Peter Michael Chardonnay Cuvee Indigene
Sonoma County
$119.99 750ml – 6 bottles available
Robert Parker Jr. 95-97 Points
"…2009 Chardonnay Cuvee Indigene. One of the finest 2009s, it reveals lots of leesy, waxy, honeyed notes intermixed with pineapple, buttered apple and other assorted tropical fruits. This elegant, medium to full-bodied, rich, intense…"
Peter Michael Chardonnay La Carrière Vineyard
Sonoma County
$89.99 750ml – 12 bottles available
Robert Parker Jr. 91-93 Points
"…reveals lovely notes of brioche, tropical fruit blossoms, oranges, white currants and lemon butter. Medium-bodied with beautiful fruit, good acidity and a touch of minerality…"
Arriving Wednesday April 6, 2011
2008 Sine Qua Non B-20 Syrah
Includes 6% Grenache and 3% Viognier
$225 750ml – Sold Out
Robert Parker Jr. 94-96+
"…opaque purple color is followed by tightly knit aromas, but like the 2008 Grenache, it unfolds incrementally in the mouth. There is abundant freshness as well as tremendous intensity and richness…"
Arriving Wednesday April 6, 2011
2008 Sine Qua Non The Line Grenache
Includes 11% Syrah and 1.5% Viognier
$225 750ml – Sold Out
Robert Parker Jr. 96-98+
“…extraordinary purity, richness, and aromatic and flavor complexity… …tremendous density and power as well as an inner core of steely richness, and a flavor profile and length that build incrementally…”
Friday April 1, 2011
5:00pm-7:00pm
$10 Tasting Fee
Chateau de Campuget Costieres de Nimes Tradition Rose 2010
Southern Rhone, France
$12.99
Wine Notes
Syrah 70%, Grenache noir 30%. The wine’s color is an intense peony pink. Its bouquet is very aromatic, with scents of small red fruits such as raspberries or blackcurrants. In the mouth there is a perfect balance between vivacity and mellowness. The final taste is very long, leaving a delicate impression of fruitiness.
Château Grande Cassagne Costières de Nîmes Rosé 2009
Southern Rhone, France
$12.99
Wine Notes
Château Grande Cassagne, owned and operated by Benoît and Laurent Dardé, is situated on the western edge of the Rhône Valley near the village of St. Gilles. Their vineyards are planted on an ancient riverbed covered with cailloux, or round weathered stones. The Dardé brothers are well known for their exemplary red wines of deep concentration. However, their best-kept secret may be their Rosé. Made from three grapes, the wine exudes red fruits and a strawberry perfume. This Rosé is a blend of 60% Grenache, 35% Syrah, 5% Mourvèdre and comes from tiny berries of forty-plus year old vines. Fermented a short time on its skins, it retains an electric pink color, soaring aromatics, and fully dry palate. Serve well chilled!
Talbott Logan Chardonnay 2009
Sleepy Hollow Vineyard, Santa Lucia Highlands
$15.99
Wine Notes
This vintage of Talbott Chardonnay, Logan has beautifully balanced fruit and oak, a lush texture and well-integrated acidity. The color is medium-straw with great clarity. On the palate, there are layers of ripe apple, pear and pineapple. There are also notes of vanilla and rich toasty oak that lead to a long finish. We recommend drinking this wine now through 2013.
Talbott Logan Pinot Noir 2009
Sleepy Hollow Vineyard, Santa Lucia Highlands
$16.99
Wine Notes
The product of a standout growing season in the Santa Lucia Highlands, our 2009 Logan Pinot Noir shows beautiful aromas and flavors of cherry, blueberry and cranberry, supported by subtle oak-inspired vanilla notes. On the palate, ripe, jammy red-fruit layers lead to a long, satisfying finish. Crafted for more near-term enjoyment, we recommend drinking this wine from now through 2012.
Friday March 28, 2011
5:00pm-7:00pm
$10 Tasting Fee
When I were a wee lad and had the very good fortune of spending summers in the Loire Valley with my family, I fell in love with the history and the lore of the region. This is where I first learned that the Romans used to bring entire contingents of viticulturalists on their conquests, so that they were never without their all-important juice, and it is where I first heard about their early recognition of the unique terroir along the Loire River. The deep deposits of chalk made wines with incredible laser-like acidity, and to this day the wines of the Loire are recognized as some of the finest produced in the world.
