Saturyday, July 2nd, 2016
New July 4th Sale; Perrier Jouet Re-Arrived and Still on Sale & Bonus Krug Offer; Two New Case Deals – Bedrock & L’Edre; New Wines/ New Reviews – Gramercy Cellars is Back; St. Cosme New Arrival; New Reviews for Oregon Wines – Arterberry Maresh, Belle Pente & J Christopher; Rethinking Summer Reds; New Washington State Reviews; New Review for Produttori Rio Sordo; Exploring Riesling and Gruner (and Sylvaner) – All at the Best Prices!; Caparzo Brunello Reserva – Arrives This Week; Terry Theise Pre-Arrivals Continue – Von Winning, Kruger-Rumpf & Diel; Kapcsandy; July 4th Sales Continue
Vinopolis will be closed Monday, July 4th for Independence Day
Our Monday newsletter will run as regularly scheduled
We will reopen on Tuesday, July 5th for our regular hours
July 4th Sale New Additions
Prices Expire at Midnight 7/4
Vega Sicilia
Founded in 1864, over a century before creation of the Ribera del Duero DOC, Vega Sicilia can hardly be compared to other Spanish wines. For one thing, the grape varieties originally planted and still grown by Vega Sicilia include Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Malbec, though eighty percent of the vines are Tempranillo. Vega Sicilia bottles its Unico only in quality years. It is a dense and sumptuous wine, intense but full of finesse, complex and long-lingering on the palate, with the individuality of a monarch.
Vega Sicilia Unico Gran Reserva, Ribera del Duero 2007 750ML ($379.95) Was $249, Now $238, 18 bottles available
Wine Advocate 95 points “They have kept 2005 and 2006 for now, and they are releasing the 2007 Único from a lighter vintage that is accessible already; they will even sell 2008 before 2005 and 2006. 2007 was a cold vintage in Ribera and it produced lighter, fresher wines (perhaps not as problematic as 2008, but there was also frost in 2007). The wine might be a tad lighter than other vintages, but it’s more structured than 2008; it combines elegance and power, is nicely balanced and should be able to develop in bottle for many years, although the quick evolution of the bottle once opened made me hesitate about its drinking window. Let’s hope I’m wrong. 80,000 bottles produced.” WA
Wine Spectator 94 points “This harmonious red is balanced and deep, offering ripe plum and currant flavors, with black pepper, tobacco, licorice and mineral accents. Delivers plenty of structure, with well-integrated tannins and lively acidity. The wine remains graceful through the long, spicy finish. Drink now through 2027.”
This was the lowest listed price in the USA today,
Now it’s even lower!
The average price is $342
Domaine Leroy
Leroy. The name says it all: The King. The wines of Leroy have no superior in Burgundy. Immaculate viticulture, and with a Midas ability for winemaking, Leroy means exalted pleasure, the essence of finesse, and Côte d’Or magnanimity in a bottle.
Domaine Leroy Pommard Les Vignots, Cote de Beaune 2011 750ML ($599.95) Was $499, Now $349, 3 bottles available
Wine Advocate 90 points “The 2011 Pommard Les Vignots was bottled December 2012. It has a complex, slightly earthy bouquet with subtle marine influences, defined and focused with hints of black olive emerging with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with fine focus, imbued with an Oriental edge (hoisin) which is folded into a fine silky finish. Drink now-2020.” NM
Burghound 89 points “There is a soft touch of wood to the notably ripe yet cool and airy aromas of plum, cassis and wet stone. There is excellent volume and mid-palate concentration to the medium-bodied flavors that brim with dry extract on the detailed finish that exudes a fine minerality. This balanced effort delivers fine depth and length for its level.” BH
This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!
The average price is $444
Perrier-Jouet
Just re-arrived
And still on sale!
Perrier-Jouet Belle Epoque Brut, Champagne 2007 750ML ($199.95) Was $99, Now $88
Wine Enthusiast 95 points “For Perrier-Jouët the symbols of the Belle Epoque are the house calling card. This prestige cuvée, in its stylish flowered bottle, has been released with good maturity, offering toast as well as fruit and a crisp, tight and mineral backdrop. There is an elegant style to the wine, fresh and with poise. Drink now.”
Wine Spectator 93 points “Driven by smoky minerality, this firm and balanced Champagne offers a subtle palate of pineapple pâte de fruit, blackberry tart, lemon preserves and fleur de sel. Offers a long-lasting finish. Drink now through 2027. 600 cases imported.” WS
This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!
The average price is $149
And don’t miss this late breaking Champagne deal:
Krug Brut, Champagne 2003 750ML ($279.95) $199 pre-arrival special, ETA July 8th
Josh Raynolds-Vinous 95 points “Light yellow. Powerful, complex bouquet evokes fresh peach, pear, floral honey, green almond and smoky minerals. Deep, palate-staining citrus and orchard fruit flavors show outstanding vivacity for a hot vintage, picking up ginger and talc notes with air. The strikingly long, sappy finish features zesty orange pith, smoky minerals and an echo of honeysuckle. I’d be in no rush to drink this one. Speaking of waiting, I had the chance to revisit the 2000 Vintage Krug and it has begun to pick up the smoky, weighty and nutty character that long-time fans of this producer crave. It’s still plenty young but already unmistakably Krug, with a chewy texture and a sexy floral nuance dominating right now.”
Wine Spectator 95 points “Like taffeta in texture, this harmonious Champagne is finely honed and fresh. A wonderfully expressive version, with ample spice and graphite accents to the blackberry pâte de fruit, coffee liqueur, dried apricot, singed orange peel and crystallized honey notes. Hard to stop sipping.”
James Suckling 95 points “A rich nose with deep, ripe chardonnay and pinot noir, red fruits, some dark mushrooms and plenty of grilled nuts, plus caramel, some deep spices, dried citrus, lemon peel and bready aromas. The trademark complexity is here and it freshens with air. The palate is intricately detailed and stitched together like needlework; very precise, very even. The acidity is articulated with some finesse and yet it has much more in terms of phenolics as the leading structural component. The phenolics are rich and ripe, sitting polished and even around immensely concentrated fruit with flavors of peach, nectarine and white cherry. The finish is deep, even and resonant. Drink now but rest assured it will hold for a very long time, just like Krug has proven in other warm years like ’76.”
Antonio Galloni-Vinous 94 points “Soft, supple and delicate in the glass, the 2003 Vintage is super expressive today. Smoke, brioche, apple tart and spice notes flesh out in a resonant, impeccably layered Champagne loaded with personality. I can’t think of a young Krug Champagne that delivers this much pure pleasure at such a young stage in its life. The 2003 has developed nicely since I last tasted it about six months ago. This is class personified.”
New Case Deals
Jaw dropping prices on two impressive bold blends.
Case-12 Bedrock Wine Co. ‘The Bedrock Heritage’ Wine, Sonoma Valley 2013 750ML ($599.95) Was $448, Now $419, 3 cases available (that’s only $34.92/bottle!)
Antonio Galloni 94+ points “The 2013 Bedrock Heritage Wine is one of the most intriguing wines in the range. Smoke, cedar, tobacco and a host of savory notes meld together in a powerful yet nuanced wines built on delineation and energy. Even with all of its intensity, the 2013 remains lifted, floral and light on its feet for such a big wine. This is by far the most polished and refined wine I have tasted from the Bedrock Vineyard, where the wines have often been much riper and bigger.” AG
This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!
The next best price is $41.99/bottle
Case-6 Domaine de L’Edre Cotes du Roussillon Villages 2013 750ML ($299.95) $239 special, 4 six-packs available (that’s only $39.83/bottle!)
Wine Advocate 95 points “One of the wines of the vintage is the 2013 Cotes du Roussillon Villages Domaine de l’Edre. While this cuvee had a rustic edge in the past, today it’s incredibly polished and pure, with brilliant aromatics of cassis, black raspberries, licorice, crushed flowers and chalky minerality. Medium to full-bodied, ripe, yet elegant and balanced, it’s a classic Roussillon that can be enjoyed today or cellared for a decade.”
This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!
Mid-West, East & South
Summer Shipping Saver
For the summer season we are offering
UPS Three Day Select Service for the price of UPS Ground
for shipments normally travelling 4 or more business days.
Free service upgrade only applies on single orders shipped during the promotional period.
Additional fees will apply to orders held for any reason until after the promotional period
and shipped by Three Day Select.
Offer not valid on pre-arrival items that arrive after the promotional period.
