April 27, 2006

Mas de Collines Gigondas: Outstanding Rhone Value

Given price increases at the estates over the last few years, finding a big, bold red from the Châteauneuf-du-Pape under $30 is increasingly difficult, if not impossible.

That’s why I’m more excited about the Mas de Collines Gigondas than I have been any other wine in the last 6 months. Traditionally produced in small batches (less than 6,000 cases were made), the Mas De Collines is faithful to its terroir and a vintage that was strong for Châteauneuf but *outstanding* in Gigondas.

Made by an extremely private family, it was hard to find much out about the people behind the incredible wine in the bottle. What I can tell you is that it is a stunning example of great Rhone wine at its absolute best.

Posted by email offers at 3:33 PM

April 18, 2006

Neal Rosenthal - 2002 Domaine de Montbourgeau and 2001 Hautes Terre de Comberousse

Neal Rosenthal is one of our favorite importers to work with beacause all of his wines are hand-selected and true to their respective terroirs.

They are "real wines" - generally not as fruit forward or oak influenced as some of the more popular and high-scoring New World bottlings, but I find them to be outstanding for their incredible uniqueness, traditional production methods, and reflection of terroir.

Out of all the excellent wines in this style that we've purchased in the last few months, there are two whites that I find to be particularly exciting: a blend from the Coteaux du Languedoc and a slightly oxidized bottling from the Jura.

Posted by Bob Schagrin at 10:56 AM

April 12, 2006

1999 Antonin Guyon Pernand-Vergelesses Blanc

We're always on the hunt for great values - one of the most frequent requests we receive is for reasonably priced domestic Chardonnay or White Burgundy. One of our favorite places to look is closeout tastings. Here's the deal:

In general wine distributors buy as much as they think they can sell, but sometimes they end up with wine that hasn't moved like they expected it would. Whether the wine didn't get a high enough score from a famous critic, didn't catch on with their salespeople, or is just plain bad, distributors have a limited amount of cash flow like the rest of us. To turn the wine back into cash they drop the price.

These tastings are a great way to find high quality wines that may have been initially overlooked (oftentimes it takes wine a few years to develop in the bottle), however, the dud to gem ratio is very high and you have to dig through a lot of coal to find a precious few diamonds.

Posted by Bob Schagrin at 10:47 AM

April 11, 2006

2004 Thierry Puzelat "Pineau d'Aunis" and "Clos du Tue Boeuf"

Thierry Puzelat is easily one of our favorite winemakers in the Loire Valley for his ultra-conscientious production methods and complete commitment to natural wine.

Two Estates, One Vigneron

Based in Touraine (Loire Valley), Thierry bottles wine under two different labels: "Clos du Tue Boeuf" and "Thierry Puzelat."

Wines under the "Tue Boeuf" label are wines produced from grapes grown on the estate his family owns, while the wines he makes négociant-style (see sidebar) use the Puzelat moniker. Though Thierry sources fruit from other growers for the "negoc" bottlings, he is steadfast in his vow to only use fruit that meets his high organic/biodynamic standards.

Posted by Bob Schagrin at 10:24 AM

April 4, 2006

Araujo Estate: Incredible Wine from Legendary Terroir

Araujo Eisele is considered one of the top classic California wines along with Shafer Shafer Hillside Select, Caymus Special Selection, and Phelps Insignia, not only because of the limited production and attention to detail in their winemaking, but because of the storied terroir that its fruit comes from.

Posted by email offers at 12:20 PM

Rebholz Weissburgunder

2004 Rebholz Im Sonnenschein Weissburgunder Spatlese Dry
This was such a revelation. I have always loved Rebholz's Rieslings but have heard through the grapevine that the Weissburgunder is what he was famous for and this wine was absolutely knock you on your ass stunning. The nose is just the cleanest purest thing you can imagine. Some soft floral notes with cotton candy, sweet tarts, chamomile and minerals. Incredibly complex and always changing and growing in the glass. The palate is soft but has very sneaky acidity with an unreal mouthfeel and utmost elegance. The finish is dazzling and the concentrated fruit really pumps on the backend. Like a peacock tail of a finish. Still a bit tight and coiled but man what a wine. Whoulda thunk Pinot Blanc could get this profound? Wow!

By the way we have this for sale in the cube for $79.99. If you order some bottles and mention the blog we will give you 15% off!

Posted by Bob Schagrin at 12:20 PM | Comments (1)

Giacomo Conterno Retrospective ('37-'97)

'93 Cascina Francia - Gorgeous nose of forest floor, roses, tar, hot rocks and some cherries. Some really dark burned wood character too. Lush and expansive on the palate showing lots of ripe fruit. Acidity is a touch low but this absolutely deliciosu today. Very impressive for '93. Seems the traditionalists really rocked in '93. A stunner and a sure sleeper.

