Every week, we select a wine from the store as our Insider's Pick. We send out tasting notes to our email customers the evening before, and have the wine open to taste at the store Thursday and Friday from 12:00 until closing. If you purchase the wine on the days it is tasted, you receive a 10% discount from the bottle price, and a 15% discount if the wine is part of a mixed case (no further discount on 1 item cases).  Below are the tasting notes from the most recent Insider's Picks.

July 15, 2010
2007 MAS DEL PERIE CAHORS 'LA ROQUE'
$22.99, $19.54/case
Dead center of summer in central Virginia may not be the most ideal time to taste the ‘Black Wines’ of Cahors, but this wine has been an itch that I have been just dying to scratch since it arrived a few weeks back. In earlier times, the intensely sturdy and uncompromising wines of Cahors rivaled the reputation of those in Bordeaux. The threat was such that the Bordelaise used their position downriver to hamper their sales by applying stiff taxes to wines brought through their port, at the time still one of the major shipping centers in all of France. The price hikes hindered their growth, and after the Phylloxera blight in the late 1800s, Cahors became a shadow of their former winegrowing self. The last 30+ years has seen considerable growth, but they are still less that 50% of what they were producing at their height.
Malbec is the grape of choice here, producing a wine much different than the distinctly New World and popular versions in Argentina. Some examples still have a very old school presence to them, desperately needing several years in the bottle to start shedding their gum-shredding tannins. Others like this have approached a happier medium, creating a wine that can show some pleasure in the short term without sacrificing any of the deep, intense flavors that make Malbec here so unique. Still absolutely doing honor to the nickname, the intense purple color is only slightly more opaque than your average wall paint. The first aromas are all pencil lead, beef blood and wet charcoal, but some time open reveals some surprisingly beautiful notes of black fruits, cassis, violets, and spice. In the mouth the wine is big, but not THAT big, at least not what one would expect with the reputation of the region and the fact that in the glass it looks like it could be used as a football player’s eye paint. The texture is full and long, but not sweet and thick, the fruit becoming dry very quickly on the fine textured but very persistent tannins that hang on the palate for quite a while. Definitely ageworthy, but not needing it, able to match up perfectly with any red meat prepared over fire and with a bit of char to it.

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July 08, 2010
2006 SPRINGFIELD ESTATE CHARDONNAY WILD YEAST
$19.99, $16.99/case
When the Gods are dropping triple digit temperatures, I’m guessing nobody could POSSIBLY be looking for a red wine as the Insider’s Pick. While Chardonnay may not be the sexiest choice out there, we scratched everyone’s itch for Ondarribi Zuri last week, so a bit of simplicity may be in order. Plus this wine does have its own bit of unique character to it, so we can promise this is not your typical oak/butter Chard.
Hailing from the Robertson district of the Breede River in South Africa, the wine is sourced from one of the cooler spots in what is otherwise a fairly warm region. Lots of variety in soils and microclimates allows for great diversity in wines produced, giving wineries freedom to pursue most any winemaking preferences and motivations. Springfield Estate tends to pursue various new and experimental methods in their approaches for almost all their wines in one way or another, most notably their Chardonnays. Both this and their Reserve are made using native yeasts present in the vineyards; the Reserve is called Methode Ancienne, referring to the old Burgundian practice they use for this wine of doing no filtering or stabilization in barrel. This wild yeast fermentation is very risky, as the native yeasts can ferment inconsistently, sometimes allowing a ‘bad’ yeast to show up and create off flavors, or even miss fermenting at all. Proponents believe the upside to these risks is the creation of a more complex and distinct flavored wine; with results like this wine, call us full fledged wild yeast fans. Unoaked and with a bit more age than one would initially expect from a Chardonnay, the complexity on the nose is immediately distinct, a combination of citrus blossoms and creamy lemon curd, with slight peeks of minerality in the background. The age is evident in the palate, where the youthful racy acidity has pulled back to reveal a naturally creamy and smooth texture that only the most ardent oaky/buttery follower would ever find tart. The absence of oak or butter also allows the natural flavors of the grape to come through in the mouth as well, mirroring the lemon character in the nose and intensifying it through the finish, picking up the last bits of minerality and skin tannins towards the end. A fantastic Chard for this kind of weather, and ideal with all manner of seafood featuring citrus.

