Selections of the most interesting Online Fine Wine Auctions.
Posted in Wine For Sale on Nov 4th, 2008
Hand delivery possible Centre.Magnifique bottle of Paris: Clos de Tart Grand Cru 1996 … … Grand terroir great vintage + + great winemaker tasting provided great! See my other sales including a 1999 Clos de Tart! Perfect Bottle : Level and flawless label. Prohibited sales to minors. Vol. Alc.: 13%.
91,00 EUR (9 Bids) End Date: [...]
Posted in Wine For Sale on Oct 21st, 2008
151,00 EUR (11 Enchères) Fin: dimanche oct.-26-2008 18:15:06 CETEnchérir | Ajouter à la liste d’Affaires à suivre
The words "Enoteca" means that the year 1993 was knighted after 7 years by Richard Geoffroy, the head of cellars of Dom Perignon, and kept close to his brilliant murmur a few years. Revealed to the world in the [...]
Posted in Wine News on Jul 9th, 2008
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
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.
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.
The location of the Dry Creek Valley can be seen in this satellite photo
Posted in Wine News on Jul 4th, 2008
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.
We declare this bright, delicious and fresh Estate Chardonnay to be the perfect summertime refreshment!
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)
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.
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.
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.
The location of the Fritz Winry Estate Vineyards can be seen in this satellite photo.
Posted in Wine News on Jul 4th, 2008
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 offer it to you at at great price – 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 Le Benducce de Tornesi.
RARE WINE ALERT: This is an exceptionally rare and small quantity wine that is absolutely one of the best Brunello di Montalcinos that you will ever taste. If you are a fan of big Tuscan classics, get yourself some of this!
Operative: Agent Blush
Objective: Seek out an excellent small production Brunello di Montalcino for our U.S. based operatives.
Mission Status: Accomplished
Current Winery: Le Benducce de Tornesi
Wine Subject: 2001 Brunello di Montalcino
Winemaker: Maurizio Tornesi and Paolo Vagaggini
Backgrounder:
Brunello di Montalcinos occupy a special place in the hearts of all Wine Spies. Coming from a very distinct and designated (DOCG – officially designated in 1967 as one of Italy’s first DOC classified wines) region in Tuscany about 70 miles south of Florence, Brunellos typically are the best wines produced from the Sangiovese grape. By regulation, Brunellos must be produced by using a 100% Brunello clone of the Sangiovese grape, hence the mystic and lore of this exceptional wine. Typically, Brunellos are among the most expensive Italian wines, which is why today’s wine is such an exceptional offering.
Look – Ruby-red and purple with orange and pink hues along the edges with thin legs.
Smell – Bold and intense with flavors of raspberry, toasted oak, earthy and a hint of leather.
Feel – Smooth, velvety and wet all over the tongue, then the medium tannins kick in to balance the mouth feel.
Taste – Excellent flavors characteristic of Brunellos and Sangiovese with raspberries, blackberries, black cherries and toasted oak.
Finish – This wine finishes long and smooth, inviting a second sip and then yet another.
Conclusion – The Tornesi Brunello di Montalcino is a lovely wine that is smooth to drink, bold and well rounded in flavor, complex and true to its varietal characteristics. This wine deserves the ratings it has received and perhaps should be scored even higher. The winery recommends opening for at least 2 hours or decanting prior to serving.
The Montalcino region can be viewed in this satellite photo.
Owner: Maurizio Tornesi
1st Bottling: 1993
Extension: 7 ha
Vines: 4.5 ha
N° vines/ha: ca. 4,500
Production/ha in hl: 60-70 hl
Annual production in bt.: 9-10.000 bott./0,75 lt.
Different crus: Loghino, Piano, Lecciarello
Grapes: 100 % Sangiovese Grosso
Soil: mainly Galestro
Note: The Le Benducce de Tornesi label is a second label from for the same wine labeled by Tornesi for exclusive sale in the United States.
Posted in Wine News on Jul 3rd, 2008
El Brujo - Fri. June 20, 2008
It’s official, this has been the driest spring in N. California recorded history. It’s also been one of the coolest, so the vines aren’t showing any signs of moisture stress yet. Shoot growth is well below normal for this time of year in all the vineyards I’ve looked at in Sonoma Valley and bloom is later than usual. It’s been a lot windier than normal, too. Farmers always talk about the weather anyway, but it sure has been a strange year so far. I don’t have any idea of what’s in store for the rest of the growing season because I don’t have my own personal weather forecaster anymore.