'97 Monfortino - Explosive nose of spices (cardamon, clove, allspice,) and ripe cherry fruit. Some floral notes and hot rocks. Pretty exotic and very ripe but thoroughly captivating. A panoply of spices with a serious mineral underpinning. Ripe and expansive with a very lush mouthfeel and great concentration. Very complex already and so approachable it is almost scary. Long winding finish with big tannins that are very ripe. You know this has alot to give in reserve but it is unreal right now.

'37 Barolo Riserva - I have never had a Barolo this old and this was a fascintaing wine. Great nose that is slightly oxidized but with still beautiful minerality and fruit. Some sour cherry and even, dare I say . . .sous-bois, Incredibley fresh . . . I mean shockingly fresh for a wine this old. The fruit is ripe and beautiful and the balance is so amazing. It coats the palate with layer after layer of ripe and sweet fruit. The concentration is great. This is great. This is insane wine and a testament to the longetivity of traditional Barolo. Stunning and one of the most memorable bottles I have ever had. I wish I could drink wine this old more often. Maybe Francois Audoze will adopt me.

'61 Barolo - Nose of crushed hot rocks, some black truffles, sour cherry, mineral and fresh wet dirt. Great nose with a definite charred burnt element to it that adds to the complexity. Lush witn an amazing level of sweet fruit and crazy ripeness. Really explosive and complex with gorgeous inner mouth perfume. Still tannic but the tannins are ripe and lush. Long finish. This is gorgeous. Wonderful texture. This is a wow wine and will last 25-35 more years. God these wines are good.

'64 Barolo - Another mindboggling nose. Mesquite bbq sauce, dark flowers, spice (cloves, etc), and woodsmoke. Like a carpenter's shop in a Piedmont wine cellar. If that makes any sense. This was just so aromatic I smelled it for 10 minutes before I had a sip. Again with a super-supple texture and great purity the fruit was so sweet and the concentration was so intense this wine was singing. Easily the youngest so far of the old wines with just fantastic snap and length. It is amazing how complete these wines are especially once they have age.

'64 Barolo Monfortino - A different animal here. The spices on the nose are more intricate. More of them and in much more detail. There is a primordial inner earth thing going on. Like I just walked into a Tolkien novel. Absolutely fascinating. There is fruit, spice, bbq, woodsmoke, just everything it is all there. Even a bit of oxidation to add to the complexity. Cerebral stuff. The palate is perfection. So complex. An explosion of the Piedmont symphony. Perfect integration and harmony. Wowsers!

Posted by Bob Schagrin at 12:18 PM

Cru Wines

Two killer wines at Cru last night: ('99 Grivot Richebourg, '02 Carillon Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru "Les Combettes")

The Grivot started out tight. Nose of crushed roses, exotic spice, red cherry fruit, some slight smokey oak. The palate was somewhat clenched at first with great purity and some big tannins. But this fleshed out gorgeously over the next two hours and became very sappy and velvety at the same time. Fruit was explosive and it gained some great complexity and had a dazzling finish. Pure, old-school Burgundy and one of the greatets Richebourg's I have ever had. Just the right amount of richness with great site character and a tremendous structure that will ensure many years of great drinking ahead of it.

The Carillon was a delight. Tremendous richness and depth with a deft use of oak. Amazingly accesible now with some interesting minty character and great presentation on the palate. Long ass-kicking finish.

Also had a couple sips of a Raveneau '02 La Foret which was gorgeous. Maybe the most minerally nose on a white burg I have ever smelled. Just chalk and lemon. Palate was finely etched with incredible acidity and some youngish Chablis fruit. Long echoing finish.
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Posted by Bob Schagrin at 12:06 PM

April 3, 2006

New Blog-Only Specials

Starting this week I will be choosing wines to deeply discount that I will post only on the Crush Blog. There will be several new wines a week, so make sure you check often!

Today's Specials:

2003 Boillot L. Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru "Les Evocelles"
Crush Price: $69.99
Special Blog Discount Price: $55.99

2002 Harmand-Geoffroy Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru "La Bossiere"

Grown deep in the Combe de Lavaux, the same valley that Clos Saint-Jacques calls home. The cooling effect of abundant winds adds a raciness to balance the masculinity of the Gevrey terroir.

Crush Price:$64.99
Special Blog Discount Price: $51.99

Posted by Bob Schagrin at 1:40 PM