Online Fine Wine Auctions

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.

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 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.

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 even better than that, as is the case with today’s wine from Cru Wines.

SHORT QUANTITY ALERT!: Today’s wine is scarce and we got our hands on the last few cases! If we run out today, we’ll put another wine on sale immediately, so please be sure to check back in throughout the day.

SAVINGS ALERT!: If you are lucky enough to grab 6 or more bottles of this great wine before we sell out, use coupon code SPYNOW and we’ll give you Free Ground Shipping

Mission Codename: Runaway Chardonnay

Operative: Agent Red

Objective: Seek Out a Monterey County Chardonnay

Mission Status: Accomplished!

Current Winery: Cru Wines

Wine Subject: 2006 Redding Ranch Chardonnay

Winemaker: Michael Levin

Backgrounder:

Widely considered the greatest of all the dry non-aromatic white grape varietals, Chardonnay is widely grown throughout the globe. Chardonnay is perhaps most famous as a primary grape of the sparkling classics from Champagne as well as white Burgundies, Chardonnay is far and wide one of the most popular white varietals in California with over 100,000 acres planted representing nearly half of all the white grapes grown.

Wine Spies Tasting Profile:

Look – Golden straw-yellow in color with pale edges, excellent clarity and a slightly viscous texture when swirled revealing long thin legs.

Smell – This wine exhibits a balanced nose of oak, tart pineapple and citrus and creamy yeast. As this wine opens up, components of honey and toasted nuts also emerges.

Feel – Smooth, creamy and viscous showing its malolactic fermentation along with a distinct glycerin feel.

Taste – This wine exhibits layers of green and tropical fruit, very mild oak components and a hint of spice at the back of the palate. Very subtle nutty and buttery flavor components also emerge as the wine opens up.

Finish – This Chardonnay finishes clean and smooth with a buttery flavors and hints of citrus and other tart fruits.

Conclusion – Cru Wine’s Chardonnay is a very pleasant wine to drink and is not your typical overly oaky or butter-ball Chardonnay. Well balanced bouquet, a lovely mouth feel, layers of fruit, oak and spice with a clean smooth finish.

Mission Report:

It was a beautiful day and I was enjoying my morning espresso. I was sitting in an open air cafe, nestled among
apple trees, and I was just waking up. Suddenly, a loud voice shakes me further awake.

“S’up, yo?! What brings the Secret Agent Man to the S.L.H?!”

I didn’t need to turn around to know who it was. One of my newest assets, Codename: “Dawg”, had proven to be very useful at obtaining information for me, but he wasn’t the most subtle informant in the world.

Patiently and as quietly as possible, I said to him, “Good morning, Dawg. Lower your voice and sit.”

The joke was lost on him, but, obediently, he sat.

“Yo, Red, check it. Me and my crew, we just found you a killer new release, yo. Its a Pinot, direct from the S.L.H.. I know how much you dig those, yo. And check this, the name of the winery is CRU. That name is off the hook, yo.”

Usually my patience with Dawg is bolstered by the knowledge that he delivers great intel. Today, I was not in the mood.

“Listen, Dawg…. Duane. You are 42 years old. You are a chemical engineer. You have 2 PhDs, 3 kids, a loving wife and your crew consists of your wine buddies from work. For goodness sake, you drive a minivan, Duane. How about we lay off the schtick for today.”

Visibly dejected, Dawg took off his hip hop sunglasses, removed his faux-diamond encrusted grill and slumped into his chair.

“Awww, geez, red… Why do you have to ruin my cover like that?”

Calmly, I replied, “Sorry, Dawg. Its been a rough week. What do you have for me, something great?”

He perked up.

“Yeah, Red. Listen, I have a friend that works at CRU winery. I trust the guy implicitly and, heck, I am a member of the CRU wine club so I know they make great wine. Anyhow, I managed to get my hands on their newest vintage. You can’t even find this stuff for sale yet. He’s letting us drop the wine on the world early. Heck, we might even be the first to have it.”

Dawg then fell back into his character soon after, but at least he told me which dead-drop to find the wine samples at. I thanked him, tried to do some crazy handshake with him, bade him farewell and rushed to retrieve the wine.

Once back in my safehouse, I let the wine settle for a few days before opening it.

Monterey County, continues to impress and amaze me. Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from this region are fantastic and today’s Chard from CRU illustrates this point in perfect detail. Its simply delicious.

Wine Spies Vineyard Check:

The location of the Cru Wines (Mariposa Wine Company) tasting room can be seen in this satellite photo.

Read Full Post »

Fresh pineapple aroma, clean and true, like cutting into a ripe, juicy fruit.

Read Full Post »

Rather than compete with the world’s vast army of grape wine producers, Wine With a Passion plans to produce a line of high-end, moderately priced Thai wines from tropical fruits such as mangosteen, pineapple, lychee, dragon fruit and …

Read Full Post »