Basalt Cellars
Hope Estate
Basalt Block Hunter Valley Shiraz 2012
Absolutely delicious.
Taste: smooth, iron-rich soil, spice-filled, strong earthiness on the back end.
— 8 years ago
Tenuta delle Terre Nere
Guardiola Etna Rosso Nerello Cappuccio Nerello Mascalese 2010
Somehow bursting with fruit yet restrained. High elevation, basalt and volcanic sand — 9 years ago
Basalt Cellars
Great Ocean Road Riesling 2014
It's the 2014 Riesling and its magic! — 9 years ago
Syncline
Underwood Mountain Vineyard Grüner Veltliner 2012
Best domestic Grüner I've ever had. Lots of green, ripe citrus and orchard fruits, lees influence, and varietal savories (lentil, radish, parsnip, pea purée). 12.7% alcohol puts this in ripe, clean federspiel territory. Similar to Prager or FX in style. There's something special in the Columbia Gorge, I think. Anyone know if this is loess over decomposed basalt in the vineyard? — 10 years ago
Olga Raffault
Les Picasses Chinon Cabernet Franc 2002
Fruity nose of blackberries, mid-summer strawberries, and ripe plums, with subtle tones of mint and peppermint, pine, pepper, savory, and stewed meat. Initially bright with cut strawberries, cloves, nutmeg, and cinnamon, giving way to juicy plums, dulce de leche, blackberries, and ending for a medium finish wet basalt, Italian herb, and fresh, wild game. — 11 years ago
Raptor Ridge
Atticus Vineyard Pinot Noir 2012
An earthier, more acid-driven wine than the 2012 Raptor Ridge Winery Black Hole Vineyard Pinot Noir. Vanilla, clove, pepper, raspberries, and dry Jory soil build the bouquet. Unfolds with less spice than the aforementioned wine, but reveals itself with cherries, currants, dried cranberries, and cassis, flowing into blueberries, chanterelle, truffle and oyster mushrooms, and anise. It finishes with medium length if dried basalt, licorice, and Italian plum. — 11 years ago
Spring Valley Vineyard
Uriah Estate Grown Walla Walla Valley Red Bordeaux Blend 2013
Basalt dust. Cherry, pomegranate. Cocoa. Also good: Petit Syrah, Cab Franc, Syrah. Could age 10-15. — 8 years ago
Evening Land Vineyards
Summum Seven Springs Vineyard Chardonnay 2014
A pinnacle Oregon Chardonnay, the 2014 Evening Land Seven Springs Vineyard Summum hails from a single block at the heart of the Seven Springs vineyard where the soil is thin and a stony basalt outcropping can be seen. The vines, all Dijon clones, were planted in 1984, and are naturally low yielding. Summum is stunningly pure, precise, and texturally elegant. A silken ribbon wrapped around yellow apples and d'Anjou pear. Mandarin orange, lemon curd, pencil lead, trace minerality—it's very Burgundian. Sample — 8 years ago
Calabretta
Etna Rosso Nerello Mascalese Nerello Cappuccio
When these bottles are good, they're great. This was one of those - crunchy red fruit and hot basalt and leather and that Etna je ne sais quoi. With sugo on tajarin, lovely. — 9 years ago
Brittan Vineyards
Basalt Block Pinot Noir 2010
I am a huge fan. Truly great pinot. — 9 years ago
Ciro Picariello
Ciro 906 Fiano di Avellino
Wine for scotch drinkers. Yellow fruits and flowers on the nose. Black volcanic basalt and flint on the palate. Crystalline and peety. An amazing wine. — 10 years ago
Feudi del Pisciotto
Carolina Marengo Sicilia Frappato 2011
This screams Sicily, in all the right ways. Juicy, acid, basalt and pure joy wrapped up in a bottle. Surprised and quite impressed. — 10 years ago
Spiegelberg Winery
Nászéjszakák Bora (Wedding Night) White Blend 2011
A blend of furmint harslebelu lees contact old oak rocky basalt soils. Complexity galore. — 11 years ago
Bodegas Emilio Moro
Malleolus Ribera del Duero Tempranillo 2009
Tempranillo in Basalt — 11 years ago
Basalt Cellars
Barbera 2011
V- light red N- pomegranate and spice P- entry smooth red fruit, mid sour candy, finish long and hot — 11 years ago
Odinstal
Basalt Weissburgunder 2011
Odinstal 2011 Basalt Riesling soon. Can't wait — 12 years ago
Cellers Santamaria
Gran Recosind Criança Empordà Red Blend 2009
