New Review & New Thanksgiving Day Sale Wine; #Trending: Value Champagnes; A Case of Vinsanity: Pinot Edition; Arriving Friday: Star Lane / Forman / La Nerthe / Nanclares / Keller & more!; Hirotake Ooka & Frank Cornelissen: Rhone & Sicily, Naturally; Gaja: Incredible Offer & Eisele Vyd Cab Arriving Nov 17th; Late Breaking News: Famille Perrin Hot Deal
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New Review
New Thanksgiving Day Sale Wine
In Stock Now
Cantina del Pino Barbaresco DOCG, Piedmont 2013 750ML ($41.95) Was $36, Now $33
Antonio Galloni 93 points “The 2013 Barbaresco is gorgeous. Fresh, vibrant and nuanced, the Barbaresco captures all the pedigree and class of the year. The flavors are bright and beautifully delineated throughout. Medium in body, with notable depth and class to burn, the 2013 is superb today. The translucency and expressiveness of Nebbiolo comes through loud and clear. Even so, the 2013 is not an obvious wine, rather it is a Barbaresco built on finesse and balance. Fruit sources are Starderi, Albano, Gallina and Albesani. Don’t miss it.”
This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!
The average price is $38
See the complete list of all Thanksgiving Day Sale wines below!
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#Trending
Value Champagnes
Budget & Taste Bud Friendly Bubbly
Piper-Heidsieck Brut Cuvee 1785, Champagne NV 750ML ($49.95) $33 special, 36+ bottles in stock now
Wine Spectator 92 points “A mouthwatering Champagne, with a fine mousse, this offers juicy flavors of plum, candied grapefruit zest, ground ginger and pastry. Vibrant and expressive. Drink now through 2020.”[Reviewed April 30th, 2017]
This is the lowest listed price on the West Coast today!
Drappier Carte d’Or Brut Champagne NV 750ML ($49.95) $36 special, 32 bottles in stock now
Case-6 Drappier Carte d’Or Brut Champagne NV 750ML ($299.95) $199 special, 32 bottles in stock now (that’s only $33.17/bottle!)
Wine Spectator 92 points “This bright and zesty Champagne is lightly juicy and appealing, offering flavors of Honeycrisp apple, ripe white cherry, biscuit and pickled ginger. Balanced and lacy in texture, with a lingering, spiced finish. Drink now through 2022.”
This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!
The average price is $48
Andre Clouet Grande Reserve Brut, Champagne NV 750ML ($47.95) $33 special, 17 bottles in stock now
Case-12 Andre Clouet Grande Reserve Brut, Champagne NV 750ML ($519.95) $359 special, 3 cases in stock now (that’s only $29.92/bottle and the lowest listed price in the USA today!)
Andre Clouet Grande Reserve Brut, Champagne NV 3L ($319.95) $269 special, 7 jeroboams
Antonio Galloni 90 points “The NV Brut Grande Reserve emerges from the glass with layers of hazelnut, pear, spice and dried flower aromas. This rich, creamy wine impresses for its balance and sheer richness. I loved it.” AG
This is the only listing in the USA today for the jeroboam!
The average price is $45
Arlaux Grande Cuvee Premier Cru Brut, Champagne NV 750ML ($39.95) $33 special, 36+ bottles in stock now
Case-6 Arlaux Grande Cuvee Premier Cru Brut, Champagne NV 750ML ($219.95) $189 special, 10+ six-packs in stock now (that’s only $31.50/bottle!)
Wine Advocate 92 points “The nose of this wine seduces you straight away with a great balance of autolytic and fruit aromas: toasted hazelnuts, warm apple tart and kaya (coconut and egg) jam. The palate is equally well balanced providing plenty of evolved fruit and toasty / yeasty flavors. Small, fine bubbles, seamless use of dosage and a long nutty finish. This fine if relatively unknown Brut NV takes first place in the derby – a shocker even for me!”
