Dear Rosé: Please Don't Go
2009 Copain Rosé "Tous Ensemble"
The Last Hurrah: As Low as $13.75 a Bottle

The sticky, stifling heat can take its leave. But the cool, crisp, thirst-quenching, lip-smacking gulpability of rosé - that we'd like to enjoy a bit longer.

Labor Day is here, and before waking up to the realities of back to school/back to work without summer Fridays/back to sweaters and not-white pants, if you’re anything like us, all you want this weekend is a boat or a big backyard and lots of cold, delicious beverages.

Wild Child: Deliciously Defying Expectations
2009 Dashe Zinfandel "Les Enfants Terribles" McFadden Farm
California Zinfandel... Though You'd Never Guess It:
Vibrant, Gulpable, Fresh

Think FRESH Zinfandel.

If Zinfandel has come to be viewed as something that exemplifies the power, alcohol and general intensity that comes to mind with many California wines, then Michael and Anne Dashe’s Les Enfants Terribles from McFadden Farm is indeed the rebel child that its name suggests.

Les Enfants Terribles pushes - or perhaps wonderfully redefines? - the boundaries of Zinfandel, delivering lively, perfumed red fruits buoyed along the way with a fresh current of acids carrying spice and mineral notes.

The Cult Cab of Washington
2007 Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon
"Perfection" for the 4th Time in Just Six Years?

It seems impossible that Quilceda Creek could surpass its own sky-high standards - yet here we are, staring down the (wine) barrel at what many speculate could well be its best wine yet.

Here's a staggering bit of trivia: Since 2002, Quilceda Creek’s Cabernet Sauvignon has averaged 99.6 points from Robert Parker's The Wine Advocate. As you well know, we are not a fan of point scores, but still...  this howling streak of near-perfection is pretty mind-blowing.

And we're not the only ones to think so: Over the last few decades Quilceda Creek has become a true blue chip estate, with consistently rising demand (and prices) that humble the rather rapid life cycles of countless glossy Napa estates. And with the pre-review gossip calling the 2007 one of the estate's best ("exceptional" is the word the rather modest Golitzins use), things are unlikely to cool down.

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.)

There is no doubt that Robert Mondavi changed the American wine psyche and in the process became one of the wine world's most powerful and controversial figures. His life, and the rise and fall of his empire, is a drama fit for the big screen. (Indeed, we're pretty sure the rights to the movie have been sold.)

That said, we're not really into the big egos and backdoor gossip. Instead, what we want to do is focus on what it was once all about: what's in the bottle. And this is where you really have to taste the wine in spite of, and irregardless of, any stereotypes or preconceived notions of what Mondavi is (or was), because the 2000 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve is a perfectly balanced and elegant Cali Cab that tips its hat to the greats of Bordeaux indulging in a silky finesse and even (gulp) enticing restraint!

At $68.53 - that's a discount of 30% - this quickly becomes one of the no-brainer buys of the season, a wine with real breed that one of those age-worthy Napa Cabs in the spirit of Togni, Mayacamas or even Dunn's Howell Mountain - though granted, it's softer and more supple even at this "young" age. Drink this Mondavi now and over the next decade while your Togni, Mayacamas and Dunn just begin to come into form!

Abe Schoener's Scholium Project is definitely one of the most interesting, outrageous and original Cult Wine endeavors taking place in California today.

We've previously offered a number of his sometimes luscious and always cerebral wines and have been blown away by the responses.

From the "Old School Wine Geek" to the "Napa Cabernet Afficianado," so many of you have enjoyed these wines and come back for more, only to find them sold out. The diversity of Scholium die-hards is a true indication that these wines uniquely mix California muscle with Old World finesse.

With one week to go, you're gearing up for the Thanksgiving holiday. The folding card-table has been dusted off for the kids, the turkey has been ordered, and uncle Bob has been reminded not to drink too much. Preparations are well under way.

The wine, however, needs to be selected. While I am busy collecting staff recommendations for your holiday table, today I want to offer a bottle I’ve been waiting all year to recommend. We were confirmed on this wine today, just in time for Thanksgiving!

We get an amazing number of requests for affordable New World Pinot Noir.

Despite our constant search, it is rare that we come across anything that is strong enough for us to recommend in the under-$40 price range. Case in point: It has been nearly 4 months since our last New World Pinot email (River Bend), and the re-order calls continue to roll in. (Note to all: regrettably, we are sold out.)

One of our specialties at Crush is finding rare, high-quality New World Cabernet Sauvignon for under $100. These are wines that have the palate impact of bottlings that sell for 50-200% more.

Small production wonders from this difficult-to-navigate category have been delighting our customers for the last year and a half.

Of note lately is the 2002 Peacock Family Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon.

We can�t tell you too much about this wine because its exact origins must be kept a secret. Yes, this is 007 meets the wine business.

What we do know is that 2005 Shelter Sauvignon Blanc from Napa Valley is blended from the top vineyards of one of the most famous winemakers in the region. Superstar vintners obviously don't want you to know where their extra juice goes, so it is sold with the promise that its identity will kept on the DL.

What do the following all have in common: Thomas Keller of restaurants Per Se and French Laundry, famed Californian winemakers John Kongsgaard and Abe Schoener, and eccentric Italian winemakers Josko Gravner and Stanto Radikon? They're all friends and fans of Vare Vineyards, a miniscule Napa Valley estate focusing on the "great whites" of Italy - Pinot Grigio, Ribolla Gialla and others. The results were so dazzling in 2004 that Per Se and French Laundry bought almost the entire production. But not all of it!

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.