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INSIDER'S PICK: 2017 MARIETTA CELLARS 'CHRISTO' NORTH COAST (Vinous 90-93pts) $21.99

9/30/2021

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Even though we will not be doing the public tasting portion of the Insider's Pick until further notice, we will still be offering the wine for purchase with the usual 10% discount. The wines will still be ones we highly recommend, and the tasting notes will still be our own. We will be returning to doing just the one wine on Thursdays and Fridays until further notice. We hope you are able to come by and get some wines to enjoy.
Marietta Cellars and the Bilbro family are true royalty in the Sonoma/North Coast wine world, into their third generation of viticulture and genuine stewards of the land for all the historic vineyards they tend. Their most famous and widely available wine is their non-vintage 'Lot' series Old Vine Red, a value oriented throwback to the historic Californian field blends made by hundreds of immigrant families from the later 1800s well into the 1900s from the vineyards they cultivated and harvested, for sustenance well before they became fashionable or profitable. The next tier up from the OVR is their 'Family' series, three wines named after important figured in the Bilbro family, built from a more stringent selection of varieties and vineyards and with a specific historic blend in mind. One focuses on Zinfandel based blends, one on Cabernet Sauvignon based Meritage blends, and this one (named after Chris, founder of Marietta Cellars) based off of Rhone blends. The one slight Californi-fication that takes place is the substitution of Petite Sirah for Mourvedre, but otherwise they have the aura of a Southern Rhone down to a T, right down to even co-fermenting a slight bit of Viognier for a little extra pop of aromatics. Deep black fruits and dark spice on the nose, but also a coolness and a touch of smokiness as a lot of the Syrah comes from some of the cooler areas of North Coast, which really helps keep the fruit fresh and alive. On the palate the fruit is intense and immediate, filling your mouth with loads of blackberry and raspberry tones, but still has lots of savory to show and acidity keep the finish from feeling cloying or plodding. A great cooler weather wine to help warm your insides, both with the quality of wine as well as the history of the family behind it. 


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INSIDER'S PICK: 2019 HEATHEN WINES 'CUVEE CREMISI' RED BALLARD CANYON SANTA BARBARA COUNTY $38.99

9/23/2021

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Even though we will not be doing the public tasting portion of the Insider's Pick until further notice, we will still be offering the wine for purchase with the usual 10% discount. The wines will still be ones we highly recommend, and the tasting notes will still be our own. We will be returning to doing just the one wine on Thursdays and Fridays until further notice. We hope you are able to come by and get some wines to enjoy.
If a customer comes to us and says 'hey, would you like to try my new wine label?' we usually would respond with a healthy dose of side-eye and a heartfelt 'maybe'. If that customer is an accomplished Level 3 Master Sommelier, educator, heretic and all-around smartypants like Heath Porter, we listen. We listen even closer when we hear the fruit is from a choice site in Ballard Canyon and vinification was done via his friends at  Melville Winery. Once we got to taste it, we were all in. Primarily Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon with equal doses of Sangiovese and Cabernet Franc, this was built with the same fun spirit and 'no rules/all taste' mentality those 'other' brands used to have early on before they became formulaic and lost all sense of personality or distinction. The single source gives the wine character: Ballard Canyon is a cool climate pocket in Santa Barbara, bringing better acidity and tension to the fruit, as well as the use of Sangiovese and Cabernet Franc to pop the palate and brighten the aromatics. Immediately pleasurable aromas from the get-go filled with intense dark cherry, cassis, and spiced black fruits that get warmer and richer as it opens up. The palate is where this really steps away from the competition, showing great life and brightness that bring complexity and interest to the fruit, not a plodding sweetness that hits like a soggy sponge. Completely fun to drink if you just want to kick back and not think about it, but full of thought-provoking context if you do. 


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INSIDER'S PICK: 2020 PATRICIA GREEN CELLARS 'DOLLAR BILLS ONLY' PINOT NOIR WILLAMETTE VALLEY $22.99

9/16/2021

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Even though we will not be doing the public tasting portion of the Insider's Pick until further notice, we will still be offering the wine for purchase with the usual 10% discount. The wines will still be ones we highly recommend, and the tasting notes will still be our own. We will be returning to doing just the one wine on Thursdays and Fridays until further notice. We hope you are able to come by and get some wines to enjoy.

