No one likes missing out on something good, especially when good means delicious! So, to make sure you aren’t raising a glass to FOMO, we talked to the experts and put together a few wines and spirits that may not be on your list but totally should be!
Spirits
Trail’s End 10 Year Bourbon
Trail’s End 10 is the Second whiskey collaboration between Hood River Distillers, the oldest distillery in Oregon, and the expert team at Clear Creek Distillery, the second-oldest distillery in Oregon. They take a 10-year Kentucky Bourbon and then further age it in local toasted Garryana oak before being proofed down slightly with glacier-fed spring water from Mt. Hood.
On the nose, you’ll find aromas of vanilla, caramel, and cherry, with warm summer pine at the end. On the palate, there is caramel, vanilla, cherry, and roasted corn with a foundation of warm, earthy notes of pine forest and high desert moss.
Cotswolds Dry Gin
Cotswolds Dry Gin is a delectable blend of nine carefully-considered botanicals, including lavender gathered in the Cotswolds and paired with freshly peeled pink grapefruit and lime zest. They use over 10 times the amount of botanicals to make their gin, which is why a beautiful pearlescent cloud appears when ice or tonic is added.
On the nose, you’ll find fresh notes of grapefruit with earthy coriander backed up by sweet, piney juniper with a hint of perfumed Cotswolds lavender. On the palate, you’ll experience clean, pine juniper spice with fresh citrussy grapefruit. A touch of dryness from the angelica root, with eucalyptus notes from bay leaf followed by subtle lime and lavender.
Wines
Clarendelle Bordeaux Rose
In 2002, close to 75 years after the purchase of the famous First Growth estate, Chateau Haut Brion by Clarence Dillon, created an affordable Bordeaux appellation wine, Clarendelle. Clarendelle offers consumers a full range of value-priced, Bordeaux wines that include red wine, white wine, rose’ and sweet Bordeaux wine.
The powerful bouquet of Clarendelle’s Rosé features floral aromas such as rose, as well as fruity overtones of blood orange, apricot, and grapefruit. The aromatic complexity on the nose carries over onto the palate, which includes lovely flavors of ripe fruit like redcurrant. The wine is suave and concentrated while remaining tremendously fresh.
Vasse Felix Filius Cabernet Sauvignon
Rated as one of the tops wines of 2021, the Vasse Felix Filius Cabernet Sauvignon comes to us from Western Australia’s Margaret River wine region. Margaret River is renowned for its isolation, ancient terrain, and remarkable coastline. The Mediterranean climate, ancient gravel loam soils, and maritime influence, together, deliver ideal conditions for premium viticulture, particularly for Cabernet Sauvignon.
Their Filius Cabernet Sauvignon features a savory nose of miso, wet forest floor, shitake, and leather wax opens into light perfumes of mulberry and blackberry juice with a hint of raspberry ice cream. On the tongue, you’ll find a fresh, velvety palate with medium weight, a creamy core, and fine, elegant tannins with hints of delicate dried cranberry and sunflower seed nuttiness lingering on the finish.
Ken Wright Pinot Noir Willamette
Over 40 years of winemaking has taught Ken a simple truth: source is everything. Located, in rural Carlton, Oregon, Ken Wright Cellars is devoted to producing wine that showcase the inherent quality of world-class vineyard sites. With a clarity and breadth that is unequaled, Pinot noir is the ultimate vehicle for conveying the aroma, flavor, and texture of the location in which it is grown.
Grown in Oregon’s Willamette Valley, this Pinot noir is sleek and elegantly rich, with a vibrant backbone of polished tannins and bright acidity wrapped in expressive raspberry and orange zest flavors, with sandalwood and other zesty spice notes.
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