New and Notable Wines
2007 Pine Ridge Chenin Blanc ~ Viognier
Pine Ridge is right in the center of the acclaimed Stag's Leap District in Napa, which consistently yields some excellent wines. Stacy Clark, winemaker for Pine Ridge, makes wines of great texture, balance and flavor that demonstrate the distinct characteristics of the various Pine Ridge vineyards. The fruity floral signature of Chenin Blanc and the fragrant bouquet of Viognier make up this unique bottling. Pine Ridge was the first California winery to develop this original blend.
The fruity floral signature of Chenin Blanc and the fragrant bouquet of Viognier make up this unique bottling. Pine Ridge was the first California winery to develop this original blend. Floral and sweet on the nose, the 2007 Chenin Blanc-Viognier exhibits fragrant aromas of pear, lychee and melon, with a delicate touch of grapefruit, lime and mixed citrus. Sweet, bright flavors of lively citrus and pear are offered up along with a supple texture. The slightly off-dry finish is clean and crisp, marked with notes of red grapefruit. Enjoy now or cellar for two years. - $15.99 / $13.59 case price
Le Volte Le Volte 2005
Elegant and enjoyable, the 2005 vintage is characterized by ample fruity, slightly spicy notes. Produced following closely the Tenuta dell'Ornellaia's philosophy, Le Volte is the result of the research and selection of the best Mediterranean terroirs in Tuscany. It matures for about 10 months in 2-4 year old barriques which have been previously used for the aging of Masseto and Ornellaia.
The Mediterranean expression of Sangiovese gives the wine opulence and warmth while structure and complexity are provided by Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. The result is a harmonious, balanced, well-structured wine with an enjoyable finish. 90 Pts Robert Parker - $30.99
2005 Doña Paula Seleccion De Bodega Malbec
A growing number of consumers are discovering the Malbec grape variety. In most parts of the world, it serves only as a blending grape in Bordeaux or Meritage blends. Historically, it has been Argentina’s flagship red, championed by most wineries. About 20,000 hectares of Malbec is growing in Argentina. “The wines are generally much more ripe and lush than their French counterparts, although they are similarly capable of extended aging,” writes Jancis Robinson.
Viña Doña Paula, an emerging Argentine winery, has decided to specialize in Malbec. Top of the line from Doña Paula are the wines it calls “seleccion de bodega,” produced only during exceptional vintages. This deep and complex Malbec is derived from the property’s oldest vines - 30 years old - and grown under strictly limited production. There is such a limited allocation of this wine that it is available only from very limited sources. This wine is rich and dark in appearance. The aromas show plums and vanilla (the wine spent 18 months in French oak, hence the vanilla). On the palate, there are layers of flavor: plums, liquorice, vanilla. The texture is concentrated but the long, ripe tannins give the wine a long, satisfying finish. A textbook Malbec. - $42.99
2004 Niner “Boot Jack Ranch” Merlot
Owner Dick Niner’s attachment to Paso Robles and the bounty of its land came from his early upbringing on a rural farm in West Virginia. His purchase of Bootjack Ranch, a 224 acre property on the east side of the Salinas River in Paso Robles, became the foundation of Niner Wine Estates. Bootjack Ranch boasts the hearty red varietals that Paso Robles is known for producing; Syrah, Merlot, Barbera, Sangiovese, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon.
Grapes for this wine were grown at Bootjack Ranch. The blend is 85% Merlot 10% Cabernet Sauvignon 5% Cabernet Franc. Aromas of cherry plum and fig as well as dusty, chocolatey oak are followed by smooth fruit flavors and a balanced tannin profile. This wine has great texture and structure, approachability and age-ability. Suggested food pairings: Succulent Baked Short Ribs, Open Face Turkey Sandwich, BBQ Chicken Quesadillas. Fabulous!!! - $21.99
2004 Castano Solanera
This week we bring you a proprietary blend from Yecla, Spain. Yecla, situated in the North of Murcia, is at a height of 1500/2000 feet above sea level. Yecla has continental weather, with hot summers and cold winters with a rain rate of around 20 inches per year, which produces a unique wine-growing climate for Monastrell (Mourvedre), Garnacha Tintorera (Grenache), and Cabernet Sauvignon.
