Nice: August 2025
Quinta da Muradella
Alanda Tinto Monterrei
Monterrei, Spain
Located in Monterrei within Galicia, Jose Luis started the winery in 1990. This village is quite different from the rest of Galicia, being more mountainous and jagged than the rest of the land. Jose is inspired by the Burgundian approach to wine making meaning the application of some whole cluster fermentation and a refined tannic structure.
Alanda is the “village” level wine for the winery making this cuvee a blend of different vineyards. The blend itself is made up of Mencia, Bastardo, and Garnacha Tintorera. Grown on soils of clay, granite and calcareous lends a depth of texture to the wine. This wine has aged with grace and has the potential to be long lived. We commend you if you can wait long enough to open it because once you do you are met with impressive freshness for it being 7 years old already.
We recommend a couple hour decant with small sips taken throughout that time to see how the wine changes while being open.
Pairing: Steak au Poivre for Two
Fun fact: Jose Luis talks with his hands so much people in the past thought he was Italian. Please don’t make that mistake as he might take offense to it.
Quinta da muradella
Alanda Blanco Monterrei
Monterrei, Spain
This wine is a blend of Doña Blanca, Treixadura, and Verdello. With fun, zippy texture and bracing acidity, this wine shows how a wine can balance complexity and seriousness with lightness and freshness. There is no malolactic fermentation which retains the acidic backbone that carries the wine through the finish. Also aged in large 1500L foudre reduces oxygen contact to the wine to keep the fruit alive.
Featuring two wines from the same producer is always fun for us because it shows the range of skill a producer has. Tasting Quinta da Muradella for the first time recently reminded us that there’s always something we haven’t tried and you never know what exciting new producer you might stumble upon next.
Pairing: Steamed Mussels with Garlic and Parsley
Fun fact: Jose Luis is a big geologist nerd and has rocks stashed around his room to keep him calm.
Beckham Estate
Estate Pinot Noir
Willamette Valley, Oregon
Only 30 minutes south of Portland driving through winding roads up to Chehalem Mountains lies Beckham Estate. Beautiful panoramic views and serene nature encapsulates the philosophy of the wines. Being conscious of wildlife around the vineyards is an important ideal and completes the ecosystem they are trying to achieve.
The winemaker, Andrew Beckham, maintains a focus on restraint of winemaking and allowing Oregonian terroir to show through. Wines here evoke a sense of pride that America can make delicious wines. This Pinot Noir showcases purity of fruit with savory undertones and an acid that is constant throughout every sip.
This is a wine that if you don’t finish in one night (good luck), can live for a couple days after with nuances and complexities showing itself over time.
Pairing: Creamy Pasta with Smoked Salmon, Arugula and Lemon
Fun fact: Andrew Beckham has been a ceramic artist for over 25 years. All of the wines on the estate are aged in clay vessels he made himself.