Domaine South Wine Tasting May 12th
Winemaker in Focus, Kirk Ermisch 
Two Brilliant Line Ups!
Ermisch Cellars, Luxurious Wines From Oregon
 & Sister Winery, Bodegas Calle, Beautiful Natural Wines From Argentina

Kirk Ermisch has a wine production career dating back to 1995. He started the Seven Peaks winery with Ian Shepard, now Penfolds' Chief Winemaker. He was also the Project Manager of Kendall Jackson's Tapiz winery. In 2000, he restored the historic winery of Bodega Calle in Argentina, and later became its majority shareholder. Since 2010, Ermisch has been taking his love for cool climate Pinot Noir the logical next step, making small parcels of wine here in his home state of Oregon. Kirk has always preferred complexity and character over sheer power, and the Willamette Valley vineyards he works with, reflect that with each vintage. As with all the wines he makes, grapes are sustainably farmed, hand-picked, carefully fermented in separate lots in open top fermenters, and then aged in French oak barrels for a year prior to bottling.

Ermisch Cellars Wine Tasting
Thursday,  May 12th 4-6pm

*Our original wine bar location- 103 Northside Square*

$35 Per Person (Includes Personal Charcuterie Pairing)

Or 

$20 Per Person (Wine Tasting Only)

Reservations Requested. Call 256-964-7980

Presented by special guests, Ricardo Ponce of Alternative Wines

The Line-Up
 

2020 Bodega Calle "Dharma" Orange, Tupungato, Mendoza, Argentina $21.99
80% Pedro Gimenez  / 20% Moscatel
Notes of honeyed melon and citrus with great length, a broad, rich mouth and a slightly dry finish from the firm tannins.
Dharma Orange is all about the quintessential essence of natural winemaking made using the most natural processes possible. The grapes are organically farmed using traditional methods dating back 200 years.  Hand picked and hand sorted. Destemmed and delivered to concrete fermentation tanks via gravity. The cap is gently submerged during ferment. Then it is left on its skins 8 months without needing SO2 because of the high level of anti-oxidants in the grape skins. After is has acquired an orange color and is slightly titanic, it is gently drained and pressed off, given a minimal SO2 addition and bottled fresh.
Winemakers: Kirk Ermisch and Guillermo Heras

2020 Ermisch Cellars Chard, Amity, Willamette Valley, Oregon $37.99
“It gives aromas of lemon cream, honeysuckle, toasted hazelnuts and brioche with ripe Red Delicious apple and a whiff of quince paste. Medium-bodied, it has a lovely creamy texture in the mouth, giving flavors of ripe orchard and stone fruits with floral, honey and nut accents. It has great juicy acidity and a long, layered finish.” – Erin Brooks, Wine Advocate. 2016 – 90 Points, Wine Enthusiast, 2016 – 92 Points, Wine Advocate
Our aim for this wine is to present a single facet of the Willamette Valley’s terroir in a standalone bottling of Amity hillside Chardonnay.  This is very much a hands-on project, Ermisch now does everything from crush to bottle at the new facility in Bend.  The 2020 Chardonnay is made from Dijon 76, Musque and Old Wente clones, barrel fermented and aged in new and used French oak barrels for 12 months.
Winemaker: Kirk Ermisch 

2018 Ermisch Cellars Pinot Noir, Ribbon Ridge, Willamette Valley, Oregon $37.99
Warm and fruity, this ripe, round, satisfying wine matches raspberry and cherry fruit to vivid streaks of orange and grapefruit. Then it glides across the palate and on into a smooth, rich finish, cloaked in milk chocolate. It’s a lovely “drink-now” bottle. Gluten-free, vegan, made with organically-farmed grapes, and fermented with wild yeast.  Enjoy now or hold up to 10 years.


