Wines
- Vadiaperti Greco di Tufo Tornante 2020$29.98Availability:In Stock
The pinnacle of Greco; a riveting white that brings together savory mint and heady citrus in a plush and endlessly pleasing package. Here above the clouds, at 2,100 feet in altitude, winemaker Raffaele Troisi tends older vines for a Campanian white of serious potential.
Learn MoreHURRY, ONLY 9 LEFT! - Domaine Berthoumieu Madiran Cuvée Charles de Batz 2017$21.98Availability:In Stock
From the importer: The domaine’s top red wine is the cuvée Charles de Batz, which was the original name of d'Artignan. The wine is composed of 90% Tannat with 10% Cabernet Sauvignon from vines that are between 50 and 100 years old. After being completely destemmed, the Cabernet and Tannat are fermented separately in cement tanks. During this time, a bit of micro-oxygenation or microboullage takes place. The wine then goes into oak (50% new) in an underground cellar where it also undergoes malolactic fermentation. After 12 months in wood, it is blended and bottled after a very light filtration.
Very ripe, rich Madiran that takes no prisoners. This wine succeeds in obtaining more fruit than tannin! The color is nearly opaque—wine doesn't get much darker than this. It displays notes of black fruit (blackcurrant and blackberry) along with just a hint of red fruit. There is a cedar-like creaminess to the oak which is extremely well-integrated. Tannins pick up on the finish but, let's face it, this is Madiran and that is to be expected. These tannins seem to dissolve when the wine is matched with richly flavored meats like leg of lamb, duck, goose or game.
Learn MoreHURRY, ONLY 9 LEFT! - Passo delle Tortore Greco di Tufo Le Arcaie 2021WA92$36.98Availability:In Stock
92 Points! The 2021 Greco di Tufo Le Arcaie reveals a medium light golden color and a mildly creamy or slightly concentrated mouthfeel. Some 20% of the wine is briefly aged in oak. That extra heft and richness gives support to apricot, honey and preserved lemon. If you dig a little deeper, you might pick up subtle hints of saffron and salted almond. This pretty white offers a long citrusy finish. Fruit comes from a high-elevation vineyard at a cool 700 meters above sea level. - Monica Larner, robertparker.com
Learn More - Morandé Vigno Old Vines 2020JS94WA94Availability:In Stock
Only $19.98 at checkout + 10% Off 6 or more!
94 Points! There is varietal rusticity and typicity in the 2020 Vigno, produced with 93% Cariñena and 7% Syrah from Melozal in Maule. It's serious and ripe without excess at 14% alcohol, with good freshness, red and black fruit, violets, earth and some tree bark. It's tasty and supple. It matured in a lightly toasted 4,000-liter foudre and used barrels for 18 months. It should get better with some more time in bottle. - Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com
94 Points! Bright and very racy nose with vibrant sour red cherries, crushed blueberries, flowers and a hint of mineral. So juicy and bright with a firm, almost mineral quality to the center palate. A little sharp but so succulent with fine, fresh tannins aplenty. Really drinkable and long. Enjoy now. - JamesSuckling.com
Learn More - Preston Carignane Dry Creek Valley 2021$29.98Availability:In Stock
From the winery: Our Carignane block in the Vogensen parcel is truly a gem of the entire Preston Vineyard: eighty year old vines stand, statuesque but sprawling, with the same dynamic balance inherent to a large, tangled oak. On harvest day in mid September, time slows a little, and we take care to sort and process the fruit from these soulful, weathered vines. With regard to winemaking, the wine is hardly made at all: the real work has already been done by the vines over most of the last century, their roots digging ever deeper in communion with the alluvial bench they stand on. Whole bunches of grapes are crushed by foot in a large open-top fermenter, and after a few weeks we drain the wine off to neutral barrels, where it ages for a year or so before bottling. A dynamic balance is expressed in the wine as well: within its unity is a tension between fruity notes of blackcurrant and plum and savory notes of leather and sap; and of granite and iron minerality vibrating with finely-grained tannic structure. A wine of energy and soul that represents a history of winegrowing in our corner of Dry Creek.
Learn MoreHURRY, ONLY 6 LEFT! - Clos Figueras Priorat Clos Figueres 2018JS94WA95$79.98Availability:In Stock
95 Points! The 2018 Clos Figueres follows the path of cleanliness and precision of the 2017 in a better vintage. It's Garnacha and Cariñena from old vines with Cabernet sauvignon, Syrah and Monastrell, which seems to be a Mediterranean grape that is coming out of the closet in Priorat. It fermented and matured in new and second use 300- and 500-liter French oak barrels for 14 to 16 months. It's powerful and ripe at 15% alcohol, but with a low pH and good freshness. It's nuanced and complex and has elegance and some floral notes, with a more developed nose compared to the younger 2019 and 2020 tasted next to it. This has to be one of the finest vintages of Clos Figueres ever. 5,150 bottles were filled in February 2020. - Luis Gutierrez, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
94 Points! Aromas of dark plums, lavender, dried thyme, cloves, black olives and chocolate. It’s full-bodied with fine tannins and fresh acidity. Supple and velvety. Sweet spices and chocolate on the long, elegant finish. Try from 2022. - James Suckling
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- Garzón Tannat Single Vineyard 2018JS94$24.98Availability:In Stock
94 Points! Extremely perfumed with violet and blueberry aromas that follow through to a full body with creamy, refined tannins. Wonderful depth, due to the compact fruit and vertical line of tannins. Black pepper to the dark fruit. Better in two or three years. Try after 2022. - JamesSuckling.com
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- Garzon Tannat Reserva Uruguay 2019JS91$14.98Availability:In Stock
91 Points! A full-bodied red with aromas of black cherries, blackcurrants, violets and black licorice. Tannic and chewy with a firm core of dark fruit. Try from 2023. - JamesSuckling.com
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- Cantina Giba Carignano del Sulcis 6 Mura 2016Special Price $34.98 Regular Price $49.98Availability:In StockTre Bicchieri Gambero Rosso...6 Mura Rosso is a full-bodied and concentrated Carignano, able to age for an extended time. Produced from ancient vines with very low yield by hectare. Deep red ruby color, powerful aromas and flavors full of mature red fruit and spices. Very elegant wine but austere, like the land where it comes from. Learn MoreHURRY, ONLY 7 LEFT!
- Clos del Rey IGP Cotes Catalanes L'Aragone 2021$19.98Availability:In Stock
By all accounts this is a unique plot of Carignan with some vines that reach well over 100 years of age. The yields here are even lower than the Episcata at a paltry 20 hl/ha. The harvest/fermentation regimen is the same. Grapes are hand harvested and sorted in the cellar, fermentation is done under temperature-controlled conditions with natural yeasts, and the same sojourn in concrete for 12 months. Some of you may have had experience with Carignan but this varietal from old vines is a different bird entirely. It speaks of its origins with accents of garrigue and schisty minerality to the core of dark fruit, Priorat-esque. One thing vine age does is round out and plump up this intensely flavorful grape.
Learn More - Bondle Red Wine from Olivier Pithon 2017 1.5L MagnumSpecial Price $76.98 Regular Price $109.98Availability:In Stock
Discover a rare gem. It’s not every day that you come across a pure carignan wine from low-yield 100-year-old vines grown on the distinct terroir of a limestone plateau. Hand harvested, organic, and biodynamic, this medium-bodied wine is a real crowd-pleaser. Concentrated notes of red fruit meld with licorice and spice to create an incredibly silky and refined finish. Rich in umami and with an approachable earthiness.
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