Enrico “Joe” Gallo sold us our vineyard in 1986. His father-in-law, Ben Biehler, had planted it, starting in 1892, and Joe started working with Ben when he married Ben’s daughter in 1933. Joe lived in wine country all his life, and right across the street from our winery from 1935 until his passing ten years ago. I have never met an American who was more in tune with the earth than Joe. He knew which doe had given birth to twins the previous year, when and where certain mushrooms would appear, etc. He paid attention to bird, animal and plant behavior and used that, along with other signs, to predict both short and long term weather with startling precision. Several of the old-time growers in the area asked him regularly for predictions. His predictions made the NWS look like they were using a ouija board.
Over the years Joe taught me where the worst frost spots were, ripening sequences, soil variations and how to identify all the grape varieties. He offered wisdom, opinion, a lot of history and lore, and his two cents worth on politics, sports, sex and religion. He was individualistic and open-minded and had strong moral values that combined very socialistic left wing ideas with a bit of far-right libertarianism. He doused wells, including ours (seemingly unlimited), scared away government employees, and, best of all, predicted the weather so well that my vineyard guys took to calling him El Brujo.
Joe used to come over and tell me it was going to rain on such and such a date, and I only half way paid attention, thinking it was just the ramblings of my retired, somewhat bored neighbor. After a couple of years I started paying more attention because it seemed like he was often right. Once I started writing down his predictions I realized he had abnormal abilities and was pretty much always right. Time after time he predicted rain weeks in advance, to the day, or, at worst, one day off. Droughts, floods, date of last frost – he didn’t predict, he knew. I’ll never forget Oct.3rd the year before he died. He drove over on a very warm, cloudless afternoon (he wasn’t walking much at that point) to apologize for the mistaken prediction he had made in late August that we would have our first real rain of the season on Oct. 3rd. A storm had passed well north of Sonoma and was headed over the Sierra Nevada on its way east. The NWS was predicting clear and warm for the next week plus. Oct. 4th we awoke to heavy rain; in a rare occurrence the storm had come back from the east. I once asked Joe, very diplomatically, if he would consider sharing his methods with me, passing them on to another generation. He had already told me of 3 day and 7 day cycles, moon phases, watching the migratory birds and the oak trees, but I asked him if he might describe how he integrated all those factors. He came back the next day and said he had started to write stuff down but got to the point where he realized “ultimately it comes from here” (touching his heart). I still miss you, Rico.
Take My Wine, Please - Tues. July 1, 2008
Thanks to Penkauskasd for the following questions: “I’m particularly interested in your distribution channels and the regulations you struggle under. Who can you sell to? (distributors, restaurants, direct to consumers, w00t, retail stores, etc,) Why would you sell in that channel? What are the regulations? Why do the regulations differ? Who benefits from restricting your channels?”
In California, our state winemaking license allows us to sell retail (from a maximum of two locations), direct to restaurants and retailers and to distributors. When prohibition was repealed by constitutional amendment in 1933, the states were directed to write their own liquor laws, including drinking age limitations and how, when, where, and by whom alcohol could be sold. Naturally, in every state, distributors “influenced” their legislators to write laws that gave them as much of a monopoly as possible under the law. Illinois is the first state to reverse this policy at all, with a “self distribution” law that went into effect June 1, 2008, allowing small out-of-state wineries to sell direct to restaurants and retailers. Until the Supreme Court decision a couple of years ago, we could sell direct to consumers in only 11 “reciprocal” states, most without restriction. Many of the states have had to rewrite their laws in light of the court decision, and this has opened up a number of states for retail sales and shipping. Ironically, some of the former reciprocal states have become more restrictive and controlled.
Direct to consumer is generally the most profitable venue for us, but shipping is much costlier and less efficient for small amounts than larger shipments to distributors. Also, distributors actively market our wine in their states, resulting in much higher sales volume, albeit at a lower per case return. Cult wineries like Williams-Selyem or Screaming Eagle can sell almost all their wine at retail, but most of us need to sell to restaurants and retailers, and to use distributors to do so.
The federal government’s greatest interest in the alcohol industry is revenue collection (the ATT collects more money per dollar of its budget than any other govt. agency, including the IRS), and that is an important concern for many states as well. We have a lot of reporting and tax paying to do for most states where we distribute or sell direct.
