 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 on Thursday and Friday. 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 general hierarchy for wine grapes in the Piedmont has Nebbiolo at the top, followed by Barbera and Dolcetto. At one time Barbera was actually at the top of this trio, until Nebbiolo based wines evolved and improved to become the long lived world class icons they are now.Very little vineyard space in the famed Barolo and Barbaresco growing regions is used for any grapes other than Nebbiolo because the wines and land are so prized. The occasional exceptions are often small, family owned plots scattered here and there that need to produce something special to justify maintaining their place among vines that could be earning a lot more money. This is very much one of those exceptions. Azelia is a small family estate in the famous hilltop town of Castiglione Falletto, recently celebrating their 100th anniversary of producing wine under their name. 'Punta' is a vineyard site at the top of one of many smaller hills surrounding Falletto, where Azelia has maintained a small 2+acre plot of Barbera with vines now exceeding 60 years of age. This is very close to the pinnacle of what Barbera can achieve, offering both intense black fruits and spicy, leathery savory tones with the brightness and fresh feeling palate the varietal is well known for at every price point. The little bit of extra bottle age brings out a bit of added polish to the texture as well as some tobacco leaf and old leather chair aromas, and could probably evolve well for another decade or more, but is in a wonderfully approachable place right now. Deserves to be paired with a great hearty meal with lots of roasted vegetables and meaty/mushroom-y main dishes.
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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 on Thursday and Friday. 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.
While the weather outside today may be a bit frightful, this wine should help to make everything else delightful. It's another journey into the more unique/esoteric side of Californian winemaking, this time with one of our favorite residents of Santa Barbara. For over 20 years Stolpman has been a champion of Rhone styled wines, most notably Syrah and the red varieties, but touching on the whole spectrum at their groundbreaking property in Ballard Canyon. Roussanne is the start of the most alluring, haunting and heavily discussed White Chateauneuf-du-Papes made, but is a bit tricky to grow so you don't see it experimented with as much as its usual partner grapes Grenache Blanc and Marsanne. When it's done right, though, it's otherworldly, and the Stolpman property really helps the grape achieve great heights. Chardonnay is a bit unique as a partner grape, but it isn't being brought in to feature any oaky/buttery flavors, instead adding a richer mouthfeel and bright citrus to the late ripening and often lower acidity Roussanne profile. The wine is built very naturally and fairly 'hands-off' with no filtering and a lower alcohol profile, so the aromatic power of the Roussanne is on high profile from the very start. Intense citrus oils and tropical fruit roll from the glass immediately, getting more layered and exotic over time as well as a bit of salinity. The Chardonnay brings a nice weight to the palate without feeling cloying which can often happen with a 100% Roussanne wine, and helps maintain a fresh sensation to he finish with the big flavors still performing to the end. The wine was first concocted in the 2016 vintage for a sushi group in Austin TX, and the pairing makes absolute sense, as well as richer pork or poultry dishes.  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 on Thursday and Friday. 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 Rubus line of wines are sprinkled around the store in a variety of countries, all of which represent excellent values for where they're from. The brand was created by one of Virginia's top international importers working with their most trusted wineries to source good juice for great prices. Dollar for dollar they have been some of the best values we can get our hands on from Europe, Australia, South America, and even California. Zinfandel and Cabernet Sauvignon have been the backbone of their Cali line, and this marks the first foray into Pinot Noir, with fruit sourced from the Russian River Valley. This has all the hallmarks of the RRV signature style, except for the price tag. A deep ruby in the glass with loads of immediate, modern red fruits and blackberry on the nose with a touch of oaky toast, this gets open for business fairly quickly but earns some brambly spice as it opens up. The palate is equally up front with the fruits, with some nice acidity that brightens up the mouthfeel, gives the juicy textures some freshness. This punches well over its dollar mark for cocktails, can also go to the dinner table with salmon or pork dishes with some glaze or aromatic spicing.  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 on Thursday and Friday. 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.
Kind of hard to pick a wine to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. Snag all the great craft brewed Irish styled beers you want, we've got some great ones! Wine is tricky; considered some of the 'green wine' of Vinho Verde, but a little too on the nose. This fresh new Vernaccia works for us in our usual abstract and circuitous way, but it gets there and will be great. Vernaccia is the white wine of greatest importance in Tuscany, the first wine in all of Italy to receive a DOC designation when the system was enacted in 1966, and among the very few white wines to be elevated further to DOCG status. You very rarely find one made to be high end or collectible, so there isn't a lot of hype around them. What they do provide is a dependable unique freshness that is extremely food friendly, VERY fairly priced, and a true Italian classic. Clear in color with a slight greenish tint (for St Patty's Day!), the nose is crisp and fresh with a little nod of a Sauvignon Blanc-like grassy note but more green citrus and white flowers to the aromas. The palate is where it really shines, clean and vibrant with lots melon zest and green citrus, very tingly to the finish with a lingering minty/mineral sensation. Great with oysters, lighter pork and poultry dishes, and can cut through that corned beef and cabbage quite nicely. INSIDER'S PICK: 2019 DESCENDIENTES DE J. PALACIOS PETALOS DE BIERZO (Wine Advocate 93+points) $26.993/10/2022  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 on Thursday and Friday. 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.
Anyone that has enjoyed a glass of wine from the Mencia grape in Spain over the last few decades owes at least a nod if not a full debt of gratitude to the Descendientes de J. Palacios winery. Founder Alvaro Palacios was first recognized in the early 1990s as part of the group that reintroduced high quality wines from Priorat, as well as the first proponent of Biodynamic viticulture in Spain. By the end of the 90s Alvaro looked to become a pioneer in another part of the country by teaming with his nephew Ricardo Perez to elevate the wines of the Bierzo region. At the most Northwestern corner of Old Castile on the border of Galicia, Bierzo was largely forgotten in the wine world, as well as the native Mencia grape both here and in the eastern Galician regions. The Descendientes project revitalized the best old vineyards in Bierzo, enough so that they were quickly able to introduce this value oriented multi-vineyard 'Petalos' bottling, sourced from as many as 180 individual growers. Polished and fairly modern in character, but still capable of showing the freshness and deep perfume character that long drew comparisons of Mencia to Cabernet Franc. Peppery plum and darker fruits, velvety and plush on the palate with very little oak showing through even in its youth (stronger oak being a common trait in the earlier versions), allowing some of the minerality through that's borne from the schist heavy soils in the best older plots. A very trend-setting wine that should expose many to a wine they never knew they wanted until they tried it! INSIDER'S PICK: 2020 VINOS LIBRES 'EL JEFE (GRANDE)' TEMPRANILLO TIERRA DE CASTILLA Y LEON $15.99/1L3/3/2022  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 on Thursday and Friday. 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.
A little something easier this week for everyone to enjoy. Or should we say 'a Grande something'. This has to be one of the most glug-able and social wines we have in the store for so many reasons. At this price point in Spain you would usually be looking at a fairly mass marketed assemblage of sources, but for this it's all sourced from a single set of family run vineyards, all managed using sustainable farming practices. The juice is aged in concrete tanks that helps show off the deep fruit, and allows the wine to show well without much filtration to provide a richer than usual texture. All of this falls in a wine that is NOT the usual big and boozy style that many warm climate reds wind up in, instead actually keeping some wonderful freshness. And oh yeah, a nice liter bottle to help you splash it around to a few more people at the table. Round juicy black fruits and warm spice throughout, definitely a more modern style Tempranillo than old school, but so satisfying and full of value.  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 on Thursday and Friday. 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.
Anyone that has enjoyed the vastly improved quality of wines produced in the Muscadet region owe a debt of gratitude to Marc Ollivier and the wines of Pepiere. In the 80s when virtually all the wine in the region was made by co-operatives buying and blending fruit from all over, Domaine de la Pepiere was one of the very few making their own wines, and perhaps the first to be trying to elevate their wines into something a little more special. Identifying more unique soils and older vines to make more singular wines, extending the time on the lees during the time in tank before bottling to intensify the flavors, all things that take more effort than the general population thought the wines were worth. Now, most every Muscadet that's worth the time to export has some of those techniques involved in the making, and all for the better. Their Briords bottling (once labeled Clos du Briords) is one of their originals, from a single site of vines now approaching 50-70 years old; it isn't located within one of the 'Cru' areas of Muscadet, but is a site as distinct and important as any vineyard in the region. A clear green/gold in the glass, the aromas are all coastline and citrus, wet seashells and limes, oyster water and melon rind. It's one of the most 'of the sea' wines out there and why good ones like this draw comparison to Chablis. The lees aging gives the palate a lot of its weight and texture, making the acidity and salinity feel juicy and mouth-watering instead of hard edged. Muscadet in general is one of the great shellfish wines out there, this one just takes it to the next level.  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 on Thursday and Friday. 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.
We revisit the Kellerei Kaltern co-operative winery fairly frequently for all of our various features here. Just can't help ourselves, too much quality and easily the best bang for the buck we can find from the Alto Adige. They also provide great introductions to some of the lesser known regional varieties, helping people learn that it's not just Pinot Grigio country up there. Schiava is a relatively unknown variety that has a lot of parallels to Gamay in Beaujolais, in that it produces a fairly soft and pale wine which doesn't make for earth-shattering high end wines, but is perfect for easy drinking everyday purposes. Transparent ruby and cherry colors in the glass with lots of dark cherry and violet flowers on the nose, as well as a (Gamay-esque) tone of wild game and smoke. On the palate the cool tones and higher acidity/lower abv takes the fruit into more tart cranberry and berry skins, while the powder fine tannins give the flavors and finish a very easy and enjoyable feel. Very quenching with light meals and charcuterie, something that doesn't need a lot of pomp and circumstance around it.  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 on Thursday and Friday. 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.
We might be trying to will in some Spring weather with this wine, hoping Puxsutawney Phil's hit rate of only 40% the last decade continues for this year. Ventoux is the less famous next door neighbor to the heart of the Southern Rhone, with all the known addresses like Chateauneuf-du-Pape, Gigondas, Rasteau, et al. While the region has equal longevity in its production to the other parts of the Rhone, dating back to the Roman era, there has never been higher achieving producers that brought the world's attention to the name and driven the success -and prices- forward. Pesquie as a farm and vineyard dates back to the1750s and became an independent wine producer in the late 1980s, achieving great success knowing its ALWAYS cool to be the best deal in town. Their 'Terrasses' series always hits well above the price point, and the white is a particular unicorn as the region trends towards having fewer white varieties planted. Predominantly Viognier with healthy portions of Roussanne, Clairette, and Grenache Blanc, the flowery aromas of the Viognier rule over the nose, with the other varieties turning down the volume a little bit and adding some tropical citrus notes. Those varieties come through more on the palate, adding some acidity and zest, bringing out more citrus tones and providing a mouthwatering freshness to the finish. A great Spring-ish salad or light seafood wine, good to have as a staple around the house.  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 on Thursday and Friday. 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.
Not the usual type of wine to do for a February Insider's, and a touch higher in price than we usually feature. But this is a fascinating wine from an equally fascinating source, and it deserves our full attention. Most of the excitement for older heritage vineyards in California centers around Zinfandel plantings (deservedly so because of their age and because there are so many of them), but there are corners and pockets all over the state that feature all sorts of other long lived and well loved vines, and there are more and more producers like this that embrace them. There is no 'Ruth' here, more of a nom de plume for owner/winemaker Evan Lewandowski and his deep seated agricultural beliefs ('Death is, indeed, the engine of life'). The wines here are very 'hands off' in style, and they pull from some of the most unique sites in the state. Cole Ranch is the smallest declared AVA in America, a single property in a pocket valley high up in Mendocino County first planted in the early 1970s. Cool climates gives the grapes extended time to ripen, and distinct soils impart a little extra nuance, resulting in one of the more exotic dry Rieslings you will come across from North American soils.The nose starts out with lots of cool white fruits but gets more intensely floral as it opens up; fairly new to the bottle, so this is a white that does very well with some decanting if possible to really unlock the nuance. After a while it gets into the stone fruits and even a bit of the orange citrus world, a lot more diverse than your usual Rieslings would. The palate has a lot of flesh and weight to it despite being quite dry, with a little bit of mineral zip to the finish to help lighten the load. Think Alsatian style dry Riesling with a little bit more pizzazz. |
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! Archives
June 2022
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