Importer notes: “Arlaux is a small family-run champagne house producing only 5,000 cases a year located in a small village on the Petit Montagne de Reims called Vrigny. Arlaux has been producing champagne since 1826 but the Arlaux-Marchal family have lived in Vrigny since the 13th century. Exclusively 1er Cru Champagne with a minimum of 4 years aging. They only use their own grapes from 20 to 100 year old vines which are hand-picked in order to select only the very best. All Arlaux cuvées are 100% Premier Cru and 100% Tête de Cuvée (meaning that they only use the juice of the 1st press).”
This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!
The average price is $38
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Pick a Peck of Pinots
We offer incredible values on Pinots by the bottle, six and dozen – see our complete list of Pinot case deals below (Champagnes, too!)
Oregon
Case-12 Bow & Arrow Vitae Springs Vineyard Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley 2015 750ML ($419.95) $299 special, 2 cases in stock now (that’s only $24.92/bottle!)
Bow & Arrow Vitae Springs Vineyard Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley 2015 750ML ($37.95) $28 special, 31 bottles in stock now
VinopolNote: The selection for the Vitae Springs bottling comes from the highest block in the vineyard at an elevation of 800 feet. It was planted to the Pommard clone in 1999. The wine is fresh and inviting, showing a spicy nose with notes of violets, red roses and oolong tea. It has a refreshingly sappy persistence to the finish.
This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!
The next best price is $37.99
Case-12 Goodfellow Family Cellars Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley 2015 750ML ($279.95) $219 special, 1 cases in stock now (that’s only $18.25/bottle and the lowest listed price in the USA today!)
Goodfellow Family Cellars Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley 2015 750ML ($24.95) $20.90 special, 36+ bottles in stock now
Wine Advocate 92+ points “Pale ruby-purple colored, the 2015 Pinot Noir is scented of roses, wild thyme and lavender with a core of Bing cherries and warm cranberries plus an earthy/forest floor waft. Light to medium-bodied, the palate provides a wonderful intensity of perfumed red berry flavors with silken tannins and a long earthy finish.”
Thanksgiving Day Sale Wine!
Case-12 Goodfellow Family Cellars Bishop Creek Vineyard Pinot Noir, Oregon 2014 750ML ($419.95) $299 special, 7 cases in stock now (that’s only $24.92/bottle!)
Case-6 Goodfellow Family Cellars Bishop Creek Vineyard Pinot Noir, Oregon 2014 750ML ($219.95) $166 special, 5 six-packs in stock now (that’s only $27.67/bottle!)
Goodfellow Family Cellars Bishop Creek Vineyard Pinot Noir, Oregon 2014 750ML ($41.95) Was $37, Now $29, 36+ bottles in stock now
Grapelive 91 points “Delicately layered and spicy, the 2014 Bishop Creek is a pretty effort, especially for a richer vintage in Oregon. Made by Marcus Goodfellow, the ex-Evesham Wood and Westerly man, [he] is coming into his own as a talent, inspired by Doerner of Cristom and John Paul of Cameron. You can see the style showing through here. Bishop Creek, planted to Pommard and Wadenswil (old Swiss clone), [is] now owned by Nicolas Meo of the famed Burgundy Domaine Meo-Camuzet. [The vineyard] ([which is] not far from Shea Vineyards) formed this wine with its distinct strawberry and racy red cherry core along with the mixed spice, mineral tones and light wood influence. Its southern exposure and Willakenzie soils (dark rocky marine sediment) give warmth and grace. Planted in 1988, the vines ripen without flamboyant extraction, allowing more finesse to show through. At 13.9% this medium weight wine offers fine detail, opulence and restrained, almost earthy, soulfulness. Hints of bitter herb, cedar and candied citrus rind add a tangy note to the whole and the finish echoes the red fruits in subtle fashion with a touch of wilted roses lingering on. It shines right now, though best to enjoy it with cuisine to match as it is a tad shier than other 2014 Oregon Pinots (I’ve tried) and needs time and coaxing to reach its beautiful peak. Best from 2018 to 2022.”
This is the only listing in the USA today!
The next best price for any vintage is $36
Case-12 Matello ‘Souris’ Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley 2012 750ML ($499.95) $299 special, 5 cases in stock now (that’s only $24.92/bottle!)
Case-6 Matello ‘Souris’ Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley 2012 750ML ($249.95) $166 special, 5 six-packs in stock now (that’s only $27.67/bottle!)
