New Vintage Releases

This week we have a few new vintage releases! We just brought in a tasty White Pinot Noir from here in the Willamette Valley and a couple of great cold-weather reds from Spain and France. Read on for details below - We hope you enjoy!

2019 Amity Vineyards White Pinot Noir, $19
Grapes:100% White Pinot Noir

Tasting Notes: Very cool project from here in the Willamette Valley! To make this white wine, they hand-pick their pinot noir grapes about a week earlier than they would pick their red wines to preserve acidity. Then they are whole bunched pressed very gently, which allows the juice to minimize maceration and have little color pick-up.

All of the color and most of the tannin in red wine comes from the skin. So, if you press right away and very lightly, you can extract the clear juice. This creates a beautifully light-in-color white wine with red wine characteristics. And the result is surprisingly delicious! Excellent cold weather white, nice mouth texture, citrus blossom aromatics, and forward pear, honeydew, and tart white raspberry. So good!

2019 Bozeto de Exopto Rioja Vino Tinto, $18
Grapes:Blend of Garnacha, Graciano, and Tempranillo

Tasting Notes: A mix of old vines from Rioja, Spain. The grapes are fermented in concrete, then aged in barrel. The resulting wine is a lovely mix of prominent fresh berry and fleshy plum fruit, with a nice density and wooded structure. Great casual drinking red, and perfect for weekday food pairing! 

2019 Domaine Melody Crozes-Hermitage, $22
Grapes:100% Syrah

Tasting Notes: Great cold weather red from the Rhone Valley in France. Dark blue and black fruit, licorice and leather aromas, smooth tannins and a touch of bacon fat on the finish. Stellar burger or steak wine!

New Red Wines

Over the last few weeks, we have been doing research to replace many of our old favorite wines with new tasty and fun options. This week we are featuring more wines that have just arrived in the shop.

There is a fantastic 100% Gamay from Cru terroir in Moulin-A-Vent, as well as a couple of excellent value reds from Northern and Southern Italy. We hope you enjoy!

2019 Filippo Cassano CALX Primitivo, $16
Grapes: 100% Primitivo

Tasting Notes: A very fun, everyday table red from Puglia, which is the heel of the boot of Southern Italy. This bottle is 100% Primitivo, which is what Italians call Zinfandel. Whereas Zinfandel is typically a full-bodied and robust red, this Primitivo is considerably light on its feet. This is a fresh, drinkable red wine with zingy flavors of red berries, figs, and forest herbs. Fantastic bottle for under $20!

2017 Montaribaldi ‘Ternus’ Langhe Rosso, $16
Grapes: Blend of Nebbiolo, Barbera, and Dolcetto

Tasting Notes: A very cool red blend from the hills of Barbaresco in Piedmont, Italy. Earthy aromas with a soft tannic structure and a little dark chocolate in the finish. Great 'classic Italian' table red, super food-friendly, and very approachable at $16. Boom.

2018 Domaine Lardy ’Les Michelons’ Cru Moulin-A-Vent, $27
Grapes: 100% Gamay

Tasting Notes: Old vines at the top of the Moulin-à-Vent slope in Beaujolais, France, give this wine its rich, plump structure. The fruit is fresh and crisp, with a smoky character from old-barrel wood aging. Absolutely outstanding, food-friendly, winter red. 

Order for Delivery 

You have until Thursday at 5 pm to get your orders in for wine and beer, and we'll bring it right to your doorstep Friday! Please email your orders to info@pdxbottleshop.com and let us know the style and price point you are looking for.

We will call you to confirm your order, and you can pay over the phone. There is a $5 delivery charge, and we will deliver within 5 miles of the shop. Easy peasy. 

February Case of the Month

We are very excited to offer this month's case! There have been quite a bit of new arrivals to the shop over the last few weeks. So this month's case is featuring several of those, as well as a handful of staff favorites. Standout selections include a stellar Sparkling Rose from one of our favorite Loire producers, a super tasty Italian red made from a Sicilian grape called 'Susumaniello,' and a surprisingly delicious Cab Sauv from Willful Winery in Walla Walla. We hope you enjoy the great selection of winter wines!

Sparkling

(France) Arnaud Lambert Breze Cremant de Loire Sparkling Rose, $21
Grapes: Blend of Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon

Notes: A fantastic $20 bottle of French bubbles from one of our favorite producers. Ripe tart strawberry, nice broad mouthfeel with a zippy finish, lemon zest aromatics. Yum.