The 2004 Solanera is a blend of 65% Monastrell, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 15% Tintorera raised in French oak. More complex than its siblings, this purple-colored wine offers fragrant aromas of spice box, smoke, blueberry pie and blackberry liqueur. Full-bodied, the wine is plush and full-flavored with enough structure to support several years of additional bottle age. It should drink well for 8-10 years. Number 33 on the Wine.com 100 of 2007! 92 Points - Wine Advocate - $15.99
2005 Pardevalles Gamonal ( Prieto Picudo)
90 points from the Wine Advocate! They say, "The Pardevalles winery, located in the new D.O. of Tierras de Leon (created in 2005), works exclusively with the indigenous Prieto Picudo grape. The 2005 Gamonal, which was aged for 6 months in a mixture of new and used French and American oak, is purple-colored with an excellent nose of vanilla, blueberry and blackberry. This is followed by a medium to full-bodied, elegant wine with ripe, sweet fruit and enough structure for 2-3 years of further evolution. Made from the wacky grape variety, Prieto Picudo. The vines are traditionally grown underground with the producers having to prop up the vines to keep the grape bunches out of the dirt. The folks at Pardevalles have the oldest vineyards that are trellis-trained. Full of black berry fruit and spice, this red from Leon is an excellent choice for a juicy steak". 90Pts Wine Advocate - $18.99
2004 Nickel & Nickel Carpenter Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon
Established in 1997 by the partners of Far Niente, Nickel & Nickel is based on a philosophy of producing 100 percent varietal, single-vineyard wines that best express the distinct personality of each vineyard. It is from some of the most coveted vineyards in the Napa and Sonoma valleys that the Nickel & Nickel wines are produced.
Carpenter Vineyard is located in Coombsville, an area just east of the city of Napa, and the climate is notable for its morning fog and cooler-than-average daytime temperatures. Due to the cooler climate of the area, this wine is filled with darker fruit flavors of ripe currant and cassis. The various layers of toffee, coffee, and earth mixed with flavor of dried herb and chocolate combine with the cedary oak to give sweet impressions on the middle palate. This concentration of flavor makes it an ideal choice to pair with many dishes. The tight core of fruit surrounded by fleshy tannins is the signature of the vineyard. A limited availability, sought after wine…vintages typically rated in the 90pts+ category. - $89.99
Mulderbosch Sauvignon Blanc
Mulderbosch (situated in the prime Koelenhof area of Stellenbosch) is widely accepted as being one of the best white wine producers in the South Africa. Specific to the Koelenhof area of Stellenbosch, is the wind tunnel effect, which benefits the vineyards, as this cools them during the long, hot summer months. Winemaker Mike Dobrovic is known as South Africa's Mr. Sauvignon Blanc, and for good reason.
This Sauvignon Blanc shows pale straw with a green tinge. Packed with flinty gooseberry and a touch of citrus – yet maintaining its complex character of grassiness and nettle. The mouth-filling ripe fruit is supported by crisp acid. This powerful and concentrated wine has become a trademark of Mulderbosch.
Serve this with fresh asparagus; char-grilled artichokes; oysters; grilled line fish and shellfish; calamari; smoked salmon; seafood paella; chicken à la king; and oven baked goat’s milk cheese. 90 Points Wine Spectator - $21.99
2005 Pure "Evil" South Australian Chardonnay
This wine is anything but evil. What could be nicer than top-rate Chardonnay fruit from some of South Australia’s best regions made into a voluptuous wine. It’s all wrapped into an edgy package at a steal of a price.
"This wine has spent some time in French oak. It is light gold-colored with an attractive perfume of butterscotch, spice box, baked apple, and poached pear, more like the nose of a wine three times the price. Medium bodied, it delivers intense, ripe, spicy flavors buttressed by good acidity and a long finish. This is an awesome value in Chardonnay. 90 points" - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate $9.50
2006 Laetitia Limite' Pinot Noir
A new vintage of an old favorite is back and at a new "lower" everyday price. Laetitia has always excelled at Pinot Noir and this release is no exception, and has elevated Laetitia's Pinot Noir program to new levels.
Seductive aromas of ripe plum and blackberry, with layered components of earth, violets and Asian spice. Pretty hints of framboise, dark chocolate and rye complete this elegant Pinot. After nearly a decade of quality Pinot Noirs, the 2006 bottling has finally found its voice, and it begs a good listen. $19.99!
Fidelitas Winery - m100 Red, m100 White, Syrah 8
Named for the Winemaker's Grandmother Mary, who passed away at 100 in December 2005, Fidelitas produces these lovely red and white wines that are every bit as authentic as she was.
An everyday favorite, the m100 red wine is a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, and Cabernet Franc. It offers black cherry and slight herbal flavors both in the aroma and on the palate.
The m100 white wine is a secret blend of Semillon, Viognier, and Rousanne. This white wine can best describe with one word: voluptuous. The aromas of apple/pear and lemon zest, along with the flavors of citrus, melon and creamy vanilla are a delightful pleasure to the senses.
These m100 wines are great values at $19.99 - just like Grandmother Mary would have wanted.
