Wines
49 Items Found
- Healdsburg Ranches North Coast Zinfandel 2009 Product #26631 (In Stock)
-
-
Here's a good, fruit-filled, Zinfandel that you'll enjoy with burgers, BBQ, or nibbles at a party. All Zin from vineyards around Sonoma County's Healdsburg, it serves up generous flavors of berries, cherries and spice in a middle-weight wine that finishes dry and clean. Plenty of flavor but not heavy and not at all "hot". Easy drinking fun!
- Volpetti Cesanese 2009 Product #26764 (In Stock)
-
-
The 2009 Volpetti Cesanese Lazio is bigger, bolder, more fruit filled, and even more delicious than the 2009 (while still pretty garishly packaged). From vineyards around Rome, the Volpetti packs a punch of lush dark damson plum and black cherry fruit with accents of earth and spice. A short stay in old oak barrels softens the tannins and adds a hint of sweet balsamic. Drink this a touch cool with pizza margherita, a bowl of pasta in red sauce, or even a big, juicy, burger and you'll be very, very, happy!
- Cantele Salice Salentino Riserva 2009 Product #26941 (In Stock)
-
-
Gambero Rosso Tre Bicchieri and “Best Value of the Year”! The highest honor awarded by the Italian’s guide to Italian wine doesn’t often go to wines from Puligia, much less wines that sell for this price. From vineyards around the little Pulgia town of Salice Salentino, this is intended to be 100% Negromaro – although the vineyard is old and 5-10% of the vines planted years ago were probably Malvasia Nero. Ripe fruit is picked in early September, rushed to the winery, and fermented cool in stainless steel. Two years aging in one and two year-old small barrels rounds off the edges without adding oak flavors.
If you know Salice Salentino, you’ll recognize the aromas and flavors here. The black color tells you this is a ripe, deep, wine, and the aromas of dark black plum and cherry, warm licorice root, savory spice, and purple flowers reinforce that impression. In the mouth, the flavors are bold, warming and ripe – blackberry, black cherry, hot earth, roasted meat, spice and cocoa powder – with plenty of the meaty, earthy, complexity that Salice Salentino is known for. But, it’s the purity, clarity, and wonderful freshness of flavor and texture that take this to another level. Ripe, not roasted. Powerful, not rustic. Absolutely delicious with grilled sausages, roasted meats, or just nuts and olives, at a value price hard to resist. - Lucignano Chianti Colli Fiorentini 2009 Product #26179 (In Stock)
-
-
Always solid, this is the best vintage in a while for this Chianti producer located up near Florence. It's a round, black-fruited, wine loaded with soft black cherry and plum flavors and just the right touch of earthy spice. Soft and round from beginning to end, this is a great wine for burgers or just to sip on its own.
- Castle Rock Pinot Noir Monterey 2009 Product #25381 (In Stock)
-
-
Castle Rock is America's top value Pinot Noir producer, although which cuvee is best varies from year to year. This year, we like the Monterrey County Pinot the best for it's ripe fruit, good weight, and accents of cola and spice. The flavors are ripe and kissed with a touch of oak, but stay true to Pinot Noir's character and grace. Velvety and smooth and great value.
- Finca Sobreno Toro 2009 Product #26865 (In Stock)
-
-
The best vintage in a while for this always excellent Toro Tempranillo value! Plenty of ripe blackberry and plum, chocolate, and a nice touch of spice on the nose and palate. Gently marked by well-integrated American oak, this is still a touch firm on the finish, so better with food. Very nice value!
"Bright violet color. Smoky perfume of candied cherry and dark berries with a spicy overtone. Pliant and velvety in texture, offering gently sweet cherry and blackberry flavors that put on weight in the glass. Ripe and lively on the powerful finish, showing gentle tannins and persistent sweetness."International Wine Cellar 90 points
- Agricola Punica Montessu Isola Dei Nuraghi IGT 2009 Product #25117 (In Stock)
-
-
Having first invented the “super Tuscan” at Sassacaia and then demonstrated the top variations on the theme at Tignanello, Solaia, and Solengo, Giacomo Tachis began looking for new challenges. Somehow, Tachis came across a wine from Sardinia made mainly from Carignano (Carignan). The man who showed the world that Cabernet, Merlot and Petit Verdot could thrive in Tuscany now had a new mission – to prove that Sardinian Carignano could rival the best of Priorat or France’s Languedoc.