Finally regarding who benefits from restricting our channels? The national wholesalers’ organization spends a huge amount of money lobbying against any law changes that would lessen their control of wine sales. It does put a lot of small wineries in a bind because there aren’t enough distributors for all the brands now in existence, and alternative channels still don’t exist in many states.
Posted in Wine News on Jul 3rd, 2008
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.
We declare this bright, delicious and fresh Estate Chardonnay to be the perfect summertime refreshment!
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)
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.
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.
The location of the Fritz Winry Estate Vineyards, where today’s Cabernet Sauvignon was born and crafted, can be seen in this satellite photo.
Posted in Wine News on Jun 30th, 2008
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.
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.
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!
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!
Posted in Wine News on Jun 29th, 2008
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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!)
The location of the Domaine Robert Klingenfus winery can be seen in this satellite photo.
Posted in Wine News on Jun 27th, 2008
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
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
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?
The location of the Clos Pegase winery and surrounding vineyards can be seen in this satellite photo.
Posted in Wine News on Jun 26th, 2008
It’s hard to believe that in the early 1990’s less than 100 acres of vineyards were planted in Chile’s Casablanca valley. In little more than two decades, this region of Chile has surged in growth and popularity, and is currently producing excellent wines that generally represent fantastic values on the world market. The region is currently home to more than 10,000 acres of vineyards.
Back when the grape acreage was still in the triple digits Agustin Huneeus decided that the Casablanca valley was one of Chile’s most promising wine regions, and that he needed to start making wine there. Not surprisingly, the world took notice. Huneeus was not just any aspiring winemaker. Indeed, by 1990 Huneeus could lay claim to being one of Chile’s first great modern wine pioneers.
In 1960 Agustin Huneeus entered the Chilean wine scene by becoming CEO and majority owner of Concha y Toro, the wine brand that would eventually put Chile on the wine map for the rest of the world. In 1971 the political climate in Chile became unstable and Huneeus left for the United States, where he took over the helm of the beverage giant Seagrams Worldwide for a time, as well as Franciscan winery in Napa. He went on to purchase the Quintessa winery in 1989.
The early 1990’s were calmer times in Chile, and Huneeus was afforded the opportunity to spend more time in his home country exploring the continually expanding wine regions, including the Casablanca Valley. These explorations turned serious rather quickly, and before long Huneeus was the proprietor of a brand new Chilean winery called Veramonte.
Veramonte, by now, is a well established producer of quality Chilean wines, and a recognizable brand for anyone who strays into the global section of their wine shops, as well as those who have a thirst for reasonably priced Sauvignon Blanc, of which Veramonte makes a seemingly never-ending supply.
Veramonte makes primarily single varietal wines with a sole exception: this wine called Primus. The story of this Bordeaux blend goes all the way back to Bordeaux in the 1800s, when a wave of French immigrants were setting off to the new world to try and make their fortunes. Being French, they weren’t going anywhere without their wine, and knowing that they were headed to an unknown world, the only way to ensure that there would be wine there was to bring the vines to grow it themselves. So off they went to Chile with vines representing the best of Bordeaux packed in wet sawdust and paper. Only a couple of decades later these few samples and others like them would be some of the only vines that were not utterly destroyed by the Phylloxera epidemic that ravaged Europe’s vineyards.
When Bordeaux got to replanting their vineyards, they did so carefully and methodically, but for some reason, they pretty much ignored one of the grape varieties that was originally common in their vineyards: a grape called Carmenere. To be fair, they also gave Malbec short shrift as well, and now Bordeaux is mostly Cabernet, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc, while Chile has been trying desperately to turn Carmenere into its signature grape.
Unfortunately, in my opinion, Carmenere isn’t that special of a grape, and the single-varietal Carmeneres I’ve tasted haven’t impressed me greatly. What Huneeus knew, however, and Chilean wineries are increasingly discovering, was that Carmenere is an excellent blending grape, and as part of blends that resemble the ancient wines of Bordeaux, it is beautifully expressive.
And that is why Veramonte’s top wine is a blend of Carmenere, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot. The best grapes from the top vineyard parcels are carefully sorted, destemmed, and fermented separately before blending and aging for 2 years in French Oak barrels, about 50% of which are new each year. The wine spends an additional year in bottle before release.
With the level of care, aging time, and the designation as the winery’s top wine, not to mention a snazzy, heavy bottle, it’s easy to imagine this wine as one of the more expensive Chilean wines around. Hell, it even tastes expensive. But I’m happy to say instead that it undeniably represents one of the best values in the wine world today.