Don’t forget about our other current shipping promos:
We offer flat rate shipping on any size single order / single shipment
-to Oregon for $17,
-Washington & Idaho for $20,
-and California for $25
These rates do not apply to orders held in storage here for any reason.
Multiple orders consolidated into one shipment
do not qualify for flat rate shipping.
New Wines – New Reviews
Gramercy Cellars is Here!
Since 2005, Gramercy Cellars has made a fine reputation for itself. Ask the critics. It’s no coincidence that owner/winemaker Greg Harrington also happens to be a Master Sommelier. Once he had tasted his first Walla Walla wines, he knew where to pursue his passion. Today, Gramercy produces 8,000 cases of Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Grenache, and Mourvèdre, blended and single-varietal. The winery purchases fruit from local growers who share Gramercy’s taste for balanced, fruit-driven, cellar-worthy wines. Oak is kept to a minimum, to let the Walla Walla terroir shine through. If you haven’t heard of Gramercy yet, welcome to one of Washington’s rising stars.
“My goal is to make wines the kind I like to drink, lower alcohol, higher acid, wines that taste like they came from some place.” -Greg Harrington
Newly Reviewed New Arrivals from Gramercy Cellars:
Gramercy Cellars Lagniappe Syrah, Columbia Valley 2013 750ML ($59.95) $49 special
Jeb Dunnuck – Wine Advocate 95 points “Slightly more fruit driven than the meaty, peppery John Lewis release, the 2013 Syrah Lagniappe is a drop dead gorgeous Syrah that does everything right. Its almost opaque purple color is followed by a complex, layered bouquet that includes ample black and blue fruits, ground pepper, lavender, olive and hints of bacon fat. This gives way to a medium to full-bodied, layered, silky 2013 that has a great mid-palate, juicy acidity and a great finish. I’d happily drink it today, but it should be at its best from 2018-2028.”
Gramercy Cellars The Third Man Grenache – Syrah – Mourvedre, Columbia Valley 2013 750ML ($59.95) $46 special
Jeb Dunnuck – Wine Advocate 94 points “Tasted out of bottle, the 2013 The Third Man, which incorporates 19% Syrah and 5% Mourvèdre, sports a semi-translucent ruby color as well as perfumed notes of black cherry liqueur, raspberries, potpourri and dried flowers. Supple, elegant and seamless, with no hard edges, sweet, sweet tannin and medium to full-bodied richness, this fabulous Grenache would be a dead ringer for a top Chateauneuf du Pape in a blind tasting. It’s the best vintage of this cuvee to date and will have 10-15 years of overall longevity.”
Gramercy Cellars Syrah, Columbia Valley 2012 750ML ($39.95) $33 special
Jeb Dunnuck – Wine Advocate 93 points “The 2012 Columbia Valley Syrah offers lots of smoked herbs, olive tapenade, smoked duck and chocolaty dark fruits to go with a medium to full-bodied, supple, pure and layered profile on the palate. Made from 100% Syrah that saw 25% whole-cluster inclusion during fermentation and 18 months in 13% new French oak, drink it anytime over the coming 10-15 years.”
This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!
Gramercy Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon, Columbia Valley 2012 750ML ($49.95) $41.90 special
Jeb Dunnuck – Wine Advocate 94 points “The 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon is most likely the greatest vintage of this cuvee to date. Full-bodied, ripe, layered and yet still elegant and beautifully balanced, it offers classic currants, black raspberry, graphite, lead pencil and cedar aromas and flavors. A blend of 92% Cabernet and 8% Merlot that saw 23 months in 40% new French oak, it has high-quality tannin, ample texture and a rock-star finish. This beauty will have two decades of longevity.”
Saint Cosme New Arrival
Louis Barroul makes great Gigondas every year. To do so in 2014, he applied stern selection reducing the supply of the top of the line selections (Le Claux, Le Poste, and Hominus Fides). And the intermediate selection (Valbelle) was not bottles. Rather, that wine went all into his village level Gigondas.
Saint Cosme Condrieu 2012 750ML ($89.95) $59 special
Wine Spectator 93 points “Features a lightly toasted feel, with a piecrust frame around the core of apricot, white peach and glazed Bosc pear flavors. Shows a tropical edge on the finish, with a papaya note, but fine minerality keeps this precise and focused. Drink now through 2016. 75 cases imported.”JM
Josh Raynolds-Vinous 92 points “(made from fruit grown in Malleval; 3 new barrels out of 12 made): Green-tinged yellow. Sexy, expansive aromas of ripe citrus and orchard fruits, anise and smoky minerals, with a floral quality emerging with aeration. Sappy, penetrating and pure, boasting serious depth to its pear and nectarine flavors. Concentrated but racy as well, finishing spicy, stony and very long.”
This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!
Don’t miss the following new releases from Saint Cosme arriving in July – additional scores and full reviews are available through our web store.
New Reviews for Oregon Wines
Neal Martin of the Wine Advocate shares his scores from a recent tasting trip through Oregon’s Willamette Valley.
Arterberry Maresh Pinot Noir, Dundee Hills 2014 750ML ($27.95) $24 special, 26 bottles available
Neal Martin – Wine Advocate 90 points “The 2014 Pinot Noir Dundee Hills is a blend of Maresh, Juliard, Weber, Gehrts and Folie Hill vineyards. It has a fresh and vibrant bouquet with red cherry and wild strawberry fruit, touches of blood orange with fine delineation. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin – a mixture here of red and black fruit, meaty in style with a Pommard-like finish that lingers in the mouth. For $25, it’s probably the bargain of the vintage.”
This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!
Arterberry Maresh Juliard Vineyard Pinot Noir, Dundee Hills 2014 750ML ($69.95) $59 special, 11 bottles available
Neal Martin – Wine Advocate 92 points “The 2014 Pinot Noir Juliard Vineyard has a sultry bouquet, more backward with oyster shell, marine-like scents coming through. The palate is medium-bodied with crisp tannin, very well balanced with brown spices developing towards the finish that fans out with confidence. There is everything you can want in an Oregon 2014 Pinot Noir here, and I suspect it will age with style and aplomb.”
Arterberry Maresh Weber Vineyard Pinot Noir, Dundee Hills 2014 750ML ($39.95) $33 special, 17 bottles available
Neal Martin – Wine Advocate 93 points “The 2014 Pinot Noir Weber Vineyard comes from vines planted in 1983. It has a very refined bouquet with red cherry, wild strawberry, sous-bois and subtle floral notes – very complex and classy. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, nicely structured with a gentle grip. The fruit veers towards the darker side of the spectrum towards the finish, with blackberry and cranberry fruit, long and edgy. Classy, composed and cool, this is how to make world-class Pinot Noir.”
Belle Pente Belle Pente Vineyard Pinot Noir, Yamhill-Carlton District 2013 750ML ($39.95) $36 special
Neal Martin – Wine Advocate 90 points “The 2013 Pinot Noir Belle Pente Vineyard has accentuated fruit intensity on the nose compared to the 2013 Murto with redcurrant, raspberry coulis and wild hedgerow aromas that soar from the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with grainy tannin, a crisp line of acidity, fine precision with a classy, very natural and enticing Pommard-like finish. Not a flashy Pinot by a long shot, but this is still a delicious wine that is detailed and tensile.”
Domaine Drouhin Roserock Pinot Noir, Eola-Amity Hills 2014 750ML ($34.95) $28 special
Neal Martin – Wine Advocate 91 points “The 2014 Roserock Pinot Noir offers blackberry and briary scents on the nose with a touch of earthiness – well defined and quite vivacious in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with dusky blackberry and blueberry fruit. It exerts a gentle grip in the mouth and delivers white pepper sprinkled over the finish that is nicely detailed. This should drink well over the next 8-10 years and at this price, I would be loading up.”
J. Christopher ‘Uber Sauvignon’ Sauvignon Blanc, Willamette Valley 2014 750ML ($34.95) $28 special
Neal Martin – Wine Advocate 89 points “The 2014 Uber Sauvignon Croft Vineyard is matured in acacia wood and concrete eggs. It seems very well defined on the nose with perhaps more tension and mineralité than the regular bottling. The palate is well balanced, clean and pure, the acacia making its imprint here on the back palate. There is good weight in the mouth, although I would like more varietal expression just on the finish. Maybe I would give this a year in bottle to develop more personality.”
