Archive for February, 2010
2006 Kaesler Stonehorse GSM (Barossa, Australia)
“The label’s new to some U.S. drinkers, but Kaesler is old Barossa, old barrels, fairly old vines and an old Rhone blend. Not another Shiraz blend, but an elegant package, a lovely to drink early on. Grenache leads the flavor, with lots of flowers and jammy plums, while the Shiraz and Mourvedre provide structure, body and polish. It’s broad, sturdy but soft and thick. Don’t expect the pepper and spice of simple Rhones; you’ll get more licorice, coffee and chocolate. Not a wine for rustic lamb and game, this Stonehorse rides with good beef where Pomerol might go.”
2006 Kaesler Stonehorse GSM (Barossa, Australia) – 14.99
92 Points, Chris Sherman
Ferbuary 2010
2007 Olivier Leflaive Bourgogne Blanc Les Sétilles (Burgundy)
2007 Olivier Leflaive Bourgogne Blanc Les Sétilles - $17.99 or $16.19 by the case!
“Exceptional chardonnay without the drag of oak. A blend of wine from two villages in Burgundy, France which typically sell for 2 and three times this price. With the nerve typical of the wines from the village of Puligny-Montrachet blended with the fatter fleshier wine from the village of Meursault. Stunning Chardonnay value.”
90 Points, Bob Sprentall
February 2010
2007 Black Slate (Priorat, Spain)
2007 Black Slate (17.99 on sale) - 91 Points, The Wine Advocate
“New Spanish wines are popping up every day, each of them flaunting a score over 90 points and flashing a fancy new label. What makes the 2007 Black Slate different, is simple. It has pedigree. This isn’t the brain child of an unexperienced businessman trying to start a winery with wikipedia’s guide to viticulture. Winemaker Joan Sangenis was born and raised in Porerra, a tiny village in Priorat. His family has been making wine for 200 years. Joan himself got hands on experience at the bodegas of Alvaro Palacios and René Barbier. In 1996 he jumped at the chance to renovate his parent’s old bodega and begin “Celler Cal Pla” also known for their Mas d’en Compte wines that have achieved high Parker praise. With vines 60-100 years of age, this new project is the inspiration of Burgundian nomenclature, hence the reference to it being a village appellation on the label. It is hard enough to find a wine from Priorat under $40 much less under $20.”
90 Points, Summer Martin
February 2010
2005 Chateau La Tour Martillac Blanc (Bordeaux)
Latour Martillac Blanc $39.99
“White Bordeaux wines of significance, mainly from the villages of Pessac-Leognan, are the most underappreciated of great wines in the world. This could have to do with their rarity, only about 20% of the production of Pessac is white wine; or their prices – they can be cost prohibitive too. Nevertheless, when I think of great wines, Pessac-Leognan is always there. La Tour Martillac, made of 60% Semillon and 40% Sauvignon Blanc exhibits an oaky and exotic exterior that leads to a Chardonnay-like texture and richness. The flavors of the wine are still true to the region, melon and citrus and minerals, also a lushness and plumpness attributed to Semillon, and the grip and intensity of Sauvignon Blanc. This is a very balanced, complex and compelling wine that will develop nicely for the next 10 years.”
93 Points, Rhett Beiletti
February 2010
Brrrrrrrrr…
Baby, it is cold outside but wine lovers in Florida see the bright side: Perfect weather for stews, barbecue, chili, leg of lamb… and big reds. At last!
Some folks bring out the amarones, the big mountain cabs or the ports. Me, I call the chill wind “petite sirah.”
2006 Girard Petite Sirah Napa - 24.99 (22.49 by the case!)
Despite the name, petite’s very big, the John Wayne of wines. It’s an unsophisticated fieldhand working with zinfandel in old California field blends. Big in alcohol, a truckload of flavors, black berries, blueberries, raspberries, pepper and spice, chocolate and licorice, and yet its texture is lush and supple thanks to palate-friendly tannins.
