Wine Club Newsletter, 9/13

Greetings and best wishes!

First things first. Your third quarter
STOCK UP DAY is actually two days,
the weekend of September 7 and 8.
This is when you get 10% off everything
in the shop. Put those dates on your
calendar!!

Your Wine Pick-up Party this month will
be on the SECOND TUESDAY, September 10th,
anytime from 5-9 pm. We’ll have both
the Silver and Gold level wines available
to taste, and doing so costs you nothing.

Congratulations to our September winner of the
monthly free bottle, Gail Yakos. Gail,
you may choose any past or present
Silver Level bottle.

As for the wines, we’ll start with Silver Level:

First up is the 2010 San Felice Chianti Classico.
This wine has received some serious accolades:

91 points Wine Enthusiast, and #22 on their list
of Top 100 Best Buys of the year.

90 points Wine Spectator, one of their
“14 Diverse Tuscan Values.”

90 points Antonio Galloni, who says this:

“Freshly cut flowers, sweet red berries, spices and mint are
some of the many nuances in the 2010 Chianti Classico San
Felice. Medium in body, the 2010 impresses for its inner
perfume and fabulous overall balance. I especially like the
clarity of the finish.”

Next up is the 2009 Mariana Tinto from Portugal,
which received 89 points from the Wine Advocate:

“This blend of 40% Aragonez, 30% Alicante Bouschet,
20% Trincadeira and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon exhibits
a silky, medium-bodied texture, fresh berry fruit and an
elegant, Bordeaux-like style with some austerity, but lots
of ripeness, a textured mouthfeel and a good finish.”

And now for the Gold Level Wines.
First in line is the 2008 Godspeed Cabernet
from Mount Veeder, Napa Valley. This is a
very small production wine that does not get
submitted for press reviews. Here are our notes:

“Dry cedar note on the nose, with currants and wild
berries. Nice juicy cherry, currant and plum on the palate,
with good length. Moderate tannins add a subtle dusting
of minerality, with mocha and vanilla accents showing up
for good measure. Pretty tasty.”

Last but definitely not least, the 2004 Vina Ardanza
Rioja Reserva. This beauty received 94 points from
Wine Spectator and 93 from Wine Advocate, which
offers this enthusiastic note:

“The 2004 Vina Ardanza is a blend of 80% Tempranillo
and 20% Garnacha from 30-year-old vines. It is aged for
36 months in four-year-old American oak. It has a very
enticing bouquet with dark cherry, Christmas cake,
dried fig and espresso with fine delineation and bags of
exuberance. The palate is medium-bodied with taut tannins,
underpinned by a keen citric thread that cuts through the
licorice-tinged, dark berry and allspice-tinged fruit with style.
It is simply delicious on the bittersweet finish.”

Again, all four of these wines will be available
for you to taste on Tuesday, September 10th.
Please come give them a try!

Have a great month, and cheers!!