Matello ‘Souris’ Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley 2012 750ML ($41.95) $29 special, 36+ bottles in stock now
Josh Raynolds–Vinous 93 points “Vivid ruby-red. Heady, complex scents of fresh red and dark berries, incense and Asian spices, with a bright mineral overtone. Intense black raspberry and spicecake flavors convey a shapely, seamless quality. Fleshes out and deepens with aeration and finishes sweet and extremely long, with lingering smokiness and harmonious tannins.”
This is the only listing in the USA today!
France – Champagne
Case-12 Andre Clouet Silver Grand Cru Blanc de Noirs Brut Nature, Champagne NV 750ML ($519.95) $359 special, 2 cases in stock now (that’s only $29.92/bottle and the lowest listed price in the USA today!)
Andre Clouet Silver Grand Cru Blanc de Noirs Brut Nature, Champagne NV 750ML ($47.95) $33 special, 12 bottles in stock now
Antonio Galloni 91 points “The NV Brut Nature Silver is naturally a very focused, driven wine given the no-dosage style. This shows wonderful nuance and depth all the way through to the long finish, with bright aromas and flavors but less of the toastiness than some of the house’s other wines. The mousse and finish are both utterly impeccable in their elegance.” AG
The average price is $45
Case-6 Vouette et Sorbee Cuvee Fidele Extra Brut, Champagne NV (2012) 750ML ($479.95) $336 special, 2 six-packs in stock now (that’s only $56/bottle!)
Vouette et Sorbee Cuvee Fidele Extra Brut, Champagne NV (2012) 750ML ($89.95) $59 special, 7 bottles in stock now
Antonio Galloni 95 points “The NV (2012) Extra Brut Fidele is another fabulous wine from Vouette & Sorbée. Here, the richness of Pinot Noir comes through loud and clear in the wine’s depth and overall richness. Creamy and beautifully layered throughout, the 2012 hits all the right notes. Red berry, mint, flowers, sweet spices and candy fill out the wine’s broad frame effortlessly. What a gorgeous wine this is. Simply put, the 2012 is a total knock-out.”
This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!
France – Burgundy
Case-12 Olivier Larochette Bourgogne Pinot Noir Vieilles Vignes, Burgundy 2009 750ML ($199.95) $138 special, 3 cases in stock now (that’s only $11.50/bottle!)
Olivier Larochette Bourgogne Pinot Noir Vieilles Vignes, Burgundy 2009 750ML ($19.95) $14 special, 36+ bottles in stock now
VinopolNote: It’s an old vine bottling from a small nego Olivier Larochette. Ruby red in color. Intense aromas of crushed black raspberry, fresh plums and violets with a light herbal note underneath that’s akin to Sencha tea. The rich aromas translate into rich initial flavors at the first sip with a lingering, zippy acidity and very fine tannins. The note of fresh red plums continues on the palate accented by toasted almonds and red raspberries. This would make a great pairing with roast chicken and caramelized onions.
This is the only listing in the USA today!
Case-12 Joseph Drouhin Bourgogne Laforet Pinot Noir, Burgundy 2014 750ML ($199.95) $149 special, 1 case available (that’s only $12.42/bottle and the lowest listed price in the USA today!)
Joseph Drouhin Bourgogne Laforet Pinot Noir, Burgundy 2014 750ML ($17.95) $14 special, 17 bottles available
Winery note “A wine full of charm: bright ruby colour and a nose rich with aromas of red fruit (raspberry, red currants, wild strawberry). On the palate, the wine is pleasant, fruity and refreshing, with light tannins and great elegance.”
This is the lowest listed price on the West Coast!
Case-12 Joseph Faiveley Bourgogne Rouge, Burgundy 2012 750ML ($299.95) $169 special, 3 cases in stock now (that’s only $14.08/bottle!)
Joseph Faiveley Bourgogne Rouge, Burgundy 2012 750ML ($27.95) $16 special, 36+ bottles in stock now
Importer notes: “A beautiful ruby color. This wine has pleasant, fresh, red-fruit aromas on the nose, which we find again on the palate. It has rich and very ripe substance, with fine round tannins. It’s a very well-structured and pleasing wine.”
This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!