While petite is a secret weapon in many great zins and newfangled table reds, it’s rich on its own. In the value cellar, petite’s my fave on the flavor-per-dollar scale. Bogle and McManis (9.99) and Ravenswood ($6.99) are consistent winners. At those prices and this weather, better lay in a case before snow blocks the passes.
Petite is not just a cousin from no-name corners of the Central Valley; Petite still grows in NapaValley and comes out elegantly in 2004 Delectus ($43.99) and Girard’s 2006 ($24.99). Up in Alexander Valley where the Seghesios show great respect to their pioneer elders, they expanded and replanted the 1895 clones to make an historic and heroic Home Ranch Petite Sirah in2005 ($31.99).
2005 Marietta Angeli Cuvee (Alexander Valley, California)
2005 Marietta Angeli Cuvee (Alexander Valley) - 24.99
“A proprietary blend of Zinfandel, Petit Sirah, and Carignane, Marietta’s Angeli Cuvee is a fruit lover’s dream. Out of the bottle it’s nearly pitch black and crazy dense, so much that you might consider eating it with a fork. The Cuvee’s near 16% alcohol content is ideal soul kindling for a chilly February evening. Though not at all sweet, it opens up with a hail of intense fruit. The experience is reminiscent of childhood, tiny fingers stained red from tearing through a bowl of perfectly ripe Bing cherries. Over the course of a couple hours it evolves on the palate, unwinding into one of the juiciest stand-alone reds of recent memory. Absolutely delicious…”
93 Points, Shawn Reynolds
February 2010
2008 Festivo Malbec by Monteviejo (Mendoza, Argentina)
2008 Festivo Malbec - 12.99 (11.69 btc)
“2008 Festivo is by far the best valued malbec on the shelf! This distinctive and emblematic variety of Argentina, which falls somewhere between Cabernet and Merlot, has successfully exploded in popularity. It is dark crimson in color with a fragrant nose of blueberries and spice. Medium bodied, hints of dark chocolate, a touch of smoke and minerality with delicious spice and plum characters steering to a lengthy finish. 2008 Festivo malbec is a true expression of this variety at an everyday price.”
90 Points, Shannon Sprentall
February 2010
2007 Argiano NC Non Confunditur (Tuscany)
2007 Argiano NC Non Confunditor (Tuscany) - 19.99
“Argiano’s 2007 NC is a Tuscan blend that shows exciting power, with the inherent sweetness of the Merlot component acting as a bridge between the firm earthiness of the Sangiovese, the spicy blackcurrant of the Cabernet and the warm red fruit of the Syrah. The result is a generous, round red wine for early to mid-term drinking with aromas of currant and generous fruit flavors, which are versatile enough to develop more depth in the bottle. It is an excellent value and was chosen as one of the top 100 wines of the year by the Wine Spectator.” (90WS)
90 Points, Steve Rayman
February 2010
New Arrival from Wolf Blass is a steal at a $13.99
2006 Wolf Blass Gold Shiraz - On sale for $14.99 at B-21 (for a limited time)
We hear “Beringer Blass” so much now we forget the first name of the modern Australian genius is Wolf, as inWolfgang. He landed Down Under more than 50 years ago, an East German sparkling winemaker who dreamed of making great reds. He blazed trails across Barossa in a green VW beetle consulting and preaching the new style of Australian wine we’ve come to love. He bought his own vineyards in 1969 and when the first wave of Australians hit the US in the ‘80s, one of the best was eagle-crested Wolf Blass. Oz shipments grew and grew; Wolf’s own label got bigger, too to join Mildarra, Beringer Wine Estates and ultimately oilcan Fosters.
As you can taste in the 2006 Gold Label Barossa Shiraz, Wolf Blass’s own brand just got better, big bold and smooth as back in the day. This is classic Shiraz, big and broad, full of berries and plums spiced with smoke, licorice, pepper and a touch of cocoa. It’s a hefty 15.5% ABV yet you won’t taste the alcohol. Tannins are invitingly soft. Put the lamb shanks on now.
