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Friday Night Tasting

Posted February 18th, 2011

Friday Night Tasting
Friday February 18, 2011
5:00pm-7:00pm
$10 Tasting Fee

Justin Chardonnay

Justin Chardonnay

2009 Justin Chardonnay
Paso Robles

Aromas of apple, apricot, and ripe stone fruit combine with a hint of honey and toasted oak. On the palate White peach, banana, and Meyer lemon, along with hints of mineral and toasted almonds, finishing with layers of cinnamon, cream, and a touch of spice from the "lees" stirred French oak.

Compare At: $21.00
Friday Tasting Price: $15.99

Lioco Chardonnay

Lioco Chardonnay

2009 Lioco Chardonnay
Sonoma County

The 2009 Sonoma County is a blend of Stuhlmuller Vineyard (Alexander Valley), Mazzera Vineyard (Dry Creek), Ricci Vineyard (Carneros), and Valentine Vineyard (Mendocino). The wine features a core of citrus (mostly lemons) and chalky minerality. Adding complexity are notes of orchard fruit and miso paste.

Compare At: $20.00
Friday Tasting Price: $15.99

Calera Pinot Noir

Calera Pinot Noir

2008 Calera Pinot Noir
Central Coast

91 points Wine Enthusiast: ‘This fine Pinot Noir easily holds its own when tasted against far more expensive bottlings. It’s softly silky and delicately structured and enormously rich, offering delicious waves of raspberries, cherries, oranges, cola, beef jerky and black pepper. A perfect Pinot Noir to drink now.’

90 points Robert Parker: ‘An excellent bargain in Pinot Noir, the 2008 Pinot Noir Central Coast offers a delicious introduction to the Calera style. Fifty percent whole clusters were used, and the wine was aged 11 months in Francois Freres Burgundy barrels, of which 10% were new. Bottled unfiltered, it is a blend of fruit from four separate Central Coast counties, Monterey, San Luis Obispo, San Benito, and Santa Clara. Attractive notes of roasted herbs, sweet and sour cherries, strawberry jam, sassafras, and earth emerge from this medium to full-bodied, supple-textured, seductive red. Drink it over the next 2-3 years.’

Compare At: $24.00
Friday Tasting Price: $19.99

2005 Domaine La Soumade Cotes du Rhone Villages Rasteau Cuvee Prestige
Rhone, France

Andre Romero, the proprietor of Domaine la Soumade, specializes in dense, powerful wines with dark berry and chocolate flavors, sometimes with almost raisiny ripeness.

Compare At: $38.99
Friday Tasting Price: $21.99

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Friday Night Tasting – Eclectic

Posted February 9th, 2011

Friday Night Tasting
Friday February 11, 2011
5:00pm-7:00pm
$15 Tasting Fee

Louis Roederer Brut Premiere Champagne

Louis Roederer Brut Premiere Champagne

Louis Roederer Brut Premiere Champagne
Reims, Champagne, France

Regular Retail Price $46.99
Valentine’s Price $39.99

Winery Notes
From the outset, Brut Premier affirms its personality and seduction; the texture is full and generous and, in a fairly unexpected way, integrates characteristics of maturity associated with fruitier and more refreshing notes. The wine has a fresh festive finesse… In the mouth, the wine has structure, richness and length. It is a full, complex wine that is both modern and powerful, whilst remaining a great classic.

Bruno Paillard Brut Rose Premiere Cuvee

Bruno Paillard Brut Rose Premiere Cuvee

Bruno Paillard Brut Rose Premiere Cuvee
Reims, Champagne, France

Regular Retail Price $69.99
Valentine’s Price $54.99

93 Points Wine & Spirits
"An attractively crisp wine, its fruit on the dry side, with currants and the freshest pink grapefruit juice. This is a great food wine."

Winemaker’s Notes
The wine is produced from 85% Pinot Noir and 15% Chardonnay. Most of the Pinot Noir is immediately removed from the skins for clear wine, with the brilliant Rose color coming from the addition of 100% Grand Cru Bouzy Rouge.

2007 Domaine Vincent Girardin Pouilly Fuisse
Burgundy, France

Regular Retail Price – $23.99
Friday Only Price – $19.99

Winery Notes
Ripe on the nose. Very fresh fruit, easy and silky without high acids. Quite creamy already. Vanilla bean, toasted almond fruit with some mandarin orange and grapefruit, too, on the finish.

