2005 Lignier Aligote
Sophisticated Summer Sippin' Burgundy @ $18
Crush Exclusive - Only 6 cases available...

"Delicious and easy yet this does not lack for personality."
- Burghound

You have to love the curt, professional prose of the Burghound. Although Aligotés are rarely rated (his quote above is from the 2000 Lignier Aligoté), they certainly deserve more attention than they get.

Serious Aligoté has an easy-going charm, a high-toned "zing" to it that makes it one of the most refreshing whites out there. And when it's given a little bit of loving attention, the resulting wine has so much more personality than its humble price suggests. A 2005 White Burgundy for $18 bucks? C'mon.

Hirtzberger and Knoll (Mini) Blowout!
2006 Singerriedel - 2005 Loibenberg

We'll spare you the wine business drama and cut right to the chase: Two elite Austrian Rieslings were closed out the other week. Today, only for those of you who have supported our Riesling Program in the past, we pass on savings of 25%+!

Franz Hirtzberger and Emmerich Knoll: If you're into fine Austrian wines there are few names with more luster, with more gravity.

Looking for Austria's finest (at well below release prices)? Here ya go. Please keep in mind, however, we have under six cases available, total, so please order ASAP if you are interested!

Franz Hirtzberger
Franz Hirtzberger makes gleaming, voluptuous, shiny Austrian Rieslings of incredible length, grace and amplitude. They remind me a lot of F.X. Pichler, at least in their glossy, sexy, curvaceousness; yet whereas Pichler can dance on tip toes, Hirtzberger offers more of a waltz, flowing gowns of velvet and satin rolling across the palate. The Singerriedel is Hirtzberger's top Riesling bottling and it is a monument, plain and simple. It is also one of my absolute favorite Rieslings to come out of Austria in 2006. There is no denying this wine is HUGE. 2006 was a steroidal vintage in Austria and Hirtzberger picks very late - this wine rolls across the palate like an Austrian Mack truck. What makes this wine so special, however, is its powerful lift. As big as this wine is, it has focus, it has delineation. Hirtzberger is located at the far Western end of the Wachau, where the Danube steers south. This region is called the "Spitz" and a break in the mountains that border the Wachau to the north allows the cold northern winds to rush down into the Spitz. It is this cooling air that gives these wines a tension and nervosity that can buoy up and propel the epic dimensions of a Riesling like the Singerriedel.

The Thermenregion is south of Vienna - really just on the city's outskirts. The name refers to the thermal springs that abound in the area.

Zierfandler is an indigenous grape grown in the tiny region and basically nowhere else. The Mandel-Höh vineyard is the grape's favorite spot on earth - Stadlmann's bottling represents the most noble expression of Zierfandler, from the kind of vintage that only comes around every decade or so.

The Zierfandler in the Mandel-Höh vineyard is roughly 45 years old and the gem of the estate. The grapes are harvested with great care and fermented in large old wooden barrels. Fermentation takes about two weeks, though the wine is left to settle for an additional 8 months before it is bottled.

The Stadlmann winery was founded in the late 18th century and is one of the region's best. The passionate Monica Caha imports the wine and has been a tireless enthusiast for the great wines of Austria - we're thankful to count her as our great friend. As for the Stadlmanns, the winery is is currently run by the seventh generation - Johann Stadlmann - and the wines must be counted as amongst the best of this little-known region.

I wrote in my "Wine of the Year" email that "Stadlmann is too small a producer (less than 200 cases of this wine make it to the US) and the Zierfandler grape too esoteric to ever be welcomed into the mainstream."

Well - I happily stand corrected, though I think the fact that this wine is showing up at all on the national radar is simply a testament to the quality of the wine, and honestly the rigor of Schildknecht's scholariship, which I very much admire.

2007 Stadlmann Zierfandler Mandel-Hoh
Special Pricing On the Latest Vintage of
My Wine of the Year from 2008!
All-Austrian Aus-travaganza this Thursday at MADCrush!