J. Christopher Sauvignon Blanc, Willamette Valley 2014 750ML ($19.95) $16.60 special
Neal Martin – Wine Advocate 88 points “The 2014 Sauvignon Blanc from Willamette Valley comes mostly from the Croft Vineyard. It has a pleasant bouquet of Granny Smith apples, kiwi fruit and nettle aromas that are well defined, although I would like more gooseberry to come through. The palate delivers more varietal character with gooseberry, fresh pear and nettle, a touch of spice developing towards the finish with good length. This is a fine take on a white grape variety not commonly grown in the Willamette Valley.”
Rethinking Summer Reds
France:
Domaine Robert Chevillon Bourgogne Passe-tout-grains, Burgundy 2013 750ML ($36.95) $18 special, 23 bottles available
VinopolNote: A light and breezy blend of Gamay and Pinot Noir
This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!
The next best price is $24.89
Mischief and Mayhem Bourgogne Pinot Noir 2011 750ML ($29.95) $16 special, 12 bottles available
Case-6 Mischief and Mayhem Bourgogne Pinot Noir 2011 750ML ($149.95) $89 special, 2 six-packs available (that’s only $14.83/bottle!)
Importer notes “Hard work amongst the vines, fine vintage conditions and superb Pinot Noir vineyard sites with an average vine age of 45 years, all combine to produce this classic Bourgogne Pinot Noir. Beautiful pure, ripe fruit, so typical in 2011, light barrel treatment and élevage in stainless steel tank, all integrate to produce a wine of real purity, ripe fruit character, structure and finesse. Aroma: Complex nose of strawberry, raspberry, redcurrant and violets, with notes of vanilla and cinnamon spice. Taste: Lovely texture, good grip, yet supple and round with ripe tannins and soft acidity. Delicious red fruit notes, including juicy raspberry and red cherry with hints of blackberry, mocha, dark chocolate, spice and sandalwood. Soft, pure, and focused finish.”
This is the only listing in the USA today!
Salvard Cuvee Unique Pinot Noir 2013 750ML ($19.95) $11.95 special, 18 bottles available
Case-12 Salvard Cuvee Unique Pinot Noir 2013 750ML ($219.95) $119 special, 2 cases available
VinopolNote: No shortage of impeccable Volnay here, of course. But this time around, we can’t help but highlight this small-but-mighty bottle from Cheverny. Light and energetic, it’s the perfect all-around wine for the warmer months. Suits the broadest possible range of cuisines and scenarios. Organic; grown from 10-20 year old Pinot vines planted in clay and sandy soils. 100% destemmed, with six day maceration. Vinified in stainless steel cuves, aged on the fine lees, and bottled unfiltered.
This is the only listing in the USA today!
Plouzeau Chinon Rive Gauche, Loire 2014 750ML ($19.95) $14 special, 27 bottles available
Case-12 Plouzeau Chinon Rive Gauche, Loire 2014 750ML ($199.95) $149 special, 2 cases available (that’s only $12.42/bottle!)
VinopolNote: The working man’s Loire red! Entirely hand-harvested, with gravity-fed tanks and gentle extraction. No lab yeasts, no chapitalization, no fining or filtration. A perfect expression of Chinon terroir – if it’s good enough for the zinc tables in Paris bistros, it’s surely good enough for spring picnics and summer barbecues stateside!
This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!
The next best price is $15.99
Albert Bichot Savigny-les-Beaune 2012 750ML ($29.95) $21.90 special, 30 bottles available
Case-12 Albert Bichot Savigny-les-Beaune 2012 750ML ($319.95) $219 special, 1 case available (that’s only $18.25/bottle and the lowest listed price in the USA today!)
Winery note “Tasting notes: This Savigny les Beaune has a deep ruby red robe. Fruity aromas of red and black woodland berries, enhanced by aromas of mild spices. With an initial pleasant ampleness , this harmonious wine leads on to a subtle and fruity finish.”
Domaine Marc Colin et Fils Bourgogne Rouge 2013 750ML ($21.95) $18 special, 16 bottles available
Wine Advocate 86-88 points “The 2013 Bourgogne Rouge, which was taken from barrel, has a bright tart red cherry and cranberry-scented nose that is bright and lively. The palate is crisp with racy acidity, bright ‘n’ bouncy with a fresh tart finish that is almost clinical. Lovely.” WA
Le Loup Blanc “Soif de Loup” Rouge, Languedoc-Roussillon 2013 750ML ($14.95) $11.90 special, 33 bottles available
Vinopolnote: A crazily fragrant nose of red fruit, cedar, and paprika-like spices. On the palate, crushed berries collide with figs, plums, and a touch of earty. Lovely.
M. Chapoutier Luberon La Ciboise Rouge, Rhone 2014 750ML ($17.95) $11.90 special, 33 bottles available
Josh Raynolds–Vinous 88 points “(raised in concrete and stainless steel tanks): Ruby-red. Fresh black raspberry, blueberry and a hint of smokiness on the nose. Bright and lively on the palate, offering gently sweet dark fruit and peppery spice flavors that tighten up with air. The blue fruit and smoke notes carry through the finish, which is shaped by gentle tannins.”
This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!
The average price is $15
Italy:
Giovanni Corino Dolcetto d’Alba, Piedmont 2011 750ML ($29.95) $14 special, 27 bottles available
Case-12 Giovanni Corino Dolcetto d’Alba, Piedmont 2011 750ML ($249.95) $149 special, 5 cases available (that’s only $12.42/bottle!)
Antonio Galloni 88 points “Corino’s 2011 Dolcetto d’Alba is an absolutely joyous, delicious wine bursting with juicy, varietal fruit. Plums, violets, tar and exotic spices flesh out on the vinous, inviting finish.” AG
This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!
The average price is $17
Giovanni Corino Barbera d’Alba, Piedmont 2012 750ML ($24.95) $17 special, 26 bottles available
Case-12 Giovanni Corino Barbera d’Alba, Piedmont 2012 750ML ($249.95) $179 special, 3 cases available (that’s only $14.92/bottle!)
Antonio Galloni 88 points “The 2012 Barbera d’Alba is juicy, expressive and generous. Dark red cherries, plums, spices and licorice meld together in a pretty, vinous Barbera to drink over the next few years.” AG
Spain:
Descendientes de J. Palacios Petalos, Bierzo, Spain 2013 750ML ($21.95) $18 special, 36+ bottles available
Case-12 Descendientes de J. Palacios Petalos, Bierzo, Spain 2013 750ML ($249.95) $199 special, 8 cases available (that’s only $16.58/bottle!)
#53 Wine Spectator Top 100 in 2015
Wine Advocate 92 points “Always among the best values of Spain, the 2013 Pétalos del Bierzo has an extra degree of freshness in a cool vintage, and some time in bottle always does this wine wonders. It’s aromatic, open and expressive, with floral aromas and bright fruit, wild strawberries and violets. This is always a subtle, medium-bodied wine, with fine tannins, sleek acidity and a fine minerality. Ready now.”
Wine Spectator 91 points “Expressive black cherry, currant, licorice, mineral and smoke flavors mingle in this focused red. The texture is gentle but firm, with well-integrated tannins and racy acidity providing structure. A compact wine that shows good intensity. Drink now through 2023.”TM
… and a few great whites!
Andre Dezat & Fils Sancerre 2014 750ML ($27.95) $21.90 special, 30 bottles available
Case-12 Andre Dezat & Fils Sancerre 2014 750ML ($279.95) $219 special, 1 case available (that’s only $18.25/bottle and the lowest listed price in the USA today!)
Winery note “[Translated] The Sancerre Blanc is all Sauvignon Blanc. We strive to harvest the grapes at optimum maturity, which allows the development of citrus aromas, white flower and exotic fruit all mixed with a certain Sancerre-minerality.”
Andre Dezat & Fils Domaine Thibault Pouilly-Fume 2014 750ML ($24.95) $18.80 special, 35 bottles available
Case-12 Andre Dezat & Fils Domaine Thibault Pouilly-Fume 2014 750ML ($249.95) $199 special, 2 cases available (that’s only $16.58/bottle!)
VinopolNote: The Dezat family name is basically etched into the historical record of Sancerre; municipal records refer to the Dezats as early as 1550. In 1948, André Dezat took over his family’s vineyard holdings and took an active role in promoting the domaine as well as Sancerre-at-large. His sons Louis and Simon joined him in the 1970’s, and in the ensuing years have expanded to now include Sancerre, Menetou Salon, and Pouilly Fume.
This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!
The next best price is $21.95
Domaine de Triennes Sainte – Fleur Viognier, IGP Var, France 2013 750ML ($21.95) $11.90 special, 36+ bottles available
Wine Spectator 88 points “A bright, fresh style, offering unencumbered pear, green almond and fig flavors that are laced with a fennel edge. Drink now.”