2009 A.P. Vin 'Turner Vineyard' Pinot Noir

A.P. Vin 'Turner Vineyard' Pinot Noir

2009 A.P. Vin ‘Turner Vineyard’ Pinot Noir
Sta. Rita Hills
150 Cases Produced

Regular Retail Price – $44.99
Friday Only Price – $39.99

91 Wine Spectator
"Ripe and full-bodied, showing plum and wild berry jam flavors that have a spicy allure, gaining depth and persistence on the finish, where the flavors linger…"

2007 Ramey Cabernet Sauvignon
Napa Valley

88% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Malbec, 3% Merlot, 3% Petit Verdot and 2% Cabernet Franc

2007 Ramey Cabernet Sauvignon

2007 Ramey Cabernet Sauvignon

Regular Retail Price – $50.00
Wine-of-the-Week Price – $34.99

92 Robert M. Parker Jr.’s The Wine Advocate
"A stunning yet reasonably priced, high end Napa Cabernet Sauvignon is the 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa. The final bottling from the extraordinary Larkmead Vineyard, it boasts a dense purple color as well as a big, sweet bouquet of blueberry and black currant fruit intertwined with licorice, bay leaf, cedar and fruitcake notes. Full-bodied and opulent, this precocious 2007 is drinkable now and should evolve for another 15+ years."

92 Stephen Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar
"Inky ruby. Intensely perfumed bouquet of red- and blackcurrant, dark chocolate and anise, with mounting spiciness. More open-knit and accessible than last year’s tasting suggested it would be, offering sweet dark fruit and cherry flavors and building tannins. The fruit takes over on the finish, which echoes the spice and cherry notes. This has turned out better than I expected, perhaps because all of the Larkmead fruit went into this wine in this vintage."

92 Wine Spectator
"Taut, dry and earthy, with cedar, herb, forest floor, dried currant and blackberry flavors that are full-bodied, spicy and expansive, slow to unfold but rewarding. Ends with chewy tannins. Drink now through 2018."

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2007 Ramey Cabernet Sauvignon

Posted February 9th, 2011

2007 Ramey Cabernet Sauvignon

2007 Ramey Cabernet Sauvignon

Wine of the Week
Effective February 9, 2011

2007 Ramey Cabernet Sauvignon
Napa Valley

88% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Malbec, 3% Merlot, 3% Petit Verdot and 2% Cabernet Franc

Wine of the Week Price $34.99
Compare at $50.00

92 Robert M. Parker Jr.’s The Wine Advocate

A stunning yet reasonably priced, high end Napa Cabernet Sauvignon is the 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa. The final bottling from the extraordinary Larkmead Vineyard, it boasts a dense purple color as well as a big, sweet bouquet of blueberry and black currant fruit intertwined with licorice, bay leaf, cedar and fruitcake notes. Full-bodied and opulent, this precocious 2007 is drinkable now and should evolve for another 15+ years.

92 Stephen Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar

Inky ruby. Intensely perfumed bouquet of red- and blackcurrant, dark chocolate and anise, with mounting spiciness. More open-knit and accessible than last year’s tasting suggested it would be, offering sweet dark fruit and cherry flavors and building tannins. The fruit takes over on the finish, which echoes the spice and cherry notes. This has turned out better than I expected, perhaps because all of the Larkmead fruit went into this wine in this vintage.

92 Wine Spectator

Taut, dry and earthy, with cedar, herb, forest floor, dried currant and blackberry flavors that are full-bodied, spicy and expansive, slow to unfold but rewarding. Ends with chewy tannins. Drink now through 2018.

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Sparkling & Champagne For Valentine’s

Posted February 7th, 2011
Scharffenberger Brut

Scharffenberger Brut

Scharffenberger Brut NV
Anderson Valley

Regular Retail Price $26.99
Valentine’s Price $14.99

Wine Notes

The wine is two-thirds Pinot Noir which produces a red fruit forward nose (cherry and plum) combined with one-third Chardonnay which adds the tropical expression of lychee nut and mango. The 100% malolactic fermentation adds a vanilla cream character producing a round and full-bodied wine. After approximately two years on the lees, there are notes of freshly baked bread and pastry that enhances the more fruit forward style of the wine. Finally, after several months on the cork, the wine develops caramel and hazel complexors.

