December 30, 2009

Drouhin Chambertin: Intensity, Finesse

2001 Drouhin Chambertin
Muscle, with Purity, Clarity and Finesse
At the Lowest Price in the Nation

"Drouhin's wines are lighter in color than some, and may seem, to the uninitiated, at first somewhat lighter on the palate... But this is deceptive. Underneath there is a lot of intensity."
- Clive Coates, Côte d'Or

Clarity. That's the word that comes back, again and again, with a great Drouhin.

It's as if the fresh red fruit was only there for its delicate perfume, for the way it adds complexity to the minerality. Drouhin's great red Burgundies represent Pinot Noir at its most shimmering and complex; Pinot Noir in its most precise, most nimble form.

Even today's Grand Cru red from the chewy, muscle-bound commune of Gevrey-Chambertin remains agile and precise, chiseled even. Clive Coates' quote, above, is perfect: Lighter, yes, but incredibly intense and just so transformative and complex.

Today we offer a few cases of a featherweight Grand Cru blockbuster at the lowest price in the nation: Drouhin's 2001 Chambertin. This bottle is classic Drouhin; those of you who have experienced a Drouhin in top form know exactly what we're talking about. If these wines can be severe in their youth, austere even, with time they reveal an incredible pure and intricate tapestry of fruit, earth and mineral.

| Read More

Posted by Ian McFadden at 9:48 AM | TrackBack

December 28, 2009

Rare Gold Capsule MAGNUM: Schafer-Frohlich

*Rare* Schäfer-Fröhlich Gold Capsule Mags
Lightening Strikes Again (in Magnum Format)
Less Than Three Cases for the U.S.!

"Tim Fröhlich's 2008s are near-perfect. This is one of the only estates where I might say the 2008s are even better than the 2007s - and the 2007s were scary-good."

Are the 2008 Schäfer-Fröhlichs better than the 2007s?

They might be. In fact, just last week Tim Fröhlich won the German food & wine journal Gault Millau's "Winemaker of the Year" for his 2008 collection. (A HUGE deal in Germany, if a bit of an obscure mention in the U.S.)

For those of you who thrill to Rieslings of mineral, clarity and ferocious precision, Tim's 2008 collection will absolutely haunt you. In my two weeks in Germany, I don't know that I tasted a more complete, more powerful and chiseled collection. Today we offer one of the top Spätlesen to come out of Germany in 2008 - Tim's Felseneck Spätlese Gold Capsule, in rare magnum format.

| Read More

Posted by Stephen Bitterolf at 4:19 PM | TrackBack

December 22, 2009

1996 Cult Champagne: Clos des Goisses

1996 Philipponnat "Clos des Goisses"
Cult Single-Vineyard Champagne
Special Pricing on the Greatest Goisses of the Last 20 Years

"Clos des Goisses is consistently one of the world's
foremost wines." - Richard Juhlin

Today we offer a legend in the making.

In 10 years' time, when the wines of this vintage truly begin to speak, there is little doubt that the 1996 Clos des Goisses will be considered one of the greats of this storied vintage, right there alongside the big names like Krug and Salon (but that can be had today for about a 30% discount!).

While this is a bottling that has been sought out by top Champagne collectors for years, devotees of the best growers like Anselme Selosse, Cedric Bouchard, Jerome Prevost and Vouette et Sorbee should seriously consider putting Clos des Goisses in their cellars. There is a similarity in style, a blanketing, dark-fruited richness married to a super-dense core of minerals. All of these wines can show oxidative elements, giving them a distinct personality, complex notes of iron, minerals, walnuts, hazelnuts and oils.

| Read More

Posted by Ian McFadden at 4:18 PM | TrackBack

December 21, 2009

Kongsgaard Judge: Lowest Price in the World

2006 Kongsgaard "Judge"
One-Half Trophy Chard - One-Half Geek Wine
Lowest Price in the World

"One of the most profound Chardonnays made in California."
- Robert Parker

A very short offer today - less than three cases of wine available (though keep in mind only 15 barrels are made in most years).

John Kongsgaard's "Judge" is a ferocious, take-no-prisoner type of Chardonnay. While it has the depth of fruit that can hold its own next to the glossy/sexy likes of Kistler and Aubert, it has more cut, more angles, more minerality (the vineyard was originally bought in the 1920s as a potential quarry site) - more thrust.

| Read More

Posted by Ian McFadden at 4:14 PM | TrackBack

December 19, 2009

Serious Scotch Collection

Incredibly Rare Scotch
A Must-See List for Any Serious Scotch Collector
*Extremely Limited*

Macallan, Glenmorangie, Springback, Highland Park, Bruichladdich, and more...

