March News - 2009

Rhone Valley & The South - Value with Pleasure!

It was the Spring of 2004, and it was our 'Lune de Miel', our honeymoon, and we were in the French countryside after landing in Paris and spending a day seeing the lights.  We love the city, but it was the French countryside, and its wines, that we were here for on this trip, so it was with great excitement that we gassed up the rental and headed down the auto-route for our stops throughout the Rhone Valley.  This section's wine, these humble wines of the South, propel my mind and palate instantly to that week outside Avignon when my wife and I experienced so many great "house" wines for such attractive prices.

As we traveled south along what is known as the Autoroute du Soleil, the A7, passing the city of Orange on our way to Chateauneuf du Pape, the mountains began to dominate the landscape and we knew immediately that we were in the department of Vaucluse.  And while the Roman city of Orange is a visitor's dream, we stayed our course, for in my mind was our castle for the week's stay.  A castle overlooking the vineyards of Chateauneuf, with the mountain of Ventoux only a few minutes drive away.

Once settled into our room, a storybook fantasy that could fill pages with tales of history and wonder, we freshened up and wandered out for a casual tour and tasting of the local wines.  We began quite naturally in-town at the local Chateauneuf shops but quickly turned our eyes to the little vineyards on the outskirts.  The wines of the countryside would be our focus for the rest of this trip.  The "Mount" and the "Cotes" were beckoning!

2005 Vignerons Mont Ventoux Altitude 500 Cotes du Ventoux

Vignerons Mont Ventoux
40% Grenache, 20% Syrah, 10% Mourvedre, 10% Carignan, 20% Cinsault Dry Red Table Wine
Cotes du Ventoux, Southern Rhone, Rhone Valley, France

Review by Cepage Noir
E*Newsletter Winter 2009
Rating: 89 points
"An EXCELLENT wine with all the qualities expected of a near-outstanding rated wine." CN
Drink: 2009 - 2013

        "Beautiful deep plum / purple color.  The color alone sets this example apart from most others sampled recently from this appellation.  Deeply fruited aromatics, too, are singular for this example and include richly scented nuances of red raspberries, ripe plums and that classic nuance of a Provencal Village.  These aromas of spice and ripe red and blue fruits, with hints of black olive, are classic southern French.  Soft, supple and deeply fruited flavors on the palate combine that plummy nuance from the aromas with silky tannins to coat the palate with blue fruits and zero hard edges.  A beautiful example of a classic southern French "house wine" that will showcase your roasted chicken or leg of lamb with herbs to a "T".  Just delicious!"
                  -- Cepage Noir

$19.50 the bottle / $186 the case (of 12 btls)

2005 Vieux Chene Cuvee des Capucines Cotes du Rhone

Vieux Chene
100% Grenache Dry Red Table Wine
Cotes du Rhone, Southern Rhone, Rhone, France

Review by Cepage Noir
E*Newsletter Winter 2008
Rating: 89
"An EXCELLENT wine with all the qualities expected of a near-outstanding rated wine." CN
Drink: 2008 - 2015

        "Opaque ruby purple in color, the 100% Grenache Cuvee Capucines from the 2005 vintage once again sets this Domaine up as one of the superstars of the Cotes du Rhone Appellation.  Soaring aromas and flavours. This offers black currant, black berry and roasted nuances that literally fill the room and suggest a wine more from the Chateauneuf region that a "simple" CDR.  This is a wine to savour; the wine unfolds in the glass over a half hour to reveal additional complexities.  The wine's initial appeal and mouth-coating black fruit gain weight and terrific texture, too with air.  This is simply one of the best of its kind and consistently a full and rich wine that remains very reasonably priced."
                  -- Cepage Noir

$19.50 the bottle / $198 the case (of 12 btls)

2006 Chateau Mourgues du Gres Costieres de Nimes "Les Galets Rouges"

Chateau Mourgues du Gres
80% Syrah, 20% Grenache, Mourvedre and Carignan dry red table wine
Costieres de Nimes, Languedoc Roussillon, France

Review by Cepage Noir
E*Newsletter Winter 2009
Rating: 91
"An OUTSTANDING wine worth your serious attention that will impress and offer memorable drinking experiences." CN
Drink: 2009 - 2019

        "Another nearly opaque black / purple color; just riveting color.  Amazing aromatic profile!  A captivating hint of "garrigue" is a backdrop for the most delicious and decadent black fruited nuances that are surrounded by Mourvedre essences of smokey / bacony aromas, all leading to a mouth filling, absolutely massive palate presence.  This wine stains the palate with the most succulent dark berried fruits and chewy tannins and captures the drinker's attention; pulling you in for glass after glass.  This wine engages all senses!  What a singular glass of wine from this unheralded appellation."
                  -- Cepage Noir

$19.50 the bottle / $198 the case (of 12 btls)