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July 01, 2010
2009 TXOMIN ETXANIZ GETARIAKO TXAKOLINA
(WINE ADVOCATE 90 POINTS)
$22.99, $19.54/case
Yes, the name of this wine looks like the four worst draws of Scrabble ever, but when you push beyond that you find one of the great examples of wine from the Basque region of Spain available. Travelers know the region for the city of Bilbao, the Guggenheim Museum, and the rugged coastline that, when coupled with the mild climate, could almost be mistaken for the more undisturbed portions of the Sonoma Coast north of San Francisco. The cuisine is dominated by seafood, considered some of the freshest and most spectacular in Spain if not all of Europe, and the local white wines like this are the perfect foil.
Made from the local grape Ondarribi Zuri, you rarely see too many of them away from the region because there just isn’t that much vineyard space designated here, and they are consumed so fiercely in Bilbao there just isn’t much left to ship. Txomin Etxaniz is one of the best known of the small producers, located just meters from the seashore and producing some of the most bracing and exciting wines available. For a frame of reference, think of it as the most awesome and exciting Vinho Verde possible and you may get an idea where this wine is coming from. Clean and light and tipping in at a paltry 11%abv, the nose is almost as bracing as sea spray, full of green citrus and sort of salinity. In the mouth there is a slight tingle from the pinprick sized effervescence, but the raciness of the natural acidity and fresh apple and lime flavors provide the real zing here. Remember those ‘Irish Spring’ commercials where the guy would smell the bar of soap and get doused with a bucket of ‘cool spring water’ across the chops? Yeah, it’s like that. Break this out with the freshest and most simply prepared seafood you can get your hands on (shrimp, muscles, calamari) and prepare to be floored.

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June 24, 2010
2008 STEINDORFER BLAUFRANKISCH ALTE REBEN
$23.99, $20.39/case
We usually think of Blaufrankisch wines in comparison to grapes like Syrah for its darker fruits or Pinot Noir for its silkier texture. This wine goes to a whole new spectrum in the wine world, taking on the bold spice and intense fruit of Zinfandel. We actually happened to taste this for the first time with the distributor while we were pouring a Zinfandel to the public not too long ago, and to a man each employee liked this better than the Zin. One of the first things that attracted us to this Blaufrankisch was its ability to achieve the Zin-like spice and briary black fruits without tipping over the 14%+ alcohol level and giving the wine a heady, boozy sense. In fact, the wine is listed at only 13%abv, and the flesh and size of the wine shows not even the slightest notion of misplaced alcohol. On the nose there is an incredible mix of fresh picked red berries, black cherries and blackberries that swirl out so readily that you almost can’t resist drinking it from the moment the cork is pulled. Some patience earns more Pinot Noir-like subtleties of smoke, cola, and earth behind the ever changing red fruits. In the mouth the fruit is incredibly lush, again almost Pinot Noir-like, but with a blast of spicy red fruit across the palate that is just too intense to be a Pinot. The fruit is very full but not glycerol or jammy in any way, no sense of residual sugar or overripeness to meddle in the surprising purity and silky deliciousness. This has become a brand new favorite for grilling season around here, and it’s sure to be one for you too.
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June 17, 2010
2009 GEORGES VERNAY BLAH VIN DE PAYS DES COLLINES RHODANIENNES SYRAH ROSE 'DE MIRBAUDIE'
$15.99, $13.59/case
The month of June is starting to wane, and the temperatures outside are starting to reach the 90s with oppressive regularity, which can only mean two things. First is our yearly Wine Warehouse Anniversary celebration, which runs from earlier this week until the last day of June if you hadn’t seen the email earlier this week. Nice specials on all our wine and beer, as well as a nice Customer Appreciation Day this coming Saturday.
The second thing is more universal in the wine world, and that is the prime time enjoyment window for the best of the world’s dry roses. Most of the famous French rose comes from Provence and the Southern Rhone region of Tavel, where the land is broad and vineyards stretch out across the horizon. You don’t see nearly much rose originating in the Northern Rhone, where the vineyards almost dangle from the steep banks of the river. Space is precious and the wines are pricy, so you rarely see much juice spared to make rose, and even more rarely see it for a screaming good deal. But the rare is not the impossible; Halley’s Comet does show up every once in a while, Spain can get thumped by the Swiss in the World Cup, and a screaming good Northern Rhone rose value HAS, in fact, made its way into our store and our hearts. The house of Georges Vernay is well regarded for both Viognier from Condrieu and Syrah from Cote Rotie and St. Joseph, and we are lucky to have an importer that works so closely with them to be able to receive some of this rare and delicious wine. While not quite as salmon orange colored as the Provencal style tends to be, it is decidedly paler than the bright ruby colors of the Grenache based rose from Tavel and most of the Southern Rhone. Grenache tends to be riper in sugars at harvest, and while not sweet they do have a juicier cherry and ripe strawberry aroma and flavor, and their alcohol content can be a little bit elevated as well and give the rose a bit headier presence. The Syrah here strikes the perfect middle ground, showing wonderful ripe fruit aromas and flavors without any boozy distractions. Cherry skins, strawberry leaves, and pomegranate juice spin from the glass with each swirl, but the first sip hits the palate with much drier fruits and light tannins, even savory flavors hinting at sage. The acidity on the finish gives this plenty of food potential, from summer salads with a light vinaigrette up to salmon.