The average price is $24
Case-6 Claire Naudin Domaine Henri Naudin-Ferrand Bourgogne Hautes Cotes de Nuits, Burgundy 2013 750ML ($119.95) $99 special, 3 six-packs available (that’s only $16.50/bottle)
Claire Naudin Domaine Henri Naudin-Ferrand Bourgogne Hautes Cotes de Nuits, Burgundy 2013 750ML ($27.95) $18 special, 30 bottles available
Winery note “[Translated] Light red color with medium intensity as is typical in the 2013 vintage. Unfiltered. Opens with aromas of spices and freshly cut herbs. Shows notes of wild cherries with discrete notes of wood. Drinking nicely now.”
This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!
The next best price is $28
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New Offers
Arriving Friday
California
Star Lane Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, Happy Canyon 2012 750ML ($49.95) $39 Friday arrival special
Antonio Galloni 93 points “The 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon is ripe, bold and exuberant, with tons of intensity and voluptuousness on display. Ripe red cherry, smoke, tobacco, plum, menthol and new leather are some of the many aromas and flavors that jump from the glass in this flamboyant, super-expressive Cabernet Sauvignon from Star Lane. The 2012 is not the last word on complexity, but it is incredibly delicious and should continue to offer fine drinking for the better portion of the next decade, give or take.”
This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!
The next best price is $34.99
Star Lane Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, Happy Canyon 2013 750ML ($59.95) $44 Friday arrival special
Antonio Galloni 94 points “Another highlight in this range, the 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon Star Lane Vineyard is absolutely delicious. Succulent dark cherry, plum, licorice, menthol and new leather are front and center. The 2013 is a beautiful wine that reconciles bold, racy fruit with the more earthy/savory style that is typical of this site in Happy Canyon.”
This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!
The average price is $48
Forman Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley 2014 750ML ($119.95) $99 Friday arrival special
Antonio Galloni 95+ points “A weightless, translucent wine, the 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon exudes class. Vibrant and finely sculpted, the 2014 possesses striking nuance from start to finish. Scents of lavender, rose petal, mint and sweet spice notes give the 2014 its brightness and sense of energy. Today, the 2014 is a bit compact relative to how it showed from barrel. I expect the wine will put on a bit more weight during its aging. Readers should plan on cellaring the 2014 at least a few years. Even today, though, the 2014 is a very pretty and pure wine.”
This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!
The average price is $115
France – Rhone
Chateau La Nerthe Chateauneuf-du-Pape, Rhone 2013 750ML ($49.95) $39 Friday arrival special
Josh Raynolds – Vinous 91 points “Bright ruby-red. Sexy raspberry and floral pastille aromas show good clarity and hints of peppery spices and woodsmoke. Broad, supple and appealingly sweet, offering depth and intensity to the red and blue fruit and candied lavender flavors. Finishes long, supple and impressively energetic, with smooth tannins adding shape.”
Wine Spectator 91 points “A beam of raspberry pâte de fruit and warm plum confiture stretches from start to finish, with light licorice, warm fruitcake and gently singed apple wood notes filling in along the way. A bit forward in style, but will certainly win fans for the alluring fruit and spice. Drink now through 2023. 12,000 cases made.”
This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!
The average price is $55
France – Loire
Clau de Nell Anjou Cuvee Violette, Loire 2014 750ML ($49.95) $39 Friday arrival special
Wine Spectator 90 points “Dark and grippy in feel, with smoldering tobacco and bay leaf notes along with worn leather and humus accents, all mixed with a core of dark cherry and black currant fruit. Fresh acidity drives the finish, providing lift and cut. Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. Drink now through 2021. 100 cases imported.”
Wine Advocate 89 points “The 2014 Cuvée Violette offers an intensely fruity, perfectly concentrated and floral-scented bouquet with fascinating purity and freshness. Medium-bodied, intense and concentrated on the palate, with black berry, spicy flavors and perfectly ripe tannins, this is a very elegant, delicate and smooth Cabernet Franc with a good and aromatic finish. This wine is very pure and with a natural expression of perfectly ripe berries. It is ready to be drunk.”
