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I took a 25 case gamble this year, that the quality of the
vintage and the producer would lessen resistance to shattering a price
barrier that seems as invisible , yet just as tangible as the sound
barrier. I await the boom or the bust. Onward.
New
Value Reds for your Banquet Table
Desert Wind Merlot Washington State
2002 (call for price)
A complex nose of plums, cedar, spices, and slate are followed by a
full bodied, deeply fruited palate. To counterbalance all the exuberant
fruit, there is a very European style structure, with mineral and
iodine tones, and mouthwatering tannins. This is amazingly serious
Merlot for the price.
Araucano Carmenere 2002 Chile (call
for price)
Carmenere used to be grown in Bordeaux as the precursor to it's cousin,
Merlot. Wiped out by phylloxera , it survived only in Chile. So, take a
famous famous Bordeaux family (the Lurtons), turn them loose on
antoecial (there's that damn word again!) terroir with Carmenere and
voila! ~ Black fruit and spice cake nose, with smoky, cedary overtones,
follow seamlessly on the full throttle palate. The whole package
retains a European feel to it, and the ripe, grippy tannins on the
finish suggest ageability.
Chateau Langoiran 2000 Cuveé Prestige
Premier Cotes de Bordeaux
(call for price)
I need another Bordeaux like I need a hole in the head! This
little beggar, however, was so compelling, that despite a complete lack
of any place to display it, I bought it! A ripe black berryish nose,
perfectly complimented by smoky, cedary notions, is followed by a rich,
yet pin point, palate. The whole package is textbook claret (as the
Brits would say), at a very nice price ~ a study in substance, style
& balance.
Clos de Roillette 2003 Fleurie
(call for price)
Add another one of those holes in my head (not to mention my wallet!),
for I simply fell in love with this beautiful Cru Beaujolais! One
whiff, and I was transported back to our wild strawberry patch on the
hill behind our Vermont house. Haunting notions of floral & piquant
strawberries are carried along the nose by flinty minerality. The
palate is not thickly textured, yet coats the mouth in flavor, and
dances along with both steely resolve and velvety fruit. And the
finish! Minutes later I was still tasting Ma's'Wild Strawberry Jam!
Chateau Les Amoureuses 2003 Cotes du Rhone
(call for price)
Normally, we'd look askance at something simply labeled Cote du Rhone
at this price point. The layout of the label didn't help either, as it
reminds of a Beaujolais Villages etiquette somehow. Once past our
prejudices though, Gordo & I found this wine to be very compelling
indeed: ripe, glossy raspberry bouquet, spiced with a grind or two of
black pepper corns. This translates perfectly to the palate, with gobs
of juicy raspberry fruitiness and dusty tannins that balance each other
with aplomb. A long, long layered finish keeps inviting one back for
more.
Panther Creek Pinot Noir 2002 Winemaker's
Cuveé
(call for price)
"What happened to the value portion of this column!?!". I hear you cry.
Well you see, this Pinot used to sell in the high $20 to low $30 range.
Switching wholesalers has done them a world of good. And Ron Caplan
(owner) and Mike Stevenson (winemaker). Have always made very good
Pinots; thus, the new improved price is inded a value.Sweet, juicy
nuances of black cheeries intermingle with smoke and hints of vanilla.
The palate is well balanced, and finishes long and spicy.
The
St. Emilions Come Marching In
Three new incredible St. Emilions have come across my palate recently
and being the weak person that I am, I yielded to their charms! I
suddenly realized, however, that I am in danger of becoming Bordeaux
oriented, deserting my Burgundy mistress for the moment.
Well, at my age, I suppose two mistresses are preferable - if not
financially advantageous! Variety may be the spice of life, but it can
be monetarily damnable! You can help by providing them with good homes.
Chateau Haut Cardinal 2000
St. Emilion Grand Cru
(call for price)
The last time I saw this Chateau in the marketplace, it was the '95
vintage. I fondly remembered the pungent, red fruit nose, that aired
out into a beautiful spicy fruit bowl of flavors, with a chalky,
minerally finish that begged 5 - 10 years bottle age. Well, the 2000 is
even bigger in fruit ,followed by the same chalky finish. A triumph to
continuity of style.
Chateau Belregard Figeac 2001 St. Emilion
Grand cru
(call for price)
Incredible notions of packed cassis-tinged fruit, are balanced by the
most suave, yet rustic, aromas of iodine, smoke, game &
blackpepper. So big and plump, the body reminds of Syrah, but the
angular finish belies that notion, as it unwinds beautifully in the
glass. Emmauel Fournay of Champagne, commented that it represents the
best of ancient French wine tradition. I could say it no better. 10 -20
years of aging.
Chateau Roc des Boisseenaux 2001 St.
Emilion Grand Cru
(call for price)
A little more on the sleek and polished side, this deeply fruited, and
again, cassis-tinged wine, seems like the urbane cousin to the
preceding Belregard Figeac's rustic, paysan character ~ Less angular,
but more of a layered, textured profile, it finishes round and full
with ripe tannins gripping your palate. If you wait a minute, the
glorious fruit happily re-emerges!