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June 10, 2010
2006 "r" GRAND VIN & CABERNET FRANC
$23.99, $20.39/case
Everything you thought you knew about Virginia wines is about to change. In much the same way the sparkling wines from Thibaut-Janisson redefined the style here in Virginia, we think the red wines from this label completely transform our expectations of what our state has the potential to produce. There are two keys to their exceptional character. First is the small size of their production. Painfully small. Pitifully small. Single barrel lots of no more than 40 cases each, so of course you won’t see these available all over creation. Genius starts in very small doses. The other key is the source of this genius, the brilliant young winemaker creating these gems. So passionate, knowledgeable, and skilled that had he chosen to pursue his craft in one of the more lucrative winemaking regions, we’d probably be reading about his in the trade magazines as ‘the next big thing’. When speaking about his wines, he drops quotes of scripture and Janis Joplin with equal ease, and he makes it hard for me to elaborate on anything he says about them. He has me –ME!- at a loss for words. Fortunately, during the Friday part of the Insider’s Pick tasting, the man we call ‘r’ will be in the store from about 3:30 to pick up my slack and truly tune you in to what he’s putting out there. For now I will do my best to just give the brass tacks and step politely out of the way to let the wines do the talking. The two wines available so far are the Grand Vin and the Cabernet Franc. On Thursday we will have the Grand Vin open to taste as that is the larger production (40 cases), and will have both wines available on Friday. The Grand Vin is a blend of Cabernet Franc and Merlot created with the mindset of a Bordeaux from St Emilion. The Cabernet Franc was source from some of the oldest vines in the state, and made with the mindset of the great Chinon wines from the Loire. While many Virginia wineries have paid tribute to these French winemaking regions, NO wines have captured their personality as well as this; the wines speak the French language with a southern twang.