The best wineries are the ones that can make delicious wines out of imperfect fruit. Patricia Green Cellars is definitely one of the great producers in Oregon, and what they would call 'imperfect' by their standards is pretty darn excellent for others. This is a value wine Patty Green Cellars doesn't set out to make every year, but some vintages give them enough fruit for it; not QUITE good enough to make it into their long lived single vineyard series, but not so weak that they choose to sell it off. From the 2020 vintage this is built from five vineyard sites (including the esteemed Freedom Hill Vineyard and their own Estate vineyards in Ribbon Ridge) and these lots were separated out early on to go into this easy-drinking treasure. The jukebox picture on the label (taken from a local Dundee joint) says 'Music For Everyone', and Dollar Bills Only takes that spirit to be a wine for everyone. Pure tank aged fruit on the nose is juicy and immediate, loaded with cherry and spiced raspberry, but also shows the breeding of its vineyard sources as it opens up with subtle notes of tar and savory notes. The palate is very soft and polished, full of juicy flavors that have a nice snap to the finish that's almost crunchy. Many wines like this would feel more extracted and saturated, but because the decision was made on these lots early the juice has a lighter body while still fully ripe in flavor, and cozies in under 13%abv without losing a bit of character. This is a great casual wine with some serious pedigree that really propels it well beyond its pop-and-pour nature. Also one of the rare Oregon Pinots we highly encourage you to NOT age, as this is built to consume on the quick.


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INSIDER'S PICK: 2019 DACAPO RUCHE DI CASTAGNOLE MONFERRATO $22.99

9/9/2021

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Even though we will not be doing the public tasting portion of the Insider's Pick until further notice, we will still be offering the wine for purchase with the usual 10% discount. The wines will still be ones we highly recommend, and the tasting notes will still be our own. We will be returning to doing just the one wine on Thursdays and Fridays until further notice. We hope you are able to come by and get some wines to enjoy.
Despite all the fame and international attention a wine region like the Piedmont has in Italy, they can still contain some unfamiliar or forgotten treasures that deserve to be re-discovered. Ruche is admittedly a bit of an odd duck relative to the more noted grapes of the region like Nebbiolo, Dolcetto, and Barbera, but that exotic side is what makes it so worthwhile. You also don't find much if any of it made as an inexpensive 'jug wine' as it isn't an easy or high volume grape from a growing perspective, so it's always been a niche wine for those willing to really go off the beaten path. The uniqueness comes from the nose, a surprising dichotomy of white wine flowery aromatics naturally overlaid with savory red tones, so much so you would swear it had been blended versus naturally occurring. Poured in a dark glass (or done blindfolded if you really trust your drinking companions) the burst of wildflowers and red citrus don't call many other red wine comparisons to mind, though after some time open the cherry, dried strawberry and savory tones do start poking through. On the palate the  roles are reversed, showing a lot more of the red fruits and wild game with just a touch of white fruits coming through on the juicy texture, finishing on a drying note with fine but firm tannins. This has a similar appeal to a Beaujolais but with more intensity and a bit more body, and can do the same type of pairing of cured meats, as well as stuffed pastas with blue cheese, aromatic meat dishes like strongly fennel-d sausages.

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INSIDER'S PICK: 2019 PHILIPPE GRISARD MONDEUSE NOIR 'CONSTANCE' ARBIN $26.99

9/2/2021

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Even though we will not be doing the public tasting portion of the Insider's Pick until further notice, we will still be offering the wine for purchase with the usual 10% discount. The wines will still be ones we highly recommend, and the tasting notes will still be our own. We will be returning to doing just the one wine on Thursdays and Fridays until further notice. We hope you are able to come by and get some wines to enjoy.

This is a callback to when we first got this winery in back in July, available thanks to the tireless efforts of one of our great local importers (get well soon, D!). Savoie has been more known historically for their white wines, and deservedly so as they are such a large part of their production. In recent years the reds from their local grape called Mondeuse have grown in interest, especially as more wine drinkers start looking for less aggressive or alcoholic options. The cool climate and relatively compressed growing season doesn't allow the grapes to develop as much sugar as those in other areas, so the final alcohol tends to run in the 12%-%13.5 range, even when the grapes reach their best potential and are fully ripened. If pushed to compare it to something else, Mondeuse exists somewhere in the theoretical Venn diagram between Pinot Noir and Gamay/Beaujolais, carrying a lot of the textures of the former and the savory fruit profile of the other. So if you're a fan of those two types of grapes, this should definitely be on your to-do list. Youthful and plum colored in the glass, the first aromas are mostly savory dark berry and forest floor, but build to dark cherry skins and wild game with some much needed air. The palate is polished with some firm tannins that need some air to soften out, so patience definitely is needed with this wine, but well rewarded. Excellent with lamb, cured meats or savory pot roasts.

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    The Best of the Best. 

    We offering free tastings on these wines in the store every Thursday and Friday,  and a 10% discount off the retail price through the duration of the day. Come on by and give them a try!

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