Of course, if you want to take it up a couple of notches, there's the Syrah 8, which comes from only 8 hand selected and handcrafted barrels of the best Syrah from Washington. Spicy cherries, bold jammy fruit, and a hint of moist earthiness come center stage in this Syrah. Its layers of complexity are backed up with exceptional acidity, mild tannins, and a lengthy finish that won’t soon be forgotten. Cellar or enjoy now at $49.99
2006 Hartford Court Chardonnay
Stone Côte Vineyard
It's a bit of a trek to Hartford Family Winery - up curvy roads on the way towards the Russian River, away from the popular wineries in Sonoma proper - but wow is it worth it! Don and Jennifer Hartford have a deep appreciation for the wines, the people, and the unique vineyards near their Russian River Valley home, and have made the most of the unique Russian River climate to produce some fantastic Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Zinfandels.
This single-vineyard bottling from the 2006 vintage offers layered minerality and aromas of kiwi fruit, nectarine, and poached pear. The 2006 Stone Côte is amazingly concentrated, with white peach and crème brûlée flavors that complement its silky texture and long finish. Bottled unfined and unfiltered with a production of only 992 cases. Robert Parker has rated this wine 96 points and says "A compelling Chardonnay with glorious notes of crushed rocks, white currants, nectarine, and white peach emerging from its superbly nuanced, full-bodied style. The wine has restraint, but effortless concentration and richness as well as impeccable balance.". - $47.99
Elk Cove 2007 Pinot Noir Rose Willamette Valley, Oregon
In keeping with Elk Cove Vineyards reputation for producing clean, crisp, aromatic white wines, they include a Willamette Valley rosé in their family of wines. Produced entirely from Pinot Noir, Oregon’s flagship varietal, the fruit is hand-harvested very ripe from both young and old vines and gently whole bunch pressed with limited skin contact to give the wine an elegant rosé hue.
The 2007 Elk Cove Vineyards Pinot Noir Rosé is what springtime is all about; clean and aromatic with fragrant white flowers and showing freshness with sweet, red strawberry fruit! Enjoy this crisp, light, simply refreshing wine all by itself on a bright sunny day or pair it with succulent shellfish or roast chicken.. - $16.99
Glaetzer Anaperenna Shiraz Cabernet Sauvignon 2006
Many of you will remember the identifiable iconic label -but not the name - of this bottle from last year's great 2005 release. “Anaperenna” is the wine formerly known as Godolphin, the change resulting from a trademark dispute.
The 2006 blend of Shiraz (75%) – Cabernet Sauvignon (25%) was aged for 15 months in new French and American oak. Hats off to Ben Glaetzer for producing an extraordinary portfolio! The renowned winemaker, Ben Glaetzer, sources all of his fruit for this label from the Ebenezer district in the northern Barossa. Many knowledgeable experts cite this sub-region as the finest in the Valley. Opaque purple, it offers a sensational bouquet of pain grille, scorched earth, meat, game, blueberry, and black currants. This is followed by a surprisingly elegant yet powerful, structured wine with gobs of spicy fruit, ripe tannins, and a plush texture. The long, 60-second finish is succulent and sweet. 97 Points Wine Advocate. - $69.99
2004 Marietta Angeli Cuvée
Marietta Cellars is located just outside the little town of Geyserville in one of California's premier wine growing regions, Sonoma County. Owner and winemaker Chris Bilbro initially founded Marietta Cellars in 1979 in an abandoned cow barn in the Dry Creek Valley. Over the past 28 years, Chris has developed a product of incredible consistency both in quality and price with relatively complete anonymity. Marietta Cellars does not have a tasting room; they do not sell direct to consumers, and they are not open to the public. As a testament to the quality, the entire production is allocated on release and it all sells out!
The 2004 Marietta Angeli Cuvée is a limited quantity release from Geyserville, California is a proprietary blend of Zinfandel, Petit Sirah, and Carignane. Huge ripe blackberry and cherry fruit lies just under the surface of this lush beauty. This grape varietal combination blends harmoniously with toasty oak assuring a definite ongoing evolution of flavor and aromatic complexity. The '04 Angeli Cuvee is a solid gradient richer than the well reviewed '03 (Robert Parker 92 point rating) Good match for a steak, some mushrooms, and steamed carrots. - $29.99
2006 Orin Swift Cellars "The Prisoner" Napa Red Blend
The 2005 Prisoner was listed as #17 in the Wine Spectator's Top 100 Wines of 2007 and awarded 93 points! This vintage of Orin Swift's "The Prisoner" is a blend of 51% zinfandel, 23% cabernet sauvignon, 12% syrah, 6% charbono, 6% petite sirah, and 2% grenache.
