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If you are visiting us for the first time, Welcome! The Wine Spies feature one exceptional wine each day – and we only bring you wines that we ourselves seek out and love. Always, the wines are great. Sometimes greater than great, as is the case with today’s wine from Hans Fahden Winery.

Wine Spies Once-in-a-lifetime Alert!: Today we are pleased to the first wine seller to bring you another exclusive from Hans Fahden. This wine is not only very special, it is also precious. Once this wine is gone, the winery will not release another

Superior Wine Alert!: This is another exceptional Hans Fahden wine and we are astounded that it sells for so little

SAVINGS ALERT!: Operatives who buy six or more bottles today will be rewarded with Free Ground Shipping, but only if they enter the secret savings code: MERLOTSPY

Mission Codename: Quothe the Raven

Operative: Agent Red

Objective: Respond immediately to reports that Wine Spies Operative favorite, Hans Fahden, has released a one-time Merlot. If the wine is great, secure as much as possible – before they run out – forever!

Mission Status: Accomplished!

Current Winery: Hans Fahden Winery

Wine Subject: 2004 Mountain Cuvée Cabernet Sauvignon

Winemaker: Israel Montanez

Backgrounder: The 2003 Hans Fahden Cabernet Sauvignon was one of the most popular Cabs we featured in 2007. In 2008, we offered their incredible 2004. Again, a smash success and a fast sell-out. When we learned that they were producing a limited release Merlot, we sped to the winery to taste the wine. When we fell in love, we secured an exclusive on the wine and are offering you what could be you only chance to try the wine. Read Agent Red’s tasting notes below, followed by his original Mission Report, in which Red first becomes acquainted with this wonderful winery.

Wine Spies Tasting Profile:

Look – Deep ruby red in color with a heart of dark plum. Swirl the glass and thick legs appear slowly before they march slowly down the glass

Smell – A wonderful blast of concentrated aromas of earthen cherry, ripe blackberry, soft pine tar and mild fresh mixed salad herbs

Feel – Initially velvet soft and then the wine shows lush medium tannins as it coats and then drys the tongue and the roof of the mouth

Taste – Big and rich flavors of dark stonefruit, dark cherry, dark smoky blueberry, blackberry and plum, with a slight herbaceous or vegital quality that gives the wine a hearty flavor that follows its initial fruity brightness

Finish – Super long-lasting, with smokey fruit then more vegital all over mouth flavors that taper off slowly as the wine coats and the drys your mouth

Conclusion – Once again, Hans Fahden winery has us scratching our heads at the high-quality/low-price of their wines. We declared their Cabernet Sauvignon to be an underpriced mastepiece and we say the same of this fantastic, youthful Merlot. The only ‘bad’ thing we could say about this wine is that once it is gone, it’s gone. Okay, to be fair, all wines are like this, but when we asked the winery if there would be a future vintage, they (sniff) said ‘nope’! So, dear Operative, stock up, buy us out, grab an ample allocation for this is likey your only chance to try this great wine – from a great winery!

Mission Report:

What follows is our original mission report, in which Agent Red first discovers Hans Fahden’s exquisite wine:

: : San Francisco, California : : Fort Mason : : Family Winemakers of California Tasting event : :

With more than 400 wineries and only two days to taste, I needed to employ my best strategic planning skills. There was simply no way I would be able to taste everything available to me.

Central Command had compiled a list of High Priority Target wineries, and I was tasting wines of all varietals and in all price ranges. Most of them good to great, and only a few real stinkers.

During the latter half of my second day, I initiated the final phase of my tasting which had me tasting only the highest end wines available. This was a phase I was looking forward to and after giving my palate a much needed rest, I reentered the pavilion like a man on a mission. Oh, yeah, I really was on a mission!

After tasting 2 or 3 really superb wines (you’ll enjoy learning of these in a future report), I spotted on of my newest assets, Codename ”Shank”, chatting at one of the winery tasting tables.

Shank, so named for his passion for golf, is a wine industry insider. He works for a leading wine industry technology provider and hails from a winemaking family.

I walked over to the table and Shank introduced me to Karen Fahden of Hans Fahden Vineyards. Karen immediately poured me a glass and I took it for a swirl. I was instantly wowed and I explained that I had been seeking out $50+ wines. I thought that this one would fit right in and I asked Karen if the was $50 – or more. I was shocked by her answer. Karen explained that she gets that reaction a lot.

Right there at the table, I negotiated a nice quantity of bottles for our Agents. Any wine that drinks like a $50 bottle but costs less than half that deserves our best attention.

Winery Backgrounder:

The Fahden vineyards and winery consists of 100 acres. It is located at 1200 feet, in a range of the Mayacamus Mountains, on a ridge above Calistoga, California. The property features panoramic views of Mt. St. Helena.

Hans and Marie Fahden, natives of Hamburg, Germany, purchased the property in 1912. They farmed the land growing grapes until the Prohibition was enacted in 1920. After destroying the vines that they had worked so hard to plant and tender, the family planted prunes.

Sixty years and two generations later, Antone and Lyall Fahden decided they liked Cabernet Sauvignon better than prunes and a new journey began to restore the land and make it productive. From 1982 to 1984, the family went to work, planting three vineyard areas. Separated by volcanic outcroppings and forests of Douglas Fir, these vineyards are now interspersed by picturesque ponds and a beautiful wine cave, which was tunneled into a formation of four million year old volcanic ash.

The Hans Fahden Winery became bonded in 1986. The first bottle of wine, which was produced from the 1987 vintage, was sold in 1992. The Hans Fahden Winery became licensed to conduct public tastings in 1996. Today, the Winery produces incredible award-winning wines that please the pallet and the pocketbook.

Wine Spies Vineyard Check:

The location of the Dry Creek Valley can be seen in this satellite photo

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If you are visiting us for the first time, Welcome! The Wine Spies feature one exceptional wine each day – and we only bring you wines that we ourselves seek out and love. Always, the wines are great. Sometimes greater than great, as is the case with today’s wine from Salvestrin Vineyard and Winery.

SAVINGS ALERT! Smart spies stock up on great wines. When they buy 6 or more bottles of today’s SuperCaliTuscan, they will be rewarded with Free Ground Shipping, but only if they enter secret savings code NAPASPY at checkout.

Mission Codename: The Legacy

Operative: Agent Red

Objective: Uncover a Super Tuscan-style wine, born in California. If the wine is superb, procure an ample supply for our Operatives to enjoy

Mission Status: Accomplished!

Current Winery: Salvestrin Vineyard and Winery

Wine Subject: 2005 Retaggio Red Wine

Winemakers: Kent Barthman and Rich Salvestrin

Backgrounder:

In just the last decade, Super Tuscans became the latest rage in Italian wine in the United States, however, their story goes back to the late 1940s when the famed Sassicaia wine was reportedly made by Incisa della Rochetta using Cabernet Sauvignon vines from Chateau Lafite-Rothschild, or so the legend goes. Now California Super Tuscan-inspired blends are presenting as great wines of remarkable quality, providing a unique expression of this Italian heritage blend.

Wine Spies Tasting Profile:

Look – Dark purple with a dark inky heart of deep garnet, with tightly-packed, slow thick legs that start slow and then streak down the glass, providing insight into the wines mouthfeel

Smell – Intense wild blackberries, blackberry and raspberry with currant, blueberry, licorice and spices. This wine also presnts secondary aromas of black pepper and earth

Feel – Round and soft at very first, then bright and bold, dry and warm on the tongue, this full-bodied wine has medium tannins and a mouth-coating and chewy quality. As this wine opens up it becomes more velvety

Taste – Extremely well balanced fruit, with notable dusky blackberry, currant, blueberry and soft spice, with touches of oak, black pepper and an earthy quality. Present here is that classic subtle orange zest spiciness that you only find in exceptional Italian wines

Finish – This wine finishes beautifully long and dry with big fruit and a slight herbaceous quality

Conclusion – This is a big, juicy, delicious and fun wine to drink! A really interesting wine as well, with a definite between California-fresh and Super Tuscan heritage. For those Cali wine fans familiar with Super Tuscan wines from Italy, this wine delivers a great synergy of the two. Bright and aromatic with balanced acidity and a great mouthfeel, this wine is a great solo sipper or perfect with most food combinations. Auguri! to Salvestrin for building this wonderful wonderful wine! If you are a fan of Super Tuscans, you won’t be disappointed!

Mission Report:

Three generations of Salvestrins have made wine in America. Today, Rich Salvestrin makes wine on the family’s estate, a practice which began with Rich’s grandfather, John, and was continued by his son, Ed. By American standards, three generations is about as old as a winemaking family can be.

When Central Command issued a Priority Alert for a great California Super Tuscan, our Assets flooded us with intel on various wineries. On feeding all of the data into the W.I.N.E. (Wine Internet Nexus Engine) system, I was presented with three recommendations. At the top of the list was Silvestrin.

Immediately I set out to the winery. Nestled between a residential neighborhood and Crane Park near downtown St. Helena, the 26-acre property is expansive and lush with grape-laden vines. There, on a beautiful late-June day I had the great pleasure to meet with Shannon Salvestrin, Rich’s wife and partner in day to day operation of the winery.

With myself posing as a wine writer (the perfect cover, as I really do write for Imbibe Magazine and Color and Aroma Magazine), we tasted through the range of their wines. We lingered especially long on the Retaggio, today’s wine.

Retaggio is Italian for Legacy, a fitting name for this Tuscan Style wine, from this particular winemaking family, for this wine is the wine embodiment (em_bottlement_?) of the family’s fine heritage and wine-crafting experience.

Made from grapes of Napa Valley Sangiovese and Estate grown Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, the Salvestrins have captured the essence of fine Italian Super Tuscan, but in a rich, sleek and somehow more modern California style that does not sacrifice its old-world roots.