2006 Chateau de Flaugergues Coteaux du Languedoc 'la Mejanelle' Cuvee Sommeliere

Chateau Flaugergues
Syrah, Grenache, Mourvedre Dry red table wine
La Mejanelle, Languedoc, Languedoc-Roussillon, France

Review by Cepage Noir
E*Newsletter Winter 2009
Rating: 90
"An OUTSTANDING wine worth your serious attention that will impress and offer memorable drinking experiences." CN
Drink: 2009 - 2019

"Nearly opaque, ruby purple color; a glass coating / staining color. Intense Syrah nose combines deep plum notes with classic smoked meats and game characteristics. Bring on the Cote Rotie vernacular! With air, we discover nuances of dark truffle, anise and black licorice; a singular aromatic profile of incomparable complexity for this region. This is world class juice. The palate shows powerful, structured, tightly wound texture yet unctuous dark fruits. Miles of red raspberries dusted with dark cocoa cascade over the palate. Just a fantastic mouth-full of wine!"
-- Cepage Noir

$22 the bottle / $222 the case (of 12 btls)

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American Syrah - The Pleasures of A Nice Body

OK, so by now you've recognized a trend in these pages; I like pleasure in my life, especially in my wines.  My wife finds no fault in my search for this pleasure either.  Finding, in fact, a great need to share with her husband in this search for pleasure in the wines we share with one another.  A truly amazing facet of our relationship has always been a constant cohesiveness in this vinous search.

It is precisely this search that has brought us to a point where we must begin to insist that the great wine drinkers of the world - YOU dear readers - discover the virtues of this grape known as Syrah.  A grape that is one of the single most pleasurable fruits of the vine you will ever find yourself consuming.  Naturally, that statement comes with all the usual caveats: avoid greedy producers, avoid mass produced wines, avoid the plonk, you know, watch what you're doing, you're an adult...  But in the hands of the gifted, Syrah is simply magical; a mind and palate altering experience that will propel the drinker to worlds as yet not visited.  Worlds only imagined as we stumble around with all of these insipid Pinots...

I'm going to introduce to you 2 very unique and very individualistic Syrahs in this offer.  These are so different, so uniquely flavored that when you taste them side by side you may ask yourself if indeed they are truly from the same grape type.  One is made in a manner we in the business refer to as the "masculine" style: it is dark, brooding, smells of meat and smoke and never comes home on time.  The other, quite endearing, is the first's opposite; made in the "feminine" style.

This second one, equally my favorite, is beautifully perfumed, often described as having floral scents, is genuinely balanced and refined, very good with the children and never raises her voice.  This second Syrah would do lovely with mixed company as she is quite balanced and deft at not over-controlling the conversation, yet she makes the tenderloin taste so much better than you ever thought imaginable.

These two make a lovely pair!  And I've priced them so you'll take them both home together, just as Mother Nature intended.

2005 Enkidu Syrah Odyssey Vineyard Russian River Valley

Enkidu Winery
Syrah Dry Red Table Wine
Russian River Valley, Sonoma, North Coast, California, USA

Review by Cepage Noir
E*Newsletter Winter 2008
Rating: 92
"An Outstanding wine worth your serious attention that will impress and offer memorable drinking experiences." CN
Drink: 2008 - 2018

        "An absolutely opaque, black, ruby purple robe sets the taster up for one of the most memorable and deeply complex Syrahs of the entire vintage, certainly of the Russian River appellation. Mirroring the aromatics of Northern Rhone super Syrahs from Cote Rotie, this 2005 Odyssey offers nuances of roasted meats, captivating charcoal / graphite, black berry pie, toasted bread / pain grille and buckets of decadent fruits allied to deeply complex French Oak. The flavors are captivating to echo the aromas and caress the palate to include the deep black berry and smoky French Oak flavors. Tasted after a near-triple digit Northern Rhone, this was that wine's equal. Stunning, just stunning."
                 -- Cepage Noir

$30 the bottle / $300 the case (of 12 btls)
combine the 2 Syrahs for the case price

2004 Laetitia Estate Arroyo Grande Syrah

Laetitia Winery
Syrah Dry Red Table Wine
Arroyo Grande Valley, San Luis Obispo, Central Coast, California, USA

Review by Cepage Noir
E*Newsletter Winter 2008
Rating: 90
"An Outstanding wine worth your serious attention that will impress and offer memorable drinking experiences." CN
Drink: 2008 - 2013

        "Here we have the color of a gem-stone; a beautiful ruby / purple hue.  The most forward and floral, expressively perfumed aromatics rise from the glass and are combined with crushed red fruits and candied cherries to suggest a most refined and elegant nose.  The palate is packed with the most sensual red berries that are layered and dense yet polished and without any hard edges.  These red fruits are combined with the sweetest and most balanced tannins to suggest an almost dark chocolate nuance.  The length of the finish carries out sweet cranberries and ripe strawberries that combine for a lip smacking fruit profile that continues to build with air and decanting.  Just a delicious and unique style of Syrah."
                  -- Cepage Noir

$25 the bottle / $240 the case (of 12 btls)
combine the 2 Syrahs for the case price

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Michael Corso Selections - One of America's Top Boutique Importers

As I sat to begin the composing of this catalogue I received an invitation to a Monday afternoon tasting that promised to "impress even the most long-time Francophile".  And when an event is tagged with that type of lead-in, well, this old boy is sure to be in attendance.  The wines were described with all the vernacular needed to get my pleasure meters topping out, so I planned to leave my day completely open and looked forward to meeting this man.