At the recent new-release tasting event at the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) "The Prisoner" was the subject of a lot of buzz, with the consensus being that the 2006 vintage was the best Prisoner that winemaker David Phinney had produced to date. Using fruit sourced from top vineyard sites, including Tofanelli and Duarte Vineyards, the blend is designed to showcase the best of all the varietals in the assemblage: the concentration of cab, the lush berry flavors of zin, the dark black fruit of syrah and the structure and intensity of petite sirah all working together to create a wine that is decadent and complex. - $39.99
Chateau Saint-Andre Corbin Bordeaux 2005
This estate is located in the satellite appellation of St.Georges-St. Emilion (Bordeaux’ smallest), just north of the
famed right-bank village of Saint Emilion. With vineyards dating to the Gallo-Roman epoch, Saint-Andre Corbin now
farms forty-five acres of fifty-five year old Merlot and Cabernet Franc vines. An exceptional terroir of clay and limestone over limestone subsoil provides excellent drainage yet allows for good water retention, protecting the vines from
drought. 75% Merlot and 25% Cab Franc, this wine is bottled without fining or filtering, and aged for one year in oak. The result: an intense nose of red fruits from the ultra-ripe Merlot and toasty oak flavors is followed by fragrant sandalwood and fresh herbal accents from the Cab Franc. Its full, round palate boasts excellent structure and balance, and its plump, plummy finish, accented with fresh, subtle oak will keep you coming back for more. An awesome value! - $19.99
2006 Winner’s Tank “Velvet Sledgehammer” Limited Release Shiraz
Winner’s Tank is a recent discovery that highlights what can be accomplished when an extremely talented winemaker gets his hands on some premium, Langhorne Creek fruit. Winner’s Tank is a new venture between Reid Bosward of Kaesler vineyards, and David and Cathy Knight, owners of the Winner’s Tank site. The name relates to an old water tank that sits in the corner of the vineyard. In true Aussie spirit, a strong rivalry exists between the three neighboring towns in the local Australian Rules Football competition. Each year the winning team heads out to the vineyard to paint the tank in their team colors. Luscious notes of plum, blueberry, and blackberry liqueur. First vintage aged in French Oak barriques. Great depth and length of finish. 92 Pts Wine Advocate - $27.99
Tait"Ballbuster" Shiraz
Tait is a family owned winery in the Barossa, who have been coopering barrels for the wine industry, more than 100 years. The vision for Tait was to be a traditional winery using all the old winemaking methods, and to produce hand crafted Barossa reds that were powerful in depth, flavor and taste. The winery's patriarch Giovanni Tait, migrated to Australia in 1957, taking up work as a cooper in the Barossa. Skill and craftsmanship at his chosen trade led him to where he took an active role in wine production. Lovers of grand Barossa blended reds looking for hedonistic, rollercoaster thrills and large swarthy, earthy flavors will enjoy sipping this awesome wine.
"A great value in full-throttle red wine from Barossa is Tait's 2005 The Ball Buster. This cuvee is becoming an incredibly popular choice for addicts of what are pejoratively called fruit bombs. However, there is a lot more to this wine than just fruit, and that simplistic term is the vinous equivalent of phony baloney. A blend of 80% Shiraz, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 10% Merlot, powerful and rich with loads of glycerin as well as hefty alcohol 15.8%, it is a classic example of an opulent, full-throttle Barossa red!" -Robert Parker. 92 Points - $18.99
Summers Andriana's Cuvee Cabernet
The Summers family makes their home and work in Calistoga, in the Napa Valley, running their small family-style winery and making great wines.
Summers Andriana's Cuvee is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon grapes procured from three select vineyards in the northern Napa Valley, including Summers own Villa Andriana Vineyard. Unique microclimates of the vineyards combine to yield a deep and complex Cabernet that is a signature of its extraordinary terroir. Barrel aging and judicious use of new oak make this a wine that is enjoyable young. Firm tannins make for wine worthy of cellaring. Serve with roast chicken, London Broil or simply indulge with dark chocolates.
This cabernet can definitely stand up in comparison to many others that are much higher priced. Definitely a great value at the regular price of $24.99 - On Sale for $19.99
Mettler Cabernet Sauvignon
The Mettler family heritage honors 100 years and five generations of farming in Lodi with the release of this exceptional Cabernet Sauvignon. The size of the crop, the time spent on the vine, and the many months aged in French oak barrels all reflect the care the family took to fully express the potential of these very small and unique portions of their vineyard holdings.
Deep, complex and polished, the Mettler Cabernet Sauvignon is indistinguishable in character and style from its well known counterparts in the premium cabernet districts in California. This cabernet has an approachable yet traditional style. Fruit forward but balanced, it pairs beautifully with lamb, beef filet, and is sinfully delicious with dark chocolate. Delivers a long lingering finish of espresso and chocolate.
An exceptional value at $21.99.