2017 Bodegas Calle "Dharma Resrva Red", Uco Valley, Mendoza, Argentina $22.99
A 50/50 blend of Malbec and Cabernet Franc from a single vineyard in La Consulta that is organic and biodynamically farmed. – I think the two varieties work very well together (it used to have Petit Verdot instead of Cabernet Franc), and it feels compact, integrated and serious. It has good ripeness without excess and fine-grained, elegant tannins. Serious, with potential to improve in bottle. Very good value too. 12,000 bottles
Single Vineyard, La Consulta, Uco Valley, Mendoza
Elaboration: Destemmed and delivered to concrete fermentation tanks via gravity. Pumped over 2 times a day, delestage at middle of fermentation.
Conservation: Hand harvested. Made with gravity flow in the winery. Unfined and unfiltered. Aged in 2nd and 3rd use French oak for 12 months.
Winemaker: C. Ermisch and Guillermo Heras
2017 – 91 Points, Wine Advocate

2017 Bodegas Calle "El Olvidado" Reserva Tempranillo, Altamira, Argentina $26.99
Medium color.  Aromas and flavors of red fruit and herbs with a bright, dry light-to-medium body and a brisk finish with fruit tannins and a suggestions of oak.  A simple red to serve with everyday fare.
Roughly half of Mendoza’s population is of Spanish descent, and over the years a number of Tempranillo vines have been planted in the region.
This bottling, from an heirloom quality parral style vineyard in Altamira, is packed with lush cherry and raspberry fruit.
A long growing season, very cold nights and low yields helped create a wine that is extremely concentrated, parral vineyard. 70 year old vines.
2017 – 90 Points, Wine Advocate
2015 – 91 Points, BTI
2014 – 91 Points, BTI, Best Buy
 

2017 Bodegas Calle "La Mano Derecha" Cabernet Sauvignon, Maipu/Agrelo Highlands, Argentina $26.99
Ripe plums, chocolate, honey, and faint nutmeg make this a very interesting Cabernet. Medium to full-bodied palate has juicy fruit, fine-grained tannins and balsamic flavors in a finish mixing smoky notes and a fresh herbal touch.
We’ve long loved the rich and ripe suppleness that Cruz de Piedra offers to Cabernet Sauvignon fruit. This vineyard combined with fruit from Agrelo really makes this a stand out farmed organically.
Appellation: Maipu (Cruz de Piedra) and Agrelo highlands
Elaboration: Hand harvested grapes. Meticulously sorted and fermented in wide mouth concrete tanks. Aged with French oak for 12 months. Gravity flow winemaking. Winemaker: Ermisch and Guillermo Heras 
2017 – 90 Points, Wine Advocate
2013 – 90 Points, Wine Advocate
2011 – 90 Points, Beverage Tasting Institute

2016 Bodegas Calle "Ca' de Calle Grand Reserva" Blend, Argentina $29.99
Blend (65% Malbec, 12% Petit Verdot, 10% Bonarda, 8% Cab Sauv, 5% Syrah)
Argentina | Appellation: Perdriel, La Consulta, and Altamira, Mendoza
Dark purple color. Forward nose of toasty plums, black cherry, and lilac flowers. On the palate the wine is rich and full, with layers of berry flavors and a hint of bittersweet chocolate. Finishes soft with balancing acidity.
Christopher Ermisch was the original founder of Bodega Calle, along with Ms. Elvira Calle, a famous local businesswoman, owner of Mendoza’s regional newspaper, Los Andes and a dedicated philanthropist.
Named Ca de Calle to commemorate Ms. Calle’s contributions to the project and her shared goal of revitalizing the historic winery and its original goal of employing the local community in its pursuit in making top quality wines.
Our aim for this wine is to combine the different facets of Mendoza’s great appellations in a standalone bottling. We source fruit from the best old vine sources in Lujan and some of the best cool climate fruit in Uco Valley, particularly Altamira and San Carlos.
This is a very labor intensive wine from vineyard to cellar. All vineyards are farmed without use of pesticides or herbicides. Weeds are hand-hoed. Then at harvest, fruit is hand picked, hand sorted, made with gravity flow and fermented with native yeasts. It is then 100% cellared in fine French and American oak barrels in our underground cellar.
Later, as we taste every barrel, we decide our best lots and an assemblage is made using those best lots. We focus on quality over blend consistency or volume. So each vintage’s blend can be completely different every year.
2017 – 91 Points, Wine Advocate
2015 – 90 Points, Wine Advocate
2013 – Decanter, “Highly Recommended”
2013 – 90 Points, Wine Advocate
2013 – Gold Medal, Malbec al Mundo, 2015
2012 – 91 Points, Tim Atkin
2011 – 90 Points, Wine Enthusiast
2011 – Grand Gold Medal (Double Gold) 96 Points, World Malbec Competition
2011 – 92 Points, “Exceptional,” Beverage Tasting Institute
2010 – 90 Points, Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate