2006 TREVOR JONES VIRGIN CHARDONNAY
(Wine Advocate 90 points)
•Click Here•
|
|
 |
|
July 2008
|
Select Six Archives:
June 2008
May 2008
April 2008
March 2008
|
Total combined regular cost $86.94
For July they are only $74.99
You save $11.95!
All Red Select Six - $65.99
All White Select Six - $83.99 |
2007 JOEL DELAUNAY SAUVIGNON BLANC TOURAINE
The Loire is one of the world’s greatest
environments for growing Sauvignon Blanc. At the top end are the
wines from Sancerre and Pouilly-Fume, producing some of the most
breathtaking wines made from the grape. For value, you just can’t
do any better than Touraine, the region occupying the center of
the Loire Valley and location for many of the famous Loire Chateaux.
There are many large scale producers making high volume wines,
but there are just as many small producers creating wines of distinction,
often only a fraction more expensive than the high volume stuff.
The Delaunay family have been working their vines near the Cher
River for five generations and making their own wines since 1971.
This Sauvignon Blanc provides a wonderful balance between ripe
fruit and herbaceous acids, full of grapefruit and white citrus
aromas with hints of anise and wet stones. In the mouth the fruit
is juicy with loads of tingling acidity punctuating all sides
of your mouth. This is a perfect warm weather wine, ideal with
light salad courses or seafood, or as a refresher during the humid
evenings ahead.
Regular price $14.99, $12.74/case
|
2006 ALAMOS BONARDA MENDOZA
The Alamos line of wines are the entry level products from Bodegas
Catena Zapata, widely considered on the very short list of THE
best wineries in Argentina. From the excellence of their highest
end wines to the immensely consistent quality of all the wines
in the Alamos wines, Catena Zapata is one of the best top to bottom
wineries in the Southern Hemisphere. The Bonarda grape is a lesser
known varietal from Italy’s Piedmont brought to Argentina
during the late 1800s by immigrants. For most of the last century
the grape was relegated to mostly grunt work, making soft fruity
jug wines of little substance or quality. As Argentinean wines
have improved over the last few decades, older vineyards of Bonarda
have been identified to create more substantial wines, often featured
in blends with the more famous Malbec or Cabernet Sauvignon grapes.
Soft, spicy plum and red cherry aromas flow quite easily from
the glass shortly after pouring, and the ripe fruit in the mouth
is surprisingly smooth, with just a hint of some tarry tannins
on the finish. This is a big crowd-pleaser wine, sure to impress
every party-goer or dinnertime guest.
Regular price $10.99, $9.34/case
|
2006 HEARTLAND WINES STICKLEBACK RED SOUTH AUSTRALIA
(Wine Advocate 90points)
Winemaker Ben Glaetzer is one of the hot young commodities is
Australia. As the son of a top winemaker (father Colin created
the renowned E&E Black Pepper Shiraz and the Ebenezer line
of wines for Barossa Valley Estate Winery in the 1980s) Ben was
able to get early access to the greatest winemaking knowledge
in the country at an early age. In the late 1990s, he and his
father started their own label, making limited production old
vine Shiraz and Cabs, and Ben also began working for a new winery
called Mitolo. Over the next few years both the Glaetzer and Mitolo
labels began receiving huge press from reviewers like Robert Parker
and Wine Spectator, and Ben became one of the Barossa’s
hot shots. More recently, Ben joined in with some other partners
to create the Heartland Wines project, focusing one more value
oriented wines from the Langhorne Creek and Limestone Coast regions.
The Stickleback is a Cabernet Sauvignon based blend that showcases
the cooler character of the two wine regions while still maintaining
good ripeness. Deep red fruit aromas are tempered with notes of
smoke, tar, and savory herbs that seem almost Rhone-like. In the
mouth the flavors are intense and ripe, but do show some restraint,
balanced by the cool climate acidity which helps keep the fruit
from feeling sappy and sweet. Another great wine to do with grilled
foods this summer.