Tachis recruited the owners of Tenuta San Guido (Sassicaia) and Sardinia’s top winery, Cantina di Santadi, to create Agricola Puncia in Sardinia’s Isola dei Nuraghi region. Montessu is the estate’s more accessible wine, a blend of 60% Carignano and 10% each Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot. It needs a big swirl to unlock the aromas now, but shows blue/black fruit, smoke, tar and licorice aromas and flavor that will just expand with air or time. Balanced and silky smooth at first before the firm mineral and smoke elements well up from underneath. Tasty on its own and sure to please with reach braises and grilled lamb! - Castello Di Neive Barbera d'Alba Santo Stefano 2009 Product #26550 (In Stock)
-
-
Here's a great, ripe and fairly full Barbera d'Alba that will work with anything Italian and even a traditional American turkey and stuffing feast! Aromas of blackberry, plum, tar and smoke carry over to the rich and round palate. Nicely mouth-coating and soft in the middle (where a balsamic note weaves in and out) before getting juicy and fresh on the long, vibrant, finish. Nicely powerful and balanced and very fun to drink right now.
- Las Rocas De San Alejandro Garnacha Old Vines 2009 Product #27155 (In Stock)
-
-
Classic old-vine Garnacha, ripe and rich but not hot or thick.
"a big time sleeper, is the outstanding 2009 Las Rocas Garnacha Vinas Viejas, which comes from 60-100-year old vines planted at 2,500-3,500 feet elevations. Aged ten months in old French and American oak, it possesses 15.2% alcohol along with a deep ruby/purple color and copious notes of plums, raspberries, black cherries, lavender and licorice, a full-bodied texture, and impressive purity, depth and freshness. This dry red represents super value for frugal consumers. It should last for several years."Wine Advocate 90 points
- Vina Robles Red4 2009 Product #25352 (In Stock)
-
-
It’s not entirely clear how a couple of guys of Swiss heritage created one of Paso Robles’ most exciting young wine estates. Swiss native Hans Nef spent a couple of years looking for vineyard in California before deciding to buy an scrubby property dotted with oak trees in the Central Coast’s Paso Robles region in 1996. Fellow Swiss native Matthias Gubler joined in 1999 and made Vina Robles’s first vintage that year.
Nef and Gubler motto – “European Inspiration – California Character” describes their entry-level Red4 blend perfectly. As in France’s Rhone Valley, the wine is a blend of distinctive grapes – Syrah, Petite Sirah, Grenache and Mourvedre – that complement one another beautifully. The 2008 Red4 is a joy to drink today for its lush fruit, chunky texture, and rich tannins. Give it a few years in the cellar and the flavors will meld even more and a deep earthy note will emerge as the tannins melt away. Great wine for anything from pizza to burgers – and a great value!
- Guigal Cotes-du-rhone 2009 Product #26231 (In Stock)
-
-
A solid value for those who like their Cotes du Rhone full-bodied and full-throttle! While most Cotes du Rhone are predominantly Grenache, famed Northern Rhone producer Guigal uses 50% Syrah in their entry-level red. Remarkable quality and aging ability at this price, and begging for a big, juicy piece of grilled lamb.
"There are 3.5 million bottles of the 2009 Cotes du Rhone red, which represents an amazing value. A blend of 50% Syrah, 40% Grenache and 10% Mourvedre, it comes primarily from the Plan de Dieu (Plain of God), which is situated northeast of Chateauneuf du Pape. This tank-aged, deep ruby/purple-colored, concentrated, fleshy, medium to full-bodied, supple offering reveals plenty of pepper, kirsch and black currant fruit intermixed with a notion of flowers. It is meant to be consumed during its first 2-3 years of life although I have tasted 10-year-old bottles that are still holding together." Wine Advocate 89 points
- Paraiso Pinot Noir Santa Lucia Highlands 2009 Product #24687 (In Stock)
-
-
The 2009 growing season consisted of high winds, dry days, and bay fogs to create a cool, but very long, growing season. These growing conditions are ideal for cool-climate grapes such as Pinot Noir, and lead to full, forward fruit flavors and ideal acidity. The 2009 Estate Pinot Noir is a fine example of clonal diversity coming together in one wine. The focus is decidedly Burgundian, with flavors of raspberry, cherry and wild berries, good acidity, and a nice French oak complexity.
- Mas D' Alezon Faugeres Presbytere 2009 Product #26415 (In Stock)
-
-
80% Grenache, with the balance Syrah and Mourvedre, Le Presbytere opens with aromas of ripe, dark cherries and baking spices. It needs a bit of air to open up, but once it does, it has the same sophisticated minerality as its Mourvedre-based sister, but fleshier fruit. This would be delicious with sauteed duck breast.