We know you've got your hands full today - this is after all the last shopping weekend before Christmas. But this Scotch offer was too good to wait on, and may just be the perfect thing for the passionate collector/drinker who thought he had everything.

| Read More

Posted by Daniel Stenson at 2:53 PM | TrackBack

December 18, 2009

2007 Rhone Finale: Sabon Prestige

Sabon Chateauneuf-du-Pape "Prestige"
Our VALUE Pick from the 2007 Chateauneufs
(Serious Juice from 90-Year-Old Vines)
"Brilliant... the essence of Provence."
Robert Parker, Wine Advocate

2009 could be called "the year of the Rhône"

It was Robert Parker's huge words: "Throughout the southern Rhône, 2007 is the greatest vintage I have tasted in my thirty years working in that region." that began the 2007 Rhône-rage. The only question that remained was would the wines live up to their early promise? What would the final verdict be once the juice was bottled?

Just last month, he penned the grand conclusion: "Tasting the 2007s out of bottle has confirmed my thoughts – this is a truly historic and profoundly great vintage."

| Read More

Posted by Ian McFadden at 1:19 PM | TrackBack

December 17, 2009

Back-Vintage Champagne Surprise (Ex-Cellars)

1993 Dom Ruinart Blanc de Blancs
Shattering Expectations
*Direct from the Cellars of Dom Ruinart*

"Firing on all cylinders. What a beautiful wine."
- Antonio Galloni, Wine Advocate

Earlier this year, I hosted a Dom Ruinart retrospective with Chef de Caves Frederic Panaïotis at New York's Cru Restaurant.

Today's offer represents the SURPRISE of the night - the 1993 Dom Ruinart Blanc de Blancs. 

As Ian said: "This is a wine that simply shouldn't exist." Like DRC's 72s, Jayer's 83s or Giacosa's 86s, Dom Ruinart took a vintage that offered very little... and made something absolutely exceptional from it.

| Read More

Posted by Bob Schagrin at 4:21 PM | TrackBack

December 16, 2009

Opus One "Bargain"

2006 Opus One
The Iconic California Red, for the Holidays...
Special Pricing on Single Parcel - Ready, Set, Gift!

With just over a week remaining till the Holiday festivities,
here's a popular favorite, priced right!

"Unbridled power, full-bodied richness... part of [the estate's] greatest trilogy of vintages to date." - Wine Advocate

For the rest of the year, we're in the trenches, hunting for new and different wines for you.  Today we take off our "wine geek" hats and unapologetically offer a quick (and perfect) answer to that vexing holiday question: What's an impressive, universally recognized wine gift?

| Read More

Posted by Ian McFadden at 10:49 PM | TrackBack

December 15, 2009

2001 Gaja Sori San Lorenzo - Limited

Gaja 2001 Sori San Lorenzo
Seductive, Ferocious, from Barbaresco
Lowest Pricing in the Nation on 2001 Piedmont Trophy

"The deepest and darkest of the single-vineyard wines from Barbaresco...a penetrating nose of tar and minerals along with very rich sweet dark fruit on a massive, structured frame of great thrust and length." - Wine Advocate

Today, we offer a *small* parcel of Gaja's meanest 2001 at the lowest price in the nation (lowest price in the world actually).

This will be short - a targeted offer only for those of you who have supported our "big red" wine program. All 2001 Gaja wine will be sold first come, first served.

For the passionate Italian collector, it doesn't get much better than this - the ultimate gift today comes "gift-wrapped" in wooden 6-packs. Ready for the cellar!

| Read More

Posted by Ian McFadden at 8:09 PM | TrackBack

December 14, 2009

Willamette Valley Value: Evesham Pinot Noir

2008 Evesham Wood Pinot Noir
Oregon's Famed Willamette Valley Delivers
Grace, Texture AND VALUE!
The Perfect Pinot Noir for the Holidays

Our favorite domestic Pinot Noir of 2009, Hands Down

Today's offer represents our first venture into Oregon's famed Willamette Valley. If this is a bit shocking given the world-renowned quality of these wines, explaining ourselves is easy enough. Two big issues have always gotten in our way: availability and price.

Today, however, we have found our Willamette Valley gem.

While the price was incredibly fair (especially given the quality of the material - we're talking about a cuvee that uses a healthy dose of fruit from the Temperance Hill Vineyard, made famous by Mark Vlossak at St. Innocent), we had to muscle our way in to get an allocation big enough to offer.