At the end of the tasting, I quietly reveled my true intent, asking Shannon for several cases of the wine for our worthy Operatives to enjoy. She readily agreed, allowing us to procure a small cache – but with the suggestion that we counsel our Operatives to ”… stock up and also keep a few bottles in the cellar to enjoy later.” This Wine Spy has taken her advice to heart. I only hope that I can be patient, for this wine is ready to drink right now!.

Wine Spies Vineyard Check:

The location of the Salvestrin Estate vineyards can be seen in this satellite photo.

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If you are visiting us for the first time, Welcome! The Wine Spies feature one exceptional wine each day – and we only bring you wines that we ourselves seek out and love. Always, the wines are great. Sometimes greater than great, as is the case with today’s wine from Domaine Patrick Baudouin.

INTERNATIONAL SUNDAY SELECTION ALERT!

We scour the globe to bring you an exceptional International wine selection – from the finest wineries in the world

Savings Alert!

Clever Operatives will receive FREE Ground Shipping on 6 bottles or more – when they enter this coupon code at checkout: FRENCHSPY (discount will be shown before you complete your order)

Mission Codename: The Devil is in the… wine!

Operative: Agent Red

Objective: Our Operatives love great Cabernet Franc. Return to France for the perfect Cabernet Franc and secure an ample quantity for our new International Sunday Selection program

Mission Status: Accomplished!

Current Winery: Anjou Villages – Domaine Patrick Boudouin

Wine Subject: 2003 Cabernet Franc

Winemaker: Patrick Boudouin

Backgrounder:

Cabernet Franc is one of Agent Red’s favorite red varietals. Perhaps this is because its flavors are often rich, layered, complex and elegant. Or, perhaps he loves Cabernet Franc so much because it pairs so exceptionally with many different foods.

One of the most notable things about Cabernet Franc is the fact that finding excellent examples can be very difficult. On a recent extended mission, Agent Red tasted a broad selection of a Cabernet Franc wines. He returned with 5 exceptional Cabernet Francs and subjected them to an extended evaluation. Here he presents his favorite.

We are also very pleased to welcome back Agent K, one of our guest Sommelier reviewers. From time to time, Agent K contributes to our reviews by her lending us her sophisticated palate and love of wine. We extend our special thanks to Agent K, whose comments can be seen below.

Wine Spies Tasting Profile:

Look – Deep, dark garnet, bordering on purple with thick, medium fast legs that glisten down the glass

Smell – Complex and earthy. Stemmy with mild barnyard, clean compost, mulch and stone

Feel – Initially wet, then dry with medium weight and grippy all-over-mouth tannins

Taste – Deeply layered, mouth coating flavors of dark fruit, moss, truffle, leather and cranberry

Finish – Smooth, with the majority of flavors that fall off quickly, leaving behind a pleasing horsey raspberry and pleasant dryness

Conclusion – One must try an authentic French Cabernet Franc if one is to understand the range, depth and complexity that is possible with this outstanding varietal. This particular Cabernet Franc exudes complexity, character and old-world charm. Not as fruity as its wonderful American counterparts, don’t let some of the descriptions above fool you. This wine is very good, and it has American-palate-pleasing fruit, which carries it along nicely.

Agent K, Sommelier, says:

”Undergrowth and barnyard drive this wine with hints of raspberry and leather. The palate is supple and mouth-coating, balanced and smooth with cranberry and gooseberry, vanilla and mushrooms.”

Mission Brief:

Frances Loire Valley is the region most famous for turning out great Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Franc is particularly suited to the middle region of the Loire Valley where Patrick’s wines come from.

Patrick Bodouin is quite a colorful character and I suspect that the devil that graces his Anjou Villages label is his alter-ego. He grew up in the Layon region of the Loire Valley but left to find his fortune in Paris where he toiled as a laborer and then as a librarian. He eventually gave up that noble profession to return to the Loire and the vineyards of his grandparents. As a winemaker (and as Parker points out), Patrick is passionate about “natural” winemaking. This term for him refers to exhorting the vines to give their best in the vineyard so that intervention in the winery is minimal and the resulting wines “natural.”

This wine is a wonderful example; a Cabernet Franc that some have called the perfect, authentic and quintessential real French Cab Franc. I agree that, if you love Cab Franc, this is certainly one to try. As the only imported Cabernet Franc to make it into my Top 5, it gets my heartiest recommendation.

Wine Spies Vineyard Check:

The location of the Loire Valley where this exceptional wine was born can be seen in this satellite photo.

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If you are visiting us for the first time, Welcome! The Wine Spies feature one exceptional wine each day – and we only bring you wines that we ourselves seek out and love. Always, the wines are great. Sometimes even better than that, as is the case with today’s wine from Cima Collina.

SECRET SATURDAY SAVINGS ALERT!: Pssst. You want Free Ground Shipping on today’s superior selection? Just order 6 bottles or more and enter coupon code PINOTSPY at checkout!

SUPERIOR WINE ALERT! We don’t oft do repeats. When we do, you can be assured that its only because it is a wine that we love very much. Today’s wine is a beautifully bright and delicious Pinot Noir from Monterey County.

Mission Codename: The best and the brightest

Operative: Agent Red

Objective: Return to Cima Collina to uncover the truth about their 2006 Pinot Noir. Our assets report that the wine is among the best Pinot Noir they have tasted. If true, secure an ample allocation for our Operatives

Mission Status: Accomplished

Current Winery: Cima Collina

Wine Subject: 2006 Monterey County Pinot Noir

Winemakers: Annette Hoff

Backgrounder: The first time we featured a Pinot Noir from Cima Collina, Agent Red had a difficult time infiltrating the winery. It was worth the effort, though, because now Cima Collina is a fully vetted Wine Spies winery and our Operatives can count on being privy to their best releases. Today’s Monterey County Pinot Noir is among the finest we have had the please to taste and we recommend to our Pinot-loving Operatives that they scoop up this limited-availability wine – before we run out.

Wine Spies Tasting Profile:

Look – Deep and perfect ruby-red with great clarity, a springy bounce and thin, widely-spaced legs that run down the glass at varied speeds

Smell – Richly layered and warm, with deep fruits of cherry, mild forest floor, fresh earthen spices and toasty oak

Feel – Cool, light and round, this wine speeds its was across the front palate and then grips first at the front of the tongue, where a slight warmth and dryness makes its way to the back of the mouth.

Taste – Sweet, fresh, bright and slightly tart with flavors of bing cherry, pomegranate, plum, cedar and mild forest floor

Finish – Long, lush and lingering, the flavors and feelings that this wine leaves behind develop and change over time, making it a wine to sip lovingly while take the time to appreciate its subtle nuances

Conclusion – Pure pleasure, this wine is everything you could wish for in a Monterey Pinot Noir. Attribute its great aromas, feel and flavors to the meticulous labor that went into making this wine. With daily attention to its progress, this wine was tended with care by winemaker Annette Hoff, who virtually lived with the grapes post-harvest to ensure the proper extraction on flavors and color. Annette’s attention to the grapes, coupled with her winemaking ability and her brilliance in selecting and sorting the fruit that went into this wine, all combine to deliver a wine that is exceptionally flavorful, fun to drink and even better to share over a great meal with friends and loved-ones.

Mission Report:

Now that Cima Collina is a fully vetted winery, The Wine Spies are privy to their wines. When intel reports began flooding in about today’s wine, we only needed to ask Cima Collina for a private tasting.

To see how our relationship with Cima Collina began, what follows is our original mission report:

For more than a month, Agent Red had tried and failed to bring us a Cima Collina wine. Wine Spies HQ gave him one final chance to land this exceptional Monterey County Pinot Noir from fabled lady winemaker Annette Hoff. Read the mission report below to see how he finally managed to snare this great wine!

Not every mission goes as smoothly as I would like them to. While this particular mission did not go horribly awry, it did take me an awfully long time to complete.

I first learned of Cima Collina wines from an Asset of mine, a private informant that has alerted me to more than a few great Monterey-area wines. This Asset, we’ll call him ‘_Monte_’, sent me an alert on my SpyComm device and told me to rush to try what he called Cima Collina’s ‘perfect pinot’. Included in the alert was all of the intel he had gathered on the wine, the winemaker, the vineyard and the winery. Everything sounded impressive and I trusted Monte’s judgment, so I headed to their tasting room in the village of Carmel-by-the-sea, a few miles south of Monterey.

While I pride myself on a good sense of direction, Carmel initially proved a difficult place for me. The town uses no street addresses! Instead, people navigate their way around by heading to ‘addresses’ such as: “_The West side of San Carlos, between Ocean and 7th, in the Paseo Courtyard, behind Kocek Jewelers_”, which happens to be the Cima Collina tasting room. Well, after a few mis-turns, I finally found the tasting room, which also houses a lovely gallery where the works of local artist are on display. On tasting the wine, I was immediately impressed and knew that I should procure an allotment for our Operatives. I got the business card of the manager of the winery, and was on my way.

Rather than place the winery under further surveillance, I decided to take a more direct approach and simply ask for the wine. Sounds simple, right? Well, after extended rounds of phone-tag, I decided to visit Cima Collina at a then-upcoming tasting event in downtown Monterey. There were many wineries at this particular event and when I found the Cima Collina table, it was mobbed. After fighting my way to the front, I introduced myself to the Winemaker and explained my plight. She was sympathetic and told me to keep trying. She explained that her wines were very popular and that they had been inundated with purchase requests. So, I kept trying. And kept missing. Then at another wine event, I met the hard-to-pin-down manager himself. Because he was so busy at the event, he asked me to keep trying him.

More of the same ensued and then, finally, just yesterday we actually spoke on the phone – and we simply and jovially arranged to secure some of this fabulous Pinot Noir for our Operatives. Busy wineries don’t get that way without a reason. A busy winery is usually a sign that something special is going on. In the case of Cima Collina, it was all about their fantastic Pinot Noir, and this one is my favorites!