This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!
The next best price is $13.99
M. Chapoutier Crozes-Hermitage La Petite Ruche Blanc, Rhone 2010 750ML ($29.95) $18 special, 36+ bottles available
Wine Spectator 91 points “Lush up front, but driven, with well-defined dried pineapple, white peach and melon notes racing through the chamomile-tinged finish. Very pure and long.”
This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!
The average price is $24
Amarte Mas Albarino, Rias Baixas, Spain 2013 750ML ($19.95) $11.90 special, 23 bottles available
Case-12 Amarte Mas Albarino, Rias Baixas, Spain 2013 750ML ($169.95) $119 special, 1 case available (that’s only $9.92/bottle!)
Josh Raynolds–Vinous 89 points “Light yellow-gold. Lively citrus and orchard fruit scents are given depth by honey and a subtle leesiness. Supple and broad on entry, then more taut in the mid-palate, offering bitter quince and Meyer lemon flavors and a zesty kick of candied ginger. Closes spicy and tight, with good clarity, lift and cut.” JR
This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!
New Washington State Reviews
From Jeb Dunnuck of the Wine Advocate
Betz Family Winery Pere de Famille Cabernet Sauvignon, Columbia Valley 2013 750ML ($79.95) $69 special, 12 bottles available
Jeb Dunnuck – Wine Advocate 94 points “A cuvee that continues to become more and more Cabernet Sauvignon dominated (Bob Betz loves Cabernet and think it’s the top grape of Washington), the 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon Pere de Famille (89% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Merlot and 4% Petit Verdot) is utterly seamless and elegant. It is full-bodied and open, with forward notes of cassis, crushed flowers, red currants and licorice. Where the 2014s are more exuberant and dense, this 2013 excels on its pretty, pure and overall elegant style. Drink it anytime over the coming 15+ years.”
Betz Family Winery Clos de Betz, Columbia Valley 2013 750ML ($59.95) $49 special, 8 bottles available
Jeb Dunnuck – Wine Advocate 94 points “The only other 2013 reviewed on this go around (most were reviewed last year), the 2013 Clos de Betz checks in as a blend of 63% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon and 22% Petit Verdot, mostly from Red Mountain and Yakima Valley, that spent 19 months in French oak. Sexy, supple, perfumed and beautifully complex, with notes of currants, dried flowers and an almost garrigue like perfume, this full-bodied beauty is already impossible to resist, yet will absolutely cruise for another 10-15 years.”
Casa Smith Cervo Barbera, Wahluke Slope 2014 750ML ($21.95) $18 special, 16 bottles available
Jeb Dunnuck – Wine Advocate 93 points “On another level, and worth the uptick in price, the 250-case 2014 Barbera Cervo (from vines planted in 1997 and tiny, tiny yields) was brought up all in barrique and is easily the finest example of this variety I’ve tasted from Washington. Elegant, layered and concentrated, with a serious feel in its black cherry, lavender, underbrush and peppery herbs bouquet, this terrific effort is a real head-turner that readers should seek out!”
This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!
Casa Smith Jack’s Vineyard Barbera, Walla Walla Valley 2012 750ML ($39.95) $33 special, 12 bottles available
Jeb Dunnuck – Wine Advocate 93 points “A perfumed, elegant, beautifully complex red (I can’t say it really screams Barbera though…Pinot Noir or Grenache would be my guess in a blind tasting), the 2012 Barbera Jack’s Vineyard started out slightly reduced and closed, but man did it open up beautifully with time in the glass, and it really didn’t start firing on all cylinders until the second day. Its medium ruby color is followed by a nuanced perfume of ripe strawberries, kirsch liqueur, spice-box, herbes de Provence and charcuterie. Seamless, medium-bodied, ethereally textured and ultra-fine, it’s drinking great today, yet I suspect it will keep nicely for 4-5 years.”
This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!
Casa Smith Porcospino Primitivo, Wahluke Slope 2014 750ML ($21.95) $18 special, 23 bottles available
Jeb Dunnuck – Wine Advocate 90 points “Another beauty is the 2014 Wahluke Slope Primitivo, which comes all from the Northridge Vineyard. It offers a complex, brambly, spice, licorice and sweetly-fruited feel, as well as medium-bodied richness, excellent freshness and a great finish. Drink this beauty anytime over the coming 5-6 years.”
This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!
Casa Smith Cinghiale Sangiovese, Wahluke Slope 2014 750ML ($21.95) $18 special, 21 bottles available
Jeb Dunnuck – Wine Advocate 89 points “The 2014 Wahluke Slope Sangiovese is an elegant, polished 2014 that delivers excellent richness and depth in its ripe black cherry, blackberry, dried flower and creamy licorice scented bouquet. This gives way to a medium-bodied, elegant, beautifully balanced red that will drink nicely through 2021.”
This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!
Charles Smith K Vintners The Beautiful Syrah, Walla Walla Valley 2013 750ML ($69.95) $59 special, 1 bottle available
Jeb Dunnuck – Wine Advocate 95 points “Coming all from the River Rock vineyard in 2013 (It normally has a small amount from another site), the 2013 Syrah The Beautiful is a complete, medium to full-bodied, seamless and perfectly balanced Syrah that lives up to its name. Giving up lots of blackberry, licorice, wet herbs and olive aromas and flavors, I love its overall focus, tension and purity, and it certainly doesn’t lack for length. Give bottle 2-3 years in the cellar and enjoy through 2028.”
Charles Smith K Vintners The Boy Grenache – Syrah, Walla Walla Valley 2013 750ML ($59.95) $49 special, 8 bottles available
Jeb Dunnuck – Wine Advocate 93 points “Checking in as a blend of 88% Grenache and 12% Syrah, Smiths’ 2013 The Boy is about as sexy and seamless as Grenache gets. Giving up full-bodied notes of kirsch liqueur, dried flowers, blackberries, lavender and a kiss of olive, it has a great texture and good overall concentration, and while it’s already approachable, it should be at its best from 2018-2025.”
Charles Smith K Vintners ‘El Jefe’ Stoneridge Vineyard Tempranillo, Washington 2013 750ML ($69.95) $56.50 special, 24 bottles available
Jeb Dunnuck – Wine Advocate 94 points “The 100% varietal 2013 El Jefe Tempranillo Stoneridge Vineyard (23 months in 40% new oak) is another terrific example of this variety in Washington, and while there’s not many Tempranillo based releases out there, the ones that are, are seriously good. This 2013 gives up lots of darker fruits (black currants maybe), lots of spicy oak, toasted spice and licorice to go with a full-bodied, elegant, sexy profile on the palate. It continues to open up with time in the glass, and the tannin, while present, are incredibly polished and perfectly ripe. Feel free to drink bottles anytime over the coming decade.”
Charles Smith K Vintners River Rock Syrah, Walla Walla Valley 2013 750ML ($59.95) $49 special, 23 bottles available
Jeb Dunnuck – Wine Advocate 93 points “A wine that just screams “The Rocks” is the 2013 Syrah River Rock Vineyard and it is about as classic a representation of this terrific terroir located around the town of Milton Freewater as I could imagine. Medium to full-bodied, fresh, focused and with fine, polished tannin, it has tons of pepper, bloody meats, olive and ripe dark fruits all soaring from the glass. I like it today, but it will keep for a decade.”
Long Shadows Pedestal Merlot, Columbia Valley 2013 750ML ($69.95) $59 special, 3 bottles available
Jeb Dunnuck – Wine Advocate 94 points “One of my favorites in the 2013 lineup is the 2013 Pedestal Merlot. Made by Michel Rolland and blended with 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Petit Verdot and smaller parts Malbec and Cabernet Franc, aged 22 months in 85% new French oak, its deep purple color is followed by fabulous notes of plums, coffee beans, spice box and sweet oak in a full-bodied, decadent, ripe and expansive package. In general, Cabernet was more successful than Merlot in 2013, but you wouldn’t know it by tasting this beauty. Drink it anytime over the coming decade.”
Long Shadows Sequel Syrah, Columbia Valley 2013 750ML ($69.95) $51.90 special, 1 bottle available
Jeb Dunnuck – Wine Advocate 91-93 points “The only 2013 not yet in bottle, the 2013 Syrah Sequel (there’s 8% Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend) gives up a big, rich, decadent style as well as lots of ripe black fruits, caramelized meats, licorice and wood-smoke like aromas and flavors. In a vintage that too often comes up short on texture and richness, this beauty delivers in spades. It should drink nicely right out of the gate.”
