Wednesday, July 15th, 2015
Blowout Deals!; Supreme Sherry; Austrian Riesling; New Releases from Bartolo Mascarello
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Mid-West, East & South
Summer Shipping Saver
Whisk your wine through warmer weather!
Beginning now, 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.
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Blow Out Prices on Two New Arrivals
We were already the lowest price in the country, now we’ve dropped the price even lower!
Perrier-Jouet Belle Epoque – Fleur de Champagne Brut Millesime 2007 750ML ($219.95) Was $119, Now $99
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 next best price is $149.99
The average price is $166
Pre-Arrival Pricing Extension
This incredible deal expires Friday at close of business:
Two Hands Wines Bella’s Garden Shiraz, Barossa Valley 2012 750ML ($69.95) $41.90 special
Case-6 Two Hands Wines Bella’s Garden Shiraz, Barossa Valley 2012 750ML ($299.95) $228 special (that’s only $38/bottle!)
Wine Spectator 95 points “Utterly seamless, focused, powerful and elegant, layered with cherry, boysenberry and red plum fruit, revealing glints of coffee, jasmine and cardamom that add extra nuances. Delivers complexity without extra weight. The finish won’t quit. Drink now through 2022. 6,000 cases made.” WS
Wine Advocate 93+ points “Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2012 Bella’s Garden Shiraz has a nose of blackberry preserves and warm cassis with hints of menthol, dark chocolate, cardamom and cedar. Full-bodied and richly fruited in the mouth, the abundant fruit is well matched by firm, rounded tannins and refreshing acid before finishing with great length. Drink it now to 2024+.”
Josh Raynolds—Vinous 93 points “Brilliant violet color. Powerful, deeply pitched aromas of blue fruit preserves, licorice, incense and mocha are lifted by a sexy Indian spice quality. Stains the palate with sweet dark fruit and cocoa flavors that gain energy and lift with aeration. Rich and expansive but lively as well. Closes velvety and very long, with lingering smokiness and smooth, harmonious tannins.”
This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!
The next best price is $49.99
The average price is $67
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Supreme Sherry – Extreme Deals
Arriving July 30th
A.R. Valdespino Ninos Pedro Ximenez VORS 375ml ($219.95) $179 special, 6 half- bottles available
Wine Advocate 98 points “The NV Ninos Pedro Ximenez 30 Anos VORS is again a monumental wine, redolent of its sibling, Moscatel Toneles, as often the extremely old wines have so many similarities that even the grape and the origin is diminished. This beast of a wine has 470 grams of sugar. It’s believed to average 50 years of age, and shows a dark mahogany, almost black color. Being extremely concentrated, is not just power, it has finesses and balance. Curry, spices, coconut, balsamic notes (eucalyptus), tar, Cuban cigar, and nutmeg can be identified in its nose. The palate is velvety, dense, thick, long, and intense, with pungent acidity but at the same time it feels smooth. Again, choosing between Ninos and Toneles might be purely academic. Drink 2013-2035.”
This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!
The next best price is $199.99
A.R. Valdespino Solera De Su Majestad Oloroso VORS 375ML ($219.95) $149 special, 6 half-bottles available
Wine Advocate 93 points “The NV Oloroso Solera de su Majestad VORS produced from Palomino grapes from the Carrascal vineyard, has aged in a solera for over 30 years. It has a bright mahogany color and a subtle nose of noble woods, walnuts, aromatic herbs, and a touch of brandy. The palate is quite gentle for a VORS. Very polished and round, with a pungent, intense feeling, it feels extremely old. One of the best Olorosos around, it’s old enough to have that extra complexity, but not to be too aggressive, as Olorosos can easily get when they’re very old. Drink 2013-2017.” LG
This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!
The next best price is $179.95
Sherry, Sherry Deals Available Here Now
A.R. Valdespino Cardenal Palo Cortado VORS 375ML ($169.95) Was $159 Now $133, 3 half-bottles here now, 6 more arriving July 30
A.R. Valdespino Cardenal Palo Cortado VORS NV 750ML ($299.95) $279 special, 3 bottles available
Wine Advocate 99 points “The NV Palo Cortado Cardenal VORS, like the whole VORS collection from Valdespino is outstanding. It is fed from the solera of the Palo Cortado C.P. where the Palomino grapes come from the Macharnudo Alto vineyard, fermented in American oak botas. It’s 22% alcohol and has nine grams of (undetectable) residual sugar which makes it very drinkable. It’s a monumental wine of dark mahogany color with a green edge, a complex, ever-changing, concentrated, clean and delineated nose of spices, dark chocolate, Cuban cigar and balsamic notes of incense, and a sharp, saline palate. It is highly concentrated, powerful and clean, with an eternal, lingering aftertaste. Deciding between Coliseo and Cardenal might be splitting hairs, and as much as I love Coliseo, I felt Cardenal was just one notch above. At the quality helm of Palo Cortado. Drink 2013-2025.” WA
Peter Liem– “Its palo cortado counterpart is the Cardenal, a wine of similar age and equally multi-faceted complexity, although, with its richer girth and more velvety texture on the palate, it comes off as less forbidding. It essentially represents the ultimate conclusion of Valdespino’s expression of the Marcharnudo vineyard.”
This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!