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If you are visiting us for the first time, Welcome! The Wine Spies feature one exceptional wine each day – and we only bring you wines that we ourselves seek out and love. Always, the wines are great. Sometimes greater than great, as is the case with today’s wine from Fritz Winery.

SUMMER REFRESHER ALERT!

We declare this bright, delicious and fresh Estate Chardonnay to be the perfect summertime refreshment!

Savings Alert!

Clever Operatives will receive FREE Ground Shipping on 6 bottles or more – when they enter this coupon code at checkout: SPYSONOMA (discount will be shown before you complete your order)

Mission Codename: Life in the Underground

Operative: Agent White

Objective: Return to Operative favorite, Fritz Winery – this time to retrieve their fantastic 2006 Ruxton Chardonnay

Mission Status: Accomplished!

Current Winery: Fritz Winery

Wine Subject: 2006 Fritz Ruxton Chardonnay – Russian River Valley

Winemaker: Christina Pällmann

Backgrounder: When The Wine Spies first infiltrated Fritz Winery, we were blown away by the quality of their wines. The Fritz Zinfandel and Cabernet Sauvignon that we showed here recently were among the most popular wines we have featured here. Today, Agent White gets a chance to visit Fritz – and he returns, victorious, with a limited quantity of their wonderfully refreshing Ruxton Chardonnay! Read his tasting notes and mission report below for the full scoop on this great wine.

Wine Spies Tasting Profile:

Look – Golden straw yellow – like a Champagne without bubbles, with perfect clarity, glittering edges, a fast and bouncy surface that, when swirled, leaves behind skinny legs that streak down the glass

Smell – Sweet an inviting, with instant tropical notes that are followed by more subtle apricot, butterscotch, acacia flowers, peach and pineapple

Feel – Round and light at first, then slightly creamy with a hint of acidity. The wine is fast across the tongue, then soft tannins grip the edges of the tongue and the roof of the mouth

Taste – Delicious and juicy, with tropical, peach and apricot flavors that echo the nose, but also present here are wonderful hints of soft coconut and banana, with the softest lemon curd

Finish – Begins sweet and light and fruity, then is followed by a mineral softness as flavors tail off slowly while a supple dryness gradually takes over

Conclusion – Our previously stated opinion that ”There is a special something about Fritz wines”, is reinforced by today’s terrific offering. The perfect summertime sipper, this wine is one to be enjoyed as easily on its own as with more interesting and even challenging pairings. We enjoyed ours with a gourmet bevvy of fine cheeses, crackers and crispbreads. Delicious through and through. Of note: We stuck a sealed bottle in our cave overnight and tasted it again in the morning. The flavors, while more pronounced, became more balanced and exciting as well. We recommend decanting this wine for best enjoyment.

Mission Report:

Longer-term Operatives know that we have placed Fritz Underground Winery under surveillance in the past. You also know that once we recruit a winery into the Wine Spies Nexus, well, that winery is happily in for life.

When our mole at the winery fed us some intel on their new 2006 Ruxton Chardonnay, I immediately flew (in our Spy Plane, of course) to the winery to secure samples.

My counterpart, Agent Red, was the first Wine Spies agent to review wines from Fritz, but since this was a special white wine, I got my chance. Thank goodness, too, for today’s wine turned out to be great.

Once I had my samples in hand, I conducted a detailed analysis. The wine not only passed with flying colors, it refreshed and left me feeling happy to have tasted a Chardonnay, a varietal that is sometimes difficult for me to enjoy.

Chardonnay, especially those from California, can tend to be overly bland and buttery, like a slice of Wonderbread slathered with soft butter. Usually, yuck!, but this wine is wonderfully fresh, flavorful and even refined.

This wine is rife with juicy flavors and aromas that seems perfectly natural. If you enjoy fresh, bright and very tasty white wines – even if Chardonnay is not your favorite – this wine is likely to please you. It pleased even me.

Wine Spies Vineyard Check:

The location of the Fritz Winry Estate Vineyards can be seen in this satellite photo.

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ATTENTION: Are you looking for the Fritz Underground Winery Ruxton Chardonnay? If so, we are sold out. However, we are currently in Top Secret negotiation with the winery to secure an additional allotment of this very popular wine. Please check back throughout the day!

If you are visiting us for the first time, Welcome! The Wine Spies feature one exceptional wine each day – and we only bring you wines that we ourselves seek out and love. Always, the wines are great. Sometimes even better than that, as is the case with today’s wine from Podere Casina.

Exclusive Wine Alert:

Like many of the wines featured here at The Wine Spies, today’s selection is extremely rare and is of very limited availability. The Wine Spies have secured a very limited allocation of today’s wine.

Special Operative Savings

Please use the promotion code SPYNOW for free ground shipping on orders of six or more bottles.

Mission Codename: Tuscan Sunrise

Operative: Agent White

Objective: Seek out a unique Super Tuscan from the Maremma region

Mission Status: Accomplished!

Current Winery: Podere Casina

Wine Subject: 2004 Aione – Maremma Toscana I.G.T.

Winemaker: Emiliano Falsini

Backgrounder:

The Maremma region is located on the west-central coast of Italy half way between Rome and Florance and immediately south of the village of Grosseto. Like many Super Tuscans, this 100% Sangiovese vino da tavola doesn’t qualify for DOC status but is every bit as good.

Wine Spies Tasting Profile:

Look – Dark purple and almost black in color with dark garnet edges, but it’s surprisingly clear with thick slow legs that indicates a slightly more viscous wine.

Smell – Bold ripe fruit including blackberries and cherries, toasted and smokey oak, hints of tobacco and that uniquely Sangiovese tangy spiciness.

Feel – Dry and full bodied with solidly firm tannins, medium acidity and both tart and mineral components adding to the overall complexity of this wine.

Taste – Fruit forward with flavors of Schmidt Black Cherries. Both zesty and tangy with hints of spicy black pepper and toasted oak.

Finish – This wine finishes long and clean with hints of tart fruit and its distinctive Sangiovese zest.

Conclusion – Fans of Super Tuscans will naturally love this wine. It is true to its Sangiovese character with that spicy zestiness that makes the wines of Italy one of this spy’s favorite. Enjoy this wine with grilled game meats

Wine Spies Vineyard Check:

The location of the Maremma region can be seen in this satellite photo.

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If you are visiting us for the first time, Welcome! The Wine Spies feature one exceptional wine each day – and we only bring you wines that we ourselves seek out and love. Always, the wines are great. Sometimes greater than great, as is the case with today’s wine from Fritz Winery.

SUMMER REFRESHER ALERT!

We declare this bright, delicious and fresh Estate Chardonnay to be the perfect summertime refreshment!

Savings Alert!

Clever Operatives will receive FREE Ground Shipping on 6 bottles or more – when they enter this coupon code at checkout: SPYSONOMA (discount will be shown before you complete your order)

Mission Codename: Life in the Underground

Operative: Agent Red

Objective: Return to Operative favorite, Fritz Winery – this time to retrieve their fantastic 2006 Ruxton Chardonnay

Mission Status: Accomplished!

Current Winery: Fritz Winery

Wine Subject: 2006 Fritz Ruxton Chardonnay – Russian River Valley

Winemaker: Christina Pällmann

Backgrounder: When The Wine Spies first infiltrated Fritz Winery, we were blown away by the quality of their wines. The Fritz Zinfandel and Cabernet Sauvignon that we showed here recently were among the most popular wines we have featured here. Today, Agent White gets a chance to visit Fritz – and he returns, victorious, with a limited quantity of their wonderfully refreshing Ruxton Chardonnay! Read his tasting notes and mission report below for the full scoop on this great wine.

Wine Spies Tasting Profile:

Look – Golden straw yellow – like a Champagne without bubbles, with perfect clarity, glittering edges, a fast and bouncy surface that, when swirled, leaves behind skinny legs that streak down the glass

Smell – Sweet an inviting, with instant tropical notes that are followed by more subtle apricot, butterscotch, acacia flowers, peach and pineapple

Feel – Round and light at first, then slightly creamy with a hint of acidity. The wine is fast across the tongue, then soft tannins grip the edges of the tongue and the roof of the mouth

Taste – Delicious and juicy, with tropical, peach and apricot flavors that echo the nose, but also present here are wonderful hints of soft coconut and banana, with the softest lemon curd

Finish – Begins sweet and light and fruity, then is followed by a mineral softness as flavors tail off slowly while a supple dryness gradually takes over

Conclusion – Our previously stated opinion that ”There is a special something about Fritz wines”, is reinforced by today’s terrific offering. The perfect summertime sipper, this wine is one to be enjoyed as easily on its own as with more interesting and even challenging pairings. We enjoyed ours with a gourmet bevvy of fine cheeses, crackers and crispbreads. Delicious through and through. Of note: We stuck a sealed bottle in our cave overnight and tasted it again in the morning. The flavors, while more pronounced, became more balanced and exciting as well. We recommend decanting this wine for best enjoyment.

Mission Report:

Longer-term Operatives know that we have placed Fritz Underground Winery under surveillance in the past. You also know that once we recruit a winery into the Wine Spies Nexus, well, that winery is happily in for life.

When our mole at the winery fed us some intel on their new 2006 Ruxton Chardonnay, I immediately flew (in our Spy Plane, of course) to the winery to secure samples.

My counterpart, Agent Red, was the first Wine Spies agent to review wines from Fritz, but since this was a special white wine, I got my chance. Thank goodness, too, for today’s wine turned out to be great.

Once I had my samples in hand, I conducted a detailed analysis. The wine not only passed with flying colors, it refreshed and left me feeling happy to have tasted a Chardonnay, a varietal that is sometimes difficult for me to enjoy.

Chardonnay, especially those from California, can tend to be overly bland and buttery, like a slice of Wonderbread slathered with soft butter. Usually, yuck!, but this wine is wonderfully fresh, flavorful and even refined.

This wine is rife with juicy flavors and aromas that seems perfectly natural. If you enjoy fresh, bright and very tasty white wines – even if Chardonnay is not your favorite – this wine is likely to please you. It pleased even me.