- Guild Red Wine Lot 6 2009 Product #27011 (In Stock)
-
-
It’s not clear how 4 Oregon winemakers could get a hold of Syrah, Mourvedre and Counoise from Washington state and then make a dead ringer for Ann Gros’s Minervois, but that’s why wine is so fun! This is delicious, limited, and well priced. Move, already.
This Rhone-style blend opens with tangy fruit and violet aromas. On the palate, it's got delicious, crunchy fruit that makes you look for something to eat, like maybe some delicious charcuterie. Enough fruit for that 'yum,' factor, and enough structure to stand up to real food. - Brandborg Pinot Noir Bench Lands Oregon 2009 Product #26356 (In Stock)
-
-
Hard to believe, but the best selling $20 Pinot in the store is even better in 2009 than before. Once again, a fairly lightly colored, elegant, bottle of Oregon Pinot from the Umpqua Valley. Lovely aromas of berries, mushroom and roses lead to a silky, vibrant, mouthful of fresh strawberries, crunchy cherries and fresh turned earth. Just a tad more depth and smoke than the fine 2008 and ready to drink now.
"Light red. Zesty redcurrant and cherry aromas are deepened by smoky spices and cola. Lively and sharply focused, offering nervy red berry flavors and silky texture. The spiciness repeats on the energetic finish, which leaves a bitter cherry note behind."International Wine Cellar 88 points
- Quinta Dona Matilde Tinto 2009 Product #26554 (In Stock)
-
-
This family-owned Port producer in the Douro Valley alsm makes terrific dry wines, like this blend of old-vine Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca and Tinta Amarela. Ripe, almost boisterous, aromas of blackberry, black plum and raspberry with pretty accents of violets and a touch of eucalyptus. In the mouth still youthfully compact but loaded with juicy black plum, raspberry and a hint of dark chocolate. Softly textured with with terrific drive and lingering tangy plum and spice flavors over ripe, silky, tannins.
- Dom La Tour Penedesses Faugeres 2009 Product #26900 (In Stock)
-
-
Just what red wine from Faugères (Languedoc-Roussillon) should be but almost never is. A blend of Syrah, Grenache and 10% Mourvedre, this bursts with blackberry, black olive, floral and piney garrigue aromas. In the mouth, round, almost creamy, and mineral with more blackberry/black raspberry fruit, dark earth, and a touch of wood spice flavors. For all the fruit, this is savory, rather than sweet, and finishes firmly tannic and mineral with complex, lingering, flavors. Outstanding with any herbed meat or bean dish now and the next few years.
- Buil & Giné Montsant 17XI 2009 Product #27008 (In Stock)
-
-
Lovely blueberry and ripe blackberry fruit with just a touch of spice here in a wine that's easy enough to drink solo but that will work well with robust roasted and grilled foods.
"Made from a blend of garnacha, carinena and tempranillo that was aged for six months in French and American oak. Opaque ruby. Smoke-accented aromas of dark berries and dried flowers, with a spicy nuance building in the glass. Youthfully taut on entry, then fleshier in the middle, offering ripe dark fruit flavors and a hint of cracked pepper. Picks up brighter red fruits on the long, tangy finish."International Wine Cellar 90 points
- Ch La Cardonne Medoc 2009 Product #27116 (In Stock)
-
-
Agree with everything Parker wrote, except perhaps the slightly too low rating. An excellent Bordeaux to enjoy now - 2020 or so.
"This is a major sleeper of the vintage and the best wine I have ever tasted from La Cardonne, which is in the northern end of the Medoc, near the town of Blaignan. A blend of 50% Merlot, 45% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest Cabernet Franc, this 2009 offers up notes of tobacco leaf, cassis, and loamy soil with underbrush nuances. With excellent texture, impressive purity, and medium to full body, this is a rich, over-achieving cru bourgeois to drink over the next decade." Wine Advocate 88 points
- Vina Bujanda Rioja Crianza 2009 Product #27200 (In Stock)
-
-
Lovely fruit like a modern-styled wine but classic elegance and weight. Terrific to drink now and will get better over the next couple of years.
"The 2009 Crianza is sourced from Rioja Alta and Alavesa: pure Tempranillo aged in French and American barrels for 12 months. It has a perfumed bouquet of ripe strawberry and Morello, with well-integrated oak that allows the fruit to shine. The palate is very supple and rounded on the entry with corpulent red cherry and cassis fruit. The finish is well-defined, crisp and vibrant, lingering nicely in the mouth. Drink now-2019."Wine Advocate 90 points
