Happy Thanksgiving
Greetings and happy Feburary We have had some really tremendous finds this year so far. We started working with Veraison which is the Krupp family who owns the altas peak and stagecoach vineyards in napa. This is Incredible territory producing some of the best Napa wines. Thier own releases are no exception. I also picked up some new releases from Branham. The 03 Branham Cabernet and it was delightful. For all those who had the 02 you know how rich and full bodied and approachable this wine is. The 03 might be even more complex. The nose on this was really full and very enticing and berry forward and rich. Great great blackberry, chocolate covered cherry and plum and coffee and spice and it goes on and on. This is a high end Napa Cab for $39 a bottle. 2003 Atlas Peak Merlot-very deep color and very inviting nose of cherry and _mocha following through to the palate with deep rich flavors of cherry, black cherry, bakers chocolate with deep warm levels of spice and incredible tannic structure leading to a long spicy dry dusty finish. This is what merlot is all about. $64 2002 Stagecoach Cabernet-Incredible accross the board with a deep inviting nose and a velvety rich palate of plum blackfruit cherry anais casis light notes of amaretta and wonderful layers upon layers of spice and flavor. Again an incredible tannic structure that lends this to be a great food wine. $64 Also I picked up a great Napa wine from Elliot. Mark Elliot worked with Nils Venge on the infamous 100 point 1985 Groth cabernet. He now runs his Elliot label and does a brilliant cab. The 01 Elliot was just released in Jan 06 and is a very full bodied lush napa cabernet with hints of blackfruit _mocha blackberry and great spice and tannins out the finish. This was a good value at $45 which it was retailing out for but its a GREAT value at $29 which we have it for.
04 Copain L'automne Pinot noir-this was a lovely earthy Russian river-esque alexander valley pinot noir. Soft palate with rich flavors of cherry and mocha and violets with nice spice through the finish. $24 04 Copain L'ivere Syrah- again lovely with a deep earthy palate and notes of clove and allspice with rich full bodied fruit and a nice spicy finish. $24 03 Elizabeth Spencer Cabernet-this is a very robust yet soft and balanced with an excellent tannic structure. This has subtle complex layers of plum chocolate blackfruit cherry violet casis licorice and a long lingering finish. This is the same juice as what is used in a very hard to get $175+ cabernet. He makes more than he wishes to allocate and they get the rest so its literally the same winemaker and wine. I am not at liberty to mention who in this email but it is a very well rated sought after wine, And Through me its $37. sold out 04 due in april 06 2002 Kamen Cabernet-This is a great great great Mt.Veeder cab, on the sonoma side of the peak. This years vintage is the first made by Mark Harold who for years made the Phelps Insignia and also currently the Merus Cabernet. This is a big full bodies rich cab with loads of fruit and flavor. Big tannic structure but done in an approachable style but this wine will lay down for a good while. Nice lingering dry finish with coffee blackfruit and spice throughout. $65 03 Martinelli Reserve Pinot- This was a big rich full bodied pinot in true Turley style. Nice deep russian river notes and a full bodied midpalate with deep cherry sour cherry vanilla mocha and loads of spice. $59 3 cases avail. 03 JC Cellars Cuvee Syrah- this is a blend of his two main vineyards , the ventana and rockpile. Very big palate with deep smokey earthy black cherry and coffee with blueberry casis and good levels of spice out the finish. The single vineyards of this syrah are $45. this cuvee is $35. A fantastic deal. Biale Aldo Zinfandel- This is a huge deep big rich monster of a zin. I found some very full raspberry blackberry blueberry chocolate loads of white and black pepper. This is a big big wine. We tasted it next to some cabernets and it didnt seem diminished at all. $59 Biale Monte Rosso Zin- this taken from the famed monte rosso vineyards planted in 1887 on the top of the hill. Incredible fruit that can only be found in a vineyard this well maintained. Very autere flavor with nice levels of spice. this is a cant miss if your looking for the pinacle of zinfandel. $59 Biale Royal Punisher Petite Syrah- this is one of those wines you dont want to wear white anywhere near it. this is a deep deep deep petite syrah. Blackfruit and blueberry surrounded by chocolate and coffee and spice. Oh so balanced though and rich and really complex. This is a truely great petite. $55 These are all under 5 case availability. get in touch with me today. I just picked up the new run of August Briggs and they are really stunning. These are all highly allocated. A.Briggs has reduced thier distribution to 10 states including california. Each of these are less than 400 cases produced to they are going to be hard to find. and mostly restaurant only. 03 Ruusian River Pinot- this has a very pronounced nose and very deep palate. I get the chocolate covered cherries right on the nose and great deep coffee mocha spice and lush rich fruit on the palate. long lingering smooth finish rounds out this delectable pinot. $39 5 cases avail 03 Napa Dijon Clone Pinot- As per