Roederer Estate Brut

Roederer Estate Brut

Roederer Estate Brut NV
Anderson Valley

Regular Retail Price $25.99
Valentine’s Price $19.99

90 Points Wine & Spirits

"Complex minerality runs through this sparkler, tinged with sweet vanilla and strawberry flavors, but not overtly fruity. With light richness and firm acidity, it’s suited to poached prawns."

Winemaker Notes

The Roederer Estate Brut is crisp and elegant with complex pear, spice and hazelnut flavors. It is fresh and lightly fruity with great finesse and depth of flavor.

Louis Roederer Brut Premiere Champagne

Louis Roederer Brut Premiere Champagne

Louis Roederer Brut Premiere Champagne
Reims, Champagne, France

Regular Retail Price $46.99
Valentine’s Price $39.99

Wine Notes

From the outset, Brut Premier affirms its personality and seduction; the texture is full and generous and, in a fairly unexpected way, integrates characteristics of maturity associated with fruitier and more refreshing notes. The wine has a fresh festive finesse… In the mouth, the wine has structure, richness and length. It is a full, complex wine that is both modern and powerful, whilst remaining a great classic.

Bruno Paillard Brut Rose Premiere Cuvee

Bruno Paillard Brut Rose Premiere Cuvee

Bruno Paillard Brut Rose Premiere Cuvee
Reims, Champagne, France

Regular Retail Price $69.99
Valentine’s Price $54.99

93 Points Wine & Spirits

"An attractively crisp wine, its fruit on the dry side, with currants and the freshest pink grapefruit juice. This is a great food wine."

Winemaker’s Notes

The wine is produced from 85% Pinot Noir and 15% Chardonnay. Most of the Pinot Noir is immediately removed from the skins for clear wine, with the brilliant Rose color coming from the addition of 100% Grand Cru Bouzy Rouge.

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Friday Night Tasting – Eclectic

Posted February 4th, 2011

Friday February 4, 2011
5:00pm-7:00pm
$10 Tasting Fee

2009 Domaine Vincent Girardin Macon Fuisse
Burgundy, France

Regular Retail – $19.99
Friday Only Price – $17.99

A fragrant and delicious chardonnay that will pair well with a variety of white meats and seafood.

2007 Domaine Vincent Girardin Pouilly Fuisse
Burgundy, France

Regular Retail – $23.99
Friday Only Price – $19.99

Ripe on the nose. Very fresh fruit, easy and silky without high acids. Quite creamy already. Vanilla bean, toasted almond fruit with some mandarin orange and grapefruit, too, on the finish.

2006 Roessler Clos Pepe Pinot Noir
Sta. Rita Hills

Regular Retail – $49.99
Friday Only Price – $33.99

Aromas of cherries, smoke, spice, mossy earth, sage and a hint of game on the nose. This wine is medium to full bodied, featuring a savory palate with a soft core of firm acidity… That, and a spicy cocoa finish with beautiful finesse.

Snows Lake 'One'

Snows Lake 'One'

2004 Snows Lake ‘One’ Cabernet Sauvignon
Red Hills Lake County

Regular Retail – $45.00
Friday Only Price – $26.99

This Cabernet exhibits a wonderful vibrant red and purple hue of tremendous depth. Aromas present with rich, ripe blackberry, a hint of dust, notes of tobacco, and smoky evidence of the toasted oak maturation. Flavors follow with blackberry and cassis, integrated oak and a terrific structure. This is a fine Cabernet with tremendous depth and a sense of integrity.

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2006 Matanzas Creek Merlot

Posted February 2nd, 2011

Wine of the Week
Effective February 2, 2011

Yummm… Blackberry and moist earth notes coupled with clove, pepper and quince!

2006 Matanzas Creek ‘Bennett Valley’ Merlot
Bennett Valley, Sonoma

Matanzas Creek

Matanzas Creek

Regular Retail – $39.99
Wine-of-the-Week Price – $29.99

90 Points Wine Enthusiast

“Ripe and voluptuous, with very rich, long-lasting berry, cherry, mocha and spice flavors, liberally oaked and wrapped into fine, sturdy tannins…”

Winery Notes

Greeting the nose is a collection of fresh herbs, including thyme, sage and clove with hints of hawthorn and quince followed by dark boysenberries and cherries. On the palate, flavors of blackberry and moist earth notes coupled with clove, pepper and quince give this wine exceptional balance and soft tannins.