Mark Ryan Winery Dead Horse Cabernet Sauvignon, Red Mountain 2013 750ML ($59.95) $49 special, 2 bottles available
Jeb Dunnuck – Wine Advocate 94 points “Made from 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc, the 2013 Dead Horse Ciel du Cheval Vineyard comes all from Red Mountain and spent 21 months in 72% new French oak. It’s a quintessential Red Mountain Cabernet with its crème de cassis, graphite, crushed rock-like minerality and spring flower-driven profile. Medium to full-bodied, elegant and seamless, with incredibly polished tannin, it shows the prettier side to the region, will benefit from short-term cellaring, and have two decades of overall longevity.”
Mark Ryan Winery Long Haul Proprietary Red, Red Mountain 2013 750ML ($59.95) $49 special, 4 bottles available
Jeb Dunnuck – Wine Advocate 93 points “The Merlot dominated 2013 Long Haul Ciel du Cheval Vineyard (51% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Franc, 8% Cabernet Franc and 1% Petit Verdot aged in 62% new French oak) is impressive in the vintage, where the heat spikes hurt the more think-skinned Merlot. Forward, charming and elegant, yet with more and more tannin coming through with time in the glass, it offers lots of incense, flowers and crème de cassis on the nose. It’s a beautiful, classy 2013 to drink over the coming 10-15 years.”
New Steller Review for Produttori Rio Sordo
From Monica Larner of the Wine Advocate
Produttori del Barbaresco Rio Sordo, Barbaresco Riserva DOCG 2011 750ML ($59.95) $49 special, 36+ bottles available
Monica Larner – Wine Advocate 96 points “The Rio Sordo cru is known for medium-bodied wines that show elegance and finesse. The 2011 Barbaresco Riserva Rio Sordo is my favorite wine among this set of new Riserva releases. This gorgeous wine is seamless in approach with balanced aromatic intensity that bridges dark fruit aromas against ethereal notes of cola, tar and licorice. There is an irresistible dash of white truffle buried deep within. The wine is powerful and firmly constructed, but the quality of the tannins is silky and polished. It’s always a special year when the venerated Produttori del Barbaresco releases its set of Riserva Barbaresco wines from the best vineyard sites under their management. The 2011 vintage offers one of those unique opportunities to taste Nebbiolo from Asili, Montefico, Montestefano, Muncagota, Ovello, Rabajà and Rio Sordo. The Riservas were produced in 2009, but Produttori del Barbaresco opted not to make them in 2010. It was determined that 2010 did not have enough consistency for long aging and this decision was controversial, as you can image, given the general applause bestowed on that vintage. Thankfully, we get to enjoy 2011.”
Exploring Riesling & Gruner
(and Sylvaner!)
Two great grapes for hot weather… or cool cellars
These are all the lowest listed prices in the USA today!
Starting off with a phenomenal new review from Grapelive:
Weingut Donnhoff Niederhauser Hermannshohle Riesling Grosses Gewachs, Nahe 2015 750ML ($79.95) $66 pre-arrival special, ETA fall 2016
Weingut Donnhoff Niederhauser Hermannshohle Riesling Grosses Gewachs, Nahe 2015 1.5L ($169.95) $149 pre-arrival special, ETA fall 2016
Grapelive 97+ points “Donnhoff’s Niederhauser Hermannshohle vineyard set on steep grey slate looking over the Nahe just might be the single greatest vineyard site in the world right now, and the Hermannshohle Grosses Gewachs (Grand Cru) Riesling could possibly be the best dry white wine I’ve ever had. It has certainly over taken Le Montrachet and Batard-Montrachet in my personal esteem. These are amazingly detailed, transparent and complex wines with terroir, vitality and stunning mineral purity. Terry Theise, the evangelical importer of profound Rieslings has said of Hermannshohle that no single wine in the entire wine world is as complex as Donnhoff’s best from Hermanshohle, and after a dozen vintages of tasting these wines I couldn’t agree more! Donnhoff is one of the greatest producers on earth, one of the top estates in the world and these wines throughout the range are fantastic values and some of the most sought after wines there are anywhere, and watch out, because these 2015’s take to another level! I tasted through a wide selection of 2015’s with Anne Donnhoff recently, and her humble charm couldn’t hide her pride in these gorgeous wines. I’m grateful for her patience and kindness, as I wanted to savor every moment I could with these Rieslings! The potential of this wine, the Hermannshohle GG, is off the charts, it could easily merit 100 Points, in fact it is beyond perfection, it makes a rating seem silly or boring even, but I wanted to give a bit of room for its evolution and development, because as thrilling as it is now, it will only get better, seriously it is full to the max with depth, glowing pristine in the glass it signs a siren’s song with delicate perfume, salty mineral, flinty stones and layer upon layer of white cherry, apricot, tangerine, dense quince, mango and vivid lime fruits. This baby of a dry Riesling opens with white blossoms, rose petal, sea shore brine, wet shale and green apple with a powerful mouth feel and underlying extract with chalky grip and racy acidity, this is intensely brisk, vibrant and tangy crisp with incredible focus. Haunting lingering spice, anise, white peach, lemon peel and tropical essences just add to the glorious experience, if you want an absolute blue chip for your cellar, beg, cheat and steal, as the expression goes, to get this wine, without question it is the best dry white wine for the money you can get, especially when you consider the prices of Raveneau Les Clos or Roulot, Jobard, Coche and company! In a few years the 2015 Donnhoff Hermannshohle Grosses Gewachs is going to be a unicorn wine, a legend and this review is not even going to come close to expressing just how fantastic this wine is, it just might break the 100 Point system! Even if you miss this one, the other Donnhoff’s are not far behind, and while these dry Rieslings are really special, the Kabinett, Spatlese and Auslese levels are spectacular too. The 2015 Hermannshohle GG is a wine for the ages, and patience will be rewarded, 5 to 10 years looks to be a good starting point, honestly this is mind blowing awe inspiring stuff, enough said!”
This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!
Selbach-Oster ‘Anrecht’ Zeltinger Himmelreich Riesling Spatlese, Mosel 2012 750ML ($39.95) $33 special, 36+ bottles available
Stephen Tanzer 92 points “($38) Golden yellow. Expansive aromas of caramelized apple, candied peach and lemon curd. The succulent flavors of honey and apricot pith are kept vibrant by refreshing acidity. The long finish, offering complex notes of tangerine and toasted nuts, tastes almost dry.” ST
This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!
J.B. Becker Wallufer Walkenberg Riesling Kabinett Trocken, Rheingau 2012 750ML ($27.95) $24 special, 21 bottles available
Wine Advocate 90 points “The 2012 Wallufer Walkenberg Riesling Kabinett trocken shows an intense, deep, clear and mineral as well as spicy bouquet with lovely, clear and ripe stone fruit. This is old school Riesling: fermented in old oak vats for ten months and bottled in between four weeks, this is a light to medium-bodied but very mineral and expressive Riesling, with a nicely sweet taste that comes from the sugar-free extract. The finish is dry and mineral, very piquant, salty and extremely stimulating. Don’t drink this as a Kabinett, but as a serious Rheingau classic. If you like Markus Molitor or Martin Müllen, you have to check this wine out.”
This is the only listing in the USA today!
Weingut Jos. Christoffel Jr. Christoffel-Prum Urziger Wurzgarten Riesling Spatlese, Mosel 2012 750ML ($29.95) $24 special, 15 bottles available
This is the only listing in the USA today!
Joh. Jos. Prum Bernkasteler Badstube Riesling Spatlese, Mosel 2008 750ML ($49.95) $33 special, 29 bottles available
Wine Advocate 92 points “Lime, mint, and dark cherry village-typically dominate the Prum 2008 Bernkasteler Badstube Riesling Spatlese, with impingements of orange zest, fresh ginger, and wet stone adding further interest on a palate that manages in 2008-specific fashion to both sooth and invigorate. This finishes with an intensity that goes beyond that of the corresponding Kabinett, yet preserves the same sense of uncanny buoyancy. Look for three decades of satisfying evolution here.” WA
This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!
The next best price is $42.99
Weingut Karthauserhof Alte Reben Eitelsbacher Karthauserhofberg Riesling Spatlese Trocken, Mosel 2014 750ML ($39.95) $33 special, 23 bottles available
Wine Advocate 90 points “The 2014 Riesling Trocken Alte Reben (officially Eitelsbacher Karthäuserhofberg Riesling Spätlese trocken, AP #8) offers a deep and ripe, as well as very fine and elegant bouquet. Intense and mineral on the palate, this is a stunningly complex and persistent Riesling with power, structure, finesse and a lingering salinity and complexity. Good aging potential.”
