“Down to Earth with Travis Todd of de la boue”
Every now and then you meet someone and instantly know you want to be friends.
Travis Todd, the former ski bum-sommelier turned winemaker of de la boue, is that kind of guy, the one you want to have a beer with, and after a heady December tasting where I picked his brain on vineyard practices and site-specificity in wine we both looked up and nodded in agreement that we wanted to host a dinner together the next time he was back in Madison.
On Wednesday, May 29th, Travis will be making a stop at Cadre to showcase his exceptional and extremely limited bottlings of Oregon Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Syrah.
We’ll taste five single-vineyard wines from two vintages, with four courses to match.
Its name literally meaning “of the mud”, de la boue is all about getting back to the earth and getting their hands dirty. For this dinner we’ll be tasting the two most recent available vintages when Travis began farming some of his own grapes as well as sourcing from some legendary growers as follows:
We’ll start with the “Gregory Ranch” Chardonnay (2021) a biodynamically-managed site in Yamhill-Carlton AVA formerly used to supply Bergström. In December, this wine was punching with spice and acidity, showing notes of yellow and red apple, pear, peach, & toasted cream. The decision to maintain a lower temperature for fermentation and age a little longer in neutral French oak with some bâtonnage really helped accentuate the mouthfeel and texture of this wine. [100 cases produced]
Next we’ll taste a trio of 2022 Pinot Noirs in the order of picking, starting with the “Gregory Ranch” Pinot Noir. This site, again in Yamhill-Carlton AVA, was a favorite in a recent tasting. Dense and concentrated, the wine was showing notes of ripe raspberry, cherry, and black tea with heft on the palate and structured tannins. Seriously ageable, but painfully small in production. [100 cases produced]
After that quick meditation on “Gregory Ranch” we’ll move on to a fun, side-by-side tasting for one course of Travis’s own parcel on “Vista Grande” and perhaps the most venerable site in all of Willamette Valley, “Temperance Hill”. Perhaps it will be unfair, but we’re excited to compare and contrast these wines, and consider what will be possible as Travis gains more familiarity with his own vineyard.
“Vista Grande” in the Chehalem Mountains AVA is one of the highest in Willamette Valley, looking out over the whole of the Cascades. A beauty and a curse, the vineyard’s high elevation slows ripening to create elegant, perfumed and delicate wines with bright acidity and light structure. A recent tasting showed notes of tart cranberry, ripe raspberry, and spice. [100 cases produced]
“Temperance Hill” on the other hand, located in the breezy Van Duzer Corridor, gets pounded by maritime winds slowing ripening to a crawl and yields bunches of small, thick skinned berries with a deep and intense concentration of fruit. A recent tasting showed complex notes of Bing cherry, red plum, blood orange, and cola along with grippy tannins and sanguine minerality. You’ll want to sock a few bottles of this away for as long as possible. [100 cases produced]
We’ll bookend this dinner with another one of Travis’s projects, Oregon Syrah (2021). Although relatively unknown for this grape, Travis believes the northern part of the state along the Columbia Valley Gorge AVA is an ideal location. True, grapes have been grown here for over a century, and this bottling from “The Pines” (vineyard first established in 1852) is a great recent addition to the region (planted 1994). This was the biggest surprise of our December tasting, and presented with the utmost urgency for its deep ruby color, savory nose of minty herbs and pepper, and the whole basket of red, blue, and black berries. It’s still young and restless, but the passion is obvious and intoxicating. [140 cases produced]
Gosh, that was a mouthful, now you can only imagine what the wines are like. – CHS
– If your tongue is watering, tickle that button and book your ticket now –
PS While all of the above wines are currently sold out online and there’s a waitlist for new allocations, we will have a handful of each bottle for sale. And hey, if you can help us cement this relationship, we’ll be first in line for next year.
Please arrive by 5:45PM. Dinner will start promptly with remarks and first course at 6:00PM.
“Down to Earth with De La Boue”
First Course
brandade-stuffed squid in chilled spinach cream with asparagus tips, ramp fritters, pickled ramps and saffron aioli
“gregory ranch”, chardonnay, yamhill-carlton ava (2021)
Second Course
black tea-smoked red beet carpaccio with pistachio, chopped dates, goat cheese, urfa chili, persian cucumber, and golden raisin
“gregory ranch”, pinot noir, yamhill-carlton ava (2022)
Third Course
tarragon and brioche-crusted sockeye salmon served over spring confit byaldi of zucchini, jerusalem artichoke, fennel, and red pepper, with harissa, dill, and preserved lemon
“vista grande”, pinot noir, chehalem mountains ava (2022) vs. “temperance hill”, pinot noir, van duzer ava (2022)
Fourth Course
cola-glazed pork loin roulade with peppercorns, guanciale-sorghum baked beans, and carrot, parnsip, & radish slaw
“the pines”, syrah, columbia valley gorge ava (2021)
After Dinner
– guests are encouraged to stay for conversation and enjoy complimentary sorbet and coffee…or amaro & PBR –