Regular price $13.99, $11.89/case |
2005 WEINGUT Joh. HAART PIESPORTER GOLDTROPFCHEN RIESLING KABINETT
We never need a reason to enjoy a great German Riesling around
here, but this one provides plenty of occasion for celebration.
This is a stunning wine from the remarkable 2005 vintage, a year
in Germany and much of Europe that had picture perfect growing
conditions all year long, creating immense volumes of top quality
juice. The wines from the town of Piesport on the Mosel River
have had a great reputation for high quality since Roman times,
but in recent years became associated with mediocrity when the
town lent its name to vineyards in the flatlands across the river.
Where the original Piesporter vineyards are in a steeply sloped
amphitheatre above the town like all the other great Mosel vineyards,
the ‘new’ vineyards don’t ripen grapes nearly
as well, and are planted to inferior grapes. These wines usually
carry the ‘Michelsberg’ designation on the label,
and should be avoided if possible. The Goldtropfchen vineyard
is one of Piesporter’s most distinctive and legendary vineyards,
producing some of the most powerful Riesling on the Mosel. As
a Kabinett, the wine shows some lush honeyed fruit but still allows
plenty of stony minerality through. Juicy pear and pineapple fruit
aromas fill the air above the glass and saturate the palate on
first taste, with wet stone acidity and hints of CO2 on the palate
helping to give the wine less sugary weight. German wine fans
will enjoy cellaring a profound wine like this for a decade or
more to develop more subtle character and lower the feel of the
residual sugar, but there is so much pleasure now, it will be
hard to find many bottles making it that long.
Regular price $16.99, $14.44/case
|
2006 DOMAINE de la CROIX SENAILLET MACON DAVAYE
If you are a fan of white Burgundy, 2006 will
provide a lot of the enjoyment the 2005s did, with very little
drop in quality for most estates. In most examples, the 06s will
have a bit brighter citrus character and brighter acidity then
the 05s, showing a bit less power in the fruit. But if you are
a fan of stonier, more terroir driven Burgs, you may even like
this vintage better. The Macon region of Burgundy is most famous
for the wines from Pouilly-Fuisse, but its greatest contribution
to the wine world is the large amounts of quality value wines
made by small producers in the many villages scattered throughout
the region. Over the last few vintages this producer has made
some of the best deals we found, and 2006 shapes up to be more
of the same. Unoaked, the wine exudes bright citrus and white
flower aromas, with a cooling zip of minerality hinting in the
background. The weight in the mouth is surprisingly ripe for the
money, bringing more melon and honeyed flavors into the palate,
but never feels heavy thanks to the fine acidity present, keeping
the fruit lively and clean through the finish. For an unpretentious,
easy to enjoy white wine for the summertime, you just can’t
beat wines like this.
Regular price $16.99, $14.44/case |
2006 LES GARRIGUES COTES DU RHONE
Thanks to the large growing area and a string of great vintages
putting copious amounts of good wine in the market, the Cotes
du Rhone still remains a great value for full flavored red wines.
The term ‘garrigues’ refers to the wild brush, scrub,
and herbs that grows across much of southern France. Because it
is so prevalent and an integral part of the environment, the term
is used for many wineries’ special cuvees, so the term will
look familiar to many Rhone fanatics. This particular bottling
is made as a special contract bottling for importer Michael Skurnik,
sourced from one property and made exclusively for export. Grenache
based, with a splash of Syrah blended in, the wine is a picture
perfect Cotes du Rhone, full of ripe red fruit aromas and spicy,
herbal notes in the background. The mouth is ripe and generous,
but not overdone or overwhelmed by alcohol, remaining well behaved
to allow subtle textures and flavors to come through. This is
great with grilled foods, from burgers to steaks, and has the
stuffing to evolve well for the next few years. This is worth
loading up by the fistful.
Regular price $12.99, $11.04/case
|
|
|