A.R. Valdespino Coliseo Amontillado VORS NV 375ML ($249.95) Was $199 Now $179, 5 half-bottles here now, 6 more arriving July 30
Wine Advocate 99 points “The NV Amontillado Coliseo VORS, is an extremely old (much older than the 30 years certified by the VORS classification) and concentrated wine. It is unique, as its origin is from Sanlucar de Barrameda, mainly from the Pago Miraflores, which produced very sharp wines. Dark mahogany colored, with a bright green border, is very aromatic, balsamic and complex, with wild herbs, candied orange rind, spices and dates. The palate is extremely concentrated, dry, and intense but it has no edges, with lively acidity and an eternal finish. It’s an extreme wine, some might find it too much, but it’s certainly unique and among the greatest wines in the world, to be sipped slowly and in tiny quantities. One of the greatest Amontillados in existence today. Drink 2013-2025.” WA
Peter Liem–“A complex demanding wine averaging over 60 years of age. This actually originates as a manzanilla, spending 15 to 20 years in Sanlucar before being blended and aged in Jerez. The result is an amontillado of tremendous finesse, balancing its vivid concentration with a stelly, racy structure”
This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!
A.R. Valdespino Toneles Moscatel NV 375ML, ($299.95) Was $269, Now $219, 2 half-bottles here now, 6 more arriving July 30
Wine Advocate 100 points “The NV Moscatel Toneles has reached a mythical status locally in Spain. It’s an extremely old, concentrated and powerful sweet wine that was long forgotten, because there was no market for it. The color is dark brown, almost opaque with amber-green edges. The ever-changing nose is an explosion of spices (curry and cinnamon) and noble woods, and from the sheer concentration it displays a myriad of roasted coffee, dark chocolate, balsamic herbs and even a note of coconut. After some time in the glass the roasted orange notes of Muscat come back intermixed with very spicy incense notes. Give it more time and it smells of camphor. It’s fascinating to smell it over the course of a few hours? even days. The palate is immensely concentrated, with the alcohol perfectly integrated and the extreme sweetness compensated by a piercing acidity that reminds me of some century-old Madeiras. It ends with an acute coffee note. The aftertaste is eternal. It is exceptional that such an old wine (it could be over 80 years of average age) keeps the freshness and balance, but when this happens, the wine is exceptional. A world-class sweet wine that shows what aged Muscat is able for. With its 430 grams of residual sugar, this wine is indestructible, but only 100 bottles are withdrawn and bottled yearly from a single, large cask. Drink 2013-2034.” WA
This is the lowest listed price in the USA today!
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Just a reminder about our current shipping specials during this season:
For the Mid-West, East, and South during the summer season we are offering UPS Three Day Select Service for the price of UPS Ground for shipments that would normally travel four or more business days to their destination.
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.
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High Praise from Eric Asimov for Austrian Riesling
“Riesling, to a degree not seen in many other grapes, has the ability to express the peculiar characteristics of wherever it is grown, provided that place is in the proper sort of soils in a sufficiently cool climate. Of all the centers for Riesling, perhaps the most overlooked is Austria. Austrian Rieslings can be a good deal richer than dry German Rieslings, while often steelier and more finely cut than those from Alsace. Riesling accounts for a fairly small percentage of Austrian wine production, but among that percentage are many of Austria’s best wines. Austrian Rieslings are a reservoir of boundless pleasure.” -Eric Asimov
Austrian Rieslings Recently Reviewed by Eric Asimov (NY Times)
Familie Saahs Nikolaihof Riesling vom Stein Federspiel, Wachau 2013 750ML ($39.95) $33 special
Eric Asimov says: “Textured and precise, with lovely herbal, floral and stony flavors.”
Wine Advocate 92 points “The 2013 Riesling Federspiel Vom Stein offers a clear, ripe and well-concentrated bouquet of white stone-fruit aromas along with some nice terroir notes of herbs and stones. Medium-bodied, fresh and elegant on the palate, this Riesling is full of energy, mineral tension and vibrancy and demonstrates impressively, like great Mosel Rieslings do, that great dry wines do not need high alcohol levels to offer an intense, terroir-driven and stimulating taste. Still very young, this pure, piquant and firmly structured Federspiel reveals a good and piquant finish”
Arriving Thursday, July 16th
Weingut Willi Brundlmayer Kamptaler Terrassen Riesling 2013 750ML ($29.95) $20.90 special
Eric Asimov says: “Best Value. Lively and energetic, with plenty of zesty, earthy, citrus, and herbal flavors.”
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Latest & Greatest
New Releases – Bartolo Mascarello- Arriving June 30
Very Limited Supplies
Bartolo Mascarello Dolcetto d’Alba 2013 ($37.95) $29 pre-arrival special
Antonio Galloni 90 points “The 2013 Dolcetto d’Alba is striking. Violets, lavender, black cherries and sweet spices lift from the glass in a Dolcetto built on perfume, sweet fruit and compelling overall balance. Dolcetto has rarely been so refined.”
Bartolo Mascarello Barbera d’Alba 2012 ($59.95) $49 pre-arrival special
Antonio Galloni 92 points “A racy, perfumed wine, the 2012 Barbera d’Alba races across the palate with expressive dark red stone fruits, flowers and spices. Today, the Barbera is supple, silky and hugely expressive. What a gorgeous and delicious wine this is.”
Bartolo Mascarello Barolo 2010 ($349.95) $299 pre-arrival special
Antonio Galloni 99 points “The 2010 Barolo is one of the most striking, hauntingly beautiful wines I have ever tasted here. Mysterious and slow to show its cards, the 2010 impresses for its inner perfume, sweetness and exceptional overall balance. Today the striking fruit and classic, austere elements of the vintage take turns in dominating the wine’s balance. The 2010 was always magnificent in barrel. It is equally spectacular from bottle. Readers who can find the 2010 should not hesitate. Ideally I wouldn’t dream of touching a bottle until age 15 or so, although I doubt I will personally have the discipline to follow my own advice!”