John Gilman, View From The Cellar #56: “The 2014 Alte Reben Riesling Trocken from Weingut Karthäuserhof is an outstanding example of the vintage. This excellent wine delivers a fine bouquet bread fruit, pink grapefruit, wild yeasts, lovely smokiness, a fine base of slate minerality and a topnote of citrus peel. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and rock solid at the core, with outstanding focus and grip, a fairly primary personality and superb length and balance on the young, but very promising finish.”
This is the only listing in the USA today!
Forstmeister Geltz-Zilliken Saarburger Rausch Riesling Kabinett, Mosel 2013 750ML ($37.95) $21.90 special, 25 bottles available
Forstmeister Geltz-Zilliken Saarburger Rausch Riesling Kabinett, Mosel 2013 375ML ($21.95) $14 special, 13 half-bottles available
Wine Advocate 91 points “Even more concentrated, delicate and piquant on the nose than the Saarburger Kabinett (which is sourced from the Rausch as well) the 2013 Riesling Kabinett Saarburger Rausch is a rich, sappy, juicy, piquant and elegant Riesling with an extremely stimulating and lush fruit intensity. With 7.5% alcohol the wine is light (though not light-bodied) but intense in its tropical fruitiness with mango, peach and pineapples flavors. Almost a Spätlese, even for Zilliken, but again “not explosive enough,” says Dorothee.” SR
This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!
The next best price is $29.95
Meulenhof Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese, Mosel 2010 750ML ($39.95) $33 special, 22 bottles available
This is the only listing in the USA today!
Weingut Donnhoff Kreuznacher Kahlenberg Riesling Trocken, Nahe 2014 750ML ($39.95) $29 special, 30 bottles available
John Gilman 91 points “The 2014 Kahlenberg Trocken hails from grapes with Spätlese must weights this year and is a notable step up from the first two, very good wines. The bouquet wafts from the glass in a classy blend of white cherries, apple, spring flowers, a lovely base of soil and a youthful topnote of orange peel. On the palate the wine is medium-full, bright and nicely reserved on the attack, with a fine core, bright acids and superb backend energy and cut on the long finish. This is really high class juice that would age long and happily under cork, though I cannot remember which closure it was destined to receive. 2017-2035.” JG
This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!
The next best price is $31.12
Familie Saahs Nikolaihof im Weingebirge Smaragd Gruner Veltliner, Wachau 2012 750ML ($69.95) $59 special, 13 bottles available
John Gilman 91 points “The 2014 Kahlenberg Trocken hails from grapes with Spätlese must weights this year and is a notable step up from the first two, very good wines. The bouquet wafts from the glass in a classy blend of white cherries, apple, spring flowers, a lovely base of soil and a youthful topnote of orange peel. On the palate the wine is medium-full, bright and nicely reserved on the attack, with a fine core, bright acids and superb backend energy and cut on the long finish. This is really high class juice that would age long and happily under cork, though I cannot remember which closure it was destined to receive. 2017-2035.” JG
This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!
The next best price is $62.99
Weingut Hirsch Lamm Gruner Veltliner Erste Lage OTW Reserve Trocken, Kamptal 2011 750ML ($59.95) $49 special, 22 bottles available
Stephen Tanzer 92 points “Slowly emerging aromas of honeyed peach, lime zest and ripe plum. Harmoniously herbal and subtly austere, with wonderfully integrated acidity lending a particularly refreshing quality to the peach and apricot flavors. This is less a veltliner to drink on its own than a very versatile food wine.” ST
This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!
The next best price is $56.99
Weingut Leo Alzinger Muhlpoint Gruner Veltliner Federspiel, Wachau 2014 750ML ($34.95) $28 special, 17 bottles available
David Schildknecht–Vinous 89 points “Reflecting a full percentage point more in potential alcohol than the corresponding Frauenweingarten, this bottling with its palpably high glycerol and dry extract has surprising stuffing for a Federspiel of its vintage. Nonetheless, it remains buoyant, while bringing to bear enhanced textural polish, clarity and follow-through. Fresh lima beans are drizzled with lime juice and seasoned with green herbs, the crunch and piquancy of dark leafy greens adding to the grip and invigoration of a sustained finish.”
This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!
The next best price is $31.99
Weingut Emmerich Knoll ‘Vinothekfullung’ Gruner Veltliner Smaragd, Wachau 2013 750ML ($79.95) $69 special, 21 bottles available
Wine Advocate 94 points “Always made with botrytis grapes, the 2013 Gruner Veltliner Smaragd Loibner Vinothekfullung offers a very clear and intense, though noble and fresh, aroma of honeydew melon, pineapples and hints of lychee. Very rich in extract and highly concentrated on the palate, this opulent yet still well-balanced wine is one to be enjoyed in small sips rather than in bottles (at least when it’s so young). This is an impressively rich and velvety textured wine, indeed, though it lacks the tension and freshness of the Schütt at the moment.” WA
This is the only listing in the USA today!
Agathe Bursin Sylvaner Eminence Zinnkoepfle, Alsace Grand Cru 2013 750ML ($31.95) $28 special, 36+ bottles available
Ian D’Agata–Vinous 92 points “Gold-tinged straw. Delicate aromas of peach, apricot and poached apple. Rich and dense on the palate, with lively acidity lifting the sweet flavors of orchard and tropical fruits. Finishes very long, with impeccable balance. These Sylvaner vines grow in the grand cru Zinnkoepflé, the soils of which are marked by calcaires à entroques. Planted in 1930 with a southeast exposure, these vines give the description vieilles vignes real meaning, but Bursin doesn’t care to use this wording on the label since she believes the term has been reduced to mainly marketing purposes. “In France, vieille vigne wines are made with vines ranging anywehere from as little as 20 years to as much as 100 years of age, so what‘s the point?” she asks.”
Caparzo Brunello Reserva
Arrives This Week
In a land as old as Italy, history and modernity intertwine like vine shoots in spring. In Montalcino, wines have been made since ancient times, yet Brunello di Montalcino didn’t earn a reputation until well into the 20th century. Enter Caparzo. Established in the late 1960s, the Caparzo estate planted vines and olives, and built a state-of-the-art winery to make reds and whites from their 220-acre estate-owned vineyards. With grapes growing on all five sides of the Montalcino hill, Caparzo is ensured ripe, healthy fruit no matter the vintage’s caprice. Regardless of all this, Caparzo sticks to tradition, offering a Riserva wine only in years that deserve it. The latest Riserva release is 2010, a wine to cellar but which will reward one day with richly layered fruit, sumptuous tannins, and a haunting finish that will make you wish you’d ordered more at such a price.
Caparzo Brunello di Montalcino Riserva DOCG 2010 750ML ($79.95) $69 pre-arrival special
Case-6 Caparzo Brunello di Montalcino Riserva DOCG 2010 750ML ($479.95) $399 pre-arrival special (that’s only $66.50/bottle!)
Antonio Galloni 96 points “The 2010 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva is a big, powerful wine that is going to require at least a few years to soften. Dark and brooding, the Riserva shows the more masculine side of Sangiovese. Black cherry, plum, leather, spice and tobacco all sit on firm beams of acidity and tannin. There is a sense of explosive energy to the 2010 that I find quite appealing, but readers will have to be patient in order to experience the wine at its best.”
Caparzo Available Here Now
Caparzo Brunello di Montalcino DOCG 2011 750ML ($39.95) $33 special, 36+ bottles available
Case-12 Caparzo Brunello di Montalcino DOCG 2011 750ML ($419.95) $359 special, 8 cases available (that’s only $29.92/bottle!)
Antonio Galloni 94 points “The 2011 Brunello di Montalcino is a terrific wine for the year. Sweet red cherry, plum, tobacco, mint, sweet spices and orange peel are all front and center. This is a gorgeous 2011 Brunello that represents everything the vintage can be; open-knit, accessible and polished. I don’t expect the 2011 will be a long-term ager, but it is exceptionally beautiful and delicious today.”
James Suckling 93 points “A ripe, juicy wine with blueberry, chocolate, walnut and cherry character. Round and savory. Silky tannins. Very close quality to the fabulous 2010. Delicious now.”
Terry Theise
Journeys in Germany
Our exciting adventures into the 2015 new German releases continue with selections from Von Winning, Kruger-Rumpf and Schlossgut Diel. Our limited offer also includes several winery-cellared releases from Kruger-Rumpf dating back to the 1992 vintage.
