Weekend Wine Post: Stemmler & Donum

Here it is! The final wine club post before we move (that’s right, we’re packing up from the high country to the big city!) Maybe someday we will start this great tradition in a new place…

However, this does not mean the wine posts will stop. Never! This summer, we will be experiencing some very unlikely wining comparisons — California, Kansas, Mexico, and Kentucky. Let the summer of wine (and tequila and bourbon) begin!

Stemmler Pinot Noir Winside | Russian River Valley  Rose-edged raspberry color with bright red fruit on the nose– cherry, light strawberry. An overall very pinot-y smell, we decided, with a hint of oak. Sweet start and an oak finish, a tart cherry on the palate, and something that had the sweetness of a piece of stretched candy or a not-fully-ripe strawberry. Paired well with chorizo-goat cheese dip.

Stemmler Pinot Noir Estate | Carneros**  A slightly darker color and subtler nose, this wine is made from vines growing in clay soil and the grapes getting wind off the bay. An overall heavier, fuller-bodied wine with more of an anchor; we thought you could almost taste the weightier, smoothing effect of the clay.

Donum Pinot Noir | Russian River Valley  We found this one to be in between the first two, nose-wise. Because it is a more select version of the first wine, Malbeca described it as the “volume being turned up” on the earlier wine. Softer finish, velvety — the sound of “zzzzz.” (Yes, we were already starting to do sounds and gestures by wine #3). Both Russian River Valley wines were more Kretch’s style, while Ms. K and Malbeca wanted to drink all the wines from the Carneros terroir.

Donum Pinot Noir | Carneros  Once again, this was the version of the second wine with the volume turned up. (Or, perhaps we could say the Donums were turnt, as the kids are saying these days). Either way, this one had a darker, spicy blackberry taste, which sounded like “sstsstsstsst.”

Stemmler Chardonnay | Carneros*  Clear, almost pale color with a taste closer to a diluted sauvignon blanc with a lot of green apple. The smell, we thought, was very distinctly the wrapper of a green apple jolly rancher.

Donum Chardonnay | Carneros  When we first tasted this, Ms. K said, “It freaks me out!” from the sour apple/lychee nut taste. Another wine club member described it as having her “tongue turned inside out.” What does all this mean? This is supposed to be a beautiful chardonnay…! It was corked. Of course, we didn’t know what that meant, but apparently, this happens to about 13-20% of bottles. When a bottle is “corked,” bacteria in the cork (which can happen no matter the precautions taken) eats the fruit off the wine. We realized we probably have not recognized when we’ve had corked bottles, but now we will! Hurrah for a little bit of “wine school” at the end of the evening. We opened another bottle and the wine was wonderful–fresh apple and honey.

* = Bought

** = Malbeca bought this one, too!