Spain
Bodegas Nanclares Dandelion Albarino, Rias Baixas 2016 750ML ($24.95) $21.90 Friday arrival special
Case-12 Bodegas Nanclares Dandelion Albarino, Rias Baixas 2016 750ML ($299.95) $235 Friday arrival special (that’s only $19.58 /bottle!)
Wine Advocate 90 points “Bottled one month before I tasted it, the 2016 Dandelión is now produced with purchased grapes from vineyards in the interior of the Valle del Salnés. It has very good ripeness, with some white and yellow fruit, very clean. It has a soft palate with a sweetness in the finish—as the fermentation was complex, and they didn’t want to use any selected yeasts—and was bottled with some residual sugar. This is now their volume bottling where they have significantly grown the number of bottles produced. It has a more commercial profile in this vintage. 13,067 bottles produced.”
This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!
Bodegas Nanclares ‘Alberto Nanclares’ Albarino, Rias Baixas 2016 750ML ($37.95) $31.90 Friday arrival special
Bodegas Nanclares ‘Paraje de Mina’ Albarino, Rias Baixas 2016 750ML ($49.95) $39 Friday arrival special
Bodegas Nanclares ‘Penapedre Tinto’ Ribera Sacra 2015 750ML ($59.95) $49 Friday arrival special
Wine Advocate 92 points “There is one more red from the Ribeira Sacra zone in the banks of the Miño, a bottling called 2015 Penapedre, which is a blend of 60% Mencía, 30% Garnacha Tintorera and 10% white grapes (Palomino and Godello) from ancient (believed to be centenary) vines. The wine is fermented with full clusters and foot treading in a new 4,000-liter chestnut vat and matured in a 500-liter oak barrel with lees for 12 months. It has a similar character to the Miñato da Raña; perhaps I found a little more finesse here, maybe because it was polished by a slightly longer élevage. There is lovely rusticity in both, which gives it character. It would be superb if it was a little livelier. There is some lactic/creamy notes, which could be from the chestnut vat or because one of the barrels provided that note that grew in the glass. 2,255 bottles were filled in January 2017. This is a joint venture with some friends. Part of it is bottled by Eulogio Pomares and the rest is here; the wines are the same, only the élevage is different.”
Bodegas Gerardo Mendez Do Ferreiro Albarino, Rias Baixas 2015 750ML ($29.95) $24 Friday arrival special
Wine Advocate 92+ points “I also had the chance to revisit the 2015 Albariño so I could complete the trio of 2014-2015-2016 in one sitting. They consider 2015 one of the most balanced vintages of the last decade, to which I can only agree. I had already tasted it very young last time and it had shown among the best 2015s from Galicia. Some time in bottle has done it good, but it’s still a serious and somehow closed vintage, moving toward more complex notes of quince paste and yellow plums. But it’s the palate where the wine is like an electric shock: pungent flavors, some iodine notes developing already, minerality and a salty finish. This should develop nicely without any efforts for 5+ years. 85,000 bottles produced.”
Bodegas Gerardo Mendez Do Ferreiro Rebisaca, Rias Baixas 2015 750ML ($27.95) $21.90 Friday arrival special
Wine Advocate 93 points “The one non-Albariño wine the Méndez family produce is the Rebisaca, a blend of 70% Albariño, with 25% Treixadura and 5% Loureiro from Condado de Tea (not Salnés), of which I tasted two vintages, the younger of which was the excellent 2015 Rebisaca. This cuvée started in 1998, initially only for the U.S. market, but in 2013 they started selling it in Spain, too. Treixadura and Loureiro are fermented separately and then blended with the Albariño, making sure the strong balsamic aromas of Loureiro do not overpower the blend. This blend is usually quite shy until three years after the vintage, so we probably caught it in a very closed phase when the wine needed to breath in the glass. It’s very different from the pure Albariño, with more herbal and stony aromas and less flowers and perfume. It has great structure from the Treixadura and a touch of complexity given by the Loureiro, and it usually reaches a perfect balance some five years after the harvest. The palate shows some austerity, too, but revealed the inner power, concentration and balance of the year. 8,000 bottles were produced and bottled in one single lot.”
This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!
