30 Aug 2011
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Here at The Wine Club we pride ourselves on offering you the best wines at the best prices. Starting this week, we are taking this a step further - each week we will pick select wines and slash their prices even more. You’ll enjoy discounts as high as 50% off and the lowest prices available on the web. Check back each week for new wine deals!
Click here for this week’s deals.
-Posted by Anne Strand, San Francisco
24 Aug 2011
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Blind tasting is one of those fun yet humbling experiences. It’s particularly interesting for me, because I’ve tasted and consequentially purchased all these wines for the store. However, these were all tasted at another time, and never together, and as we all know, it’s the company you keep that defines you! Change the company and you change the perception.
Needless to say, people were surprised by a couple of these Pinots when they seemed to masquerade as a wine from another region. The Wes Mar could have been mistaken for a superb bottling from the Cote du Nuits. The Patricia Greene could have been mistaken for a Californian offering.
All wines available at The Wine Club in Santa Clara. 1-800-678-5044
1) 2009 Patrice Rion, Bourgogne Rouge $24.99
Despite a touch of sulfur on the nose, this was really nice, with its medium-light bodied cherry fruit, with a lovely texture and graceful finish. This is a very pretty and quintessential Bourgogne that would turn a wide array of foods into an elegant feast.
2) 2009 St. Innocent Pinot Noir Villages Cuvee $19.99 89pts Tanzer
Textbook Oregon with its nose of brown and green stems and subtle aromas of fruit. In the mouth, the acidity is vibrant and gives the wine intensity to its cranberry, sour cherry fruit.
3) 2008 Wes Mar, Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley $36.99
Because this has been one of our favorite Pinots here, I was glad the Wes Mar showed so impressively. It showed a beautiful nose: dusty with cream, clove, stem, and warm notes of cherries. This tasted expensive, with soft, rich, complex flavors that had delicacy and persistence. This was easily the overall favorite.
4) 2006 Fort Ross Sonoma Coast ‘Sea Slopes’ Reserve $19.99
Here’s the deal: the winery had held onto the tannic 06 Reserve, and finally gave up on it, deciding to close it out in order to ‘take a loss and move on’ to more recent vintages. This has matured beautifully, and is firing on all cylinders. My “blind” notes: Dark Cherry, richer and deeper on the nose, with a touch of earth and alcohol. Darker, riper and fuller on the palate. Soft, but intense, plum and cherry. The tannins and oak firm up on the finish, enough so that you could imagine this was probably the wines Achilles Heel at one time. But this is tasting great now.
5) 2009 Voillot Volnay 1er Cru ‘Les Fremiets’ $63.99, 91pts Burghound
From a very traditional producer, this was really backwards and tight. It showed almost nothing initially, except for volumes of acidity, so we decided to decant it. This Volnay was universally not liked by the customers who attended. This Volnay was not a wine that would show well in a tasting of richer wines. I went back to the Voillot after it had been open for 5 hours. These notes were taken after decanting, and it was no longer blind:
Without having to compete with the riper wines from California, and allowing it to open up considerably, the nose was more giving showing a subtle mélange of warm red apples, blueberries and cherries, clove and vanilla and sawdust. In the mouth, while still lean with green apple like acid, it showed some delicate cherry, and more pronounced character of flowers, in a broader, more lacey palate than I had expected
6) 2009 Particia Green ‘Ribbon Ridge’ Estate $28.99 90+pts Tanzer
This was impressive, with a full-ish, rich nose and palate, good acidity and enough breadth to cover it without having to resort to sweetness in the mid-palate. Cherries, cranberries, and a distinctive oven-dried Orange flavor to its open textured mid-palate.
7) 2007 Gloria Ferrer Pinot Noir Estate Carneros $14.99 94pts WE
This Carneros Pinot had a subtle nose of vanilla and clove with light scents of cherry. It was not intensely flavorful nor decisively fruity like the other California offerings in the tasting, but then again at $14.99 it was a really nice bottle of wine.
8 ) 2007 Pelerin ‘Rosellas Vineyard’, Santa Lucia Highlands $36.99
Deep Nose of tea, rose petals, plum and cherries. Very good, with a dense, fruit driven attack, and good complexity. There was no doubt this was a California Pinot.
-Posted by Dean Alexander, Santa Clara
17 Aug 2011
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Let me go on record: California wines are the best wines in the world! Yeah, I said it and let me tell you why.