Von Winning
Arriving Fall 2016
The Von Winning estate dates back to 1849, and still makes some of the finest Pfalz wines. After a change in ownership in 2009, the vineyard and winery became even more focused on producing the highest quality wines possible. High-density planting and sustainable viticulture deliver excellent results in ancient vineyards like Langenmorgen and the famous Kirchenstuck of Forst. Oak barrels of various sizes hold the unracked wine on its lees until bottling, and Von Winning refuses to fine or filter, which leaves the wines and their character intact. The powerful beauties of 2015 cannot be missed. “These are simply classic forceful Pfalz wines,” writes German wine expert Terry Theise.
Von Winning Deidesheimer Paradiesgarten Riesling Trocken, Pfalz 2015 750ML ($34.95) $24 pre-arrival special
Terry Theise note: “Until Von Winning I don’t think anyone knew the potential of this upslope vineyard in Deidesheim. It’s an amazing value considering what it offers for the pittance it ciosts; wry, grainy and excellent, open-armed and terroiré, but terroir detached from “mineral,”: more ginger, guava and pineapple; hints at woodiness and resolves into a suave finish of pink peppercorns.”
This is the only listing in the USA today!
Von Winning Ruppertsberger Reiterpfad Riesling Trocken, Pfalz 2015 750ML ($39.95) $29 pre-arrival special
Terry Theise note: “This Ruppertsberg site could easily justify a “GG” bottling, as other estates have indeed done. It’s the juicy grande dame among the 1er Crus, very close to the “GGs” in stature and in that ineffable sense of Important Land; a warm basket of yellow fruits and a solid yet texturally complex finish. No need to work to “get” this wine; it’s overtly dee-lish!”
This is the only listing in the USA today!
Von Winning Deidesheim Grainhubel Riesling Trocken, Pfalz 2015 750ML ($54.95) $39 pre-arrival special
Terry Theise note: “Many observers find this tied for top-site in Deidesheim (with Hohenmorgen, which only has two owners) as these things are debated. In this case it isn’t the strongest among the Deidesheim ”GGs” but it’s definitely the most interesting, many-faceted, graceful and long. It’s really gingery and wild-plummy, seductive and exotic, soursop and mint and wild herbs; it winks toward Sauvignon Blanc in fact—as if you hadn’t rinsed your glass—until the classic wisteria finish of pure Riesling. So piquant and stylish. It’s the moist delightful among the range.”
This is the only listing in the USA today!
Von Winning Deidesheimer Langenmorgen Riesling Grosses Gewachs, Pfalz 2015 750ML ($79.95) $59 pre-arrival special
Terry Theise note: “It’s the nerd among the “GGs” of Deidesheim, and it’s my personal favorite; the stoniest and most focused, complex and digital; it pulls you in, it’s introverted and numinous and insanely flowery, sous bois, thinly stony like what you skip on the surface of a pond. Chinese 5-spice comes on. How does wine do this, refer to four different families of flavor within one perfect structure?”
This is the only listing in the USA today!
Von Winning Ungeheuer Riesling Grosses Gewachs Trocken, Pfalz 2015 750ML ($59.95) $49 pre-arrival special
Terry Theise note: “Larger production = lower price. It isn’t that hard to pronounce but you have to know how. Think Oonga-Hoyer. Now repeat after me: OONGA! HOYER! There, that’s it. In some ways the prototypical Pfalz wine, earthy, fiery and caramel-y, bone-brothy and savory….yet this one is focused and almost flowery; physio-sweet, with a finish that is monstrous indeed, a wine with a bone-breaker handshake.”
This is the only listing in the USA today!
Von Winning Pechstein Riesling Grosses Gewachs, Pfalz 2015 750ML ($119.95) $79 pre-arrival special
Terry Theise note: “I’m almost certainly underrating this wine, but my initial sense was that the power of ’15 had masked some of the angular floweriness that makes this great Forst wine so beloved. It was almost demure, though atypically fierce and not especially floral. The basalt twang is riding a vein of pepper and spices and an overt stoniness.”
This is the only listing in the USA today!
Von Winning Kirchenstuck Riesling Grosses Gewachs, Pfalz 2015 750ML ($139.95) $99 pre-arrival special
Terry Theise note: “The Great One, the Clos-Ste-Hûne of the Pfalz, is an absolute blockbuster in ’15. The fragrance is strong, the wine is strong. It’s blatantly great. Wicky, mineral, licorice-y, imploding fruit and ore, nothing very mystic here, just a wickedly curvaceous writhing mélange of power with the nth degree of intricacy.”
This is the only listing in the USA today!
Kruger-Rumpf
Arriving Fall 2016
Situated in the Nahe and Rheinhessen wine country, the Kruger-Rumpf family has been making fine wine since 1708. Included in their 55-acre holdings are parcels in the prestigious Grosses Gewächs Münsterer Pittersberg and Dautenpflänzer vineyards, where Kruger-Rumpf tends 50-plus year-old vines. The slopes are steep and the soils diverse. Kruger-Rumpf hand picks its fruit to ensure no botrytis makes its way into the winery. Fermentations are kept short to preserve the fruity, fresh nature of these grand Rieslings. Terry Theise has this to say: “This on-the-move winery has a steadily excellent vintage in 2015.” The prices further encourage drinking these wines.
Kruger-Rumpf Munsterer Dautenpflanzer Riesling Spatlese, Nahe 2015 750ML ($27.95) $21.90 pre-arrival special
Terry Theise note: “Shows the loam and lemony face of this spicy exotic vineyard; picked ginger, earthy clove and duck skin; freesia and mint—what a glorious Grand Cru this is. Earthy yet tastes like it was visited by extraterrestrials, who threw down seeds for a phosphorescent moss.”
This is the only listing in the USA today!
Kruger-Rumpf Munsterer Pittersberg Riesling Spatlese Feinherb, Nahe 1992 750ML ($34.95) $24 pre-arrival special
Terry Theise note: “Pittersberg is the other of the top Crus, and this site is more classic and less mischievous than its neighbor. Stefan refers only to “slate” and very often the wine smells just like Mosel wine – in fact just like Graacher Himmelreich. “In parts dusty loam over slate,” according to the textbook. Pittersberg is related to the Rüdesheimer Berg Schlossberg, which is just over the Rhine less than two miles north, though without the Taunus-quartzite of the Rheingau site.”
This is the only listing in the USA today!
Kruger-Rumpf Binger Scharlachberg Riesling Spatlese, Rheinhessen 2006 750ML ($27.95) $21.90 pre-arrival special
Terry Theise note: “Scharlachberg is a Grand Cru, but in fact a Rheinhessen Grand Cru, as it sits across the (mighty!) Nahe from Münster-Sarmsheim; it’s a serious prow of hillside acting as a kind of warm-up to the Rüdesheimer Berg just to its north over the Rhine – though on a radically different soil; a mélange of rotliegend and various volcanic derivatives (e.g., porphyry). The wines are, or can be, superb, seeming to mingle the succulence of Hipping or Pettenthal with the exotics of Felsenberg or Dautenpflänzer.”
This is the only listing in the USA today!
Kruger-Rumpf Binger Scharlachberg Riesling Spatlese, Rheinhessen 2015 750ML ($27.95) $21.90 pre-arrival special
Terry Theise note: “An entirely typical, which is to say riotously super ripe fruity wine from this vineyard, an old-school “sweet” Spätlese anchored to a big earthy richness.”
This is the only listing in the USA today!
Schlossgut Diel
Arriving Fall 2016
Germany has no shortage of extraordinary, family-owned and -run, castled estates. Schlossgut Diel is one of them, and one of the best. The Diel family purchased the winery and vineyards in 1802, and today Caroline Diel, who studied wine production at Geisenheim University, makes the wines. As elsewhere on the Nahe the vineyards descend like ski slopes, and the soils vary from slate, to quartzite, to loam, which makes for refined wines of different character. “Diel’s ‘15s are marked by astounding precision, grace and class. And you know, it’s one thing to prevail over a “difficult” vintage (such as ’13 and ’14) but it’s perhaps even more remarkable to take a good, easy vintage like ’15 and improve upon it,” writes wine guru Terry Theise.
Schlossgut Diel Eierfels Riesling Trocken, Nahe 2015 750ML ($44.95) $33 pre-arrival special
Terry Theise note: “This is how it’s done folks. Light, silky, really truly dry but not a bite or a scratch on its elegant surface; salty and mineral, all silver and gray; a detailed articulate delicate Riesling of length and sheer class.”