Chateau Capitoul
La Clape Rocaille 2001 (call for price)
From the southeast corner of France where it abuts Spain, comes this
Babe Ruth of white wines. A veritable punch bowl of evocative fruit:
lemons, melons, tangerines predominate, with wild flower nuances thrown
in. The textured, layered mouth feel is shot through with butter,
vanilla & honey, and despite all this exotic hash, the wine remains
cleanly balanced from start to finish! Stellar !
Domaine Simonin
Macon-Vergisson 2003
(call for price)
Spicy pears & apples prevade the nose of this vanilla tinged
lovely. Cut from the same cloth as his sumptuous St. Veran, this wine
is at once vibrantly fruity & creamy with a medium heavy mouth fell
and long, lingering finish.
Can Feixes Spain 2003
(call for price)
Floral spicy, with direct, linear greengage plum $ apple flavors and
buoyed by a bit of spritz, this wine dances between notions of a great
dry Riesling and clean Pinot Blanc. Cleansing acidity makes this a
holiday winner with fatty foods. Pass the Baked Ham, please!
Billy's
Bustin' at the Seams Sunday
Warehouse Tasting & Sale
(coming November 28th)
It's common knowledge that I've got a tremendous wine buying
jones; or, as they say in the South, a tendency. This, of course, leads
me into the pathways of over-stock-dom, especially, when those pesky
wine wholesale reps keep making me offers I can't refuse. It starts to
get noticeable when trying to move wine in and /or out of the storeroom
becomes a real dance - good for my exercise, bad for my pocketbook.
Wandering around the shop the other day, I noticed a spate (a
rather large spate ~ a veritable spateful !) of my children that were
in need of good homes. In no way are these meaner or lower creatures of
nether wine regions. All upstanding members of my wine shoe, I, much
like Old Mother Hubbard, have merely forgotten what to do. So I have to
learn to let go - at 25% off! Which brings up Sunday Nov. 27th.
I just know that Aunt Sarah & Uncle Tony will still be
hanging around after Turkey Day and you will need one last gasp at
entertaining them. Or alternately, you just piled them in their car
pointing toward Jersey, and you need to relax by blowing off some pent
up steam. What better way, than to attend an incredible One Day Only
Wine Sale ~ tables piled high with wines ~ complete with munchable hors
d' oeuvres for only $10 admission fee (by ABC Board regulations, I am
required to charge something, but I'll wear my "bah-humbug hat to make
it all worthwhile!).
I estimate once I get through with the Mother Hubbard head count, that
there will be at least 30 wines offered, probably more. Herewith a
partial (very partial) list, followed by then / now pricing :
BORDEUAX
Ch. Jander Moulis '98 (call for price)
Vieux Ch Gaubert '98 (call for price)
Ch. Maucamp '99 (call for price)
Ch. Villa Belair '99 (call for price)
Ch. Trimoulet '95 (call for price)
BURGUNDY
Roulot Bour Rouge'98 (call for price)
Boillot Gevrey Cham '98 (call for price)
Clos de Moutier Irancy '00 (call for price)
Garaudet Monthelie '96 (call for price)
Ambroise Cotes de Nuits '97 (call for price)
Jayer-Giles Cotes de Nuits '97 (call for price)
RHONE & LANGUEDOC
Plan Pegau '02 (call for price)
Dom. Gran Devers Syranne '00 (call for price)
La Croix Belle '99 (call for price)
"L" de Lascours '00 (call for price)
Campujet Prestige '00 (call for price)
And I am not even halfway around the room - Italians, Californians
& Others - Reds & Whites all await.
It will be super stupendous!!! The fun commences ~
Sunday November 28th
12:00 to 4:00 pm
One Day Only !!
Restaurant
& Food Offerings
Lots o' holiday items are arriving for your table (as well as ours!) ~
Cheeses, Olive Oils & Balsamic Vinegar's.
Mont d' Or Raw Milk Cheese ~ 1.5# for (call for
price). With a
taste like super complex Brie and that rue soupy consistency of artisan
triple cream cheeses.
Roncari ~ (call for price). A cave
ripened Spanish Blue Cheese
that tastes like a cross between Gorgonzola & Roquefort (w/out the
salt). Creamy in Texture.
Zuinta Valadinho & Casa Mathias ~ (call for
price) per lb. Both
artisan cheeses from Portugal that are incredibly complex. The Zuinta
is a flavorful hard cheese, while the Casa is a soft cheese w/ zing.
Boeri Olive Oil Liguria (call for price).
Cloudy, unfiltered
Olive Oil, so fruity, it reminds of fresh honeydew melon.
Gocca di Corros (call for price). A
Sardinian Oil that exudes a
wild herb sensibility.
Castel Bartolini White Truffle Infused Olive Oil 250 ml
at (call for price). Decadently fragrant and
mind bogglingly persistant in
flavor w/ finesse
Cantine Motta Acetum 4 leaves 250 ml at (call
for price). Rich,
round, with a tender zing to the finish. Wonderful balance & flavor.
Cantine Motta Acetum 4 leaves 250 ml at (call
for price). Syrupy,
sensual complexity ~ as good as ones costing $80 per 100ml. Stellar
Value.
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