Bodegas Gerardo Mendez Do Ferreiro Cepas Vellas, Rias Baixas 2015 750ML ($59.95) $44 Friday arrival special
Wine Advocate 95 points “They did not produce their flagship Albariño in 2014, so I tasted the 2015 Albariño Do Ferreiro Cepas Vellas instead. This wine is produced with grapes from extremely old vines that grow on granite and sand soils around their house and winery in Meaño. These plants deliver very low yields and concentrated juice—very apt for a vin de garde—and it can often deliver some 15% of grapes with botrytis. 2015 was a very balanced harvest, combining power and elegance while keeping good levels of freshness. The grapes are destemmed, crushed and cooled down to around ten degrees Celsius, and the juice is left to settle for four to five days before it is fermented with indigenous yeasts for 20 to 24 days at 16 to 18 degrees Celsius. The wine is kept in contact with fine lees for 11 to 13 months in stainless steel. It has moderate alcohol (12.5%) and very good acidity (pH 3.05). The wine is serious, sharp, austere, a little shy in aromas and subtle rather than in your face, slowly unfurling its colors with time in the glass, with mineral notes that made me think of a great German Riesling. These vines always have a great natural concentration, while keeping the freshness, which provides aging potential among the best Albariño. Today, it’s still sharp as a razor, with marked acidity and citrus sensations, long and marine, finishing with a tasty, salty marine note. This has to be among the best vintages (if not the best!) ever of Cepas Vellas! Bravo! Get hold of a six-pack and enjoy over the years. 8,000 bottles produced.”
Italy – Sicily
New cuvee!
Eduardo Torres Acosta Bianco Vino di Contrada Terre Siciliane IGT, Sicily 2015 750ML ($37.95) $31.90 Friday arrival special
Importer note “Eduardo Torres Acosta, a young winemaker from the Canary Islands, first began working with vines in Tenerife, where his father, a local postman, had a small plot of land. In 2012 Eduardo moved to Sicily, where he interned at Azienda Arianna Occhipinti (you may have heard of it). Soon thereafter he got a job as the enologist at Azienda Passopisciaro, one of the pioneers of new wave Etna producers. Despite Eduardo’s “outsider” status, he managed to rent several fine parcels on Etna from locals. The grapes are harvested and then trucked to Arianna Occhipinti’s estate in Vittoria. Since the winemaking facility is not on Etna, the wines are not allowed DO status and simply carry the IGT Terre Siciliane designation.”
Eduardo Torres Acosta Viticultore ‘Pirrera’ Vino di Contrada Terre Siciliane IGT, Sicily 2015 750ML ($59.95) $49 Friday arrival special
Importer note “Pirrera comes from a single contrada located at 850 meters in altitude. The name of the vineyard, Pirrera, stems from the presence of volcanic stones which were extracted from a quarry during a lava flow in 1614. The vineyard had been largely abandoned and is slowly being restored by Eduardo. Lighter and fresher than the Versante Nord due to the higher attitude, this is a blend of 90% Nerello Mascalese and 10% local varieties from vines of 50 plus years. The wine is made via spontaneous fermentation in cement tanks with 15 days on the skins and no temperature control then aged 16 months in 25hl Slavonian oak botte. This is a lighter and fresher version of Nerello Mascalese.”
This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!
Eduardo Torres Acosta Viticultore ‘Versante Nord’ Terre Siciliane IGT, Sicily 2015 750ML ($37.95) $31.90 Friday arrival special
Importer note “From two parcels, both north facing. The parcels, Pietramarina and Verzella, are located between 550 and 700 meters on soft soils consisting of lava ash from various eruptions. The vines are between 45-50 years old and are a field blend of 80% Nerello Mascalese and 20% other native varieties, including Carricante. The wine is made via spontaneous fermentation, with about 10% whole cluster. It was fermented in cement tanks with 15 days on the skins without temperature control, then aged 16 months in a 25hl Slavonian oak botte.”
Germany
Weingut Keller Westhofener Kirchspiel Riesling Grosses Gewachs, Rheinhessen 2016 750ML ($89.95) $79 Friday arrival special
Wine Advocate 93 points “Partly pressed in a basket press (60%), the 2016 Kirchspiel Riesling GG opens with a clear, fresh, chalky and intensely fruity nose. This is a rich, juicy, concentrated and fresh dry Riesling from calcareous soils that reveals a lot of tension, salt and vitality. Fine tannins here. Great concentration, juiciness and lingering salinity, with great grip and tension. An impressive wine!”