Wine Spies Vineyard Check:

The location of the Fritz Winry Estate Vineyards, where today’s Cabernet Sauvignon was born and crafted, can be seen in this satellite photo.

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If you are visiting us for the first time, Welcome! The Wine Spies feature one exceptional wine each day – and we only bring you wines that we ourselves seek out and love. Always, the wines are great. Sometimes greater than great, as is the case with today’s wine from Bradford Mountain Winery.

SUPERIOR WINE ALERT!: We are proud to present the best Zinfandel we have tasted this year! Need we say more?

ORGANIC WINE ALERT!: Today’s wine is made from 100% organic grapes. Note: We will always issue a special alert when we show organic wines

SAVINGS ALERT!: Enter coupon code SPYZIN at checkout and we’ll give you Free Ground Shipping on orders of 6 bottles or more

Mission Codename: Grist for the mill

Operative: Agent Red

Objective: Rove the hills and valleys of the Dry Creek Valley in Sonoma County, recover an outstanding Zinfandel for our Operatives

Mission Status: Accomplished!

Current Winery: Bradford Mountain Winery

Wine Subject: Grist Vineyard 2005 Zinfandel

Winemakers: Troy McEnery (winemaker) and Webster Marquez (associate winemaker)

Backgrounder: Zinfandel wines can be big, noisy, pepper-filled beasts of a wine. Today we have sleuthed for you one of our all time favorite Zinfandels, Bradford Mountain’s incredible Grist Vineyard Zinfandel, a wine of remarkably fresh flavors and aromas that, together with a great mouth feel and balanced character, delivering a wine drinking experience that is not to be missed. Read Agent Red’s tasting notes and mission report below to learn more about this wine. Be sure to place your order before we run out, however, we expect this wine to move fast

Wine Spies Tasting Profile:

Look – Deep dark, almost blood red, but but perfectly clear with deeply concentrated color right out to the edges of the wine and chubby, slow-moving legs that run down the glass at varying speeds

Smell – Gorgeous is the best single-word description we can assign to the beautiful aromatics of this wine! With smells of fresh mixed wild berries, chocolate tart with plum and mint, sweet pipe tobacco, with a fresh green smell that we can’t quite identify. Its not a vegital smell, nor is it an herbaceous aroma. Rather, it just smells like green, and we love it. Inhale deeply and you’ll see what we mean!

Feel – Instantly rich and round in your mouth, with a bright and full-bodied feel. The wine coats your mouth, but does not feel slick, oily or cloying. What you find here is a tenderness and a brightness that is balanced against supple tannins, rich and lean, bold and lavish, yet fun and refined.

Taste – Rich and brightly concentrated with intense sweet flavors of freshest mixed berries, sweet herbs, softest tar, soft exotic spices and a hint of dark chocolate and a hint of mint

Finish – Sweet and extremely long with a slight dryness that invigorates your senses and invites you to keep on sipping!

Conclusion – This is an incredible Zinfandel with unique fresh and bright flavors of fruit, with a bright rush of perfect aromas that encourage you to inhale deeply -again and again – before you even taste the wine. When you tire of teasing yourself with inhalations, the feel and flavors of this wine sing out as deeply original and incredibly delicious. This wine gets my heartiest personal recommendation to any Zinfandel fan or any interested in learning just how awesome a Zin can be.

Mission Report:

*:: FLASH TRAFFIC :: PRIORITY ALPHA ! :: EYES ONLY ::

SUPERIOR WINE ALERT ISSUED: Midnight, July 2nd, 2008

WINE SPIES AGENT: Agent Red

INTEL SOURCE: Field Asset, Codename: ‘Crljenak’

AGENT RED REPORTING:

Crljenak, a developing field asset, alerted me to Bradford Mountain Winery and their 2004 Grist Vineyard’s Zinfandel just one week ago. It was Crljenak’s first field report that got my attention:

“Sir, Crljenak reporting! I have located the perfect Zinfandel. You must secure a quantity of the wine before word of its greatness spreads – and the winery runs out! You won’t be disappointed.”

Details about the wine followed.

While I am used to somewhat fanatical recommendations from our various assets, this one struck as as one to assign a high priority to. You see, “Crljenak” is a top-level industry insider. While I cannot reveal his or her true identity, I can tell you that a review from this person can make a wine – or destroy it.

I secured samples of the wine and was, indeed, blown away. Today’s wine delivers the goods, with a perfectly balanced mix of delicious flavors, tender feel, deeps aromas and marvelous finish.

Both winemakers associated with this wine are stars in the industry, Troy McEnery having crafted remarkable wines for Hambrecht Vineyards, C. Donatiello Winery and others – and Webster “Web” Marquez is making waves with his own projects. Both, however are dedicated to extracting the fullest expression of the Grist Vineyard when making Bradford Mountain’s Zinfandel.

After conducting my initial review of the wine, I quickly sought out winemaker Troy McEnery. During a brief phone call, Troy imparted a great deal of information about the wine and the vineyards. What follows are portions of his comments, extracted and transcribed for this report:

“The Grist Vineyard is recognized as a premium Zinfandel vineyard. The grapes grown there are highly sought after and wineries like Gary Farrell Winery, Turley Wine Cellars and others purchase Grist grapes for their premium wines.”

“The vineyards are head-trained, trellis vines that are 35 to 45 years old. The 1000’ elevation, the iron-rich volcanic soil and the West Dry Creek Valley exposure all contribute to growing outstanding Zinfandel grapes.”

“This wine has a really juicy wild-berry ripeness with excellent acidity.”

“I don’t understand what some Zinfandels are even for? Zinfandel can be seen as the ‘Mike Tyson’ of wine varietals, but this is This is no ‘clown’ of a Zinfandel. This is a fun wine, sure, but its also a sincere wine that stands on its own, or can pair without food – without overpowering you.”

After tasting the wine, loving it and then collecting all of the intel that I could on the wine, I infiltrated the winery and secured today’s limited allocation for our Operatives to enjoy. Be SURE to try this great wine, before we run out.

Wine Spies Vineyard Check:

The location of the gorgeous Grist Vineyard can be seen in this satellite photo.

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If you are visiting us for the first time, Welcome! The Wine Spies feature one exceptional wine each day – and we only bring you wines that we ourselves seek out and love. Always, the wines are great. Sometimes greater than great, as is the case with today’s wine from Ceja Vineyards.

SUPERIOR WINE ALERT!

We spies love this wine SO much that we begged Ceja to allow us to bring you a final secret allocation. They readily agreed. This is the perfect summertime red. Don’t let the low price fool you, this is a killer wine!

SAVINGS ALERT!

Smart Spies stock up on great wines. We’ll help you by offering you Free Ground Shipping when you buy 12 or more bottles today. Just enter coupon code: SPYROJO at checkout.

Mission Codename: Misconceptions… Destroyed

Operative: Agent Red

Objective: Locate an incredible Red table wine in time for the holidays and secure a good quantity for our Operatives

Mission Status: Accomplished!

Current Winery: Ceja Wine

Wine Subject: 2005 Vino de Casa (Red blend)

Winemakers: Armando Ceja

Backgrounder:

When The Wine Spies learned of an incredible red blend that was made from an original blending of half Pinot Noir and half Syrah, Agent Red was immediately dispatched to investigate. What he found was an very unique wine of amazing balance, flavor and character. Read his mission report below for the full details on this incredible wine.

Wine Spies Tasting Profile:

Look – Perfectly clear ruby red with sparkling pink at the edges with long, tightly-spaced legs

Smell – Beautifully aromatic red fruit, cherry, plum with a Pinot Noir-ish gunpowder note and a pleasant hint of earthy undergrowth

Feel – Wet, cool and smooth in the mouth balanced by big tannins

Taste – UNIQUE TASTE ALERT! This wine presents juicy yet classic flavors of Pinot Noir and Syrah – in almost equal proportion. With layered flavors that compliment each other rather than compete, this wine is an exciting wine to drink. Cherry, candy apple and plum with subtle cocoa and toasted vanilla round out this balanced and flavorful delight

Finish – Long, dry and chalky – a more classic Syrah finish with lingering flavors and a slight pucker that begs you to enjoy your next sip

Conclusion – When I bluster about a wine, know this: I MEAN IT. This is a fantastic wine, regardless of the price. This wine is a deal at the regular retail price of $20 and an outright STEAL at The Wine Spies price of $16. If you are looking for a stock-up-for-the-holidays ‘budget’ wine, swing that mouse pointer to the ORDER THIS WINE NOW button, well, NOW. Sign me up for at least a case.

Guest Sommelier Agent K contributes her thoughts on this wine:

”Earthy notes of wet undergrowth, strawberry and grape with hints of rose petals. The palate brings red cherry, chalk and pepper.”

Mission Report:

between missions I was enjoying some downtime at my favorite Napa wine lounge, when an urgent dispatch came through on my Wine Spy handheld. Central Command had received a flurry urgent inquiries for a GREAT red wine – for less than $20.

“Leave your misconceptions behind”, was the clear directive. “Find us a wine that drinks well above its price, and find it TODAY!”

I had just one problem: I was hungry!

I asked the owner of the lounge where I could pick up great Mexican food. Before he could answer, I felt a hand on my shoulder. Turning as I reached instinctively for my corkscrew I saw young man with a flashing smile.

“Like Tacos?” he asked.

“Uhh. Yeah. Love ‘em,” I replied.

“And great wine, too?”

“Who doesn’t?” I said.

“Follow me,” he said.

After a short car ride later we turned into the driveway for Ceja Vineyards, a winery that I had heard only great things about.

Stepping out of the car, the aromas hit me. Spices, beans, grilled meat and… red wine.

The young man, who introduced himself as Ariel Ceja, led me into a small outbuilding adjacent to the tasting room. Inside was smiling woman who hugged me as I entered. Ariel introduced me to his grandmother and invited me to sit down. Inside this room, the aromas were intoxicating.