As a young college nut, I also had the very good fortune of spending two memorable summers in the Loire region and was able to fully appreciate the magical vin I was only allowed sips of as a child. As a food buff, I have rarely visited a wine region more, for interesting and often perfect wine pairings. Yeah yeah all the newly-anointed Burgundy boys and girls are rolling their score cataract’d eyes… the California oak patrol is grabbing their sacred Rombutter by the neck as if to use the bottles as a weapon… calmate patrons! Until you have had your abalone with a little Sancerre you have no right defending your dark peccadilloes any longer! Fie! Fie! On that note…
Jeffrey DeVore
Market at Pavilions
Wine Director
Sancerre Henry Natter 2009
The Natter family has the only wine-making domaine in the village of Montigny in the western part of Sancerre. This is a lovely and elegant wine with crisp, dry mineraled acidity and a palate numbing finish… that’s a good thing. It’s this acidity atop the citrus and stone fruit aromas that cuts through fish oil and vinaigrettes with such alacrity and make this wine top of the pops when it comes to our California ocean borne food fetishes. Please do your palate a favor and step away from the California Chardonnay from time to time and visit Rochetum!
$26.99
Talbott Chardonnay Sleepy Hollow Vineyard 2008
Please do your palate a favor, and step towards this California Chardonnay and try to lay off those bone dry Euro-punk wines Count Aloof und Snooty, yeah? There is nothing worse than some jumped up foodie ruining an otherwise great evening with his sad little dreams of “perfect pairings” and wine-speak clap-trap! This is an incredible opportunity to buy a well-appointed Lexus for the cost of a Hyundai kids, and can you really beat the Sleepy Hollow Vineyard at $19.99? Go on try. This is a whole lot of Rosie folks and you’ll kick yourself for spending too much on the Rumbutter punch!
$19.99
Chateau de Campuget Costieres de Nimes 2007
Well you know that I’ll drop to my knees for a good Rhone… to thank the heavens that the world brings us such treasures you sick perverted winos! I find that Rhone wines and cuisine are suited to each other like Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire and I’m not saying that just because I like to dance so much when I’m three sheets to the proverbial bacchinalian wind! No, Syrah and Grenache have a wonderful savory note in the nose and palate that adheres to food better than JUST ABOUT ANYTHING. This wine is no exception and really stands up well to a whole host of cuisine… bright cherry and blackberry fruit dances particularly well over the firm but soft tannins. Spicy and superb especially at this ridiculously low price!
$12.99
Atalon Cabernet Sauvignon 2004
2004 was a lovely year and if it wasn’t for the great economic meltdown, we probably wouldn’t get the opportunity to enjoy wines like this so late in the “season.” Bottle age has an amazing effect on Cabernet Sauvignon, and this is a lovely look back in time when the hippie look was in its third or fourth phase and we were sitting on a record breaking surplus… ah! Well, winemakers will tell you that they all wish they could release this much later on purpose but we all know it’s as simple as supply and demand doing an axis shift that gives us this opportunity. Shut up and enjoy this gift and try your best not to break out your 2010 Harlan Estate. Drinking wines that young is tantamount to infantacide! Drink up!
$24.99
Friday March 18, 2011
5:00pm-7:00pm
$15 Tasting Fee
2006 Poderi Colla Barbaresco Roncaglie
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco
regular price $69.99
tasting price $44.99
90 Points – Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate
Colla’s 2006 Barbaresco Roncaglie offers up sweet scents of roses, raspberries, flowers and licorice in a lighter, feminine expression of Nebbiolo. The tannins are quite finessed and the wine seems promising but several years of bottle age are necessary before the Roncaglie begins to show much aromatic complexity. Still, this is an impeccably crafted, firm Barbaresco that lovers of traditionally made wines are sure to enjoy. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2021.
2004 Poderi Colla Barbaresco Roncaglie
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco
regular price $69.99
tasting price $44.99
91 Points – Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate
The 2004 Barbaresco Roncaglie, a medium ruby, reveals dark red cherries, violets, tar, grilled herbs, smoke and subtle earthiness with a perfumed, vibrant personality. Although it offers excellent length one can’t help thinking that an even higher level of quality should have been possible in a vintage of this pedigree. Anticipated maturity: 2010-2016.
2003 Poderi Colla Barbaresco Roncaglie
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barbaresco
regular price $69.99
tasting price $44.99
90 Points – Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate
The 2003 Barbaresco Roncaglie is simply a superb effort, especially considering the vintage. Classy and elegant all the way, it offers compelling nuances of super-ripe cherry, rose, menthol and licorice with deeply expressive layers of fruit that open in the glass, showing outstanding length and persistence. Though made in the rich, full-bodied style of the vintage it is beautifully balanced by a classic sense of proportion and well-integrated tannins. Anticipated maturity: 2008-2015.
2003 Poderi Colla Barolo Dardi Le Rose Bussia
Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo
regular price $69.99
tasting price $44.99
91 Points – Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate
The estate’s 2003 Barolo Dardi Le Rose is sweet and expansive on the palate, with sweet ripe plum, spice and menthol nuances that emerge with notable elegance and lovely balance for the vintage. This medium to full-bodied Barolo will be at its finest in another few years once the tannins have softened a little. Anticipated maturity: 2009-2018.
