Salem Wine Imports: Tragedy & A Tasting

I stopped by Salem Wine Imports this past Tuesday for their weekly tasting. The atmosphere at the store was a bit down though as the proprietor, Eric, had a recent tragedy. During the weekend before the past one, the thermostat severely malfunctioned and the heater kicked on. The heat destroyed basically all of his wines. Though he tried around 75 wines, he found they all were significantly degraded, many lifeless bottles. So, he has had to restock the entire store and he still is working at cleaning up the old, ruined bottles.

Yet Eric has persevered and won't let this disaster destroy his dream. He is bringing in plenty of new wines now so why not stop by and see what he has available.

The tasting this week then was just a mixture of some of the new bottles that he has brought into the store. So let me tell you about some of the wines I most enjoyed at the tasting.

The first wine I tasted certainly started off matters well. The 2005 Castel Noarna Nosiola is another top notch wine from Adonna Imports. Castel Noarna winery is located in the Trentino region of Italy. It is made from 100% Nosiola, an indigenous Italian grape that is the only native white grape remaining in Trentino. It is starting to see a slight resurgence as some good wines have been produced from it. And this wine showed that potential.

This wine was fermented in stainless steel and then aged for nine months in neutral oak barrels. It has an alcohol content of 12%. It had a pale yellow color with an intriguing nose of spice and minerals. On the palate, it was crisp with a nice melange of flavors including grapefruit, mineral notes, and spice. It gave off an exotic feel and definitely tantalized my taste buds. This is a wine I would highly recommend and Eric should have some available for sale next week.

The 2007 Cristina Ascheri Gavi di Gavi ($15.99) is another nice white wine from the Piedmont region of Italy. It is made from 100% Cortese and sees no oak at all. It is another crisp wine with plenty of mineral and citrus notes. A lively wine that would be perfect on a summer day. Also would make a great pairing with seafood.

Continuing on with great summer wines, there was the 2007 Les Lauzeraies Tavel Rose ($12.99). This wine is a blend of Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre and Cinsault. It has a bright pink color and a lush nose with a predominant strawberry aroma. It is a dry Rose, with vibrant strawberry and raspberry flavors as well as a touch of minerality. There is a lot of character for this price point. An excellent value that I highly recommend.

The 2006 Almira Los Dos ($7.99) is from the Campo de Borja D.O. of Spain. It is a blend of 85% Garnacha and 15% Syrah. This wine sees no oak. This dark purple wine has a fruity nose and that fruit also comes out on the palate. Dark berries and a bit of plum with a touch of spice. A simple and smooth, easy drinking wine. A good value wine.

Finally, the Southern Right Pinotage (I missed writing down the vintage and price but it is around $15 or so) was another big winner. I have had this wine before and always enjoyed it. It is made of 100% Pinotage, a grape that was created in South Africa from a mix of Pinot Noir and Cinsault. The Southern Right Pinotage is not for the faint of heart. It is a big, bold wine with a smoky, bacon flavor and a moderate earthy taste. It has a decently long finish and a fair amount of complexity. But it is not a wine that will please everyone. The earthiness may turn off some people. But I very much love this wine, as I do many Pinotages.

Salem Wine Imports
32 Church St.
Salem, MA
Phone: 978-741-9463