A couple of weeks ago, one of my wino friends asked me if I wanted to go wine tasting at 12th & Olive Wine Company in Capital Hill before going to Jazz Alley together to take in dinner and a show. Capital Hill is the always trendy, never boring part of Seattle where the hip, young crowd in Seattle congregates and sometimes when the moon is full, where the hip, old crowd hangs out. Then there are the tragically unhip people that find themselves in the hippest part of the city just by happenstance. One of those would be me.
I agreed to go to with my friend as long as he would drive. Every time I park in that part of Seattle, I get a parking ticket. I’ve since developed an aversion to going there and paying the hefty fine. He agreed to drive so the adventure began.
After we got there and started tasting, I was perusing the back shelf where the Washington wines were located. This was my first time in 12th & Olive so I was trying to get the lay of the land in the shop. I saw a bottle of Basel Cellars Claret sitting on the shelf. I love clarets. I don’t drink enough of them. I looked at the price. Twenty dollars didn’t seem like a bad price. I knew I’d had Basel Cellars wine before but couldn’t quite pull from my memory what it was I’d tried before. Some little voice inside said to scoop up this bottle of wine so I listened.
I took the bottle of wine to a friend’s house the next evening. This friend isn’t really into wine but I wanted to share it with him anyway. Remember the scene in “Sideways” when Miles says to Jack while they’re wine tasting, “Are you chewing gum?!” I’m Miles and my friend is Jack. When I take wine over to his house, he immediately brushes his teeth or uses mouthwash prior to me opening the bottle and I’m left with the same incredulous feeling that Miles has when tasting wine with Jack. What’s the freakin’ point of trying to educate someone about wine when they’re more comfortable drinking apple juice from a juice box?
I opened the bottle of Basel Cellars Claret and poured the lovely ruby-colored liquid into our glasses. I stuck my nose into the glass and inhaled deeply. This wine smelled wonderful. My mouth watered but I resisted tasting it. I then swirled the gorgeous nectar around the glass. I inhaled deeply again. It smelled even better. There were all kinds of wonderful aromas coming from this juice. I smelled floral but I also smelled cherries. Mouth-watering cherries. I smelled raspberries. I believe I got a whiff of what Heaven would smell like, if there is such a thing. I couldn’t wait to taste it.
My reaction to my first sip of this wine was somewhere in the neighborhood of, “Oh My God! This is delicious!” My friend smelled it and tasted it and then agreed. But, like Jack in “Sideways,” his reaction is always the same. I unintentionally took a bottle of corked wine over to this friend’s house once and when he tried it he said, “This is really good.” Corked wine does not taste good nor does it smell good. I guess the taste of toothpaste and/or mouthwash improved the taste of the awful stuff.
After a few more sips of the Claret, I was head over heels in love. I wanted to take it out to dinner, take it to a movie, put my arm around it, and then make love to it. The tannins were nicely integrated so as not to make the tongue feel coated or “furry.” The acid was perfectly balanced to make this the perfect wine to drink by itself or to enjoy with rich food.
I kissed the label lovingly. My lipstick is still on the label and the bottle sits on my kitchen counter as a reminder of my first encounter with this amazing wine. Basel Cellars only made around 850 cases of this wine so I hope there is still some to be had out there.
The Basel Cellars 2005 Claret won a Silver Medal at the 2008 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition. I wholeheartedly agree.
The Stats:
Wine: Basel Cellars Claret
Vintage: 2005
Varietals: 68% cabernet sauvignon, 24% merlot, 8% cabernet franc
Alcohol by volume: 14.4%
Location: Walla Walla Valley, WA
Vineyards: Pheasant Run & Chelle Den Mille
Cost: $20.00
Location purchased: 12th & Olive Wine Company, http://www.12thandolive.com/ Seattle, WA
I agreed to go to with my friend as long as he would drive. Every time I park in that part of Seattle, I get a parking ticket. I’ve since developed an aversion to going there and paying the hefty fine. He agreed to drive so the adventure began.
After we got there and started tasting, I was perusing the back shelf where the Washington wines were located. This was my first time in 12th & Olive so I was trying to get the lay of the land in the shop. I saw a bottle of Basel Cellars Claret sitting on the shelf. I love clarets. I don’t drink enough of them. I looked at the price. Twenty dollars didn’t seem like a bad price. I knew I’d had Basel Cellars wine before but couldn’t quite pull from my memory what it was I’d tried before. Some little voice inside said to scoop up this bottle of wine so I listened.
I took the bottle of wine to a friend’s house the next evening. This friend isn’t really into wine but I wanted to share it with him anyway. Remember the scene in “Sideways” when Miles says to Jack while they’re wine tasting, “Are you chewing gum?!” I’m Miles and my friend is Jack. When I take wine over to his house, he immediately brushes his teeth or uses mouthwash prior to me opening the bottle and I’m left with the same incredulous feeling that Miles has when tasting wine with Jack. What’s the freakin’ point of trying to educate someone about wine when they’re more comfortable drinking apple juice from a juice box?
I opened the bottle of Basel Cellars Claret and poured the lovely ruby-colored liquid into our glasses. I stuck my nose into the glass and inhaled deeply. This wine smelled wonderful. My mouth watered but I resisted tasting it. I then swirled the gorgeous nectar around the glass. I inhaled deeply again. It smelled even better. There were all kinds of wonderful aromas coming from this juice. I smelled floral but I also smelled cherries. Mouth-watering cherries. I smelled raspberries. I believe I got a whiff of what Heaven would smell like, if there is such a thing. I couldn’t wait to taste it.
My reaction to my first sip of this wine was somewhere in the neighborhood of, “Oh My God! This is delicious!” My friend smelled it and tasted it and then agreed. But, like Jack in “Sideways,” his reaction is always the same. I unintentionally took a bottle of corked wine over to this friend’s house once and when he tried it he said, “This is really good.” Corked wine does not taste good nor does it smell good. I guess the taste of toothpaste and/or mouthwash improved the taste of the awful stuff.
After a few more sips of the Claret, I was head over heels in love. I wanted to take it out to dinner, take it to a movie, put my arm around it, and then make love to it. The tannins were nicely integrated so as not to make the tongue feel coated or “furry.” The acid was perfectly balanced to make this the perfect wine to drink by itself or to enjoy with rich food.
I kissed the label lovingly. My lipstick is still on the label and the bottle sits on my kitchen counter as a reminder of my first encounter with this amazing wine. Basel Cellars only made around 850 cases of this wine so I hope there is still some to be had out there.
The Basel Cellars 2005 Claret won a Silver Medal at the 2008 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition. I wholeheartedly agree.
The Stats:
Wine: Basel Cellars Claret
Vintage: 2005
Varietals: 68% cabernet sauvignon, 24% merlot, 8% cabernet franc
Alcohol by volume: 14.4%
Location: Walla Walla Valley, WA
Vineyards: Pheasant Run & Chelle Den Mille
Cost: $20.00
Location purchased: 12th & Olive Wine Company, http://www.12thandolive.com/ Seattle, WA
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Funny and enlightening! I look forward to your next post!
ReplyDeleteCheryl
Thanks, girlfriend! Check back often. :-)
ReplyDelete