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Friday Night Tasting – Couloir Pinot Noir

Posted January 26th, 2011

Couloir WinesFriday Night Tasting
Friday January 28, 2011
5:00pm-7:00pm
$15 Tasting Fee for this Special Event

Join us Friday January 28th from 5pm to 7pm and meet Couloir Wines Founder and Winemaker Jon Grant.  Jon is the assistant winemaker at Turley Cellars and has worked in the cellars of Napa Valley’s top wineries, including PlumpJack Winery, Corison Winery and Robert Mondavi Winery.

We recently discovered that Jon makes a tiny amount of AWESOME, incredibly BURGUNDIAN-STYLE pinot noir, and it is one of the BEST CALIFORNIA PINOTS UNDER $40 that you are NOT DRINKING.

2009 Couloir ‘Chileno Valley Vineyard’ Pinot noir
Marin County
90 cases produced

Exotic aromas of red raspberry, pine resin and mushrooms. Elegant with spicy notes of black and white pepper, dark red berry, forest floor and anise. The aromas and flavors continue to evolve while the wine takes air in the glass, ending on a note of spicy red raspberry.Couloir Pinot noir

$37.99

2009 Couloir ‘Roma’s Vineyard’ Pinot noir
Anderson Valley
145 cases produced

Exotic aromas of Christmas spice, opulent red berry, black tea leaf, vanilla and dark, moist earth. A wall of mouth filling fruit, including sweet red cherry and dark raspberry, balances the bright nerve of acid. Complimenting flavors of mushroom, toasty oak, black pepper, dried leaves and Mediterranean herbs. The length is long and harmonious, leaving the palate refreshed.

$37.99

2009 Couloir ‘Monument Tree Vineyard’ Pinot noir
Anderson Valley
143 cases produced

Aromas of bright red berry, candied red and black cherry, white pepper, pine and earth. Red cherry drives the rich, full-bodied mouth feel, while hints of white pepper and a dark, earthy minerality provide immense complexity. The length is long, ending on a high note of ripe cherries.Straight Line Syrah

$37.99

2009 Straight Line Syrah
Santa Barbara County
226 cases produced

Deep and hedonistic aromas of purple fruit, blackberry, rose petal, dark cherry and baking spice. Thought provoking layers of complex notes of blueberry pie, cinnamon, black pepper, flowers and dark cherry. Dense fruit, bright acid and round tannins ensure a long life ahead for this wine. The endless length is delightfully studded with blue fruits and flowers.

$23.99

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Friday Night Wine Tasting – Pinot Noir

Posted January 20th, 2011

Friday Night Tasting
Friday January 21, 2011
5:00pm-7:00pm
$15 Tasting Fee for this Special Event

2009 Belle Glos “Meiomi” Pinot Noir
California

Regular Retail – $27.99
Friday Only Price – $19.99

The word Meiomi means “coast” in the languagne fo the Wappo and Yuki tribes, an appropriate name for a wine that draws its fruit from up and down California’s climactically diverse coastline. In 2009, 47% of the fruit came from Sonoma County, 34% from Santa Barbara County and 19% from Monterey County. The combination marries the virbant berry flavors, minerality, texture, spice and earth that make these three regions diverse, with the deft hand of the Wagner family. Black cherry cola aromas and hints of smoky cedar give way to a palate with sweet cherry cola, savory herbs, leather and sultry oaky spice.

2009 Beaux Freres Les Cousins Pinot Noir
Willamette Valley, Oregon

Beaux Freres Les Cousins Pinot Noir

Regular Retail – $36.99
Friday Only Price – $29.99

This wine is perfect to drink right now – like all Beaux Freres wines it benefits from air and with a quick splash decanting it really opens up allowing the fresh, bright red fruit to shine – think raspberries, strawberries and a bit of kirsch. Its lighter color belies the medium palate – it shows density without being weighty. This is a wine that will drink well over the next several years but is just too quaffable now to wait for.

2008 Evening Land La Source Pinot Noir
Seven Springs Vineyard, Eola-Amity Hills, Oregon

Evening Land La Source Pinot Noir

$31.99 Net - 375ml

#32 Wine Spectator Top 100

Wine Spectator 96 – Refined, elegant, focused and complex, piling layer upon layer of subtle flavors onto a racy, deftly balanced frame. Blackberry, currant and mineral notes compete for attention and mingle harmoniously on the long, expressive finish. Best from 2012 through 2020.