Whites

(France) 2016 E. Guigal Cotes du Rhone Blanc, $14
Grapes: Blend of Viognier, Roussanne, Marsanne, Clairette, Bourboulenc and Grenache Blanc.

Notes: White flowers and apricot, with forward fresh fruits on the palate, balanced richness and body. 

(Italy) 2019 Dorigo Vignaioli in Friuli Bianco $19
Grapes: 100% Pinot Grigio

Notes: Aroma of green apple and almond follow over bright acidity gives a crisp, tangy close. 

(Oregon) 2019 McBeth Vineyards Pinot Gris $18
Grapes: 100% Pinot Gris

Notes: Fresh acidity with pear, white peach flavors, with aromas of honey crisp. Super tasty small-batch, local producer!

(Italy) 2019 Cora Alto Adige Vino Bianco $18
Grapes: 100% Pinot Bianco

Notes: Underripe stonefruit, tangy and a touch savory. Medium-bodied with pear and ginger palate- very cool new arrival Italian white table wine!

Reds

(Spain) 2016 Autocon Celler Tinto $20
Grapes: 100% Sumoll

Notes: Earthy and spicy Spanish red with wild berries, big savory flavors and crunchy tannins. A very fun structure!

(Italy) 2018 Ca’ del Baio Langhe Nebbiolo, $21
Grapes: 100% Nebbiolo

Notes: Ca' del Baio is one of the more remarkable, underrated producers in Barbaresco. The wines routinely deliver stellar quality for the price. Fragrant dried flowers and slight fruity overtones of raspberries. A great Italian red that is dry, warm and soft, slightly tannic and very easy to drink.

(Spain) 2016 Lopez de Haro Crianza, $13
Grapes: Blend of Tempranillo, Garnacha and Graciano

Notes: Smoky on the nose with sweet cherry aromas. Dry, with roasted cherry, red berries, tobacco leaf flavors vibrant on the palate.

(Washington) 2017 Willful Wines Walla Walla Cabernet Sauvignon, $38
Grapes: 100% Cabernet Sauvignon

Notes: The wine has firm tannins balanced with lush blackcurrant fruit flavors, yet surprisingly balanced with a more restrained, elegant structure. Surprisingly tasty Walla Walla red that screams for a plate of steak and potatoes. 

(Italy) 2018 Villa Medoro Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, $12
Grapes: 100% Montepulciano d’Abruzzo

Notes: A well-balanced expressive red wine, aged in steel tanks for 18 months. Aromas and flavors of spiced violets, blueberries and pepper. Fresh and balanced Italian red table wine. 

(France) 2018 Mas d’Intras Cuvee des Helviens, $15
Grapes: Blend of Grenache, Merlot, and Syrah

Notes: This is a red wine relatively light and fruity that nevertheless has character. Spicy and easy to drink, it is suitable for daily savoring—excellent wine pairing with everyday dinner meals. 

(Italy) 2019 Masseria Li Veli, Salento Susumaniello Askos, $21
Grapes: 100% Susumaniello

Notes: Super tasty Sicilian red new arrival! Berries, licorice and leather on the nose. Soft, elegant and balanced with full integrated tannins. So good!

New Natural Wines

We will be taking a brief break from our Friday night virtual tastings. Be sure to stay in the know when we return by signing up for our email. In the meantime, we recently put out a call for some fresh, new and tasty wine recommendations.

Over the next month, you will be seeing new wines arriving here on our blog and featured in our weekly email newsletters. We hope you enjoy discovering them, too. Keep an eye out and let us know which ones are your favorites. 

This week we are featuring some cool new natural wine arrivals. These three bottles check all of the boxes: Organic, Biodynamic, Unfiltered, Unfined (vegan), and fermented with Natural Yeast. Sustainably farmed and tasty selections! 

Cheers!

2019 Domaine A. Pegaz Beaujolais Blanc, $20
Grapes: 100% Chardonnay

Tasting Notes: Medium-bodied, nice mouth weight, yellow pear, balanced with soft acidity, a subtle minerality, and very food-friendly. This would pair nicely with cream of potato soup or a bowl of risotto. Stellar white burgundy for the price!