Fresh, sun-ripened blackcherries and freshly-picked thyme are upheld by aged leather, black peppercorn, and subtle pinecone and mesquite bark. Fresh plums and dates gush onto the palate, which give way to ripe Kalamata olives, brine and wet basalt, velvety tannins coming in on a short finish. Full yet lithe, fresh but aged, it is a great sipper wine. — 8 years ago
R. López de Heredia
Viña Cubillo Crianza Rioja Tempranillo Blend 2007
Hints of vanilla bean waft from the glass, which gives way to more powerful notes of freshly ground white peppercorn and cedar dust, deeper notes of dark cherries and grilled field mushrooms rounding out the bouquet. The darker notes carry over to the palate, the fresh cherries and black currants gliding onto the palate to unfold into juicy blueberries and blackberries, accented with ripe cranberries and smooth chocolate. Tannins are subtle and refined, and finishes a little short though on some lovely berry and wet basalt notes. Great quaffer! — 8 years ago
Brittan Vineyards
Gestalt Block Pinot Noir 2013
Very different than the Basalt block. Lengthy and savory. Pommard like. — 9 years ago
Paetra
Nicholas Vineyard Riesling 2014
Concentrated Chehalem Mountain Riesling from the single vineyard "Nicholas" comprised of silt on basalt that winemaker Bill Hooper credits for its thick skins and potency. Fragrant and exotic with a glorious spice I've never had this side of the Vosges. Another cracking wine from this upcoming winegrower handcrafting Riesling in this superlative category in which the fruit is in the best condition and every step of the craft is minimal but the most mindful. I am a thorough fan. — 10 years ago
Evening Land Vineyards
Celebration Gamay Noir 2013
Reduction is a bit obvious in this wine, but as with most Evening Land wines, this works itself out and integrates well with the wine over time. Flint and burnt matchsticks on the nose, alongside with portobello mushrooms, baked blackberries, and brambles. Blackberries, Italian plums, and creme de cassis in greet the tongue, cherries, blueberries and fresh orange peel on the mid-palate, with anise seed, white trumpet mushrooms, and subtle tones of basalt. Gorgeous Gamay made in the carbonic-style. — 10 years ago
Rocca Family Vineyards
Collinetta Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2010
The volcanic and basalt soils really set the tone for this wine. The fruit was also showing very well. This is a refreshingly different 'Napa Cab'
— 11 years ago
Odinstal
Basalt Riesling 2011
I can only say it is a profound wine at every level possible. — 12 years ago
Dusted Valley Vintners
Sconni Block Ramblin' Rosé Blend 2012
A Bordeaux blend red red plum 20% of the wines from the dusted valley label currant berry fruit. Fresh and bone dry on the finish light red berry fruit with light floral notes. Very good Milton free water closest city 10000 people tho Oregon vineyard 46 th parallel is state line pacific influence enables them to ripen the grapes I the summer. Christophe baron planted his vineyards in 1998 so by 2007 the land prices were skyrocketing 22 parcels 12 acres their focus was Syrah 2/3 of vineyards are Syrah two different clones then Grenache petite Syrah cinsault Viognier Tempranillo and more just to experiment river rocks deposited by floods over 25000 years basalt lava flows 5-10 million years ago 11,000 feet thick depression is a major heat sink at peak summer they gettworehours of sunlight than napa. Vansicle ridge goes out to the Pacific Ocean. — 12 years ago
Somm David T
Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator
Lots of new oak use here. Dry sticky M+ tannins. Ripe blackberries, dark cherries, strawberries , blueberries , tough leather, cigar, dry red florals, crushed rocks, dry stone, a touch of saline from the Basalt this is farmed as shown in the photo. Coffee grounds, dry loamy soils, touch of olive, dry herbs. Leaner finish with good acidity. There's a potential for 9.4 with more with time in the bottle. Additional photo is the old classroom.
— 8 years ago