A NOTE ABOUT OUR CASE OF THE MONTH: - our case of the month is an excellent way to get real value for your wine dollar and drink wines from around the world, carefully selected by J. Emerson staff.  No need to join an Internet wine club with their mystery wines and made up labels – Our case is infinitely more interesting and a better value!  The discounted price of the FEBRUARY case-of-the-month is $104.95; the regular price would be $140.00, a savings of over 24%!
Here is the line-up and as always, there are 2 each of the first four wines (*) and 1 each of the last four wines.
*2011 Carta Vieja Sauvignon Blanc (Loncomilla Valley, Chile) – Our best selling Sauvignon Blanc because it is such a great value. Fresh, clean and intense nose with fresh herbs and lime aromas are emphasized with notes of asparagus.  Juicy, fresh with great balance and crisp acidity.      
*2010 “Vina Alarba” Old Vine Garnacha (Calatayud, Spain) – 100% Grenache from 50 year old vines with a vivid ruby color and aromas of red berries with a hint of thyme. Medium bodied with chewy ripe red fruit on the palate and a lively, slightly spicy, white pepper finish.      
*2010 Santa Barbara Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi (Marche, Italy)- An elegant and well-balanced dry white, with a bright golden color and inviting floral aroma. There’s plenty of ripe fruit flavor here, especially peaches, juicy apples and pears, and a fresh, dry almond bitter finish. 
*2010 Val de Salis VdP d’Oc Pinot Noir (Languedoc, France) – (100% Pinot Noir from Pays d’Oc) – A fresh Pinot Noir with a dark ruby color. Dominant flavors of fresh cherry, with a hint of toasted spice and cumin. Nice weight in the mid palate with soft tannins and silky, cherry-stones flavors on the finish.
2010 Domaine l’Abbaye Abymes Blanc (Savoie, France) - Roger Labbe’s Abymes is 100% Jacquère, a varietal that grows especially well in the Savoie region of France. The Savoie region is an Alpine region in Eastern France neighboring Switzerland with many of its vineyards lying close to the Rhone River. This wine is all about freshness. it’s clean and crisp – like “drinking bottled mountain air” .             
2010 Campagne Bacchus “Matines” Ventoux Rouge (Rhone Valley, Fr.) -  “Matines” is a blend of 65% Grenache aged between 25 and 55 years, 20% Cinsault aged 35 years and 15% Syrah aged 25 years.An elegant and harmonious light red wine with a beautiful limpid, deep-red hue. There are pleasant red fruits aromas and a delicate well-balanced palate showing minerality, subtle tannins and good length.
2006 Burgo Viejo Rioja Reserva (Rioja, Spain) – “(85% tempranillo, 10% graciano and 5% mazuelo):  Bright ruby.  Cherry-vanilla and cassis on the nose, with oak spice and anise notes adding complexity.  Juicy, broad and supple, with very good depth to its cherry compote and dark berry flavors.  The vanilla note returns on the finish, which is sweet, smooth and long.  This is delicious and fully mature.” (IWC Sep/Oct 11)          
2010 Gunter Steinmetz Riesling Trocken 1000mL (Mosel, Germany)- A liter of freshness, lightness, and fruit. The hand-picked grapes come from diverse steep-slope slate vineyards (Mandelgraben and Sonnenlay) in and around Brauneberg. Harvested en bloc and fermented—as always—with wild yeasts, this old-school Riesling comes to rest on its own, some years finishing off-dry, other times dry. (2010 is dry.)