Wine Club Newsletter Feb ’15

Before we get to your club wines,
just a quick mention that your 2015
1st Quarter Stock-up Days fall on
February 21-22, which of course is
Saturday and Sunday.

Your Pick-up Party is Tuesday, 2/3.
Come on in and taste all Club wines,
any time from 5-9.

Our monthly WINNER is Matt Riley.
Matt, feel free to select any past or
present Silver level wine.

Now for the wines, starting with the Silvers.

The 2011 “Marmorelle” from Tenute Rubino is
a blend of Negroamaro and Malvasia Nera
made in Salento, Italy.

The bouquet reveals a complex array of
black currants, blueberries, and cherries,
with hints of nutmeg and cocoa. The flavors
echo the nose, with fine balance between
fruit, acid, and tannins, plus just enough
“Italian earth” to reveal its origin.

The 2012 “Proper Claret” is a California blend from
quirky winemaker Randall Grahm of Bonny Doon.
This wine is 62% Cabernet, 22% Petit Verdot, 8%
Tannat, 7% Syrah , and 2% Petite Sirah.

This is what Randall has to say:

“If ever I were to drink a Cabernet-based blend,
this would be one that would serve quite well. It is
lean, neither overly alcoholic (weighing in at 13%),
nor overly extracted; it is precisely as one would
imagine A Proper Claret to be. The wine contains
a substantial dollop of petit verdot, which adds a
silky note of violets and textural elegance, in precision
counterpoint to the lead-in-the-pencil firmness offered
by the inclusion of the manly tannat.” (I love RG, btw)

Moving to the Gold Level wines, we begin with the
2012 Waterstone Cabernet from Napa Valley.
The primary fruit source for this wine is the
vineyards of a “cult” Napa Cab called Harlan Estate,
whose Cab routinely sells for $600 or more.
These are the winemaker’s notes:

“76% Cab, 18% Merlot, 2% Cab Franc, 2% Syrah,
1% Petit Verdot, 1% Malbec. With its Bordeaux-like
presence, this wine is deep, rich, and lingering. Firm,
integrated tannins frame the concentrated, dark fruit
(currant, black cherry, wild berry, plum.) Toasty oak
and an earthy edge add to the wine’s great complexity.”

Next is the 2010 Alpha Omega II from Napa Valley:

This Cabernet-based blend “is the culmination of two worlds,
the Alpha and the Omega, the Old World and the New World.
Our two winemakers, Jean Hoefliger and Michel Rolland,
worked to create a wine that is not only opulent, fruit forward
and generous, but also has the backbone of European acidity
and elegance. A reflection of both worlds.”

Please join us at the Pick-up Party, which again is
Tuesday, 2/3/15.

Cheers and best wishes to you!