Hemingway's Notebook -Found!

Last night I lifted up a copy of The Three Musketeers from my night stand, and there it was; my review of King Estate, 2007 Domaine Oregon Pinot Gris, $25.

No way anyone would remember this, but some months ago I wrote about this wine, all the while admitting I’d lost my tasting notes (okay, Anthony Broadbent I am not).

And so just like Groucho finding his steak (a joke for those who tweet -you can find me under ‘wineiconoclast’, natch), shazam, there were my post-it notes with this sterling review: ‘peach, spice, lean, good acidity, lemon, a food wine through and through. Tremendous balance, with flavors, acidity, structure, all rowing together for a one great joy ride.’ (Also noted this on the flip side of the page, ‘the Wreckonomy’-hmm, must’ve been in a weird mood that night).

And now that that mystery is cleared up, I have yet a more current review, and guess what –no tasting notes. You know why? We had this Clos du Chateau, 2005 Viré-Clessé, $25, the other night with dinner and it was so awesome, I couldn’t stop raving, not even long enough to reach for a pen. Rich, succulent, big, busting with flavor. So good, who needs tasting notes?

I only discovered Viré-Clessé, a region in Burgundy’s Macon, when dining at a one-star in Tournus some years ago. I bought several bottles over there, and every now and again I’ll find a Viré-Clessé stateside, and for old time sake, purchase it. The grape is Chardonnay, and typically lean, and crisp, a big step-up from Macon-Villages. But this one is so incredibly explosive it’s in a different universe. Availability? Well, I got this in San Diego, and skate-boarding the web I can’t find any reference to it here in the Northwest. So you might have to hop a flight south (or way east) to find it.

Okay, let’s venture out into the middle of the muddle that is my vineyard. After a slow start (I didn’t do my first spray until May 20, almost a month after bud-break), suddenly we had two weeks of uninterrupted great weather, mostly in the 80s every day, and suddenly -Wow! the vines went nuts. Not only that, but this is by far the best opening salvo to a growing season I’ve ever seen. Every shoot has at least two clusters (one has 4!), and they’re beautiful, well-formed, and already verging on bloom.

And then the bad news; just as predictions of thunderstorms were seeping in, I did my second spray, and wisely added a fungicide to the mix. Then all day yesterday we had some faint mist, hardly a sprinkle, but it worried me all the same, as temps were in the 80s. Wet, heat -sure fire recipe for mildew. And then last evening, right at about 5:30, it hit. Torrential downpour.

All of this will probably revise my spray schedule, as we shift into a different gear once bloom comes, and with higher mildew pressure, and all of this on top of the fact I’m heading for Europe in a week, makes everything a little trickier.
Sure wish we had those dry, 80 degree days back.

Finally, let’s return to Groucho, The Three Musketeers, and tomato slices. One might wonder why it took several months for me to find my review of Pinot Gris. Well, truth is, I’m not getting on very well with The Three Musketeers. Pretty much a romance/swashbuckling novel, that, despite its girth, is exceedingly light weight. So I only read it sporadically. And just as I’m about to doze off.

That, and I’m not exactly Anthony Broadbent.