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June 03, 2010
2008 CANTINA FRENTANA PECORINO COLLINE FRENTANE
$16.99, $14.44/case
You won’t find many wine retailers out there saying “Check out the awesome value on this Pecorino!” Actually, you won’t find many retailers saying “Check out this Pecorino!” If you ask, most would say “Pecorino? You must want the cheese shop down the street.” The Pecorino grape is another one of those old varieties that was nearly lost in the desire of many regions to plant the more hip and desirable ‘international’ grapes. In much the same way as the Godello grape from Spain we did in the Insider’s Pick several weeks back, Pecorino was nearly extinct a few decades ago, so much so that, at the time of its renaissance, there were no cultivated vines remaining, and that it had to be identified from wild vines and re-established. The grape name comes from the same origin as the cheese (Pecora=sheep); the rumor is these grapes were planted mostly on the very outside of vineyard rows, and when sheep were shepherded past from one field to the next they would eat the less prized Pecorino grapes instead of the more valuable varieties further in. The grape had a reputation for being problematic to get from vine to wine, and in regions like the Marches where modern winemaking techniques were slow to arrive, most farmers didn’t have the time or patience to deal with problems when they could be making other wines more easily. The Pecorino revival has been slowly growing (even with modern equipment yields are lowish, so there just isn’t a lot to go around) but they are starting to gain momentum. By a largely circumstantial twist, we tasted 3 different bottlings in the span of a few weeks, when we hadn’t seen more than one per year (if that). This really shows off the grape’s unique aromatics and surprising quality without upcharging for the rarity of the experience. Golden in color, almost Chardonnay, the aromas are all peaches and cream with hints of cool mint and sage, juicy but not tropical. In the mouth the texture is impressively plush, showcasing the soft ripe fruits with just a glimmer of acidity and citrus peel across the back of the palate. The round soft texture will appeal to the Chardonnay drinkers out there, but the flavors within are more complex and interesting, like it’s painting in 3-D while Chardonnay is only painting in 2-D. While it isn’t likely Pecorino will be the next big flavor sensation to sweep the four corners of the globe, this is a great wine to explore the unique personalities that live in each variety, and at a price that will make you happy no matter what the name is in your glass.

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May 27, 2010
2006 DOMINIO DEL PLATA BENMARCO ‘EXPRESIVO’
(Wine Advocate 92points)
$29.99, $25.49/case
Going into the Memorial Day weekend we have a nice little three day tasting lineup of Argentinean wines. Starting Thursday and Friday with our usual Insider’s Pick wine, we will segue into a very special Saturday tasting featuring the wines from Luca Winery. This is the winery started by Laura Catena, daughter of winemaker and founder of Catena Zapata winery Nicolas Catena. The wines Saturday will be presented by assistant winemaker and export manager Celeste Pesce. For the Insider’s Pick, we feature one of the top quality/dollar ratio wines you will find over $20 anywhere in the store. The Benmarco label is the creation of Susana Balboa, one of Argentina’s most reputable and long serving winemakers of any gender, and one of the very top female winemakers in the world, on par with Helen Turley or Heidi Peterson Barrett in California. We have featured lots of her wines in the past, mostly her entry level ‘Crios’ line which features one of the most highly regarded Torrontes wines in Argentina every year, as well as her signature line. The Benmarco wines are her premium line, created in concert with her viticulturalist husband Pedro Marchevsky using small plots of older vines spread across Mendoza. The Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec are outstanding, but Expresivo is their crowning achievement, a Malbec-dominated wine with equal additions of Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Petit Verdot, and Tannat. Deep and inky in the glass, the wine explodes from the starting blocks with waves of blue and black fruits that are rich but not sweet and cloying, showing no excessive heat, indeed very cultured and balanced with notes of smoke and spice and something that reminds me of old hardwood furniture, a worn and polished mahogany. In the mouth the wine has all the power and complexity of a $50 California Cabernet Sauvignon, flexes its muscles across the palate without over-saturating it with extracted fruit, and showing extremely silky and well integrated tannins. Where many Argentine wines would be dominated by strong oak or overabundant fruit and oak on the finish, the Tannat and Petit Verdot included in the blend bring a bit of high toned red fruit flavors and sensations of grape and cherry skin tartness. This shows plenty of aging potential because of its fine structure and good acidity, but has all kinds of food friendly possibilities now as well.
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