October 2017 Newsletter

October Tasting Events

  Please join us on Friday, October 20th   5:30-7:30 pm
What the h*ll is up with the staff here?* Tasting#1
W/ David O’Neill, The Robins Cellars
Tasting the wines he thinks we should stock, but won’t for some reason…
*Charlie B, our favorite YELP reviewer.

October is Virginia wine month!
Please join us Wednesday, OCTOBER 25th   5:30-7:30 pm
Early Mountain Vineyards Tasting
with
Ben Jordan, Winemaker
Discounts on all Early Mountain wines during the Tasting!

The Last Saturday Wine School – You say Syrah, I say Shiraz, let’s call the…
We’ll open and compare a few examples of Syrah and Shiraz. The last Saturday of each month changes from a “whatever we feel like drinking” tasting event to a mini wine school tasting. We’ll pick a topic, theme, etc. and taste with a purpose! The wines we taste will be offered as a package with a discount. This is very informal with no scheduled start or finish time. Come anytime you want between 2 and 6 pm on Saturday, OCTOBER 28th. Each session will be about 10 minutes!

WINE TASTING EVERY SATURDAY   2:00pm-7:00pm
‘Whatever we feel like opening”

TIME TO PRE-ORDER 2017 BEAUJOLAIS NOUVEAU and SAVE!!

As the harbinger of the vintage, it's a worthy tradition!

Slightly lower alcohol, ripe fruit flavors, food friendly acidity and mild tannins make this the PERFECT THANKSGIVING WINE.
Call us at (804) 285-8011 or e-mail us at to place your order! This year we have, once again, selected a villages level of Nouveau, Domaine Manoir du Carra Beaujolais Villages, (a better quality level than basic Beaujolais) Regular price is $11.99. BUT order before 11/10 and the price is: $10.99 per bottle or save even more and order a case at $110.99 ($9.25/btl.) per case (no additional discounts).
The wine is delivered the third Thursday in November (11/16).

OCTOBER “SHORT SIPS” CLASS – Unlucky Wines.

Some wines have no luck at all. There in the wrong place; their neighbors steal their thunder; they’re forced to grow certain grapes. We’ll taste and discuss a few places that just never seem to get a break.
This is a one hour educational program, limited to eight people and held in our fine wine room. The class is held twice in OCTOBER – FRIDAY the 13th and SATURDAY the 14th from 6:00 to 7:00pm NOTE TIME CHANGE –– Class fee is $7 per person and availability is on a first-come, first-served basis.

SAVE - Bottle conditioned, delicious Spanish Reds-

Spanish wine laws reward cellar aging by the winery, thus, you buy bottle conditioned wines that are ready to drink. Among the regions where wine lovers see the most benefit are Rioja, Toro, Priorat and Ribera de Duero. This month we have a sale on two beautiful, older vintages from Toro and Priorat.
2007 Sabor Real Reserva Viñas Centenarias D.O. Toro Tinto, Spain – “The 2007 Vinas Centenarias was aged in French and American oak, some of it new, some for one year. Its nose is a bit more brooding and on the palate it is richer, riper, and a bit more serious. With outstanding concentration, excellent length, and impeccable balance, this awesome value will benefit from 2-3 years of cellaring and offer prime drinking from 2012 to 2022. Bodegas Sabor Real was created in 2003; most of its Tinta de Toro vines are 70-100+ years of age.” (WA 188) Regular price $16.99 On SALE in OCTOBER for $13.99
Priorat is one of only 2 DOCa’s (the highest level of quality region) in Spain, the other being Rioja. Soil is of paramount importance to Priorat winemakers. The region’s flagship soil type is llicorella, a free-draining, nutrient-poor soil made up of partially-decomposed slate and quartz (‘llicorella’ is the Catalan name for slate).
2005 Celler Mas Garrian Clos Severi, Priorat DOCa, Spain– (a blend of 4 allowed Priorat grapes: 35%, Samso/Carignan, 30% Grenache/Garnacha, Cabernet Sauvignon: 20%, Syrah: 15%) From the glorious ’05 vintage; blackberry preserves, cassis, kirsch and Moroccan olives with a touch of pepper wrapped in a hint of oak. Full bodied with muscular tannins and a peppery mineral finish. Put your California cabs aside for a moment, open a Clos Severi and grill a steak. $26.99 ON SALE in OCTOBER: $21.99

SAVE: 2011 Igino Accordini Amarone della Valpolicella Classico “Le Bessole”

Amarone is one of Italy’s greatest wines; a rich, bold and dry red made from the partially dried grapes of (mostly) Corvina and Rondinella.
2011 Igino Accordini Amarone della Valpolicella Classico “Le Bessole” – “An elegant red, with aromatic violet, citrus peel and spice notes leading to wild cherry and black raspberry fruit, layered with supple tannins and a note of fresh, loamy earth that lingers on the chewy finish. Drink now through 2026. 3,700 cases made.” (WS WO 17) $49.99 ON SALE in OCTOBER: $32.99

NEW ARRIVALS

The AOC Cornas is one of the smallest in France with only 116.4 hectares (288 acres) of vines. (Compare that with the Napa Valley AVA at 45,000 acres of vines.)  There are about 65 vignerons making Cornas. Johann Michel farms 4 hectares in Cornas under “culture raisonnee” (sustainable) method in the lieux dits “Les Cotes”, “Bayonnet”, “Chaillot” and the parcel called “Saveaux”. If you want to understand Syrah, Cornas is at the epicenter.
2015 Johann Michel Cornas, Rhone, France – (100% Syrah) “Opaque ruby. Heady dark berry, incense, olive and Indian spice aromas show excellent clarity and pick up a smoky mineral nuance with air. Broad, sappy and appealingly sweet, offering intense black and blue fruit and spicecake flavors and a suggestion of candied licorice. Tightens up on the impressively persistent finish, which features blueberry and cracked pepper notes and building tannins.” (Vinous 7/17)
Regular price: $44.99.  On sale in October: $31.99/btl (no further discounts)
A delicious, affordable Cru Beaujolais from the folks that grow our Beaujolais nouveau:
2015 Manoir du Carra Moulin-à-Vent “Les Burdelines” Beaujolais, France- “Deep ruby. Aromas of cherry and dark berries are complicated by hints of licorice, succulent herbs and violet. Chewy and focused on the palate, offering sappy, smoke-tinged blackberry and bitter cherry flavors that display very good depth and energy. A hint of gaminess emerges on the long, appealingly sweet and youthfully tannic finish, which leaves behind a juicy dark fruit note.” (Vinous 1/17) $19.99
2014 Cade Cabernet Sauvignon Howell Mountain Reserve - 100% Cabernet Sauvignon (and finished with a screwcap), cuts a broader swath even than the regular bottling, shows slightly sweeter tannin, perhaps more ripeness, but is plush, voluptuously textured, deep, full-bodied and impressively endowed. There is no reason to defer gratification, as this wine is already singing and expressive. Drink it over the next 15 or so years.” (WA 228) $224.99

MONTHLY SPECIALS