I can appreciate an aged sophisticated Bordeaux for all of its spices and “nuances”. I enjoy food friendly Italians that show off their acidity and pairing ability and Aussie wines for their power and succulent fruit – but California combines all of these qualities. That is the first factor in making California wines the best in the world.
The next factor is sheer consistency. In other parts of the wine world, vintage is a measure of an accumulation of factors including the weather. Nowhere else is there the consistent cycle of weather needed to fully ripen, mature and bring to bursting the best flavors of each varietal. The warmth during the day coupled with the cool nights of Napa make it perfect for producing the right amount of brix, sugar to acid ratio. The lack of torrential rain, drought, arid heat spikes, or sudden bouts of hail, sleet or snow increase the hang time allowing the grapes to gain not only ripeness but complexity and character. California generally has “very good to great” vintages about 8 times a decade. Other wine regions are lucky to have half that many and when they do it’s generally considered the “vintage of the Century” and a price increase is sure to follow.
Last, if you love fruit, richness, balance, character and concentration in your wine, nowhere delivers like California. From the Central Coast to Sonoma, California has soil, sea, and sun each imparting its essence into the grapes grown here. The resulting end product is entirely greater than the sum of any one aspect of its parts.
If I were a grape, especially a Cabernet Sauvignon grape I’d want to call California home. But since I’m not, I just get to stay home and enjoy California wines, the best wines in the world.
- Posted by Jeff Winfery, The Wine Club Santa Ana
16 Aug 2011
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Want to drink liquid gold? Our staffer, Wino Woman, recommends a special Sauternes to make you happy:
12 Aug 2011
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The annual trip to Bordeaux to taste the barrel samples is always a great experience – this year we were blessed with unusually warm spring weather which made for a much more pleasant week. Here are some shots from the ‘pilgrimage’ to Bordeaux.
We arrived at Chateau Malartic-Lagraviere at about 7:00PM on Sunday April, 3rd, and were greeted by the gracious Michelle Bonnie and her husband Alfred who are the proprietors of the Chateau. Their son Jean Jacques was also in attendance. He is the director of operations at both their French properties as well as their Argentine wineries. We toasted the kick-off to 2010 ‘en primeur’ with a magnum of 1999 Bollinger Grand Annee, and then we were lead to a sumptuous dinner and tasting in the dining room which included various vintages of both whites and reds from Malarctic Lagraveliere, Gazin Rocquencourt, and the Argentinian DiamAndes wines:
The crushed gravel beneath the car tires is always a reminder that you are indeed in Bordeaux and the first tasting appointment at la Mission Haut Brion is an important tasting – as are all tastings at first growth properties. The whites and reds from La Mission Haut Brion and Haut Brion are always a highlight of the week and the tasting room at la Mission is easily the most extravagant and luxurious of all Bordeaux’ tastings rooms with its rich wood paneled walls. The wines certainly matched the ambiance at Prince Robert’s property. Both the La Mission and Haut Brion lived up to their reputation.
Our Bordeaux Buyer, Ron, tasting at La Mission Haut Brion
Pictured in the photo below are (from left to right) Haut Brion’s winemaker Jean Delmas, Steve Winfield of Liquid Link, Prince Robert (Proprietor of Haut Brion & La Mission Haut Brion), and Ron Van Vlaardingen (The Wine Club’s Bordeaux Specialist)
Perhaps one of the most recognizable Chateaux in all of Bordeaux is Chateau Margaux often referred to as the ‘Versailles of the Medoc’. Our party was very fortunate to have been invited to dine at Chateau Margaux and to spend time speaking with Corinne Mentzelopoulos and Paul Pontallier, the director of Chateau Margaux. Mme Mentzelopoulos is indeed a very energetic and hard working individual as are her children who are currently working in the wine business. We enjoyed a fabulous meal at Margaux accompanied by 2005 Pavillon Blanc and a seemingly endless ’83 Margaux. What a treat!
Chateau Margaux, "The Versailles of the Medoc"
- Posted by Ron Van Vlaardingen, Santa Ana
10 Aug 2011
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Those of you who know The Cab Man’s vocabulary know that translates into a wine that is delicious, juicy, rich, extracted, balanced, elegant, beautiful, and should surely NOT be missed. With a winemaking team of Jean Hoefliger (Ch Lynch-Bages, Carbonnieux, and Newton) and Michel Rolland (Ch’s Lascombes, Troplong Mondot, Angelus, Araujo, Bond, Bryant, Harlan, Staglin, Sloan, and at least a dozen more) how could you go wrong? Besides being a roll call of who’s who, wines made by these guys have one more thing in common, they become highly sought after and VERY expensive.