Full disclosure: I received this wine as a press sample.
Tasting Notes:
Medium to dark ruby in the glass, this wine has a nose that would make even the most distracted wine taster immediately pay attention: perfumes of chocolate, cherry cordials, and vanilla waft from the glass. In the mouth the wine is beautifully balanced, with a polished feel on the tongue, and the flavors seem to burst in the mouth. Cherries, chocolate, and old wood paneling swirl in a storm of fine grained, dusty tannins and velvet texture. The wine’s finish is long and has beautiful aromas of cocoa powder and confectioners sugar. Surprising, unique, and totally delicious.
Food Pairing:
This is a rich wine, though not one slaked in oak, so despite its brawn, it is quite food friendly. I’d love to drink it with some lightly spiced slow-cooked pork on crunchy bread.
Overall Score: around 9.5
How Much?: $19
This wine is available for purchase on the Internet.
Posted in Wine News on Jun 25th, 2008
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…
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.
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.
The bottom of the world, where this winetasting actually, honestly, truly, really did take place, can be seen in this satellite photo.
Posted in Wine News on Jun 24th, 2008
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.
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
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!
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!
“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!
The location of the Iron Horse Winery can be seen in this satellite photo.
Posted in Wine News on Jun 23rd, 2008
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
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!
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!
“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!
The location of the Iron Horse Winery can be seen in this satellite photo.
Posted in Wine News on Jun 22nd, 2008
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.)
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.
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
Posted in Wine News on Jun 21st, 2008
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.
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.)
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.
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
Posted in Wine News on Jun 20th, 2008
What’s Going On - Wed. June 11, 2008
We had a grafter (not a grifter) here for the last four days. This winter I collected Roussanne budwood and ordered Malbec budwood with the idea of t-budding some Merlot (thanks Miles, you *;;-ωλ!). I planned to do four rows of Roussanne and two rows of Malbec, with the idea of expanding the Malbec a couple of rows a year. After bad late April frost damage in part of the Merlot the potential crop was very small, so I decided to do more grafting. We now have six additional rows of Roussanne, four rows of Viognier and nine rows of Malbec. The man who owns the grafting company, Salvador Presciato, told me his business is way up this year due to the frosts. People who were planning to graft next year or the year after decided to do it this year. This type of grafting (changing varieties on mature vines) typically costs you about 1½years of crop, and it makes sense, if you don’t have much crop anyway to have this be the no-crop year.
We finalized the blend of our Meeks Hilltop Ranch Zinfandel today, after eight tasting trials. All four of us had the same favorite, over other blends that only varied slightly in their make-up. The “winner” was 11 barrels “hilltop” block, 2 barrels “front yard”, 2 barrels low alcohol “front yard”, one barrel “over the hill”, and 25 gallons of Durif (the grape variety commonly known by the misnomer “Petite Sirah”). Final alcohol will be around 14.8%. Next up is the Sonoma Valley Zin; anything that doesn’t go into that blend will be used in a non-varietal blend (The Duke).
Another price increase: dusting sulfur went from $0.19 a pound to $0.44. I use roughly 1000 lbs. a year, so it’ll only cost me about $250, but still, a 131% increase? PG&E just asked the PUC for rate increases due to fuel costs, so at least I can be happy that our solar power is “saving” us even more money.
If You’re Not Part of the Solution, You’re Part of the Precipitate - Fri. June 13, 2008
I coined the above (I think) when I was an undergrad in the early 70’s (too many chemistry classes warp one’s sense of humor). We just lost one of our best restaurant glass pour placements because of all the sediment in our 2003 Sonoma County Cab. It really presents a quandary. I don’t like to treat wines more than is absolutely necessary. We do filter most of our wines tightly enough to insure against growth of Brettanomyces (“brett”), but we don’t fine or cold stabilize. All red wines will throw sediment with time, but some of ours tend to do so within a year or two after bottling, and a couple of them have formed alarming amounts of “muck” in that time.
And Now For Something Completely Different
I’ve been sharing an article from the June 3 NY Times with lots of people because it gives cause for great optimism. Futurist Ray Kurzweil makes predictions using what he calls the Law of Accelerating Returns. He has predicted when a computer would beat the world chess champion, when a handheld device could read a book out loud, and other technological advances, all with amazing accuracy. The cause for optimism arises from some of his current predictions, including: all our energy will come from renewable sources within twenty years and life expectancy will be increasing one year per calendar year fifteen years from now (making us statistically immortal!). Fun stuff to think about, and a welcome respite from the doom and gloom in most of our news.
