Cab/Bordeaux Blends/NEW Arrivals-
November 16, 2006
This Saturday at the tasting bar..... I know you
have all been waiting for this!.....No, not the predictable wines to go with
your traditional Thanksgiving dinner***......Rather,
I am going to make it a Cabernet/Bordeaux blend day.
The headliner will be the
stupendous valued "PIOCHO" from Happy Canyon Vineyards that I wrote about earlier in
the week. If you don't have the opportunity to taste this wine on
Saturday, do yourself a favor and order at least a couple of bottles. It
is one of the standout values of the year!
Tom and Laurel Barrack's Happy Canyon Vineyard is situated in the
warmer eastern end of the Santa Ynez Valley in Santa Barbara county.
As a matter of fact, the hillside vineyards of Happy Canyon are a fairly
new area for grape growing, but they may be the perfect place to
grow the later ripening Cabernet Sauvignon and relatively earlier ripening
Cabernet Franc. Absent are any of the austere, thin, green tea like
astringency or vegetative qualities that typically plague under ripened or
overcropped Cabernet Franc fruit. The 2004 "PIOCHO", the proprietary name for our current
wine of focus, loosely translates to "where two rivers meet and go to
heaven". PIOCHO is a wine dominated
by 45% Cabernet Franc, with 41% Cabernet Sauvignon and
a scant 14% Merlot comprising the blend. Winemaker Doug
Margerum selects fruit from the only top rows along the rocky ridge where the
vines are cultivated so the grapes achieve optimal ripeness while maximizing
hang-time with selective cluster removal to ensure even
ripening.
You must believe me when I say this wine is
probably the very best value of all the
"Cabernets" I have sampled this year. Vivid layers of blue and
black fruits are tighly wound into a superbly balanced package
that says, "I am from a special place!"....About an hour or two after
decanting you find yourself talking back to this wine as if to
assure it you are worthy of this new friendship ....nuances of tobacco
leaf, wood spices are evident, and a building fruit intensity demands your
serious attention. Nowhere will you find a wine like this for only
$29.95 a bottle. 1072 cases were produced. NOW AT $28.95 A BOTTLE OR $26.50 FOR SIX OR MORE
BOTTLES
And if you still need more encouragement,
from Robert Parker -
"...It boasts superb minerality, terrific acidity, plenty of
tannin, beautiful blueberry, raspberry, and black currant characteristics,
crunchy fruit, great texture as well as intensity, and a magnificent finish.
This seriously endowed, inspirational offering is one of the finest
Bordeaux-styled red that has been produced in the Santa Ynez Valley." -
92 points, Robert Parker, Wine
Advocate Issue 166 (August 2006).
TASTING BAR !
The following wines will be available to sample at the
tasting bar this coming Saturday from Noon until 4 pm. A $10 tasting fee per
person is waived with a $20 instore wine purchase. Reservations are not
required. This is a casual event to intrigue and diversify one's
palate.
2004 - Snoqualmie Cabernet
Sauvignon, Rosebud Vineyard, Columbia Valley, Washington state - $14.95 NET
2004 - 75 Wine Company
Cabernet Sauvignon, Amber Knoll, Red Hills AVA, Lake County - $19.95 ($16.96
with any 12 or more bottles)
2004 - Casa
Lapostolla Cuvee Alexandre, Colchagua Valley, Chile - $23.95
($20.36 with any 12 or more bottles)
2004 - Happy Canyon
Vineyard "PIOCHO" - Santa Ynez Valley, Santa Barbara - $29.95 - ON SALE at $28.95 or $26.50 for six or more
bottles.
- It will be in the decanter waiting for
you!
2002 - Catena Alta - Cabernet
Sauvignon, Mendoza, Argentina - $39.95 ($33.96) -
2004 - Audelssa "Summit" -
Mountain Terraces Vineyard, Sonoma - $49.95 NET
PLUS
MORE!
*** If you are stuck and
don't know what to serve, we will be pleased to advise based on your menu
particulars and personal taste.
MANY NEW
WINES!!!
Check out some of the NEW arrivals to
grace our store's racks! Just CLICK here to
open.....> http://www.thewineconsultant.com/new/ THEN CLICK
on individual UNDERLINED WINE of interest for background and
notes.
YOU MAY ORDER DIRECTLY FROM
THIS E-MAIL BY DIRECT REPLY, BY TELEPHONE, OR FROM THE ORDER FORM AT
THE WEBSTORE.
Thank you!.......AND GO BEARS!
Eric Stumpf
The Wine Consultant
8039 Greenback Lane
Citrus Heights, CA 95610
(916) 721-WINE (9463) -
Orders at Extension # 3
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