APRIL NEWSLETTER

APRIL TASTING EVENTS

BEER TASTINGS ON FRIDAY, APRIL 13 & FRIDAY, APRIL 27th
5:30-7:30pm

JOIN US ON THURSDAY, APRIL 19th
Keith Pilgrim, Owner & Winemaker of TERRA BLANCA Estate and Winery
Located in the Red Mountain Washington AVA (one of the state’s smallest AVAs producing the most sought after and most expensive fruit in the state)Terra Blanca produces luscious, full wines with excellent structure and ageability
5:30 - 7:30 pm at our store on Grove Ave.
Discounts will be offered on all wines tasted.

THURSDAY, APRIL 26th
DOUG BANKS POURS THE WINES OF CULTIVATE
5:30 to 7:30 pm
See this newsletter for more info on Cultivate wines.

APRIL “SHORT SIPS” CLASS

“Understanding French Wine laws”

We’ll briefly review the basics of the AOC system and taste examples of each wine level.
  This is A FREE one hour educational program, limited to eight people and held in our fine wine room. Because the demand has been so great we are doing the class twice in APRIL – FRIDAY & SATURDAY, APRIL 20th and 21st from 5:30 to 6:30pm ––Availability is on a first come first serve basis but you can call and reserve spaces at anytime.  (A great idea for your group as a prelude to dinner.)

NEW ARRIVALS - CULTIVATE

Ali and Charles Banks, former owners of Screaming Eagle and Andy Ericson winemaker to, well, just about everybody, have a new project called Cultivate. Acting as négociants they source great juice from classic wine growing areas and use their formidable reputation and skills to blend well made wines that play above their price point. But the neat thing is this: Cultivate promises to contribute 10% of their gross sales to charity and their facebook friends get to vote on which charities get the most money. Collect enough votes for your local charity and they’ll get thousands of dollars. The operative word here is local as Richmond based charities are represented as well! Here is the website for more information: http://www.cultivatewines.com/. Doug Banks, who represents Cultivate on the East Coast, will be here on Thursday, April 26th for a tasting and we currently have the following Cultivate wines in stock:
The Feast -  ( a California red Blend)- velvety textured base with aromas of incense, cinnamon and blue fruits. The balance, old-vine Cabernet from Alexander Valley offers structure, length and focus to the wine. Together, these components yield a classic right-bank blend with a broad palate and a persistent finish. $33.95
The Gambler - (an Argentina Malbec blend) - powerful, broad and brawny red wine with flavor and texture for days. Ripe Malbec is counterbalanced with a touch of Bonarda to create a forceful and full mouthfeel of blue and black fruits, leather and spice. $16.95
Dream Walking - classic California Chardonnay aromas of toasted almonds, melon, pineapple, green apple and jasmine blossom. A gentle but bright mouthfeel rounds out towards the finish with a nice lift and notes of candied lemon peel. $29.95

NEW ARRIVALS - Bordeaux Rouge

We continue to get some mid-priced gems from the great 2009 vintage:

2009 Chateau Gloria, St.-Julien – “A serious young wine, crammed with plum cake, blackberry preserves, warm fig confiture and blueberry reduction flavors, all laced with briar and sweet, toasty spice notes and backed by a long, tarry finish. Has a rustic edge but lots of stuffing. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc. Best from 2014 through 2025. 20,415 cases made.” (WS 3/31/12)  $64.95
2009 La Fleur de Jaugue St Emilion - “Delicious kirsch liqueur, raspberries, loamy soil notes and herbs make for a complex set of aromatics in this always well-made, medium to full-bodied, richly fruity, lush style of St-Emilion. Drink it over the next 5-7 years. Another sleeper.” (WA #199) $33.95
2009 Lilian Ladouys St Estephe - Elegant, with loads of black currant fruit, cherries and dusty, loamy soil notes as well as hints of tobacco leaf, spice box and cedar, it is a medium to full-bodied, nicely textured, fleshy wine that should drink nicely for 10-15+ years.” (WA#199) $39.95
    …and we do not want to forget white Bordeaux, the benchmark for Sauvignon Blanc blends:
2007 Chateau Carbonnieux, Pessac-Léognan White -  “Sweet herb, milk chocolate and berry aromas lead to a medium body, with a lovely core of fruit and a velvety finish. Best after 2012” (WS 3/10)  $49.95
You might want to also try the 2010 Chateau Bois-Martin a close Pessac-Léognan neighbor owned by the same family that owns Carbonnieux. They share the same winemaker and terroir but not the price.  $24.95

RETURN POLICY

J. Emerson, Inc. guarantees that each bottle of wine we sell is in good condition. We recognize that sometimes a bottle looks fine but, in fact, the wine has gone bad. A cork fails or some other unforeseen problem occurs; unusual but it does happen. If you purchase a bad bottle of wine from us, please bring the bottle (with wine) back promptly. We will taste the wine with you to try and ascertain what has gone wrong. We will replace the bad bottle with a good bottle of the same wine. On the other hand we are not responsible for any damage that occurs after the wine has left the store. This is especially true in the summer. We will NOT accept any returns of warm or hot bottles. Returns should come back to us at about the same temperature as our store. Please do not leave your wine in your car or trunk. It takes less than two hours in 80-90 degree sun to “pop” a cork.

USE YOUR 6 BOTTLE WINE BAGS FROM OTHER STORES AND SAVE 10% (on six bottles)

We want to remind our customers to use those over-produced and environmentally un-friendly reusable wine bags that other stores continue to push on you. Remember they are made from oil and you must use each of those bags 9 times before it equals one paper bag (18 times for plastic).

MONTHLY SPECIALS