November 2012 Newsletter

NOVEMBER TASTING EVENTS

WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 14th -  5:30 to 7:30pm
Mark your calendars for our 6th ANNUAL,
often imitated never equaled,
WINES OF THANKSGIVING   TASTING
Please join us for Turkey, Stuffing, Seasonal vegetables and a selection of wines for the Thanksgiving table.

November is Virginia Cider Month!
Join us on FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 16th – 5:30-7:30pm
as we taste a selection of Virginias’ finest ciders!

BEER TASTING ON FRIDAY NOV. 9th & 23rd
  5:30 to 7:30 pm
Watch for details via e-mail & Facebook.

Whatever* Tastings 2-7pm EVERY Saturday
(*We open whatever we suits our mood.)

Starting 11/4 we will be OPEN SUNDAYS, 12noon-6:00pm

As more stores and restaurants on the Avenues are now open for business on Sunday, the second busiest shopping day of the week, we’ve been thinking we would love to open as well but, until now, we could not find an associate who wanted to work that day. Thanks Deanna!

ORDER NOW!

NOVEMBER IS BEAUJOLAIS VILLAGES NOUVEAU Month

A perfect wine for the Thanksgiving table- Delivered the third Thursday in November (11/15)
We are, again, offering a village level of Nouveau from Domaine Manoir Du Carra. Beaujolais Nouveau Village is a slightly better quality level then basic Beaujolais. The 2012 vintage produced a smaller crop then usual and thus prices are expected to rise. (We are, however, charging the SAME price per bottle as last year.) This smaller crop is the result of weather conditions that stressed the vines creating a fair number of small berries (millerand). As a consolation for Beaujolais lovers these smaller grapes will yield concentrated flavors and the overall smaller crop should produce higher quality wines.  Call us at 285-8011 or E-mail us at and order before 11/15 and the price is: $8.95/bottle and $99.95/case (no additional discounts.) Regular price is $9.95.

THANKSGIVING

When you come in the store to purchase wines for Thanksgiving we will ask specific questions about the foods you will serve and then make suggestions accordingly. Absent those specifics, here are some general wine suggestions for the Thanksgiving meal: Beaujolais, Pinot Noir, especially from the birthplace of Pinot Noir, Burgundy, Riesling and Gewurztraminer from Germany and Alsace, Sauvignon Blanc, Roses from Provence, and lighter Italian red wines like Barbera and Dolcetto. Basically it is best to avoid heavy overly oaked wines but, if these classic suggestions are not your favorites just drink whatever wine you like!

THANKSGIVING PINOT NOIR SUGGESTIONS
2009 Calera Pinot Noir Ryan Vineyard –“The 2009 Pinot Noir Ryan Vineyard shows off layers of sweet tobacco, crushed flowers, leather, spices and dried cherries. The 100% whole clusters come through on the saline, floral-infused finish. Bottle age should help the stems to integrate and the tannins to soften. Ryan is Calera’s highest altitude site. Anticipated maturity: 2014-2024. Readers who want to experience the finest Pinot Noirs being made in California should put Calera at or near the top of their lists.” (WA #202) $44.95
2008 A et P Villaine Mercurey les Montots  - “alluringly scented with peony, red raspberry, red currant, and sour cherry, all of which are in such profusion on the palate that some may find the effect overly tart. That said, the texture here is incipiently silken, and suggestions of beef marrow and crushed stone add depth to a vibratory, lip-smacking finish. …worth revisiting over the next 6-8 years”. (WA #189) $39.95
2010 Siduri Pinot Noir Sta. Rita Hills Sebastiano Vineyard - “Combines ripe, complex fruit with a measure of finesse and detail, offering ripe cherry and raspberry, with fresh earth and subtle oak notes that show touches of anise and licorice. Gains depth and persistence 148 cases made.” (WS 6/15/ 2012) $41.95
1998 Domaine Henri Rebourseau Clos De Vougeot Grand Cru – I have had this wine twice recently and it is wonderful. The tannins are resolved and smooth. What could be better then aged Grand Cru Burgundy at the Thanksgiving table and the price is only $89.95 ! (reduced form $99.95). Here is a review from Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar, Mar/Apr ‘01:  “Good deep red. Exotic, liqueur-like aromas of red berries and black cherry. Quite rich and powerfully structured. The strong tannins spread out to coat the palate and teeth. I prefer the balance of this wine to that of the ‘99, but this similarly backward Clos Vougeot is dominated by its structure today. All of this wine, as well as the estate Mazy, was bottled without filtration.”

THANKSGIVING WHITE WINE? – SANCERRE of Course! (Sauvignon Blanc from the Loire Valley)
2010 Domaine Lucien Crochet Sancerre – “Hints of mint and spruce resin pungently accent the fresh grapefruit and lime scents and flavors of Crochet’s generic 2010 Sancerre whose sense of clarity, vivacity, and primary juiciness; of invigoration allied to lushness comes off like a marriage of a more typical 2010 with a top-notch Sancerre from 2011. Piquant nips of citrus rind and a streak of chalk add stimulation to a lingering finish. I suspect that this could not have been so successful had it not benefited from the long lees contact and relatively late bottling that Crochet practices even with this his simplest cuvee. Look for at least 3-4 years of pleasure.” (WA #201)  $29.95

AND, PERHAPS, THE ULTIMATE THANKSGIVING WHITE WINE:
1987 Lopez de Heredia Vina Tondonia Blanco Gran Reserva - “Tasted on two occasions, the sublime 1987 Vina Tondonia Blanco Gran Reserva has an individual bouquet with intense scents of bruised apple, lanolin, honeysuckle and dried grapefruit aromas that you just want to keep inhaling. The palate is very well-balanced with a crisp, citric entry with a touch of volatility giving it a spicy kick on the graceful finish. This is very fine, but it would benefit from more bottle age. Drink now-2020+”  (WA #202 Aug. 2012)  $89.95

NEW ARRIVALS – 1998 La Rioja Alta Gran Reserva – The perfect GIFT!

“The 1998 Gran Reserva 904 is a blend of 90% Tempranillo and 10% Graciano aged in American cask for four years. It has a very fine nose with notes of dried honey, cloves, raisin and wild heather that blossom in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with a touch of orange peel on the entry. It has an effortless sense of harmony and poise, with a crisp tense finish and suffused with a sorbet-like freshness. It just dances across the palate, a memorable Rioja with style and panache. Drink now-2030.  Quite simply, these are some of the finest Riojas that can grace your cellar: complex, refined, classic but without compromising fruit intensity and to reiterate: wines that speak about where they come from.” (WA #202) $59.95

MONTHLY SPECIALS