Usually the small growers that are mentioned here and sold via pre-sell are all north of $40 a bottle and carry names of Cedric Bouchard, Vouette et Sorbee, or Marie Noelle Ledru.  Yet, this is one of the joys of the Grower Champange bottlings.  You can find a great NV Champagne, that is family owned and is not produced in quantities of a million bottles.  The family owns less than 16 acres and produces a total of 2000 cases of wines a year (all of their wines combined, not just this NV release).  The wine is majority Pinot Noir (70%) and is rounded out with 20% Pinot Meunier and 10% Chardonnay.

Here you have the 3 star, number 1 Champagne, from the NY Times’ Best Champagne for $40 or less.  This beat out the big boys of Louis Roederer (maker of Cristal), Taittinger, and Pol Roger to name a few.  NY Times says the wine is “Fresh, lively and elegant with flavors of flowers, minerals, citrus and anise.”

The price is $40 a bottle.

January 8^th 5-8 PM

Barolo Tasting $19

Over the last few years we have seen a variety of Italian tastings.  Varying from the common 3 Bs; Barolo, Barbaresco, and Barbera.  Then we had a few focused tastings featuring just Brunello and just Barbaresco.  Each Tasting influenced the next and now we have are first Barolo tasting and only Barolo.  As usually, I have tried to pick out a variety of styles, price points and vintages. 

2004 Damilano Barolo Lecinquevigne

2005 Reverdito Barolo

2005 Monchiero Barolo

2003 Cavallotto Bricco Boschis Barolo

2005 marcarini Barolo Brunate

Bonus Pour $10

2003 Giacomo Conterno Barolo Cascina Francia  

Wine Advocate 94 “The 2003 Barolo Cascina Francia is a remarkable wine for the vintage. This deep, powerful Barolo reveals awesome richness and an almost liqueur-like quality to its fruit that is balanced by the chalky mineral notes that provide freshness on the finish and help convey an impression of notable balance. In 2003 there is no Monfortino, and the Cascina Francia surely benefits from the addition of that juice which is mostly felt in the wine’s depth. Resisting the temptation to harvest too early, Roberto Conterno waited until October 8 to start picking in his Cascina Francia vineyard, long after most producers had already brought the fruit in. He had the benefit of the late September rains that helped restore at least a little freshness to the fruit, and as a result his 2003 Cascina Francia doesn’t have the aggressive tannins that plague so many wines. Simply put, this is a stunning Barolo made all the more notable by the challenging conditions the vintage presented. Anticipated maturity: 2009-2023.”

Everyday Wine Tasting

January 2^nd 1-4PM

Finish up your holiday shopping by tasting some wines at GFW on Saturday.  Always free and always fun.

January 1^st 5-8 PM

Tuscan Joys $16

Is there a better way to start the New Year then drinking gems from Tuscany?  I think not.  Therefore, I picked out some of the latest winners from Tuscany.  All of these wines are either 100% Sangiovese or mostly Sangiovese. 

2006 Le Pupille Morellino di Scansano (WA 88)

2007 Felsina Chianti Classico (WA 89)

2006 Felsina Chianti Classico Rancia (WA 95)

2004 Le Pupille Morellino di Scansano Ris. Poggio Valente (WA 92)

2003 San Vincenti Stignano (Super Tuscan, WS 88)

Bonus Pour $10

Special Super Tuscan…Not made of Sangiovesse…2004 vintage…WA 95 Points…Retails north of $150 a bottle.

Special Club Champagne Releases

Each year about this time we see the releases from new Champagne houses.  Even though we have huge success with our Champagne future program, there are still some wines that arrive in limited quantities that are here for a limited time.  This year I wanted to announce the release of two special releases from A. Margaine and Henri Goutorbe, both 2002 vintage Champagne.