Still, given the quality and price on offer today, we expect a sell-out before the sun sets. (We wish we could source more, but we'll just have to wait till next year.)

| Read More

Posted by Stephen Bitterolf at 7:43 PM | TrackBack

December 11, 2009

WOTY # 4 - Robert: Chezeaux

00 Chezeaux (Ponsot) Griotte-Chambertin
"Produced, Aged and Bottled by Dom. Ponsot"
The Secrets, the Seduction, of Grand Cru Burgundy

My homage to Burgundy's most talked about winemaker.

My "Wine of the Year" is not what it appears to be.

It's better.

While the label declares "Domaine des Chezeaux" with a staid calm, "the truth in the bottle" is none other than Ponsot's 2000 Griotte-Chambertin.

The only difference between this bottling and Ponsot's is the label.

Oh... that and the fact that the Chezeaux bottling trades at about a 20% discount.

| Read More

Posted by Bob Schagrin at 6:12 PM | TrackBack

December 10, 2009

Coulee de Serrant - Wine of the Year STEAL

Ian's Wine of the Year
2005 Joly Savennieres Coulee de Serrant
As low as $29.95 when you buy a case
(Yes, you read correctly: $29.95)

If only there was some dramatic story behind the pricing,
a forgotten cellar or some murder mystery.

No such drama.

The wine just switched importers and we were faster than anyone else on pulling the trigger on a parcel at a special price. Today we are happy to pass along this serious discount on one of the world's noble white wines.

The old importer obviously had no desire to hold any stock - yet the reality here is this is stock well worth holding, especially for the informed collector, especially at this price. Consider the 2006 begins at $74; when the 2007 hits expect prices of at least $80/btl.

| Read More

Posted by Ian McFadden at 1:21 PM | TrackBack

December 8, 2009

WOTY#2 - Clos de la Roche in Spirit

Tom's Wine Of The Year
The Best Damn Pinot Noir That Isn't
Thierry Puzelat's Personality Filled Knockout:
"KO - Clos de la Roche"

I didn't go to the Loire Valley looking for a "Wine of the Year."  The truth is, in a way I was hoping *not* to find anything. It'd be too predictable, really. The fulfillment of a wine business cliché - taking a trip and buying everything that you taste. "Not me," I said to myself. In fact, I think that I compensated in the other direction ... with an overly critical palate.

| Read More

Posted by Tom Stephenson at 10:50 PM | TrackBack

December 7, 2009

Palmberg-Terrassen: A Photo Journey

The Palmberg Terrassen is a completely unknown, roughly 5-hectare vineyard that is more than farmed by the Stein family; it is loved by the family. There's a devotion here, a connection to the land that is humbling. Ulli Stein's 87-year-old father has been making wine here since the early 1960s and he still visits the site almost daily, tending to his vines and drinking the wines of the vineyard as often as he can. Ulli Stein's 2008 Palmberg-Terrassen is dense and saturating, darn-near glossy with extract - lime zest, razor-sharp citrus, wild green herbs. The 2008 Stein Palmberg-Terrassen is likely the greatest Riesling value on earth.

Click the button below to see our real-time online inventory of Stein's 2008 St. Aldegunder Palmberg Terrassen Spatlese Trocken:

Roses dot the vineyard here and small sheds provide respite. Due to the severity of the incline, obviously working this site is extremely difficult and tiring. Many acres of the site have gone fallow, overrun by the wilderness. At this point, to the best of our knowledge, the Steins are the only serious producers within the vineyard, farming 1.3 hectares of the site and producing a scant 2 Füders worth of juice - that's only about 230 cases. The 2007 is THE FIRST bottling to be imported into the U.S.!

The shrine that Ulli Stein's father built within the vineyard. To this day, at 87-years-old, Herr Stein still visits his vineyard almost daily. In this picture you also see the "Terrassen," or terraces, that largely define the landscape of the Lower Mosel.

Here you get a real sense of just how very steep this vineyard is.

Another, slightly more panoramic view of the Palmberg-Terrassen vineyard.

Click the button below to see our real-time online inventory of Stein's 2008 St. Aldegunder Palmberg Terrassen Spatlese Trocken:

Posted by Joe Salamone at 10:45 AM | TrackBack

Wines of the Year! Begins Today

Stephen & Joe's Wine of the Year!
2008 Stein Palmberg-Terrassen Spätlese Trocken
Forgotten Terraces - 100-Year-Old Ungrafted Vines

EXTREME VALUE at as low as $23.40!

This is one of the most evocative DRY Rieslings from the classic 2008 vintage. Yet, even more, it is a profound expression of the relationship between a vineyard and a winemaking family.