This is the only listing in the USA today!
Weingut Keller Dalsheimer Hubacker Riesling Grosses Gewachs, Rheinhessen 2016 750ML ($89.95) $79 Friday arrival special
“If I had to choose one wine to show how great dry German Riesling can be I would choose a Keller Riesling. Those wines are the German Montrachets” – Jancis Robinson
In Stock Now:
Weingut Keller Westhofener Brunnenhauschen Abts Erde Riesling Grosses Gewachs, Rheinhessen 2015 750ML ($249.95) $199 special, 6 bottles in stock now
John Gilman 99 points “Now that you know that I am a Morstein man, I do not know how to tell you that the 2015 Abtserde GG may be even a hair better than the “perfect” Morstein this year. The intellectual contradictions presented by trying to attach numbers to the unquantifiable beauty of these wines is readily self-evident with this wine in the glass! The bouquet of the 2015 Abtserde is strikingly brilliant, offering up a blend of kaleidoscopic, chalky minerality, sweet grapefruit, tangy tangerine, gentle smokiness, lemongrass and a youthful topnote of citrus peel. On the palate the wine is full-bodied, pure and displays stunning mid-palate depth, with a seamless, electric girdle of acidity, stunning mineral definition on the backend and a very, very long, laserlike and vibrant finish. Another perfect wine that I will lie about and “only” give a ninety-nine. But, you get the idea.”
Wine Advocate 95-97 points “The 2015 Westhofen Riesling Trocken GG Abts E (abbreviated as “Abts E” since Abtserde isn’t an official vineyard name) opens very clear, pure, delicate and fresh, but also concentrated (with grapefruit flavors!) and very mineral on the nose. This is a picture-book Riesling from (very active) limestone soils, where the terroir dominates the variety, at least on the nose. On the palate, this is a rich and powerful, silky textured, juicy and yet still concentrated and tightly woven wine. It has great intensity and minerality of stones, rocks and salt. It needs a lot of time to receive the finesse and purity of the mind-blowing Morstein, though.”
This is the only listing in the USA today!
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Hirotake Ooka & Frank Cornelissen
Rhone & Sicily, Naturally
Arriving Monday, November 13th
Both Ooka and Cornelissen produced their first wines in 2001, and from their respective outposts in St. Peray and Etna, make delicious, natural wines which are transparent, complex and intellectually stimulating.
Hirotake Ooka is an alumni of Grippat/Guigal and a student of Thierry Allemand, who now farms estate vineyards with no inputs and makes Rhone wines with great intention and very little manipulation. They are pure and unique, and while they are quite hard to source, they deserve attention from anyone with a true interest in Rhone:
Hirotake Ooka Domaine de la Grande Colline Cornas, Rhone 2015 750ML ($149.95) $119 pre-arrival special
This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!
Hirotake Ooka Domaine de la Grande Colline Saint-Joseph, Rhone 2012 750ML ($69.95) $59 pre-arrival special
Importer Note “25-year-old Syrah vines growing in granite are harvested manually and fermented with whole clusters. After a few days of carbonic maceration, there are daily punch downs over two to three weeks of maceration in tank. After pressing, the young wines age twenty-four months in old barrels before bottling with no fining, filtration and zero SO2.”
This is the only listing in the USA today!
Hirotake Ooka Domaine de la Grande Colline Le Canon Rouge, Rhone 2016 750ML ($39.95) $28 pre-arrival special
Importer Note “Immediately drinkable, this bottling is sourced from 30-year-old Syrah and Grenache, which spend a few days undergoing carbonic maceration. Then punch downs are done daily for 15-20 days in tank. Wine ages in tank and is bottled unfined, unfiltered and without SO2.”