2019 Franchere ‘Cascadia Red’, $21
Grapes: Blend of Pinot Noir, Syrah, Gruner Veltliner, Gamay

Tasting Notes: A very cool red blend from a local experimental winemaker, Mike Hinds. Mostly Pinot noir, with small percentages of both red and white wine (!). This wine has a little bit of that ‘natural funkiness’ to it, in a good way- it’s a touch cloudy, has subtle aromas of ‘barnyard’ on the nose, yet is incredibly fun on the palate. Bright tart fruit, zippy acidity, a touch of grippy texture in the finish- absolutely delish! This wine definitely falls into the ‘interesting and delicious’ category!

2018 Domaine Baron De L’ecluse Cote De Brouilly, $23
Grapes: 100% Gamay

Tasting Notes: Another standout natural French red wine from Beaujolais this week! Beautifully layered structure, bright raspberry and blueberry notes, pleasantly floral aromas, forest herbs and a touch of cocoa in the finish. Superb!

Wine and Beer Delivery

Email your orders to info@pdxbottleshop.com and let us know the style and price point you are looking for. We will call you to confirm your order and you can pay over the phone. We will deliver right to your door on Friday!

*Orders must be made by Thursday at 5 pm. Only delivering within 5 miles of the shop. There is a $5 delivery fee. 

Cold Weather Wines

This week we are featuring wines that are perfect for cold weather. The trio of recommendations is all richer textured. It has prominent depth on the palate, perfectly suited for pairing with wintery meal fare. 

We hope you enjoy them!

2017 Roco 'Gravel Road' Willamette Valley Chardonnay, $32
Grapes: 100% Chardonnay

Tasting Notes: Located in the Chehalem Mountains AVA, this Roco Winery Chardonnay sources grapes from its three best growing sites. Full-bodied yet fresh on the palate, the 'Gravel Road' is a super tasty and well balanced winter white. Fresh pear with tangerine aromatics, finishing with pleasant notes of toasty hazelnuts and Myer lemon. Perfect for a hearty chicken stew. 

2017 Domaine Berthet-Rayne Cotes Du Rhone, $16
Grapes: Blend of Grenache, Mourvedre, and Cinsault

Tasting Notes: Old vines, organic farming, and situated on some of the finest terroir *just* outside of Chateauneuf du Pape in Southern France. Châteauneuf-like aromas of wild cherries and leather, followed by an elegant mid palate of warm kitchen spices, finishing with that classic Rhone dark fruit and tobacco. Absolutely superb for the price!

2018 Ritme Celler Priorat Tinto, $24
Grapes: Blend of Carignan and Garnatxa

Tasting Notes: Old vines and a sustainably farmed red blend from the region of Priorat in North Eastern Spain. This is a super fun winter red; nice density with solidly blue fruit tones, balanced, if not a bit punchy acidity, tangy and spicy in the finish. The Ritme Celler Tinto is a fantastic bottle with food pairings! Try this with roasts, stews, and red meat sauces. Delicious. 

Wine and Beer Delivery

Order by Thursday at 5 pm for Friday delivery! Please email your orders to info@pdxbottleshop.com and let us know the style and price point. We will call you to confirm your order, and you can pay over the phone. There is a $5 delivery charge and delivery is only within 5 miles of the shop. 

Cheers!

January Case of the Month

Happy New Year! With the start of a new year, we are excited to bring you a new case of twelve handpicked wines. The January Case of the Month focuses on the Bottle Shop’s favorite value wines. After the holidays, we all could use a little relief on our wallets but still need a nice variety of tasty wine to get us through the cold winter nights. 

This month’s case has a few super cool wines from Spain, including a 2011 Rioja from one of our favorite producers, a standout Portuguese red table wine, and even a bottle of Italian pink bubbles just for fun. All told, the selection includes 4 whites, 7 reds, and 1 sparkling, all for $159. 

We hope you enjoy this month’s selections!

Sparkling

(Italy) NV La Contesse Brut Rose
Grapes: 100% Pinot Noir

Notes: Super tasty, easy-drinking pink bubbles from Northern Italy. Fresh and fruity, bright red strawberry, dry and citrusy finish. Great brunch wine!  

Whites

(Spanish) 2019 Lopez de Haro Rioja Blanco
Grapes: 100% Viura

Notes: Old vine white wine fermented in sizeable french oak barrels along the hilltops of Rioja, Spain. Lovely winter white- rich textured, yet balanced on the palate with ripe yellow apple and a touch of acidity. 

(Italy) 2019 Chateau La Maroutine Blanc
Grapes: Blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon

Notes: Great value white from Bordeaux. Tangy green apple and a touch of lemongrass, aromas of lime zest and slate. 

