors
- Fruit: Blackberry, black fruit, and berry tart flavors.
- Oak: Notes of vanilla, cedar, and clove.
- Other: Earthy tones, hints of spice, cocoa, and slate are also noted.
Structure & Style
- Body: Medium-bodied with a supple, dry, and fruity character.
- Acidity: Good acidity provides a fresh and bright quality to the wine.
- Tannins: Features lightly structured tannins.
- Overall Impression: A well-balanced, well-structured, and juicy red Bordeaux that is both spicy and full of fruit.
Grape Varietals
- The wine is mainly Merlot, with smaller proportions of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, contributing to its berry flavors and structured tannins.
Vintage Context
- The 2022 vintage is noted for its freshness, vibrant fruit, and ripe tannins, with a dry and sunny growing season contributing to overall high quality.
ONIX CLASSIC. VINICOLA DEL PRIORAT
WINEMAKER: Sandra Estevez
VARIETALS: 50% Carinena, 50% Garnacha, 60+ yr/old vines. Hand-harvested.
YIELDS: 2 lbs/vine
TASTING NOTES: Dark ruby color. Aromas of plum with hints of earth and meat. Soft and lush on the palate with round, firm tannins and a good finish.
The region of Priorat has risen to prominence in the last 25 years, going from being relatively unknown to now producing some of the most highly valued wines in the world. There is, however, a long history of wine production in Priorat; Carthusian monks from Provence first planted vines in the 12th century. Indeed the region of “Priorat” is named after the Priory they built in the hills there.
A harsh, continental climate with long, hot summers and very littler rain means that vines are virtually the only crops able to survive in the ruggedly mountainous Priorat. The vines are planted on steep hillsides, making mechanized farming virtually impossible – the work in the vineyards is mostly done by hand. Additionally, the region is known for its unique soil, known as llicorella. Remarkably infertile, it is a dark brown mix of broken slate and quartz that sparkles in the sun. Combined, these factors lead to low yields of incredibly concentrated grapes.
The head winemaker at Vinicola del Priorat, Sandra Estevez, is part of a growing movement of female winemakers in Spain. She has made a name for herself by producing elegant, carefully balanced wines that frequently garner high praise.