Frank Cornelissen is a man who makes wine on top of a volcano in North Etna, with vines planted in diverse volcanic soils that Frank works himself with great care and attention. In the winery, there are no industrial yeasts, sulfites, or anything else added to the wines. All of the wines are fermented in small, neutral tanks and no wood is used in the cellar in order for all the wines to express their specific territory to the full extent. Frank uses neutral epoxy tanks and amphorae because he likes the round shape which allows the wines to be nourished with the fine lees moving freely during the aging process.
Frank Cornelissen ‘Munjebel Vino da Tavola Bianco’ Terre Siciliane IGT, Sicily 2015 750ML ($69.95) $59 pre-arrival special
Importer Note “70% Grecanico Dorato, 10% Coda di Volpe, 20% is Cattaratto and Caricante, produced with skin contact throughout the entire process of fermentation. These old, ungrafted vines are located between 750 and 1,000 meters in elevation.”
Frank Cornelissen ‘Susucaru’ Rosato Terre Siciliane IGT, Sicily 2016 750ML ($39.95) $36 pre-arrival special
Importer Note “50% Nerello Mascalese, along with Malvasia, Cattaratto, this is a complex rose from Etna made with skin contact; powerful and intense.”
This is the only listing in the USA today!
Also Arriving Friday:
Domaine Guillaume Gilles Cornas, Rhone 2015 750ML ($99.95) $79 pre-arrival special
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Arriving November 17th
Gaja
The Gaja family has a few centuries of history in Piedmont, and, in the hands of Angelo Gaja for now a half-century, their Nebbiolo wines are nothing less than icons of that region. And Angelo? Well, a textbook iconoclast.
We were astonished to capture the offers below. They have nothing to do with Gaja nor the wines. Just an importer-distributor decision on relatively small quantities. We’ve only a couple cases each wine remaining unsold, and suggest that the odds are not good in respect to any of us ever seeing a better priced comprehensive offer of Angelo Gaja’s wines.
Arriving November 17th:
Also Arriving November 17th
“It is no coincidence that the Eisele Vineyard is now owned by a first-growth proprietor from France, François Pinault, of Château Latour in Bordeaux and other significant estates in France, especially the tiny jewel of a vineyard in the Rhône Valley, Château Grillet… the greatness from this fabulous terroir continues unabated.” – Robert Parker
Eisele Vineyard (formerly Araujo Estate) Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley 2014 750ML ($549.95) $479 pre-arrival special
James Suckling 99 points “Intensely scented dried flowers on the nose in the rose to lilac spectrum. Raspberry and blackberry undertones. Rose perfumes. It’s full-bodied, yet everything’s in finesse. Superfine tannins coat your palate and give you incredible length, and it all last for minutes on the palate. Great resonance. Not the power of 2013 but intellect and persistence prevails here. A joy to taste now, but this will improve for decades ahead.”
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Late Breaking News
Arriving February 2018
“This reference point estate continues to achieve incredible quality in just about every vintage.” – Jeb Dunnuck, Wine Advocate
Famille Perrin Gigondas Domaine du Clos des Tourelles, Rhone 2015 750ML ($59.95) $49 pre-arrival special
Jeb Dunnuck 97 points – Rhone Report “The finest vintage to date, the 2015 Gigondas Le Clos des Tourelles comes from a tiny vineyard located just inside the village of Gigondas. Incorporating a touch of Syrah, this Grenache dominated beauty reveals a deep ruby/purple color as well as off the chart notes of black raspberries, black cherries, pepper, garrigue, and tons of that classic Gigondas spice. I wrote “Wow” more than once in my notes and this full-bodied 2015 has ultra-fine tannin, perfect balance, and a stacked mid-palate. Give bottles 2-3 years and drink over the following 15+ years.”
This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!
Famille Perrin Vinsobres Les Hauts de Julien, Rhone 2015 750ML ($49.95) $39 pre-arrival special
Jeb Dunnuck – Wine Advocate 94-96 points “The 2015 Vinsobres Les Hauts de Julien is a dead ringer for a Cornas from Clape. This inky colored beauty offers tons of blackberries, olive tapenade, pepper and even a hint of bacon fat to go with a full-bodied, concentrated, incredibly layered and pure style on the palate. As with the other 2015s from the Perrin family, its purity of fruit is truly special. Give bottles a few years in the cellar and enjoy over the following decade or more.”
This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!
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Thank you for reading!