These wines are the special club bottling from two highly sought after producers.  The Special club cohort was created in 1971 and includes 26 grower-producers.  These wines might be considered the epitome of the grower movement in Champagne.  They are meant to be the best examples of what a grower can produce.  They are vintage wines that all come in the same bottle, but show their particular label.  A special club bottling is not released each year, for example in 2003 no one made a Special Club Bottling.  In particular, both of these wines are from the 2002 vintage.  They represent the highest quality from the region and will also age very well.  The wines themselves go through a series of approvals, from the still wine to the final product.  Lastly, the two wines I have chosen to focus on represent two different types of wine.  The Margaine is 100% Chardonnay, whereas the Goutorbe is primarily Pinot Noir.  Please also see this link for more details.  http://www.clubtresorsdechampagne.com/

2002 A. Margaine Special Club $65

Stephen Tanzer’s IWC 92 points “Light, bright gold with a frothy mousse. Intensely perfumed bouquet displays honeysuckle, green apple, pear and quinine, with a strong mineral overtone. Spicy orchard fruit flavors are given depth by notes of sweet butter and anise and gain power with air. Impressively focused, with strong mineral cut and lingering spiciness.”

2002 Henri Goutorbe Special Club $70

Terry Theise Selections “This is glorious Champagne by any standards: a coeur de cuvée from old vines. That indicates free-run juice, from which the first and last few hundred liters are removed.  60% Chardonnay, 40% Pinot Noir. Wonderful flower and vanilla-pudding aromas; this is iridescently alive and almost brashly vital, a super-reality of flavor, crackling and mineral and snappy, coiled and starched—for now. Disgorged 2/08 and certainly not showing all its cards.”

2002 Jose Michel Special Club $65 (Extremely limited)

Everyday Wine Tasting

December 19^th 1-4PM

Finish up your holiday shopping by tasting some wines at GFW on Saturday.  Always free and always fun.

2008 Domaine des Schistes (A great blend from the Roussillon)

2005 Estacao Tino (Portuguese red)

2008 Vietti Moscato d’Asti

December 18^th 5-8PM

Burgundy Tasting with Champagne

$19 or FREE (w/purchase)

You can call it a holiday party or a fancy tasting, either way you look at it this Friday will a tasting to remember.  Since we are getting ready for the holidays we will start with Champagne and then lead into two red and 2 white Burgundy.  This is the perfect chance to try Burgundy that is showing well now and will also age for a few years.  Better yet, If you buy a bottle from the regular flight (excluding BP), your flight is free.  If you buy a bottle of the Bonus pour, your whole tasting is free.

NV Beaumont des Crayeres Champagne Grand Prestige ($40)

2006 Domaine Laurent Cognard Montagny 1er Les Bassets ($28)

2006 Domaine Jean Claude Bachelet St. Aubin Blanc 1er Champlots ($38)

2005 Domaine Salomon Givry 1er Clos Salomon (monopole) ($40)

2005 Domaine Marchand Grillot Gevrey Chambertin Songe ($45)

Bonus Pour $6

2004 Francois Gay Corton Renards Grand Cru

Everyday Wine Tasting

December 12^th 1-4PM

Please join us on Saturday as we open a series of wines that are perfect for everyday drinking, while fitting into everyone’s budget.

2004 Olabisi King Syrah  (usually $30 now $15)

2007 Elena Walch Lagrein

Among others, maybe even a Moscato d’Asti.

December 11th

Italian Blends Tasting $17

5-8PM

The series of wines in this tasting could be easily constituted as cool.  There will be two reds from Sicily that are the same blend, but one is aged in a large tank while the other spends time in Amphora (terracota).  I will also present a white wine from the same winery, a blend of Insolia and Grecanico.  Then there is a white blend from Roagna, in Piedmont, that has a small percentage of Nebbiolo added, yet the wine is still white (and good).  The last two wines are complete opposites.  First a wine from Noussan in Vallee d’Aoste, which is a blend of Petit Rouge (over 70%), Mayolet, Cornalin, and Vien de Nus.   This is a very small family owned winery that is the essence of a garage winemaker.  The last wine is a super Tuscan made of Sangiovese and Merlot.

2007 COS Rami (Sicily)

2003 Roagna Solea (Piedmont)

2006 COS Cerasuolo di Vittoria (Sicily)

2005 COS PITHOS (Sicily)

2005 Noussan Torrette (Vallee d’Aoste)

2008 Occhipinti SP68 (Sicily)

Everyday Wine Tasting

December 5^th 1-4PM

Please join us on Saturday as we open a series of wines that are perfect for everyday drinking, while fitting into everyone’s budget.