Ariel handed me a glass of red wine, explaining that this was their family’s house wine. A deep sniff, a swirl and a taste was all it took for me to fall in love with their wine. The tacos were incredible as well and we laughed and shared stories until suddenly, remembering my mission, I became sullen.

“What’s the matter?” they asked.

“I forgot,” I replied “I was supposed to find a great red wine.”

“You did!” they said.

“For $20 or less! Do you have any less expensive wines? This one is too good.”

They laughed and laughed. When they stopped laughing, Grandma pulled me close and whispered, to me:

“Our Vino de Casa is a $20 wine!”

More laughter….

Postscript: After filing my report with Central Command, I spent the balance of the day with the Ceja family, eating, drinking, roaming their vineyards. It was hard to leave at the end of the day, but at least I left with a feeling that this day had been among my luckiest – and most rewarding – as a Wine Spy. I got to spend time with great people and enjoy their hospitality. I also learned a valuable lesson that great wines can be found for less than $20!.

Wine Spies Vineyard Check:

The location of the Ceja vineyards can be seen in this satellite photo.

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If you are visiting us for the first time, Welcome! The Wine Spies feature one exceptional wine each day – and we only bring you wines that we ourselves seek out and love. Always, the wines are great. Sometimes greater than great, as is the case with today’s wine from Peters Family Winery.

SUPERIOR WINE ALERT!: We always hand pick the best wines we can find for you, but when we feature a really great wine, we point it out by issuing special alerts. Today’s wine is excellent!

SAVINGS ALERT!: Today’s superb wine is available, today only, at 25% off the regular retail price. Save even more by enjoying Free Ground Shipping when you buy six or more bottles. Just enter savings code CABSPY at checkout.

Mission Codename: There’s Gold in them thar bottles

Operative: Agent Red

Objective: Return to Peters Family Winery to retrieve their Sierra Foothills Cabernet Sauvignon

Mission Status: Accomplished!

Current Winery: Peters Family Winery

Wine Subject: 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon

Winemaker: Douglas Peters

Backgrounder: 2004 was the killer year for Cabernet Sauvignon. In the right hands, ‘04 Cali Cabs can be spun into pure purple gold in a glass. We have featured two other Peter’s Family wines in the past and today we are pleased to bring you the finest of the bunch. Read Agent Red’s tasting notes and mission report for the full skinny on today’s fantastic wine.

Wine Spies Tasting Profile:

Look – A deep and dark garnet with a ruby red heart, great clarity and concentration of color right out to the edges, with a bouncy surface and legs that take forever to begin, but then streak down the glass

Smell – Rich and deep with layers of dark fruit of dusky cherry, raspberry, blackberry, cherry, light vanilla, and smoky plum, with follow-on aromas of earth and smokey dry cured bacon

Feel – Wet and round at first, then mouth-coating with gorgeous, lush tannins that grip the edges of your tongue and the roof of your mouth

Taste – Layers of lush flavors that almost exactly mirror the aromatic qualities of the wine, bursting with delicious, juice-filled flavors

Finish – This wine surprises, with delightfully soft and lush flavors, soft tannins and mouth-watering and fruity flavors that tail of very gradually and very cleanly

Conclusion – This is another great wine from our good friend, Douglas Peters. While most of the 2004’s we have enjoyed recently need tons of time to stretch out and be best enjoyed, this wine is great right on opening. This is a wine that would be great with the finest cuisine or a great slab of steak. We enjoyed a bottle last night with pepperoni and anise sausage pizza, a delicious pairing!

Mission Report:

Douglas Peters is one of our favorite winemaker friends, always making his great wines available to you, our Operatives. What follows is our original mission report, in which Agent Red hunts harder than usual for a great wine:

One of my most valued Assets, Codename: Valley Girl, alerted me to Peters Family Winery recently. After an undercover visit to the winery tasting room, I needed no convincing that this wine was a wonderful treat that our Operatives needed to be brought up to speed on.

Not to boast, too much here, but you know that when I have my sights set on a wine, procuring it is not usually a problem. Our reputation often proceeds us and wineries make their wonderful wines immediately available to us.

The mission to procure this wine, however, was somewhat more difficult; Peters Family winemaker and head honcho, Douglas Peters was secreted away in an undisclosed location – but I was determined to track him down so that we could negotiate a small procurement for our Operatives.

A flurry of email and telephonic subterfuge ensued and I tracked Doug to his secret lair south of the border. Because his wines are that good, I spared no expense and called on our resident pilot, Agent White, to fuel up the Wine Spies Spy Plane. Reluctant to spend the money for a long flight like this one, Agent White did take a bit of persuasion but, in the end, complied with my request; He was easily convinced after one small taste of this wine.

While I didn’t have an exact location on Doug, I did have the name of the village. After a harrowing landing on a small dirt strip in high crosswinds (an Agent White favorite!), we were able to convince the local constabulary to help us locate Doug. It only too a few cases of wine to do the trick.

We found Doug on the beach, recognizing him from his photo on his website. A glass of wine in hand, Doug seems to be enjoying the sunset.

Wasting no time with subterfuge, I got right to the point.

“I’m sorry to bother you on your vacation, Mr. Peters. I’m Agent Red, Wine Spy, and I am here to ask you for a your wine.”

“Sorry, I don’t link to share glasses with strangers. You know, germs”

Then a smile spreads across his face and he claps me on the shoulder (a feat that, at a head and a half taller than me, requires that Doug stoop slightly to reach me). “I’m just having fun with you,” He says. “Come on, have a seat, I’ll pour you a glass of my wine.”

I explained that is was because of this same wine that I made this expedition.

“It’s gooooood, isn’t it?” he asks.

My turn to smile.

We enjoyed the rest of the bottle, chatting about his wines and his approach to winemaking. Doug creates wines that are certainly of California, but also in a more Burgundian style, giving the wines a great balance between old world and new. This, in my opinion, is a great way to approach winemaking as it delivers the best qualities of these two winemaking styles – without being at odds with each other.

After some deft negotiations, I had secured a small allotment for you, Operative, and then Doug excused himself.

“Here’s another bottle for you,” he offered. I’m off to watch the lunar eclipse tonight. It’ll be 3 years until we see another one. See you back in the States!”

With that, he left me there to further ponder his wine. Doug’s love for his craft shines through in this wine, which exhibits balance, brilliance and a depth of character that I find uncommon.

Bravo, Doug!

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If you are visiting us for the first time, Welcome! The Wine Spies feature one exceptional wine each day – and we only bring you wines that we ourselves seek out and love. Always, the wines are great. Sometimes even better than that, as is the case with today’s wine from Domaine Robert Klingenfus.

EXCLUSIVE WINE ALERT:

As part of our inaugural launch of International Wine Sundays, The Wine Spies have secured a very special wine. We are the only retailer in the United States with an allocation of this rare, organic and boutique Alsace Riesling. Be sure to pick up a few bottles, one for your next summer get-together and a couple for your cellar and collection. But stock up now, our allocation is extremely limited.

SAVINGS ALERT:

Use the promotion code FRENCHSPY for free ground shipping on orders of six or more bottles. Be sure to sign up for our Daily Dispatch for more valuable promotions for additional savings.

Mission Codename: A.O.C. Alsace… Organic… Chartreux!

Operative: Agent White & Agent Terroir

Objective: Seek out a boutique organic Riesling from France’s famous Alsace region.

Mission Status: Accomplished!

Current Winery: Domaine Robert Klingenfus

Wine Subject: 2005 Riesling Clos des Chartreux

Winemaker: Robert Klingenfus

Backgrounder:

The Alsace AOC (also Vin d’Alsace AOC) covers the entire Alsace region in east-central France bordering Germany from north of Strasburg to Switzerland’s Basel with the Rhine river as a natural border.

The region is known primarily for Riesling, Gewurztraminer, Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Noir, Muscat and Sylvaner along with several lesser varietals. The wines of the Alsace provide a great balance between the classic French styles with German influence (don’t tell the French that though).

The region is also rich in history which is why you get the mixture in various winemaking influences with the border being disputed from 1648’s Thirty Years War all the way through World War II.

Wine Spies Tasting Profile:

Look – Clear golden with tints of pale green with thick slow legs that that creep down the side of the glass. This wine is thick and viscous when swirled.

Smell – Clean and bright with flavors of tart tropical fruits and layers of spice and a distinct Alsace mineral component.

Feel – Smooth, medium dry (very slight sweetness) with a creamy mouth-feel that balances the a nice minerality.

Taste – Tart flavors of tropical fruit, a bold grapefruit component, with hints of spice, floral blossoms, flinty minerality and a very subtle nutty flavor.

Finish – Long and crisp with tart fruits, especially the bright grapefruit, and lingering with its other flavor components.

Conclusion – The 2005 Clos des Chartreux is a beautiful wine with well balanced and integrated flavors that will please even the most discerning Alsace experts. For those that deny that Terroir has an impact on wine flavors, this wine proves them wrong.

Being medium-dry with balanced acidity and a lighter alcohol content, this wine will pair perfectly with all your summer creations. We enjoyed this wine with a salad with fresh figs, Roquefort cheese and candied walnuts with a balsamic reduction dressing.

Mission Report:

The plan was to arrive in France with a few day’s to spare before the start of the 2008 Tour de France. Flying into Paris and then jumping a train to Brest. Upon arriving in Paris, Agent Terroir was their at Charles de Gaulle airport. Terroir was supposed to have arranged our transportation, lodging and even setting up our bikes so we could ride a few of the stages before the official race.

Like all good plans, once put into operation, they go right out the window. Terroir said Brest was off the itinerary, we had no bikes and hopefully, we’ll have time to hit some of the later mountain stages, but we would most likely miss the first few stages.