96 Point is the 2nd highest score ever given to an Oregon Pinot Noir by Wine Spectator.

2009 A.P. Vin “Ridgetop Vineyard” Pinot Noir
Sonoma Coast

Regular Retail – $49.99
Friday Only Price – $44.99

Dark, earthy, raspberry goodness followed by cherry cola and minerals. Classic Sonoma Coast complexity makes for a rich, interesting wine that mimics the rugged beauty of this remote vineyard. Ridgetop Savage!

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Friday Night Wine Tasting – High End Whites & Reds

Posted January 13th, 2011

Friday Night Tasting
Friday January 14, 2011
5:00pm-7:00pm
$15 Tasting Fee for this Special Event

2008 Kistler ‘Les Noisetiers’ Chardonnay
Sonoma Coast

Regular Retail – $64.99
Friday Only Price – $59.99

Vibrant green-yellow. Distinct nose of minerals, earth, and refined noble sulfides. A medium-weight, balanced presence on the palate, tightly wound around a resounding acid core, that carries through and beyond the crisp, yet lengthy and lasting finish.

2006 Matanzas Creek ‘Bennett Valley’ Merlot
Bennett Valley, Sonoma

Regular Retail – $39.99
Friday Only Price – $35.99

90 Points Wine Enthusiast

"Ripe and voluptuous, with very rich, long-lasting berry, cherry, mocha and spice flavors, liberally oaked and wrapped into fine, sturdy tannins…"

Winery Notes

Greeting the nose is a collection of fresh herbs, including thyme, sage and clove with hints of hawthorn and quince followed by dark boysenberries and cherries. On the palate, flavors of blackberry and moist earth notes coupled with clove, pepper and quince give this wine exceptional balance and soft tannins.

2007 La Jota ‘Howell Mountain’ Cabernet Sauvignon
Napa Valley

Regular Retail – $64.99
Friday Only Price – $29.99

Winemaker’s Notes

In the 2007 Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon, blueberry, blackberry, toast and a bit of herb play well with a lush entry and structured tannins to finish.

The Vineyards

The grapes for our Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon were grown in our La Jota Estate vineyard and our Keyes vineyard.

La Jota vineyard is located high upon a volcanic Howell Mountain plateau overlooking Napa Valley. Our unique spot, surrounded by pines, oak and madrone trees, is characterized by cool-climate terroir and winds coming up the canyon. We choose a selection of our softer-textured Cabernet Sauvignon vineyard blocks to give this wine earlier approachability, while capturing full expression of La Jota’s cool-climate terroir.

The Keyes vineyard, a mile down the road and with a very different terroir, provides a "pop" of bright fruit character and broader tannins. The Petit Verdot was harvested from a small planting near the winery.

2007 Nickel & Nickel Cabernet Sauvignon State Ranch
Yountville, Napa Valley

Regular Retail – $89.99
Friday Only Price – $49.99

Winemaker’s Notes

The 2007 State Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon has aromas of black cherry and loganberry that are enticing, but it is the velvety palate and the juiciness of this wine that seems to define the vineyard. There is softness and a thickness to the texture that is pure enjoyment that carries through to an extremely long finish.

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Friday Night Wine Tasting – Pinot Noir

Posted January 6th, 2011

Friday Night Wine Tasting
Friday January 7, 2011
5:00pm-7:00pm
Tasting Fee: $10

2008 Point Concepcion Salsipuedes Pinot Noir
Santa Barbara County – $18.99

…this is not your typical fruit bomb. The nose is bright with tealeaf and wild berry fruit, however depending on your mood; it can show a hint of sage and even violets. In tasting, the fruit’s character is ripe, juicy and upfront amid black cherry, blackberry and plum flavors.

2009 Talbott ‘Logan’ Pinot Noir
Sleepy Hollow Vineyard, Santa Lucia Highlands – $21.99

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.

Au Bon Climat Pinot Noir

Au Bon Climat Pinot Noir

2008 Au Bon Climat Pinot Noir
Santa Barbara County – $24.99

92 points Wine and Spirits; “Vibrant and heady, this wine’s full-throttle flavors of juicy red fruit and red-apple skin have plenty of complex spice. It’s not powerfully structured, but it is mouthwatering, the kind of bottle that two people can open and easily finish.”

2009 Cartha Pinot Noir
Sonoma Coast – $29.99

Vibrant, layered nose of black cherry, strawberry, cinnamon, dried rose, pine duff, sarsaparilla and narcissus. Balanced and high-toned on the light to medium bodied palate, with black cherry, pomegranate, carob and carbon lingering on the complex finish.

Special Tasting Price – 15% Off the listed prices of any of these wines.

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