(France) 2019 Domaine de Ornezon Picpoul de Pinet
Grapes: 100% Picpoul

Notes: Citrus aromas and white fruits, lovely weight and a faint hint of saline on the finish. Perfect with shellfish. 

(Oregon) 2019 Timothy Malone Viognier
Grapes: 100% Viognier

Notes: Delightfully uncomplicated Viognier from one of the Bottle Shop’s favorite local producers. White peach and peach blossom, tart tangerine in the finish. Yum. 

Reds

(Portugal) 2018 Monte Vehlo Tinto
Grapes: Blend of Touriga Nacional, Aragonez, Syrah, Trincadeira

Notes: Red and wild berries, nicely integrated with fresh cooking spices. Fun structure! Fruit up front, balanced with a pleasantly earthy finish. Very cool Portuguese value wine!

(California) 2017 Sean Minor Red
Grapes: 100% Cabernet Sauvignon

Notes: Classic CA Cab notes: Rich textured, velvety tannins, dark blue and black fruit, touch o’ vanilla in the finish. Boooooom.

(Italy) 2018 Podere Ruggeri Corsini ‘Matot’ Rosso
Grapes: Blend of Barbera, Dolcetto, and Nebbiolo

Notes: A killer blend of classic Italian grapes from the famed region of Piedmont. This is an easy-drinking yet rustic wine that offers notes of bark, earth, currants and tobacco. Great Tuesday night pizza wine!

(Italy) 2017 Tenuta Sant’ Antonio Scaia Rosso
Grapes:100% Corvina

Notes: Fruit driven red with bright red cherry and red currants, with balanced tannins. Overall, this is a fun, high-toned medium bodied red, perfect for a cheese board with cured meats. 

(Oregon) 2018 Raylee Willamette Valley
Grapes: 100% Pinot Noir

Notes: An excellent new arrival at our shop. This PN is a straight shooter- red tart fruit, layered earthy mid-palate. It’s what you want out of a WV pinot. 

(Spain) 2011 Olabarri Rioja Gran Riserva
Grapes: 100% Tempranillo

Notes: We thought we would squeeze in at least one ‘top shelf’ wine for fun. Olabarri is a classic Spanish producer from Rioja, and this bottle is one of their estate’s best offers. The vintage is 2011, so it is already aged out and ready to drink. Full-bodied, dark fruit, leather, and spicy tobacco. So good!!

(France) 2017 Paul Ataurd Cote du Rhone
Grapes: Blend of Grenache and Syrah

Notes: This Cote du Rhone is nicely layered with aromas of licorice and warm fruit tones. The palate is full of raspberry and cherry and has a persistent and peppery finish.

Holiday Wine Pack and The Return of Clara C

Holiday Wine Pack

This week we are featuring a holiday 3-pack designed to ring in the end of this crazy year with some 'top shelf' wines. The 3-pack includes the shop's favorite bottle of Champagne, one of our standout staff-picks, Willamette Valley Pinot Noirs, and a super cool dessert/digestif from Eastern France, called 'Macvin du Jura.'

We are giving a 10% discount for the trio to help the celebrations, offering the special for $120. Cheers, and Happy Holidays! 

NV Chartogne-Taillet Cuvee Saint Anne’, $63
Grapes: Blend of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Pinot Meunier

Tasting Notes: Remarkable bottle of bubbles that is gaining notoriety in recent years for consistently delivering an absolutely stunning Champagne for its complexity, softness, and value.

Rich and creamy on the palate with faint bready aromas and a bone dry, zippy finish. Delish! This one is limited and will sell out within the next month or so. If you are a big fan of bubbles, you may want to grab a couple of these! 

Lingua Franca Avni Pinot Noir, $35
Grapes:100% Pinot Noir

Tasting Notes: One of our favorite new local Pinot producers from the Willamette Valley, this wine opens with lovely scents of cranberry and raspberry.

Those juicy, fresh flavors follow a lightly spicy, medium-bodied palate with a gentle chocolate hint. It was fermented with one-quarter whole clusters and aged in 20% new French. Fantastic dinner wine! 

Jean Bourdy Macvin du Jura, $35
Grapes:Blend of Pinot Noir, Trousseau, Poulsard, Chardonnay, Savagnin and ‘Marc du Jura’  

Tasting Notes: Jean Bourdy is amongst the most beloved bottle shop French wineries and is also one of the oldest in the Jura, owned by the Bourdy family for 15 generations since 1475 in the village of Arlay in Eastern France.

