June 17, 2009

California's Santa Lucia Highlands

The Santa Lucia Highlands has emerged as one of the star's of California's northern central coast. Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are the key grapes that have excelled here and California Pinot Noir aficionados will no doubt know the Pisoni and Sleepy Hollow Vineyards of the Santa Lucia Highlands. These vineyards produce some of the most coveted (and most expensive) Pinot Noir and Chardonnay fruit in California.

The fruit grown here is like no other. Combining the intense, sun-soaked days with foggy afternoons and evenings, the region has an extremely long growing season - this is key - so harvest can occur as late as November. The resulting wines are intense and show a luscious fruit with dazzling freshness and firm spines of acidity.

One of the factors that allows the Santa Lucia Highlands to achieve such a combination of ripeness and poise is that the mountain ranges run east to west, which allows cool afternoon fogs to come in from the ocean unobstructed and to settle in the vineyards until the next morning sun burns them off.

Another factor delaying ripening and building balance are the infamous "howler" winds that start in the afternoon. The winds are so intense that they can cause the vines to shut down and stop focusing on ripening through a complex moisture-conservation process. Combine these factors with beautiful terraced vineyards that face southeast allowing for maximum sunlight and you can begin to get a sense of what the best of Santa Lucia has to offer.

Posted by Joe Salamone at 1:04 PM | TrackBack

May 1, 2008

California Classic: 2000 Mondavi Reserve

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!

Posted by Stephen Bitterolf at 10:00 AM | TrackBack

February 2, 2007

Back to Scholium: A "Noble" Lesson for Sauvignon Blanc

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.

Posted by Stephen Bitterolf at 4:05 PM

November 16, 2006

Thanksgiving for Charter Oak: The Great American Zinfandel

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!

Posted by Tristan Meador at 3:33 PM

November 9, 2006

Back Up the Truck #3: Baileyana Pinot Noir

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.)

Posted by Tristan Meador at 7:02 PM

October 18, 2006

Peacock Family Cabernet Sauvignon 2002

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.

Posted by Bob Schagrin at 4:16 PM

October 17, 2006

Shelter Sauvignon Blanc 2005

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.

Posted by Bob Schagrin at 3:06 PM

October 4, 2006

Vare Vineyards Bianco 2004

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!

Posted by email offers at 12:07 PM

July 6, 2006

2000 River Bend Pinot Noir

Excellent Pinot Noir is hard to find.

Finding excellent inexpensive Pinot can be nearly impossible (see sidebar), requiring a holy confluence of factors to get it right.

Posted by Bob Schagrin at 11:06 AM

May 30, 2006

1999 Peter McCoy Chardonnay "Clos Marianne"

Of all the wines we tasted this month, none met our criteria for a great wine as well as this fastidiously crafted Chardonnay from the Russian River Valley.

It's also the most compelling cult-like bottling we've tried this year, and with good reason: Peter McCoy met John Kongsgaard at a Napa Barbeque in the mid-1990s when Peter's winery was still in the formative stages. After some conversation, he convinced John to write down the "recipe" for the famous Kongsgaard Chardonnay on the back of a cocktail napkin.

Posted by Bob Schagrin at 10:11 AM

May 17, 2006

Dunn Cabernet Sauvignon

We recently came upon a collector with a large caché of well stored verticals in multiple formats. The first in our series are the notoriously long-lived Cabernets of Dunn Vineyards. These dense, chewy, huge wines are tops in California, for lovers of intense, full-bodied style.

Posted by Bob Schagrin at 4:02 PM

May 16, 2006

2005 Copain Printemps Rosé

California is best known for its blockbuster Cabernet, opulent Pinot Noir, and deep rich Chardonnay, not its pink wines ... unless you're talking about Cold Duck.

Unfortunately, it is this pungent and hangover-inducing 1970's brew of sweet red and sparkling white wine that most frequently comes to mind when most people think of California pink.

The latest generation of California winemakers is trying to change that by giving Cali rosé a sorely needed new identity.

Posted by Bob Schagrin at 12:27 PM

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

March 9, 2006

2005 Scholium Project Naucratis Lost Slough

As you know, the crush motto is "The truth is in the bottle" and my primary focus is finding great, uncommon wines and bringing them to you, regardless of ratings, reviews or point scores.

The Scholium Project "Naucratis," a verdelho (!) from rebel winemaker Abe Schoner, is easily one of the most original and unique wines that I have tasted from California. Abe's approach to winemaking (the project) is about letting the vineyard speak, and you can even tell from the packaging. While other wines contain cute pictures of animals or catchy designs, the only text on the front label of Abe's wines is the "Scholium Project." The back label contains simply the vintage, vineyard and sometimes the grape variety.

Posted by Bob Schagrin at 3:57 PM

February 7, 2006

Divine California Wines from Angel's Share

Napa Valley insider Mark Snyder is bringing the next wave of California hot-ticket wines to New York through his company, Angel's Share Wines. In all my years in this business, I have never tasted such a breadth of incredible wines from California that have a remarkable sense of place, otherwise known as terroir. Mark’s wines all come from extremely small productions, ranging from 7 to 900 cases. Here are a few notes on some of the standout bottles from this élite collection.

Posted by email offers at 11:09 AM