The aromas are expansive and explosive with tons of ripe summer berries, plum, cedars, florals kissed by violets, fresh damp forest floor and hints of cappuccino.
The flavors follow the nose and are enhanced by a deep hefty weight that isn’t heavy but your palate feels every drop as you taste it. Black cherry, creme de cassis, vanilla, beefy herbs, and silky, cocoa flavored tannins cavort and then meld into a beautiful melange on your palate.
This wine is not to be missed! As your wine steward, it’s my job to find great wines for you and sometimes I even do it before Parker, Laube or Tanzer. Get this wine before it makes its way into print, the price goes up, and it becomes “allocated” and/or unavailable. High scores are sure to follow. $35.99 at The Wine Club Santa Ana. Click here to purchase.
-Posted by Jeff “the Cab Man” Winfery, Santa Ana
5 Aug 2011
Our San Francisco manager, Michael, just got back from a wine exploration trip to Spain. Not only did he find some very outstanding wines there, but he also learned many things about Spanish farming and winemaking techniques. Over the following weeks, we will post his journal revealing a great education about the regions and wineries he visited. You will have the opportunity to learn about different farming techniques, processes, and philosophies of the different farmers, climates, elevations, and varietals. And, of course, you will be introduced to many phenomenal Spanish wines which will help you see why Spain has some of the best deals in the world for young-drinking and collectible wines.
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What a great start to the trip! If it was all down hill from here, I’d be happy enough that we started at the best. We’re on the bus cruising through Ribera del Duero and it’s interesting to see vines and young grains growing as far as the eye can see. We crossed the Rio Duero. Such a tranquil river. Cool green patch through the reddish hue of the surrounding soils.
Vines and young grains growing in Ribera del Duero
I just had a wonderful afternoon at Bodegas Vizcarra Ramos. This winery is super modern, but steeped in tradition. The family has been making wine for generations. The current owner and winemaker, Juan Carlos Vizcarra, developed this ultra-modern wine making facility. Designed a crane that allows for the entire winery to flow by gravity – no pumps. All the tanks and barrels are positioned at elevation intervals to keep things flowing. The tradition is in the farming. Small production with vines growing in clay and limestone soils over a gravel subsoil. They spend weeks in the vineyards making sure that the vines are producing fruit with distinct intensity and concentration. With the high elevation (2600 to 2700 feet), the temperatures are very warm during the day and quite cool at night. This makes for a long ripening period ensuring that all clusters are evenly and fully ripened. The gravity flow winemaking is a gentle process that allows the resultant products to shine.
Gravity Flow Crane at Vizcarra
My favorite was the JC Vizcarra. Excellent value, great concentration, beautiful minerality. Went really well with Spanish ham and grilled pork (and olives, empanadas, bacalao, manchego, etc). All their other wines are spectacular as well.
We worked on the bottling and packaging line today. We wrapped, boxed, and stacked the Ines and Celia magnums. After that, we cleaned barrels. Looks like we’ll earn our keep on this trip!
The winery is in the town of Mambrilla. One of the streets is lined with these ancient buildings that all house wine cellars. We’re told that they are all in use. We drank some old Vizcarra wines in one of the cellars. Didn’t have a label, but was over 20 years old. Great intensity still existed. Old 3 and 6-liter bottles covered with cellar dust. We popped one at dinner.
Vizcarra Cellar
I’m writing today’s blog inside the Castillo Real de Curiel – a beautiful medieval castle first built in the 7th century AD and reconstructed in the 11th century AD which served as a fortress during the Christian/Muslim conflicts for centuries. It housed many kings and was a prison for royalty and other nobles for about 200 years. Now it has a swimming pool on the roof. We conquered it in about 5 minutes! The bus must back all the way down the mountain when we leave. We’ll see how that goes tomorrow morning!
Castillo Real de Curiel
View from the top of Castillo Real de Curiel
-Posted by Michael Reynolds, San Francisco
2 Aug 2011
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Justin Rutherford with Frederic Lafarge of Domaine Lafarge in Volnay
A big thanks to Paul and Van for sharing these great wines and to RN74 for graciously hosting.
-Posted by Justin Rutherford, San Francisco