their standards this is a incredible napa pinot. Lush ripe robust fruit with great balance of spice and flavor. Deep black cherry and blueberry notes with a hint of chocolate covered strawberry. nice complexity but very very balanced. $45 5 cases avail 02 Monte Rosso Cabernet- This has such a complex nose it was about 4-5 minutes before I made it to tasting it. Blackfruit, black cherry, cassis, licorice, mocha, violet, oak, cedar, leather and an incredible tannic structure. this is everything you would look for in a high end napa cabernet. Joe Briggs is a true artist. $59 5 cases avail These next two are going to be released on OCT.1 and will be gone by the 5th so we are preselling it now. again with only 5 cases avail from each. 04 Levaroni Chard- this is the napa chardonnay single vineyard that is very very balanced. $39 04 Russian River Chard- rich and creamy and oaky but not over the top $39 These are very highly rated consistantly and will not last more than a couple of days. Here are some food pairing selections for you. Before Dinner/ Appetizers 04 Zonte's Footsteps Verdehlo- This is very similar to a Sauvingnon blanc in that it has notes of lemon lime and citrus with a balance of spice and acidity through the finish that makes this great for seafood or cheese and crackers.Very Clean and crisp. $15 03 Hawley Viognier- this is a fantastic chardonnay alternative. great notes of honeydew and apricot and pear with a full mouth feel and a nice finish that goes great with the appetizers 02 Albrecht Paterberg Reisling Kabinett- this is a great sweet crisp clean with intense tropical fruit and nice balance of acidity through the finish. this is a great german wine. $19 03 Sancere Domaine Vacheron- This exquisite Sauvingnon blanc is from the prime region in France for this varietal. This wine is being sold by the Glass at the French Laundry. Intense flinty mineral qualities very rich soft and clean. $36 For the Table-Pinot, Syrah, Petite Syrah, Cab 02 Toad Hall Pinot Noir- This is a great offshoot of Floral springs and they are only doing pinot noir. This has great notes of cherry violets and spice with a good medium mouthfeel. $23 02 Barnett pinot- this is one of the best pinots in Napa. Very rich ripe fruit with notes of cherry sour cherry violets mocha vanilla coffee and spice. Very full mouth feel and very soft. this is exquisite. $44 01 Skewis Pinot Noir- From the Demuth Vineyard this is a very Burgundian style with rich ripe fruit and a deep cherry mocha chocolate coffee smoky tones in the palate. very good with turkey, duck, goose and venison. $35 02 Culler Syrah- Very Deep color, smoky hints in the nose with chocolate black fruit and mocha hints of violets and more chocolate through the finish. $41 02 JC Ventana Syrah- Intense nose of deep smoky meaty black fruit and black cherry and plum and violet and mocha and coffee. Ripe and jammy. $40 01 Richard Perry Syrah- Very earthy rich and ripe. Deep mocha chocolate and coffee with black fruit and good levels of spice through a long lingering finish. $42 99 Skewis Syrah- very burgundian as well earthy rich with blackberry and blueberry in the mid. very full round mouthfeel. $23 01 Madrigal Petite Syrah- this is almost black in color its so deep. blackberry blueberry mocha chocolate coffee heavy spice and more fruit through the finish. $35 03 Givry L'cru Red Burgundy- Very soft and smooth with loads of mineral and deep ripe fruit. $35 01 Domaine La Millier Chateau Neuf D'pape- 100 year old plus vines with 2/3 Grenache and 1/3 mouverdre/syrah. very austere palate with loads of spice and very deep tight fruit. $39 00 Reverie Cabernet- From the mineral rich Diamond Mountain district, this is usually primarily mailing list only. This 00 vintage was released at 85 a bottle. very nice plum ripe blackberry and of course mineral in the late palate. $40 00 Liparita Cab- this is a very fruit forward cab but very napa stylistically. Intense blackfruit and plum and cherry. good balance of fruit and tannins with a good lingering finish. got 92 points in the Spectator. was released at $45 now $24. 01 Richard Perry Cabernet- Very deep and rich and ripe full bodied fruit on this excellent cabernet. Robust chocolate covered black cherry and leather and casis and spice through the palate with a long lingering finish. $64 I also have about 10 others that would go very well with dinner but please call me for more info. Dessert- 01 D'Arenberg Fortified Shiraz- this is a very unique dessert wine. Port like but more layers of fruit and chocolate than average. Very very interesting. $20 NV Decco port- Having anything chocolate? This is the most chocolate rich tasting port I have. Very sweet. $17 02 Lava Cab Muscat Canelli- deep amber color and notes of orange and hazelnut highlight this very subtle dessert wine. Goes great with lemon cake and creme brule. $15 The Toast- NV Turgy Champagne- this is a blend of 38 vintages from the Mesnil region of france. Beautiful notes of french bread and classic french chardonnay flavors. not over carbonated very very subtle bubbles. Highly recommended. $55 NV Egly-ouriet blanc de noir- this is actually 70% pinot and 30% chardonnay- also becomming a fast cult champagne. very unique notes of pinot with french bread and an excellent balance of flavor throughout. A must have for champagne fans. $63