Instead, we jumped a connecting flight to Strasbourg on the French/German border. Normally, I don’t mind connecting flights, but when they are in small airplanes, I prefer to be at the controls. Terroir noticed my agitation and tried to calm me with stories of exquisite wines, and small wineries that focus on organic and biodynamic production…

At Strasbourg, things went from bad to worse, Terroir had hired the ugliest lime and chartreuse green two-tone Citroën 2CV (yeah – the ones that look like refrigerators); and it barely ran. Agent Terroir is way to into this ’green’ thing.

Our ’green wheels’ for this mission.

Thankfully after some coaxing, it started and we headed north along the Rhine to Molsheim. Along the way, Terroir was regaling me with stories of the latest small producer he had found. How perfect their wine was. How he loved the commitment to biodynamic, sustainable farming and organic production. And how the Wine Spies would be the only folks in the U.S. to get this wine.

The most interesting part of the story, was that the wine we were going to taste was made from a Premier Cru vineyard and in the style that dates back almost 500 years. Originally, the Clos des Chartreux, named from Charters who lived in the region was made by Carthusian Monks in 1520.

The long ride gave me a chance to calm down a little, but it was only once we arrived at Domaine Robert Klingenfus and I tasted the wine that I really relaxed. The wine was delicious, classic Alsace in style, medium dry with tropical fruit, tart grapefruit and a unique mineral component that is 100% Alsace in nature.

I immediately reported into the Operations Center that we had acquired a target wine and that I would be unavailable for the rest of the week. _Now, I only hope our P.O.S. Citroën 2CV can get me all the way across France to I can catch stage one next weekend!

Agent Red’s Mission Postscript:

For those fans of the Tour de France, you can catch coverage of this amazing bicycle race (along with all the scandals) on Versus Channel (check your local cable listings; formerly Outdoor Life Network – OLN); and no, the guy that dresses up like the Devil with a pitchfork and chases the riders up the mountain stages is not Agent Terroir in disguise (although it may be Agent White’s alter-ego Dr. Decimal!)

Wine Spies Vineyard Check:

The location of the Domaine Robert Klingenfus winery can be seen in this satellite photo.

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If you are visiting us for the first time, Welcome! The Wine Spies feature one exceptional wine each day – and we only bring you wines that we ourselves seek out and love. Always, the wines are great. Sometimes even better than that, as is the case with today’s wine from Clos Pegase.

EXCLUSIVE WINE ALERT!: Welcome to the ONLY place in the WORLD to pick up a bottle of today’s wine. A great big thank you to our friends at Clos Pegase for letting us release this wine to our Operatives!

TOP SECRET SAVINGS ALERT!: Our Operatives (and winged horses) will enjoy Free Ground Shipping on 6 or more bottles today if they enter this promotional code at checkout: SPYSHIP

Mission Codename: The Temple of Athena

Operative: Agent Red

Objective: On the advice of our Operatives, penetrate the Clos Pegase who is rumored to have a secret, soon-to-be-released Cabernet Sauvignon. If possible, secure the wine before it becomes publicly available

Mission Status: Accomplished!

Current Winery: Clos Pegase

Wine Subject: 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon

Winemaker: Jan Shrem

Backgrounder: Want to buy today’s wine at your local bottle shop or, heaven forbid another online wine retailer? Forget it! The only place to buy this excellent Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is right here, dear Operative. Agent Red was able to secure an exclusive allocation of this 2005 Napa Valley Cab – before it is unleashed to the public. Read his tasting notes and mission report below

Wine Spies Tasting Profile:

Look – Deep, rich ruby red in color with deep concentration of color right to the edges and throughout its dark garnet heart. The surface of the wine is tight and heavy in appearance; it settles quickly when swirled, leaving behind athick coating and chubby legs that crawl slowly down the glass

Smell – Rich and dark concentrations of ripe purple fruit, cassis, plum, cherry, violet, anise, oak, cocoa and a hint of freshly gound espresso

Feel – Bright and round at the beginning of the sip, the soft tannins go to work at the tip of your tongue, then roof of your mouth, then your cheeks, drying slightly as the wine coats your mouth

Taste – Complex and bold with brightly layered flavors of rich dark cherry, cassis, smoky light plum, blackberry, cocoa, subtle leather and a soft minerality

Finish – Long and slightly dry, with big and integrated flavors and flavors that linger

Conclusion – This is a really great wine that, even in its relative youth, shows, smells and drinks beautifully. It is bright and layered and really very yummy. This wine reminds us of a wine featured here recently that some would say is way overpriced, while others insist is God’s Gift – only this wine is, to us, the obvious choice (hint: the other wine rhymes with ”Milver Spoke”.

This special wine from Clos Pegas drinks brightly and beautifully now, but we cannot help but be excited for the pent up potential that the wine has for aging. If you buy a few bottles today, be sure to cellar a couple for up to 10 years or more.

Afterward – Decant this wine for an extended period for best results. After 4 hours, the wine becomes far more balanced, refined and way more tasty

Mission Report:

There I sat, pondering the bottle in my hand, when warm and golden rays of light began pouring from behind the label. I started, transfixed, as the light spread outward, filling the room and eventually enveloping me.

Looking around, I saw that I was no longer in my wine lab. Rather, I appeared to be in an ancient temple. The usual sounds of my lab were replaced by the stillest silence. This silence was soon broken by an ethereal female voice:

“Agent Red… Come, sit before me. Sit before Athena.”

Awestruck, I answered, “Huh?”

“Come, foolish mortal. I have a gift for you.”

On the high steps before me, a female figure in flowing white robes appeared. She sat at the top step, motioning me to come before her.

Tentatively, I made my way up the steps. My apprehension made her laugh, but she waited patiently as I climbed toward her.

She spoke again: “Your name is now Bellerophon. Later, some may refer to you as Perseus. A great battle lay ahead and you must rest – and prepare. To aid you in your travails, I give you this golden bridle as a gift.”

The bridle appeared in my hands, its shining surface glittering brilliantly.

“I don’t understand,” I said. “I am but a mere wine merchant.” I had tried to say ”spy”, but the word ”merchant” came out, instead.

“Silly Bellerophon,” She said. “Rest now, for tomorrow will bring the start of your greatest adventure.”

With this, she faded. In her place, an exquisitely comfortable-looking bed appeared. Feeling suddenly tired, I lay down upon it and fell fast asleep… Only to be awakened by warm breath upon my face, and a nibbling at my cheek.

Dreamily, I said, “Good morning, sweet… AHHHHHHH!”

A horse! Wait a second, this was no normal horse. This horse, wearing the golden bridle that Athena had given me, had… had… wings!

”Pegasus!”, shouted a voice that was not my own.

Turing around quickly, I saw that it was Agent White.

“YES!”, I replied. “Isn’t he beautiful?! Its miraculous!”

“Umm, Dude? It’s just a winged horse on a wine bottle. Sure, that’s some nice art, but, ’miraculous’?”

It was instantly apparent to me that I was back in my lab. Had I fallen asleep and dreamed this? Or had this beautiful bottle of 2005 Clos Pegase transported me to the ancient temple of Athena?

Wine Spies Vineyard Check:

The location of the Clos Pegase winery and surrounding vineyards can be seen in this satellite photo.

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If you are visiting us for the first time, Welcome! The Wine Spies feature one exceptional wine each day – and we only bring you wines that we ourselves seek out and love. Always, the wines are great. Sometimes greater than great, as is the case with today’s wine from Pengwine Winery.

UNIQUE WINE ALERT!: Today’s wine is the most uniquely delicious and original red wine blend we have come across!

SAVINGS ALERT!: Smart Operative will enjoy Free Ground Shipping on orders of 6 or more bottles today. Got the intel? Enter SPYPENG at checkout…

Mission Codename: Hardly Monochromatic

Operative: Agent Red

Objective: Return to Operative favorite, Chilean producer Pengwine, and retreive their besat and most popular wine for our Operatives

Mission Status: Accomplished!

Current Winery: Pengwine

Wine Subject: 2005 Royal Cabernet Sauvignon

Winemaker: Chris Millikan and Max Eyzaguirre

Backgrounder: Operatives who have been with us this last year will recognize today’s target. Pengwine Winery of Maipo Valley in Chile was a big hit when we first featured them here. Central Command has been keeping close tabs on Pengwine and after a careful extended surveillance, sent Agent Red to retrieve today’s unique and oh, so delicious, Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon. Read Agent Reds tasting notes and corresponding Mission Report, below.

Wine Spies Tasting Profile:

Look – Black cherry juice and garnet in color, with perfect clarity through its concentrated darker center. On swirling the surface of the wine appears bouncy and it takes some time to fully settle, leaving behind fat and skinny legs that move slowly down the glass

Smell – The aromas of this wine leap out of this glass, even on first pouring. Swirl the wine and bigger aromas waft out, hitting you on the nose before your nose is anywhere near the glass. Some would call this a profound nose, but I call it big and bold but not cloying. Now, about the flavors: Big aromatic of fresh flowers, giant currant, cherry, roasted blackberry, ancient suede and parchment, tobacco and a slight vegital quality that I can’t quite identify

Feel – Initially cool and wet, then mouth-coating and a little grippy as medium tannins appear and grab the middle and sides of the roof of the mouth

Taste – Big red currant, sweet cranberry, raisin and blackberry with a touch of bergamot (found in Earl Grey tea) and hints of cocoa powder, tomato vine and flinty earth

Finish – Delicious, big, long and fruity with a medium dryness and flavors that go from slightly tart to sweet, then tapering off as your watering mouth begs for another sip

Conclusion – This is a singular wine of remarkable distinction! This rich and chewy wine has layers of gigantic flavors and aromas but, oddly, I did not feel bowled over by it. We are so pleased to see Pengwine continuing to evolve as a winery, producing better and better wines with each new vintage. Chris has been a great friend to The Wine Spies and we are proud of his success. He and Max are making great wines that are original in their style and grand in their appeal. While some may shy away from Chilean wines, this is one to rush to. This wine is big, yes, but it also has balance and restraint. A big thanks to Chris, for letting us be the first retailer in America to have this superb wine!