The 2006 ’s also deserves the ultimate Aussie compliment “It’s good value.” An understatement worthy of Croc Dundee himself. Nowhere on the street or the internet is it a better deal than at B-21 if you can find this vintage at all. At $13.99 a bottle this is a Shiraz that ought to fill several rows of your cellar.
“This exhibits generous blackberry and raspberry fruit at the core, shading the edges with pretty white pepper, cream and floral overtones that insinuate themselves beautifully as the finish goes on and on. Drink now through 2016.” 91 Points, Wine Spectator
From the folks who brought you Screaming Eagle…
Situated in an old-world, 12’ by 18’ stone building on a rocky Oakville hillside, Screaming Eagle is one of Napa’s smallest wineries. Since its first release of 200 or so cases in 1992 Screaming Eagle has soaked adulation like The Beatles on Ed Sullivan. One of California’s most sought after wines, its high quality, rave reviews and insanely small production numbers translate to a product that fetches quite lofty prices; in 2001 a collector paid $650,000 for eight extremely rare 3.0L bottles spanning from 1992 to 1999.
Aged in 65% new French oak in a small cave for nearly two years, Screaming Eagle’s still-diminutive production figures hover around 500 cases per annum with the preponderance shipped directly to eager mailing list members. The winery’s website is dark and bare. Reminiscent of the curt gatekeeper of Oz, it consists merely of contact info and a brief FAQ page that informs eager wine hunters that they, like the shivering hopefuls in search of season tickets to Lambeau Field, have virtually no chance at serendipity unless someone goes toes up. “Production cannot nearly accommodate the demand evidenced by the existing waiting list…” the site reads. “With a waiting list of this length it is unlikely that you will be able to purchase wine directly from the winery, and therefore we have stopped adding names…” Bummer. What do we drink while we wait? Read on…there’s a light at the end of the tunnel.
A stone’s throw from the mystical Hans Christian Anderson Park just off the western edge of Los Padres National Forest lies Jonata [pronounced “Ho-nah-ta”], the exciting offshoot project from the heralded artisans at Screaming Eagle. Named for an 1845 land grant inked by California’s last Mexican governor, Pio Pico, the vineyards occupy the old Rancho San Carlos de Jonata of Santa Ynez Valley, a prosperous family-owned horse and cattle ranch that fell from grace after the drought of 1876-1877.
The goal of Jonata is to produce captivating Bordeaux blends, the current success of which Robert Parker stresses is “mind-boggling.” Upon tasting Jonata’s 2006 and 2007 barrel samples, Parker averred that “this is one of California’s most exciting new wineries.”
For the first time ever, we are proud to offer the dynamic wines of Jonata. A few bottles remain of both the 05 La Tierra and the 05 Corazon.
2005 Jonata La Tierra $64.99
The 2005 La Tierra de Jonata (93% Sangiovese and 7% Cabernet Sauvignon) continues Jonata’s penchant for producing the finest Sangiovese in California. A deep ruby/purple hue is accompanied by a sumptuously rich nose of strawberries, new saddle leather, licorice, roasted herbs, and spice. Expansive, round, and medium-bodied with terrific fruit purity and intensity, this amazing wine should drink beautifully for 5-6 years. 93 points, The Wine Advocate
2005 Jonata Corazon $69.99
The 2005 El Corazon de Jonata (41% Syrah, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Cabernet Franc, 11% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot, and 2% Sauvignon Blanc) is denser, richer, and more perfumed than its 2004 counterpart. The overall impression is one of a sensual/seductive wine boasting an inky/blue/purple color as well as copious amounts of blue, red, and black fruits interwoven with truffle, charcoal, and graphite scents. This full-bodied, powerful 2005 offers both significant flavor authority and elegance. It will last for 15 or more years. 94 points, The Wine Advocate
~Shawn Reynolds, B-21