Their 'Macvin du Jura' is an off-dry digestif, perfect for post-holiday-dinner lounging. It is made of a blend of grape juice fortified with a Brandy that is only made in the Jura region, called 'Marc.' This beverage is exciting and delicious! You will be pleasantly surprised at how easily it goes down.

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The Return of Clara C

Big news! Clara C is returning! Clara C Sparkling Rosé has been our #1 selling wine since we opened almost 10 years ago. Thanks to COVID, we haven't had access to this Italian wine since January, and she has been missed! 

Clara C is quite simply perfect. Affordable while tasting expensive, easy to drink and goes great with anything. We can't be more excited to bring this beauty back! 

This first shipment will go quickly, so we are offering a pre-sale so that you don't miss out. And to sweeten the deal, the more you order, the more you save. 

Here's the price breakdown based on the number of bottles purchased: 

1-5 Bottles = $15/bottle 
6-11 Bottles = $13.5/bottle 
12 or More Bottles = $12/bottle

To place your order, email us at info@pdxbottleshop.com with your name, email, phone and quantity or call us at 503-232-5202. 

We expect the wine to arrive later this week or early next week, just in time for Christmas! Cheers to the return of Clara C!

New Wine Arrivals

This week, we are featuring one killer red from Umbria in Central Italy and two super unique wines from Eastern France in Jura's small appellation. All three are new arrivals to the shop. We have a limited quantity of the featured French wines - so grab a bottle soon if they sound interesting. Cheers! 

2016 Fattoria Mani di Luna Checcarello, $22
Grapes: A blend of Sangiovese and Barbera

Tasting Notes: This bottle of Italian red is one of our favorites to hit the shelves in a long time. It's a very cool 'natural' wine that checks just about all of the boxes- it's unfiltered, unfined, low-sulfite, natural fermentation, organic, biodynamic- and, it's super tasty too!

Incredibly food-friendly, excellent forward red and blue fruit, with integrated tannins with a fun amount of grip in the finish. The perfect pairing for pasta bolognese or spaghetti and meatballs. 

Chateau D'Arlay Cotes-du-Jura ‘Corail’, $42
Grapes: Blend of Savagnin, Poulsard, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Trousseau

Tasting Notes: Château d'Arlay's history reaches back over 1,000 years and is one of, if not THE, winery in Europe that has remained in the same family lineage since its creation. It has never been sold or abandoned. And, year after year, they continue to put out super unique and delicious wines.

The 'Corail' is a Rose wine made by combining various red and white grape juice indigenous to the Jura region. The resulting drink is supremely quaffable- light in color, but full-bodied, dry, nice prominent red fruit, fresh forest herbs, and just a little funky on the finish. A memorable bottle of pink wine!

Chateau D'Arlay Cotes-du-Jura ‘En Treize Vent’ , $47
Grapes:100% Trousseau

Tasting Notes: The Château d'Arlay owes its reputation to its traditional winemaking process and the long maturation of wines in casks, giving both a fresh style and a high aging potential. Château d'Arlay is considered a grand cru of Jura amongst France's other wines, made from a very cool grape called 'Trousseau,' and mainly found in the Jura region.

The grape is widely known for its unique (if not a touch austere) profile- typically lean, peppery, tart racy acidity, and with forward aromas of "BarnYard." However, this Trousseau is much more balanced and refined. It has a lovely purple fruit density, balanced acidity, and just the right amount of spiced and earthy aromatics. Phenomenal! 

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Friday Wine and Beer delivery

You can get the wines above or any others you might be looking for delivered right to your door. Email your orders to info@pdxbottleshop.com and let us know the style and price point you are looking for. We will call you to confirm your order and you can pay over the phone.

Orders must be made by Thursday at 5 pm. Only delivering within 5 miles of the shop. There is a $5 delivery fee.

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From the Kitchen

If you haven't tried a cup or bowl of Kevin's homemade soups yet, you are missing out! We've got them on rotation weekly, so give us a call or stop by. They are always the perfect accompaniment to any of our sandwiches.

As the weather continues to cool down, we realize not everyone might be digging a cold sandwich. We've got you covered. You can order any of our cold sandwiches hot! If you thought the Italian Cold Cut was good before, wait till you try it warm. Delish!

See you soon!