Agent Sparkle adds: ”Whatever is going on in this wine, its thoroughly drinkable – even on its own. I usually prefer to drink wines with food, but found myself sipping away at this wine all on its own.”

Mission Report:

US/Chilean Pengwine Wines was conducting a winetasting at the bottom of the world, and I tagged along. It turned out to be an adventure.

Posing as a wine writer for a prestigious wine magazine, I was able to secure my cargo plane seat on this first-ever Antarctic wine event.

As I sat in the plane, I watched out the window as the airport workers clumsily loaded luggage and wine crates onto the planes loading ramp. After I saw my own luggage spill off the cart and onto the tarmac, I had visions of the wine crates suffering the same fate. Shortly thereafter, they did. Spilled wine made dark circles on the black pavement.

I dashed out of the plane with the winemaker and ran to save the wine. Many of the bottles were broken, but we managed to repack the remaining wine and load it safely onto the plane. After the winemaker conducted a few harried-sounding calls, he decided that he had enough wine for the expedition and that the trip was still on.

Two bumpy flights and a refueling stop later, we were out over some of the clearest water I had ever seen. The day was crystal clear and I could feel the excitement of the expedition members mounting.

The landing was flawless and the wine survived the trip intact.

We were greeted by airfield personnel (a single person) who accompanied us on our quest to find the natives. With wine bottles secured inside of parkas, we simply picked a direction and started walking. A short while later, a few dozen natives in sight, we stopped, opened bottles, poured and raised our glasses in a salute – to the penguins… Those on the glacier and those on the labels!

To learn more about this expedition, book a National Geographic cruise through the Antarctic – where Pengwine is an official selection aboard the ship.

Wine Spies Spy Photo:

The bottom of the world, where this winetasting actually, honestly, truly, really did take place, can be seen in this satellite photo.

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If you are visiting us for the first time, Welcome! The Wine Spies feature one exceptional wine each day – and we only bring you wines that we ourselves seek out and love. Always, the wines are great. Sometimes greater than great, as is the case with today’s wine from Iron Horse Winery.

HOLD-OVER ALERT

Yesterday we experienced a small technical problem at the beginning of the day and some folks may have missed out. Because this wine is so great, the decision to repeat it today was an easy one. If you missed out, here is a rare second chance!

SUPERIOR WINE ALERT: Bordeaux-style Blends are a favorite of our Operatives. Today we present a category killer that is certain to please you deeply

SAVINGS ALERT: Clever Operatives will earn a Free Ground Shipping award when they order 6 or more bottles – and enter this code at checkout: IRONSPY

Mission Codename: Secret Formula, ”Bdx-3”

Operative: Agent Red

Objective: Investigate reports that Iron Horse Winery’s Top Secret Blend, codenamed Bdx-3, is causing our Operatives to stop drinking any other wines. If true, analyze the wine to see what makes the wine so special. If possible, develop an antidote so that our Operatives can enjoy the wine – without becoming one-wine Wine Spies.

Mission Status: Accomplished!

Current Winery: Iron Horse Winery

Wine Subject: 2005 T-T Vineyard Bdx-3

Winemaker: David Munksgard

Backgrounder: Intelligence reports have been pouring in from our Operatives around the country, about Iron Horse Winery’s Bdx-3. Once they taste the wine, they seemingly stop drinking anything else. A strange calm seems to befall them and they become happy and satisfied. Wine Spies Operatives love Bordeaux style blends, to be sure, and historically such blends have been the most popular wines that we have brought to you. Today we send Agent Red, deep undercover, to infiltrate the Iron Horse Winery. His mission: Unlock the secret formula behind the mysteriously named T-T Vineyards Bdx-3 – and prevent our Operatives from becoming brainwashed!

Wine Spies Tasting Profile:

Look – Beautiful dark garnet, with deeply concentrated color through and through. The wine has a deep garnet to purply-black core, a springy surface that moves and moves after swirling and thick, slow legs that move slowly sown the glass

Smell – Full intensity of deep aromatic dark fruits, dark berry, over ripe raspberry, soft spices, cigar box, mild pipe tobacco and cassis

Feel – Full-bodied, round and initially wet at the front of the palate – then mouth-coating and almost chewy and slightly dry with solid tannins that fade revealing more great flavors

Taste – Juicy, ripe and delicious, with deep blackberries and cherries balanced against soft earthen flavors of subtle wild mushroom and mild oak, followed by a resurgence of bright fruit and softest whisps of mocha and spice

Finish – A great long and clean finish that ramp down smoothly and continues to reveal new flavors as it tapers off

Conclusion – This is THE killer Bordeaux style blend! Long on deep flavor, terrific feel and lush aromatics, this wine is one of the best blends in recent memory. This is saying a LOT, since we have featured some pretty terrific blends here in the last few months. Today’s wine is one of those special one that delivers that unidentifiable something extra. Whether to attribute this special quality to the winery’s precision farming techniques, or the wisdom and experience of their winemaker, we cannot say. What we do know is that this wine is well worthy of your immediate attention!

Mission Report:

“This is a serious matter, darn it! If our Operatives get hooked on Iron Horse’s Bdx-3, if they don’t drink any other wines, we’ll lose our funding. We’ll be shut down!”

Agent White was on another one of his diatribes. I waited patiently, knowing that I’d get a word in. Eventually.

I had tasted the 2004 Bdx-3 [ed. note: 92 Points, Wine Enthusiast], and while I would certainly classify it as on of my favorite Bordeaux-style blends, I couldn’t imagine that anyone could get so addicted to a single wine that the would forsake all others.

“Look, the data confirms it. Check these reports. Look at the sheer volume of requests flooding in from our Operatives for Iron Horse’s 2005 Bdx-3! They don’t want anything else! You have to infiltrate Iron Horse and see what they are putting in that wine.”

“Okay,” I said. “First I’ll take a look at the reports,” I replied. “If anything looks hinky, I’ll infiltrate the winery.”

This seemed to calm White down.

I looked. And was shocked.

Some of our finest Operatives were sending in field alerts, filled with praise and kudos and even demands that we supply them with 2005 Bdx-3. Especially now that supplies of the 2004 vintage of the wine are dwindling. Besides, many reports confirm, the 2005 is better.

I agreed to take mission to penetrate the winery. I packed my fake I.D., my field wine test kit, a specially crafted resume resume, my disguise – and was off immediately.

Fortunately, there was an opening for “Tasting Room Assistant” at the Iron Horse Winery and, with my industry connections, I managed to get an immediate interview.

Winery owner, Joy Sterling, was warm and welcoming. The interview went very well and I was introduced around to others on staff. Everyone was jovial and just plain nice. No cause for alarm. Or was there?

Joy took me back to her office and asked me to wait there for a few minutes. While I waited, I busied myself with fixing my faux mustache, which had come loose at one corner. I hope that she had not noticed!.

Joy returned and said, “Well, Jack Rouge, you have the job! Everyone really liked you. Can you start today?”

I was after the 3:30 closing time, but I agreed, presuming that I would undergo some sort of training. I was lead down to the tasting room where, oddly, the entire staff seemed to be bellied up to the tasting bar.

There, on the top of the bar, sat a lone bottle. I recognized it instantly as the 2005 Bdx-3. Next to the bottle, a single glass, half-filled with the red liquid.

“All of us start here with a celebratory sip of our Bdx-3,” a smiling young man said to me. “Go on, try. Cheers!”

A shout of ”Cheers!” rose up from the rest.

Knowing that there was no faking it, I had confidence in my experience and ability as a Wine Spy. I knew that I would be fine. How could any harm come from a simple taste of wine?

I grabbed the glass, raised it and toasted them. Then I sipped. Great wine… SUPERB wine, sure, but no rapturous feelings or euphoria. I will say this, though: I’ll never drink another wine as long as I live!

Agent White Reporting: Agent Red has since been undergoing radical treatment to free him from his addiction to Iron Horse’s Bdx-3 and, we are happy to report, he is making fine progress. I did try to warn him, but he was sloppy. He should have analyzed the wine before drinking it.

Meanwhile, a detailed analysis is underway as you read this. Use great caution and, unless you want to become totally enamored by a wine, avoid this one at all costs!

Wine Spies Vineyard Check:

The location of the Iron Horse Winery can be seen in this satellite photo.

Read Full Post »

If you are visiting us for the first time, Welcome! The Wine Spies feature one exceptional wine each day – and we only bring you wines that we ourselves seek out and love. Always, the wines are great. Sometimes greater than great, as is the case with today’s wine from Iron Horse Winery.

SUPERIOR WINE ALERT: Bordeaux-style Blends are a favorite of our Operatives. Today we present a category killer that is certain to please you deeply

SAVINGS ALERT: Clever Operatives will earn a Free Ground Shipping award when they order 6 or more bottles. See your email for your special code

Mission Codename: Secret Formula, ”Bdx-3”

Operative: Agent Red

Objective: Investigate reports that Iron Horse Winery’s Top Secret Blend, codenamed Bdx-3, is causing our Operatives to stop drinking any other wines. If true, analyze the wine to see what makes the wine so special. If possible, develop an antidote so that our Operatives can enjoy the wine – without becoming one-wine Wine Spies.

Mission Status: Accomplished!

Current Winery: Iron Horse Winery

Wine Subject: 2005 T-T Vineyard Bdx-3

Winemaker: David Munksgard

Backgrounder: Intelligence reports have been pouring in from our Operatives around the country, about Iron Horse Winery’s Bdx-3. Once they taste the wine, they seemingly stop drinking anything else. A strange calm seems to befall them and they become happy and satisfied. Wine Spies Operatives love Bordeaux style blends, to be sure, and historically such blends have been the most popular wines that we have brought to you. Today we send Agent Red, deep undercover, to infiltrate the Iron Horse Winery. His mission: Unlock the secret formula behind the mysteriously named T-T Vineyards Bdx-3 – and prevent our Operatives from becoming brainwashed!