Friday March 11, 2011
5:00pm-7:00pm
$10 Tasting Fee
Taste Wines Blind
Come join in on all of the fun, as we taste an assortment of 4 different wines blind.
A blind tasting sharpens your skills, by only using your eyes, nose and palate, without reading the wine bottle label.
Friday March 4, 2011
5:00pm-7:00pm
$10 Tasting Fee
2009 Closerie des Lys Les Fruitieres
Languedoc, France
Chardonnay 35%
Sauvignon Blanc 35%
Vermentino 30%
La Closerie des Lys wines are made by Domaines Collovray et Terrier from grapes mainly grown in the high valley of river Aude in the Languedoc. The main part of the vineyards is located on the South of the city of Carcassonne in the Languedoc, in Limoux. This area is one of the most adapted for growing grapes in the South of France, due to its altitude and the cooler temperatures which provides a long and complete maturation of the grapes. The Terroir is made up of clay and limestone and the altitude of the vines is between 350 m to 500m high.
Regular Price: $12.99
Friday Tasting Price: $10.99
2007 Road 31 Wine Co. Pinot Noir
Napa Valley
The Pinot Report 92 Points
"… toasty oak, good structure and balance; Complex, interesting flavors mark this Pinot — it’s great."
PinotFile Newsletter
"…soft and smooth in the mouth leading the wine to literally slip off the back of the palate. A juicy and seamless wine that is nicely crafted and well-priced. Too good for the dog."
Regular Price: $35.99
Friday Tasting Price: $29.99
2007 Ladera Cabernet Sauvignon
Napa Valley
Robert Parker 90 Points
"The least expensive effort, and a top value for a Napa Cabernet, is the 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa. A dark ruby/plum-colored blend of 96% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest Petit Verdot and Malbec, it offers up notes of plums, cassis and blue fruits, silky tannins, a fleshy, ripe style and not a hard edge to be found. This impressive effort is the type of Cabernet Sauvignon that normally costs 2-3 times the price. Drinkable now, this sleeper of the vintage will age for a decade or more. The highly respected Karen Culler is the winemaker for Ladera, who have produced a trifecta of delicious 2007s."
Regular Price: $33.99
Friday Tasting Price: $29.99
2009 Hartford Vineyard "Old Vine Zinfandel"
Russian River Valley
Robert Parker 93 Points
"The 2009 Zinfandel Old Vine walks a hypothetical path between the complexity, foresty, spicy notes of Pinot Noir and the exuberant, ripe, rich blue and black fruits of Zinfandel. Blackberry, blueberry, black cherry, pepper, spice and forest floor characteristics result in a complex, medium to full-bodied, supple-textured Zinfandel. This gorgeous Zin is already irresistible and should drink nicely for 4-5 years."
Regular Price: $33.99
Friday Tasting Price: $29.99
Friday Night Tasting
Friday February 25, 2011
5:00pm-7:00pm
$10 Tasting Fee
2009 Honig Sauvignon Blanc
Napa Valley
Sauvignon Blanc 99%
Semillon 1%
Layered aromas and flavors of ruby grapefruit, honey suckle, lime zest and melon, mingled with an underpinning of tropical fruit and a faint hint of lemon grass. The wine is medium bodied with a crisp, refreshing, slightly minerally finish.
Friday Tasting Price: $14.99
2008 Robert Stemmler Estate Pinot Noir
Carneros
This Pinot Noir offers many layers of beautiful ripe strawberry, raspberry and intense black cherry and plum aromas mingled with hints of cola, forest floor and earth. The wine is fleshy, sleek and spicy, with copious wild berry, black cherry and strawberry flavors, good grip and a sustained, well-balanced finish.
Friday Tasting Price: $32.99
2007 Honig Cabernet Sauvignon
Napa Valley
Cabernet Sauvignon 95%
Petit Verdot 1%
Cabernet Franc 4%
Complex black cherry, berry, and plum fruit characters, interwoven with anise, clove and black pepper. Rich and graceful, with a full mid-palate and a lengthy finish, complemented by toasty oak and cocoa powder tannins.
Friday Tasting Price: $29.99
2003 Mönchhof Riesling Spätlese Ürziger Würzgarten
Mosel-Saar-Ruwer, Germany
Floral aromas with pear and peach, but a more defined hint of peppery terroir than the Kabinett. On the palate you find red fruits with ripe plump peaches, again sleek and polished. A fine, juicy acidity and marked mineral grit makes for an enticing finish.
Friday Tasting Price: $22.99
