We love a shout out! Paul Gregutt's Northwest Wine Guide about his summer wine picks has some great scores for Love & Squalor. Here’s what he has to say…
High Value, High Flavor Summer Wines
Retailers are overrun with cheap wines. Value wines that are inexpensive are much harder to find.
PAUL GREGUTT JUN 30, 2023
Love & Squalor/Garageland
Garageland 2022 Rosé of Pinot Noir – Big flavors of cherry candy, wet stone and a super fresh mouthfeel make this a summer slam dunk for sipping on your porch. The wine does indeed, as winemaker Matt Berson writes, "dance on the palate". Good texture and impressive length, along with that crisply elegant mouthfeel, make this one of the summer's best. 300 cases; 13.5%; $16 (Willamette Valley) 92/100
Garageland 2021 Pinot Noir – Almost two thirds of this was sourced from Ribbon Ridge vineyards, another 20% from the nearby Laurelwood AVA. That's a high standard for such an inexpensive wine. It's a bit stiff and earthy when first opened, so give it some breathing time. The aromatics are spot on, the flavors a mix of brambly berries and savory side notes. This is a wine that will deliver a lot of depth and complexity if given the chance. 500 cases; 13.8%; $20 (Willamette Valley) 91/100
Love & Squalor 2022 'A Frayed Knot' Skin Contact Gewürztraminer – Ripe Gewürztraminer grapes turn a pretty blush color, and when given skin contact prior to pressing some of that comes through. Here it's a light apricot hue, wonderfully aromatic with the powdery floral scents for which the grape is known. Fermenting in neutral barrels has broadened the flavors, added depth and texture, and along the way inspired the wine to continue through a spontaneous secondary (malolactic) ferment. This is inspired, delicious, and unique. 100 cases; 12.5%; $25 (Willamette Valley) 92/100
Love & Squalor 2022 'Walks on Gilded Splinters' Skin Contact Pinot Gris – Grapes from Dion Vineyard are on display here in a rosé style wine with a deep sunset hue. Dr. John aficionados will recognize the reference to the classic New Orleans swamp rock. Lovely texture and mouthfeel, with plenty of crisp apple and citrus fruit at the core. 100 cases; 13%; $25 (Willamette Valley) 91/100
Love & Squalor 2022 Pinot Gris – The winery has had the good fortune in 2022 to contract Dion vineyard grapes for both of its Pinot Gris. This is excellent fruit – ripe, fresh, crisp, minerally and loaded with citrus and stone flesh and skin flavors. The flavors dive down and down through the palate, clean and pure, seeming to gather focus and intensity as the wine gracefully resolves. 250 cases; 12.5%; $20 (Willamette Valley) 93/200
Love & Squalor 2022 Sauvignon Blanc – Winemaker Matt Berson credits "the Sauvignon Blanc cartel – Patty Green, Jay Somers and Andrew Rich – for helping to define this variety in Oregon (I concur) and inspiring him to continue on with it. I've long believed that this should be right up there with Pinot Gris, Chardonnay and Riesling as front and center white wine grapes in the Willamette Valley. This is strikingly pure, fresh and varietal, with a hint of grassiness but none of the more extreme flavors that can turn people away. Lime, pineapple, grapefruit and lemon are all in a tangle, with defining acids all the way through the finish.185 cases; 13%; $20 (Willamette Valley) 92/200