Wine Spies Tasting Profile:

Look – Beautiful dark garnet, with deeply concentrated color through and through. The wine has a deep garnet to purply-black core, a springy surface that moves and moves after swirling and thick, slow legs that move slowly sown the glass

Smell – Full intensity of deep aromatic dark fruits, dark berry, over ripe raspberry, soft spices, cigar box, mild pipe tobacco and cassis

Feel – Full-bodied, round and initially wet at the front of the palate – then mouth-coating and almost chewy and slightly dry with solid tannins that fade revealing more great flavors

Taste – Juicy, ripe and delicious, with deep blackberries and cherries balanced against soft earthen flavors of subtle wild mushroom and mild oak, followed by a resurgence of bright fruit and softest whisps of mocha and spice

Finish – A great long and clean finish that ramp down smoothly and continues to reveal new flavors as it tapers off

Conclusion – This is THE killer Bordeaux style blend! Long on deep flavor, terrific feel and lush aromatics, this wine is one of the best blends in recent memory. This is saying a LOT, since we have featured some pretty terrific blends here in the last few months. Today’s wine is one of those special one that delivers that unidentifiable something extra. Whether to attribute this special quality to the winery’s precision farming techniques, or the wisdom and experience of their winemaker, we cannot say. What we do know is that this wine is well worthy of your immediate attention!

Mission Report:

“This is a serious matter, darn it! If our Operatives get hooked on Iron Horse’s Bdx-3, if they don’t drink any other wines, we’ll lose our funding. We’ll be shut down!”

Agent White was on another one of his diatribes. I waited patiently, knowing that I’d get a word in. Eventually.

I had tasted the 2004 Bdx-3 [ed. note: 92 Points, Wine Enthusiast], and while I would certainly classify it as on of my favorite Bordeaux-style blends, I couldn’t imagine that anyone could get so addicted to a single wine that the would forsake all others.

“Look, the data confirms it. Check these reports. Look at the sheer volume of requests flooding in from our Operatives for Iron Horse’s 2005 Bdx-3! They don’t want anything else! You have to infiltrate Iron Horse and see what they are putting in that wine.”

“Okay,” I said. “First I’ll take a look at the reports,” I replied. “If anything looks hinky, I’ll infiltrate the winery.”

This seemed to calm White down.

I looked. And was shocked.

Some of our finest Operatives were sending in field alerts, filled with praise and kudos and even demands that we supply them with 2005 Bdx-3. Especially now that supplies of the 2004 vintage of the wine are dwindling. Besides, many reports confirm, the 2005 is better.

I agreed to take mission to penetrate the winery. I packed my fake I.D., my field wine test kit, a specially crafted resume resume, my disguise – and was off immediately.

Fortunately, there was an opening for “Tasting Room Assistant” at the Iron Horse Winery and, with my industry connections, I managed to get an immediate interview.

Winery owner, Joy Sterling, was warm and welcoming. The interview went very well and I was introduced around to others on staff. Everyone was jovial and just plain nice. No cause for alarm. Or was there?

Joy took me back to her office and asked me to wait there for a few minutes. While I waited, I busied myself with fixing my faux mustache, which had come loose at one corner. I hope that she had not noticed!.

Joy returned and said, “Well, Jack Rouge, you have the job! Everyone really liked you. Can you start today?”

I was after the 3:30 closing time, but I agreed, presuming that I would undergo some sort of training. I was lead down to the tasting room where, oddly, the entire staff seemed to be bellied up to the tasting bar.

There, on the top of the bar, sat a lone bottle. I recognized it instantly as the 2005 Bdx-3. Next to the bottle, a single glass, half-filled with the red liquid.

“All of us start here with a celebratory sip of our Bdx-3,” a smiling young man said to me. “Go on, try. Cheers!”

A shout of ”Cheers!” rose up from the rest.

Knowing that there was no faking it, I had confidence in my experience and ability as a Wine Spy. I knew that I would be fine. How could any harm come from a simple taste of wine?

I grabbed the glass, raised it and toasted them. Then I sipped. Great wine… SUPERB wine, sure, but no rapturous feelings or euphoria. I will say this, though: I’ll never drink another wine as long as I live!

Agent White Reporting: Agent Red has since been undergoing radical treatment to free him from his addiction to Iron Horse’s Bdx-3 and, we are happy to report, he is making fine progress. I did try to warn him, but he was sloppy. He should have analyzed the wine before drinking it.

Meanwhile, a detailed analysis is underway as you read this. Use great caution and, unless you want to become totally enamored by a wine, avoid this one at all costs!

Wine Spies Vineyard Check:

The location of the Iron Horse Winery can be seen in this satellite photo.

Read Full Post »

If you are visiting us for the first time, Welcome! The Wine Spies feature one exceptional wine each day – and we only bring you wines that we ourselves seek out and love. Always, the wines are great. Sometimes greater than great, as is the case with today’s wine from Humanitas Wines.

WINE GIVES ALERT!: Today’s wine is presented by Wine Gives and a portion of the proceeds from today’s sale will fight hunger and provide affordable housing for those in need. If you were invited to this wine event by a charitable cause, please be sure to use the special promotional code that they provided to you. Wine Gives takes no fees and 100% of all procceds raised go straight to the charity. Everybody wins – when Wine Gives.

Please tell your friends about today’s sale.

EXCLUSIVE WINE ALERT!: Today’s superb wine is available here before it becomes available anywhere else! Take advantage of this special offer now – before the rest of our operatives snap it all up…

SAVINGS ALERT!: This wine is being offered to you at 20% below the winery’s retail price, smart Operatives that buy six or more bottles today will also receive free ground shipping with coupon code: PINOTSPY (note: If you received another coupon code, please use that to ensure that your charitable contribution will be made.)

Mission Codename: Wine for the Greater Good

Operative: Agent Red

Objective: Satisfy our Operatives thirst for great Pinot Noir while also satisfying their urge to support important social causes – and drink charitably

Mission Status: Accomplished!

Current Winery: Humanitas Wines

Wine Subject: 2006 Gap’s Crown Pinot Noir

Winemaker: Patrick Mahaney

Winemaster: Judd Wallenbrock

Backgrounder: When The Wine Spies was founded more than a year ago, founding Agents White and Red extended their personal commitment to social responsibility to the organization itself. In early 2008 Agent Red and Agent White founded an organization called Wine Gives, which brings together wineries and other wine retailers to support important causes. To date, numerous causes have received financial support from the efforts of all involved in Wine Gives fundraising programs. When Wine Gives got the call from Humanitas Wines owner, Judd Wallenbrock, The Wine Spies were fast to respond. Judd had been a respected icon and a hero of The Wine Spies since learning of his commitment to ”finding solutions to three very primary issues: hunger, affordable housing and illiteracy”. This weekend Humanitas Wines and The Wine Spies are proud to present the perfect pairing: Humanitas’ Gap’s Crown Pinot Noir and YOU.

Wine Spies Tasting Profile:

Look – Ruby red with perfect clarity, to violet at its heart. This wine possesses a super bouncy surface that quickly settles quickly to perfectly still when swirled, leaving behind chubby and tightly-spaced legs that crawl down the glass

Smell – Richly aromatic with a rich nose of smoky blackberry, raspberry, sweet cherry, fresh earthen anise, spice, smoked meats and a beautiful flinty gunpowder that tells us that we’ll love this Pinot Noir

Feel – Silky and very round up-front, the wine is rich, thick and slightly warming with a unique combination of soft creaminess and soft, structured tannins

Taste – Delicious and bright, with layers of soft spice and fruit of deep cherry, smoky raspberry and blueberry with mild sage, mildest flint and soft cedar

Finish – This wine has a great finish that starts big, with a slight tartness and fruit – but then, interestingly, gets bigger, presenting elevating mid-palate smoky flavors – before ending delicate, elegant and slightly dry

Conclusion – Today’s wine makes us feel good – on multiple levels! Humanitas’ Gap’s Crown Pinot Noir is deep and delicious and satisfying to the senses, but also to the soul. Drinking a wine whose purpose it is drive positive social change is an experience that extends beyond the visceral experience of the drinking of the wine. It also happens that the wine itself is fantastic. The Gap’s Crown vineyard in the Petaluma Gap in southern Sonoma County has built fruit that expresses a truely unique character. Certainly this is a high quality California Pinot Noir, but there is something in this wine that is also pleasingly unfamiliar. Perhaps we are so used to this wines great Pinot Cousins from neighboring Carneros and other points in Napa and Sonoma, that this wine stands out as unique. Perhaps this is an expression or an example of what the French call Terrior. Whatever the case, we just love the wine!

Mission Report:

Welcome, Reader. In this space, we usually write a fun-to-read description of how we came to know the winery that we are featuring. Fraught with peril, intrigue, drama and humor, these mission reports are intended to inform, entertain and, always tell you as mush as we can about the wine, the winemaker and the vineyards. Today we simply wanted to share with you this open letter to Judd Wallenbrock, owner of Humanitas Wines.

Hi Judd,

Thanks for putting your wine where your mouth is! Or, for putting it where other peoples mouths are – as a way to help those in need.

You have our admiration and deepest respect for your efforts to make the world a better place and we can’t think of a better way, than through the enjoyment of a fine wine.

Not to toot our own horns overly, but your belief in social responsibility mirrors our own. You do a great job of taking action and effecting change.

We’re proud, today, to be a part of your mission and you have our thanks for allowing us to bring your Gap’s Crown Pinot Noir to our Operatives before it is available anywhere else!

Speaking of your new Pinot, its exceptional, and one that we are certain our Operatives will fall in love with. We appreciate the sense of terrior (the mystical French terms for a wines expression of place) that the wine conveys and think that the Gap’s Crown region produces a very distinctive and very delicious Pinot Noir!

Keep up the great work, Judd, and the great wine. You’ve made fans of The Wine Spies. Both of your wines, and your spirit!

The Wine Spies