Three Faces of Eden Tues. June 17, 2008
When I was growing up we used to visit family friends who had a walnut orchard in Napa. As far as I was concerned it could have been Appalachia (sorry if this offends anyone). I thought the locals were real hicks, goin’ fishin’ barefoot down by the crick, etc. Napa County was populated mainly by farmers and blue-collar workers. There were cattle ranches, dairies, cherry and walnut orchards, and, oh yeah, old vineyards. I can remember feeling sorry for native Napans starting about twenty years ago – they had become second-class citizens because of all the new money moving into their own hometown.
Santa Rosa was even smaller than Napa when I was a kid. It was a two-hour drive from San Francisco (longer on summer weekends) because the freeway only went about 8 miles north of the Golden Gate. Santa Rosa’s population has grown about twenty fold in 45 years while Napa’s has only tripled. Santa Rosa is much more accessible by freeway now, and most of Napa Valley has been protected from development since the late 60’s. Santa Rosa isn’t dominated by wine like Napa is, but I did see a Riedel billboard on the freeway there on Sunday.
When I moved to Sonoma Valley in 1971, it was still a quiet, out-of-the-way small town with little local economy. There were no commuters, and only a few tourists came to look at the Mission and taste wine at Sebastiani Winery. There were a lot of retirees and “hippie refugees” from the Haight Ashbury. It seemed like half the people in the grocery store used food stamps, and it was rare to see anyone of other than white skin color. At one time or another I was told by various people that Boyes Hot Springs (my current home) had the highest per capita rate in California of: a) paroled felons, b) venereal disease, c) heroin addictionJ
Sonoma is so different now. It’s not as gentrified as Napa, but there is a lot more class distinction than there ever was before. House and land prices have been driven sky high by newcomers buying “lifestyle”, and there is a large, predominantly Mexican, immigrant population that fills most of the lower paying jobs: restaurant, retail, factory, house cleaning and childcare, gardening, and vineyard and winery production jobs of course. There are locals who “blame” the grape and wine industry for the influx of Hispanic immigrants, but it really is a national phenomenon, not a local one. Most of the riffraff have moved away because it’s expensive to live here and hard for them to get jobs, so maybe we’re a little better off in terms of STD’s, ex-cons and smack freaks.
Posted in Wine News on Jun 20th, 2008
Winemaking is not exclusively a boys’ game. And Cathy Corison isn’t
just any winemaker – but not because she’s a woman. What sets her apart
is her 30 years of gentle, traditional winemaking for names like
Chappellet Vineyard, Long Meadow Ranch, and York Creek Vineyards. And,
of course, her own Corison Cabernet, a relationship that’s lasted 20
years with no sign that either party is getting tired of it.
Drawn
from the same benchland vineyards that Cathy has used for two decades,
the 2000 Corison Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon’s supple, sophisticated
black currant, spicy cherry, and plum flavors won it a 90 from Wine Spectator. It’s vibrant. It’s juicy. And it’s made with the same love that Cathy put into her first Cab twenty years ago.
But hey, why take our word for it? You can hear all about the Corison magic straight from the source in Cathy’s Wine Spectator interview. Or better yet, taste it for yourself.
2000 Corison Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley
Rules and restrictions:
Thanks to stick-in-the-mud buzzkilling state legislators, wine may only be delivered to the following states:
If your state’s not on the list, you’re out of luck… for now. Keep up with the ever-changing laws over at ShipCompliantBlog.com, and/or sound the alarms with your state assembly person through FreeTheGrapes.org. Meanwhile, all Federal, state and local laws are complied with in providing this wine.
Posted in Wine News on Jun 19th, 2008
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 Hill Family Estate.
SUPERIOR WINE ALERT!: Today’s wine is an fantastic Napa Valley Merlot!
SAVINGS ALERT!: Smart Spies stock up on great wines that we feature. And, when they enjoy 6 or more, we’ll throw in Free Ground Shipping, with coupon code: NAPASPY
Operative: Agent Red
Objective: Our Operatives snapped up our previous Hill Family Estates wine in record numbers. Send Agent Red back to Return to Hill Family Estate and procure a large allotment of their 2004 Napa Valley Merlot
Mission Status: Accomplished!
Current Winery: Hill Fa