This is the only listing in the USA today!
Schlossgut Diel Dorsheimer Goldloch Riesling Grosses Gewachs, Nahe 2015 750ML ($79.95) $59 pre-arrival special
Terry Theise note: “Markedly accessible at this stage, showing the talc, white flowers and key lime profile of Goldloch, not the sometimes baroque pitted fruit facets. The palate is aerial yet stern, delicate yet intense, kelpy, a dashi of Riesling—ginger, tapioca, coconut… and the alcohol?? What Federspiel is in the same universe as something like this?”
This is the only listing in the USA today!
Schlossgut Diel Dorsheimer Pittermannchen Riesling Grosses Gewachs, Nahe 2015 750ML ($79.95) $59 pre-arrival special
Terry Theise note: “Pungently slatey; ostensibly lighter but curiously lingering and stubborn; a wine of twigs and shoots and small bones, Riesling with no concessions; intricate trigonometry of gravelly mineral, lacy hoar-frost tracings of delicate little threads of Riesling love.”
This is the only listing in the USA today!
Schlossgut Diel Dorsheimer Goldloch Riesling Kabinett, Nahe 2015 750ML ($37.95) $28 pre-arrival special
Terry Theise note: “A cool, delicate rendering of the Great Lady that is Goldloch; a lovely being of a certain fleshy amplitude but also fresh, vertical, and snappy—there’s almost 10g of acidity with 45g of RS; a classic paradigm of high-acid German Riesling.”
This is the only listing in the USA today!
Schlossgut Diel Dorsheimer Pittermannchen Riesling Spatlese, Nahe 2015 750ML ($59.95) $49 pre-arrival special
Terry Theise note: “Shimmering and brilliant to an almost ludicrous degree; reminds me of the 1-star Auslese from Christoffel, the buzzing slate, para-slate, the lashing gorgeousness of naked slate; a parfait of green apple.”
This is the only listing in the USA today!
Schlossgut Diel Dorsheimer Pittermannchen Riesling Auslese, Nahe 2015 750ML ($44.95) $33 pre-arrival special
Terry Theise note: “I couldn’t help it, the wine was too lovely. Throw my ass out to pasture when I ever become indifferent to a wine like this. Salty, sassafrass, any sweetness it has seems to wash away to stones and zinginess; like fruit that spent six months in zero-gravity.”
This is the only listing in the USA today!
Schlossgut Diel Dorsheimer Goldloch Riesling Auslese, Nahe 2015 750ML ($59.95) $49 pre-arrival special
Terry Theise note: “Fruit from all three “GGs,” this is the perfect argument for “Auslese” as not only a genre, but as a certain type and nature of beauty I don’t think we can just walk away from. A paradigm, if you will. As savory as aged Comté, not a botrytis liqueur but a salty-savory wine with “a certain sweetness,” showing here as grain and straw more than peaches and nectarines. It seems to urge toward sweetness but finally yields to its crisp quince-y acidity.”
This is the only listing in the USA today!
Kapcsandy’s Legendary Wines
Arriving Here this Fall
Kapcsandy Family Cabernet Sauvignon Grand Vin, State Lane Vineyard 2014 ($499.95) $399 pre-arrival special
Antonio Galloni 97-100 points “Another seamless, absolutely impeccable wine, the 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Grand Vin saturates every corner of the palate. Magnificent, rich and unctuous yet with a classic sense of balance, the 2014 hits all the right notes. The flavors are deep, bold and incredibly intense throughout. Graphite, savory herbs, tobacco, menthol and licorice wrap around the voluptuous finish. At this early stage, the 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Grand Vin is without question one of the most compelling wines I have tasted at Kapcsándy.”
9 Bottles Remain Unsold – Winery Release – Arrival Here Late Fall 2016
The Sale Continues
July 4th Sale: Delas Freres
Prices Expire at Midnight 7/4
Delas Freres Cote Rotie Seigneur de Maugiron 2010 750ML ($89.95) Was $69, Now $59
Wine Spectator 94 points “Packed with lots of dark ganache, tapenade, tobacco, blackberry compote and freshly sliced plum fruit flavors, this really courses along with noticeable energy, while bramble, singed bay leaf and charcoal stud the finish dramatically. Best from 2015 through 2027.” WS
Robert Parker 91 points “The 2010 Cote Rotie Seigneur de Maugiron has fleshed out since last year offering notes of black olives, garrigue, licorice, forest floor, bacon fat, raspberries and black currants. This medium-bodied Cote Rotie veers more toward a Burgundy-styled wine than its Syrah-based peers in the Northern Rhone. Two extraordinary wines are the offerings Jacques Grange has fashioned from the Delas Freres holdings in the Cote Brune, the 2011 and 2010 Cote Rotie La Landonne.” RP
This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!
The average price is $75
Delas Freres Crozes-Hermitage Le Clos 2004 750ML ($59.95) Was $49, Now $39
Josh Raynolds–Vinous 89 points “Medium red. Strong mineral notes accent fresh cherry and earthier tobacco and floral aromas. Solid and firmly structured, with a racy quality to the bright cherry and rhubarb flavors. This should age very well.”
This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!
Delas Freres Crozes-Hermitage Le Clos 2006 750ML ($59.95) Was $49, Now $39
Robert Parker 92 points “The stunning, dense ruby/purple-tinged 2006 Crozes-Hermitage Les Clos exhibits smoky, roasted meat, garrigue, blackberry, cassis, new saddle leather, and charcoal aromas, sweet tannins, full-bodied power, and reserves of concentration and fruit. Consume it over the next decade. This cuvee has become one of the top three or four wines of the appellation. ”
Wine Spectator 92 points “Very racy, with dark fig and black cherry fruit crushed together, while hints of iron, mesquite and tobacco fill out the finish. Shows great drive and precision, despite its ample toast.”
Delas Freres Crozes-Hermitage Le Clos 2013 750ML ($69.95) Was $59, Now $49
Wine Advocate 93+ points “Similar to the Domaine des Grands Chemins, yet with additional structure, the inky purple/ruby colored 2013 Crozes Hermitage le Clos has lots of minerality in its smoky, meaty, dark fruited profile. Medium to full-bodied, nicely concentrated, structured yet balanced, give it 2-4 years of cellaring and enjoy over the following decade or more.”
This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!
Delas Freres Hermitage Les Bessards 2004 750ML ($199.95) Was $149, Now $119
Josh Raynolds–Vinous 94 points “Ruby-red. Very pungent, deep aromas of tobacco- and underbrush-laced red and blackcurrant. Powerful and rich, showing impressive sweetness to its potent cassis and blackberry flavors. Really stains the palate, finishing with exceptional purity and mineral tones. Whatever tannins are here (and you know there are plenty) are completely absorbed by the sheer fruit mass.”
This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!
The average price is $180
Delas Freres Hermitage Les Bessards 2013 750ML ($249.95) Was $199, Now $189
Josh Raynolds–Vinous 95 points “(aged in 70% new oak for 18 months): Inky ruby. Sexy, highly perfumed aromas of ripe dark berries, cherry liqueur, peppery spices and fresh flowers, backed by a hint of olive. Supple and appealingly sweet, offering intense, deeply concentrated blackberry and violet pastille flavors and a suggestion of star anise. Finishes pure, sweet and energetic on the penetrating finish, showing outstanding focus and slow-building tannins.”
Wine Advocate 94+ points “Closed, tight and backwards, the 2013 Hermitage les Bessards is a big, full-bodied, burly wine that offers first rate purity in its black raspberry, ozone, liquid rock, and creosote-like bouquet. It has plenty of material and density, but will need 7-8 years of bottle age to become approachable. As normal, it comes all from the “Bas de Coteau” portion of the Bessards lieu-dit, was completely destemmed and saw 18 months in 30% new French oak.”
This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!
The next best price is $198.34
The average price is $200
Delas Freres Hermitage Domaine des Tourettes-Marquise de la Tourette 2013 ($119.95) Was $89, Now $79
Wine Advocate 94 points “One of the gems in the vintage is the 2013 Hermitage Domaine des Tourettes, which comes from both the Bessards and Grandes Vignes lieux-dits on Hermitage Hill. Completely destemmed, then vinified in stainless steel and concrete tanks, the wine is aged 18 months in 30% new French oak; it offers terrific notes of dark fruits, graphite and ample minerality in a full-bodied, layered, ripe profile. It’s more approachable than the Les Bessards, yet will still have three decades of longevity.”
Have a lovely Fourth of July weekend!