If a picture is worth 1,000 words, how much is a video worth?

The 2008 Stein Palmberg-Terrassen is likely the greatest Riesling value on earth. (A wine made from 100-year-old ungrafted vines on steep, slate-riddled slopes for ~$25?!)

Extraordinarily, this is a bottle that overwhelms the stereotypes of the vintage.

| Read More

Posted by Joe Salamone at 12:25 AM | TrackBack

December 4, 2009

Friday Steal: Too Good for the Holiday Party!

2007 Dom. François Mikulski Aligoté
Way Too Good for the Holiday Party
(Yet priced this low, why not impress?)

A Holiday FRIDAY STEAL at as low as $16!
Special Email *Only* Pricing - You MUST order by email!

This is a strategic Friday Steal: With the holidays around the corner, you need some sipping wines!

THAT'S WHY WE'RE PULLING OUT THE BIG (VALUE) GUNS TODAY!

This is crisp Aligoté with a serious pedigree - old vines celebrating their 80th birthday this year, as the label, pictured right, proudly declares. The seriousness is reflected by the fact that the only other price for this wine in the U.S. is $35. (We bought the entire north east allocation and cut a serious deal, which we pass on to you.)

| Read More

Posted by Stephen Bitterolf at 10:48 PM | TrackBack

December 3, 2009

Burgundy Cellar Gem: 05 Chandon de Briailles

IMMEASURABLE POTENTIAL
2005 Chandon de Briailles
Pernand-Vergelesses 1er Cru "Ile des Vergelesses"
Yes Virginia, there is GREAT Burgundy for Under $50

"A classy, pure, refined and ultra-elegant nose...flavors blessed with laser-like precision...an exercise in understatement and harmony." - Burghound

For those of you looking for a steal on ageworthy red Burgundy from the greatest vintage of this young century - this is an offer NOT TO MISS.

Clive Coates calls this wine one of the gems of Chandon, further insisting that the estate's parcels in the Ile des Vergelesses merit Grand Cru status - we're talking old vines going back to 1938.

| Read More

Posted by Ian McFadden at 12:19 AM | TrackBack

December 2, 2009

Happy Holidays from Crush

1. Call the store or email us at gifting@crushwineco.com All we need is a budget to work with. We can provide gift ideas at any price - nothing is too big or too small. All gift orders are fulfilled by an individual Crush Sales Associate with a personal email address so you can follow-up with any questions, at any time. Accountability is important.

2. The hard work: Packaging, Messaging, Delivery Choose your gift wrap option (we have a few choices - see below), provide us with a personalized gift message and choose a delivery method and a ship date, and you're done. That's it.

3. Relax while your wine is shipped around the corner or around the world. We'll take it from here. We'll gift wrap your wines, package them, include the card and make sure the gift arrives on time. Get started now by calling 212.980.9463 or emailing us at gifting@crushwineco.com.

Posted by McRae Petrey at 5:08 PM | TrackBack

Great White Burg For Twisted Palates Only

Burgundy: Radically Ripe, Curiously Mineral
2002 Bongran Vire Clesse 'Cuvee Tradition'
Chardonnay Dichotomy from the Edge - Only $20!

I fell in love with Bongran at a birthday dinner years ago. I wasn't expecting to, but it was a magnum of the 1996 that absolutely blew me away. This is one of the most beautifully twisted expressions of Chardonnay out there.

You’re receiving this offer because your palate is as twisted as mine!

While you like the refined, it’s wines that are simultaneously hedonistic and challenging that really make you happy.

Today's reward is that you’re getting a wine that will satisfy the wine nerds who want to get cerebral while also delighting the holiday party crowd - the 2002 Bongran Vire Clesse 'Cuvee Tradition' at as low as $17.99. We have less than 10 cases available, so first come, first served.

| Read More

Posted by Tom Stephenson at 12:12 AM | TrackBack

December 1, 2009

Dom Perignon Gift Set

2000 Dom Pérignon Gift Set
1 x 2000 Dom Pérignon | 2 x Champagne Flutes
NEW: Engrave your Dom Pérignon for the Holidays!

"Elegance personified" - Wine Advocate

With the holidays around the corner, Dom Pérignon has stepped up to the plate and delivered the perfect gift.

For the Champagne lover, for the connoisseur, for anyone obsessed with the best, today we offer a 2000 Dom Pérignon gift set for the holidays at $169.95. Customize your Dom Pérignon for $35.00. | Read More

Posted by Bob Schagrin at 11:07 AM | TrackBack