Pomum Cellars Wines

Is it me or is Woodinville getting to big for its bridges? There is a section in Woodinville Washington known as the “warehouse” district and anyone with some money and who likes wine seems to think they have an eye for wine making is doing just that…making wine.

I was tasted on Pomum wines and tried to get a little info on how long the wines have been around. They have been around for 7 years now and that’s about it. I first tasted the 2009 Idilico Tempranillo which is a sister winery of Pomum Cellars. Why does everyone have a second label? It was okay but not really structured well. Seemed to be a bit over-extracted and just was not where it should be. Only 125 cases made makes me think this is more of a trial run. It sits for $20 on the shelf so if you like wines that seem to be unbalanced, dark-stained fruit…you might like it.

Next up was the 2008 Pomum Cellars Syrah, which I thought was a nice wine till I heard the price…$32. I mean it is cheaper than a lot of others out there in the warehouse district but let be honest, why are wine in this area getting expensive? Maybe because this is the “it” place to be making wine or maybe people are just pricing wines for the area they make the wine in. I bet this wine in Napa would be about $50-60. I mean the juice was good but for a few dollars less I could pick up a bottle Syncline Syrah and be a lot happier. The wine either needs to sit for a bit or be decanted for a few hours but that still does not explain the over-extracted juice I keep getting. Call it depth or whatever. I want lower alcohol, better structure and less acids.

The final wine was the 2007 Pomum Cellars Shya Red. First think I noticed was the weight of the bottle. The bottle itself is a fucking weapon. C’mon, just use a normal bottle weight ans save some cash for either the pocket or put it back into the winery. Just my two cents though. Wine was actually pretty sound with a decent amount of black fruit. Wine is full-bodied but tends to have some serious spices going on. I like the wine but it does need to breathe an ass-load! I’d decant it for at least a few hours before serving. The price is about $38 and I’m not really happy about that. There are a lot of wines that are doing the same thing better for much cheaper.

2009 Closa Batllet ‘Black Slate’ Gratallops, Priorat

My wine rep brought me this wine a few days ago and asked if I wanted to try it. Being that I only wanted to start off with a dozen or so Spanish wines and I now have 33 on the shelf, why the hell not? This guy is a new rep to the wine world so he still sniffs the cork to see if the wine is good. I’ll tell him after the new year to stop. I still hear wine scores but he already knows how I feel about that. But the wines he brings me are great and he does have a track record with me of around 85% which is a shit-ton better than most in these parts.

So here we have a $20 Priorat which I was happy first off. On the nose there was some great red vine-fruit with minerals lingering around as well. Pretty juicy and a color that might make you want to start to invest in Oxyclean! On the palate it was more red fruit but some solid acidity and tannins. Minerals are there but not as much as they are on the nose. Sweet fruit with a pretty long finish. This made the shelf at 33 Spanish wines now. I think someone is going to be building shelves soon as Spain will be taking over Portugal and Madeira. So those two will be getting their own shelves.

2004 Chateau Fleur Haut Gaussens $14

This right-bank Bordeaux is amazing and even comes with some age on it. With a blend of 90% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Cabernet Franc you are getting a pretty full-bodied red at a fraction of the price. This wine is old world all the way. The vines are an average of 25 years old sitting on clay-limestone soil. I know that does not mean much to the rest of the world but to a wine nerd like myself it means..YUM! Oh and get this..grapes are harvested by hand.

This is truly one of finds that I'm glad I picked up. Great old-world style on the nose with tons of dark fruit and earth notes. On the palate this wine shows great structure and balance. More of the dark fruit and great acidity. The wine is already throwing off sediment and shows this on the inside of the shoulder when decanted and poured. The finish is smooth yet medium to full-bodied. All this for only $14

Bacalhôa Moscatel de Setúbal 2004 Colheita

So I was brought this little sticky on Thursday night and picked up 6 bottles. They were delivered to me by say around 2pm and after cracking a bottle for tasting to clients I was sold out in less than 20 minutes. Called my importer and told him I need another case. Got that about 2 hrs later and less than an hour later I'm down to 6 bottles. You think it's good?

Best part is thing is around $11 a bottle and will hold for months after being opened. The one I tried was opened for 8 months and was drinking like a champ.

Color is almost amber or a shade lighter. Rich notes of apricots, raisins and some light yet sweet herbs. On the palate the thing rocks out with its cock out! Has a zing to it with more ripe fruits and a little white pepper on the tip of the tongue but that dissipates pretty fast leaving a rich coating of love in the mouth. The finish lingers around like grandpa farting in the room.

It did pick up some press in that Decanter gave it a medal for something like best sweet wine under $10 or something. Being that I read Decanter and they actually know what is going on in the wine world, I'll say I agree.

This wine will sit around for months before it goes tits up. The bottle I was tasted on was open for 8 months and it was still tasting amazing. Cheers my friends.

2008 San Felice Campogiovanni Rosso di Montalcino

So you might not be able to see the bottle that well but it is in fact a Rosso di Montalcino Campogiovanni from San Felice. What can I say, I had a weak moment a few minutes ago and decided that being it is Sunday, I'm at the shop slinging vino and I've been busy so I thought I deserved a reward. I even had a few locals taste it as well, which in turn they bought a few bottles.

This Rosso is great and is already throwing off some sediment. Pretty bright in color with notes of spices, rich fruit and light pepper. On the palate it is more on the fruit side with very light hints of green stems. The finish is smooth and elegant with the tannins not bulling around. They are just kept in their place and slowly walk around when they need. For a $20 bottle this is amazing. I'm not fu*#ing around here! This really is a great bottle and I'm glad I took a hit in the shorts on my profits to pop this one open again. Just reminds me how much I love Italian wines.

Cheers

Santo

2009 Clos de Haute Combe Julienas

Julienas is an appellation within the sub-region of Beaujolais that stand in Burgundy. The grape varietal is Gamay in this case the '09 Clos de Haute Combe is amazing in color that looks more like grape juice from a juice box. On the nose this wine shows great structure with notes of black cherry and light spices. On the palate it is fresh and solid. On the finish it is juicy and smooth. Some light spices and light stone-fruit. I'm really glad my importer showed us this wine since we sold out of it this weekend. Imported by Cordon.

The wine shop is open!

So although this is a pretty shitty picture, you get the idea. We are open and although it has taken a bit to get here with some ups and downs...we are here. Come in anytime and taste some tawny port on the house! We are open from 11-7 but I feel I will be extending those hours till about 8pm or longer. Right now we are open on tuesday - sunday but again, call or email me and there is a chance I am there so that means...we are open.

More to come on the shop but for now I have to get back to tasting notes as I was told I have been slacking on my note taking.

www.raincitywines.com

santo@raincitywines.com

206-890-0535

Cheers,

santo