There is something very telling about a wine when you unexpectedly discover during your meal that the bottle is almost, if not entirely, empty. You're so caught up in the enjoyment of it with your dinner, that you honestly forget about how much you (or those around you) have consumed. Not until you reach for another pour when suddenly that bottle feels unexpectedly light...and unfortunately empty. Such is the case with Love & Squalor Pinot noir. When my wife and I first experienced this wine more than year ago at clarklewis, we were shocked at how quickly a bottle of...

Continue reading »

Posted by Thad W. at 03:36 PM | Permalink

In the glass, the Love & Squalor 2007 Pinot Noir Willamette Valley (13.2%) is a clear, medium garnet red color, offering red berry fruit notes with menthol and earth. The menthol, which was initially as strong as eucalyptus, eventually blew off. In the mouth, this Oregon pinot noir offered good fruit with balanced acidity, making it a nice, food friendly wine. I have drunk this wine on two separate occasions, with the most recent experience revealing the notes and flavors described above. The first experience I had was ordering a bottle at clarklewis during a weekend trip to Portland....

Continue reading »

Posted by Thad W. at 01:39 PM | Permalink

What a terrific wine the Love & Squalor 2008 Riesling Willamette Valley (12.4%) is to enjoy with spicy Asian cuisine. This Oregon riesling was a very light straw color in the glass, providing slight hints of petrol and citrus notes. Citrus fruit flavors, crisp acidity, light texture and a long finish made this wine very enjoyable. There was just enough residual sugar to make this wine shine, without the usual viscous, cloying nature of some rieslings. We paired the Love & Squalor riesling with beef tenderloin yakitori marinated in miso, sesame oil, soy sauce, garlic, salt and pepper. At...

Continue reading »

Posted by Thad W. at 09:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)