"Once you experience Mandel-Hoh you'll be hooked. This wine has virtually cult status in Austria, yet the price is not at all outrageous, and Stadlmann sees fit to share some with the United States."
- David Schildknecht, Wine Advocate

I'm very proud to say that Stadlmann's Zierfandler from the cult vineyard "Mandel-Höh" has become a Crush signature bottling. (Zierfandler Mandel-Whät? Click here for more on the vineyard and grape.)

The 2006 was my "Wine of the Year" in December of 2007 and as I introduced this rather eccentric and unknown wine, I wrote the following line: "...this bottle will probably never score 100 points - so far as I can find, no one's ever even rated it!"

If life is strange, the wine world is even stranger and sure enough about six months later David Schildknecht's Austrian report for the Wine Advocate came out and not only was Stadlmann's Zierfandler Mandel-Höh written up, but it also received its long-awaited, righteous due as one of Austria's best cult bottlings - see below for the entire review.

Fat Sheep of Pedigree:
The Master's Stunning New Muscadet
From the Best Terroir in the Region

At as low as $13.87, the perfect "drink" or hold!

Marc Ollivier of Domaine Pépière is the grand master of Muscadet. Year in and year out he produces the wines of the vintage and has attracted a large and enthusiastic following of wine geeks, who form a cult to the once lowly Muscadet appellation.

When we found out that he was releasing a wine from the the Gras Mouton vineyard (one that he and many others consider Muscadet’s finest) we couldn't wait to taste.

What arrived just in time for the scorching heat of August is classic Pépière— full of sea breeze and stony minerality and crackling citrus infused acidity— and a monument to the 2008 vintage, which wasn’t easy on the region’s growers.

The wine’s bracing, sparklingly crisp minerality is a perfect antidote to the heat and it's nearly impossible to match both Pépière’s price-to-quality ratio and the sheer gulpability of his wines - a perfect combination for the care-free days of summer.

2006 Angerville Volnay 1er "Clos des Ducs"
Lowest Price in the Nation!

"...intense and mineral-inflected flavors of crystalline purity and wonderful cut and precision, all wrapped in an exceptionally fresh, deep and mouth coating finish that seems to go on and on." - Burghound

Today, we have the luxury of offering one of our favorite red Burgundies, the Volnay Clos des Ducs of Angerville, at the lowest price in the nation.

While the 2006 Vintage was challenging for some winemakers in Burgundy, the Domaines of Volnay, and especially Angerville, made unquestionably great wines that are outstanding across the board. 

Hundred Acre
2006 Kayli Morgan Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon
"It is unquestionably one of the wines of the vintage."
- Robert Parker, Wine Advocate

Hundred Acre has been one of our most requested cult California Cabs ever. For the 2006 vintage, Jayson Woodbridge has once again served up an exceptional collection of Cabernet with the Kayli Morgan being the headlining star: This is as close to perfect as a Hundred Acre Kayli Morgan has ever gotten.

2008 Schloss Lieser Spatlese Trocken
The Mosel Speaks the Language of "Dry"
Grand Cru Quality at $30 - Only 10 Cases for the U.S.

The last name at Schloss Lieser is Haag. Since 1997, Thomas Haag has been bringing the small town of Lieser back into the spotlight. The 2008 Trocken is a needle-fine dry Riesling of exquisite purity and for the quality (essentially Grosses Gewachs), it is an absolute steal. CRUSH EXCLUSIVE!

Get to know the Niederberg Helden Vineyard in the village of Lieser, courtesy of your friends at Crush.

Ar Pe Pe Sassella
Gorgeous and Devastatingly Delicate Nebbiolo
From the Mountains of Lombardy

Everything is just a bit more "nervous" in the mountains; high-altitude gives grapes an edge.

Whether it’s Ferrando’s Carema, Magnin’s Mondeuse or a host of others, there is something about their tension, their finely etched structures and their nervousness that fascinates us. Mountain wines are different than their valley brethren; they seem to reveal another layer of nuance with each smell and taste, and their bight and vigorous acidities always keep things playful and engaging (and make them awesome partners for a variety of dishes).