Now before I discuss my experiences with these wines, for those who may not know my long and jaded-palate background, let's visit the past for a moment.  Your author of these pages, moi, yours truly, began in the wine business more than 25 years ago, way back in the mid-1980s.  I've spent many years tasting literally thousands of wines and I have collected so many pages and now computers full of notes that my family and friends constantly encourage me to author my own books on the subject of wine.

So long have I been in this arena in fact that I recall the early days of this business of professional wine critiquing when the now most powerful palate on the planet, Mr. Robert Parker, aka The Wine Advocate would host regular tastings at a quaint wine shop in Baltimore, a shop by the name of Pinehurst.  I had the pleasure of attending one of those casual affairs; a tasting that would be impossible these days now that "the man" is so powerful and in demand.

From those days, I recall professional meetings with Mr. Parker during my years as a wine importer in the 1990s.  I never lost sight of my desire to remain as a professional in the wine business and as I continued to hone my tasting skills, so, too, did Mr. Parker.  These professional meetings with Mr. Parker, as he would review my personal selections from the South of France, wines from the Languedoc and the Roussillon, lead to my being included in an article Parker wrote on these wines that began with the triumphant phrase, "If your wine shop does not stock these wines, CHANGE SHOPS, these wines are too good to ignore...".  Parker had indeed stamped many of my selections with his coveted seal of approval and my career in the wine business took flight.

So you may now understand my faith and belief in my own palate.  Today, at the age of 42, with more than 25 years and thousands, perhaps countless of bottles under my belt - shall we say palate - I very often feel no need to justify my writings with the opinions of other critics.  And with that point being made, I can tell you now that as I sat and tasted through the wonderfully balanced and classically flavored wines being offered by Michael Corso this past January 19th, I found myself equally impressed by our mutual feelings on the current state of professional wine reviewers in this country today.

Some may claim that it's a conflict of interest for a review to be published by a retailer; that a retailer has a vested interest in scoring a wine at or above a certain level in hopes of making a buck on that particular wine.  To that cynical opinion I and Mr. Corso have but 1 rebuttal: if that's the way you feel about your wine merchant, DON'T BUY WINE FROM THAT MERCHANT; put another way, IF YOU DON'T TRUST YOUR MERCHANT, WHY ARE YOU SHOPPING WITH HIM IN THE 1ST PLACE?

Each and every wine I review is reviewed solely by me - another point Mr. Corso and I discussed.  That can no longer be claimed by the vast majority of professional wine magazines.  The Wine Advocate now employs nearly a 1/2 dozen different reviewers tasked with covering every part of the wine world Parker no longer has time and / or desire to cover.  And if you try to calibrate your poor palate with each of these reviewers, good luck dear reader; it can not be done.  Then there is the monster known as The Wine Spectator.  A dozen PLUS reviewers.  You'll never figure that one out; I certainly haven't.  Tanzer's International Wine Cellar?  That's probably my single favorite publication today.  I've known Tanzer since 1994 and Josh has consumed wine with me, personally, many times, at my home and my wine shop, since the late 1990s.  But there again, we are approaching a 1/2 dozen consulting authors contributing to the reviews.  Calibrating therein is a bit easier, but you still must know who is authoring the prose.

But when you read these pages, the reviews written my me, they are 100% my personal feelings based on 25+ years of tastings and travels.  And I write and score based on what I would say to my wife, my family and my closest friends should I have this wine in front of them.

My first goal is to have my work discovered and to become the next great wine critic; I am not writing a review to sell a bottle of wine.

And when Mr. Corso and I shared our mutually agreeing thoughts on wine reviews and wine in general, I could wait to bring to you his wines...

And my thoughts...

2005 Domaine Raspail - Ay Gigondas

Raspail - Ay
70% Grenache, 20% Syrah, 10% Mourvedre Dry Red Table Wine
Gigondas, Southern Rhone, Rhone, France

Review by Cepage Noir
E*Newsletter Winter 2009
Rating: 91+?
"An Outstanding wine worth your serious attention that will impress and offer memorable drinking experiences." CN
Drink: 2008 - 2018+

        "Beautiful deep ruby purple, bordering on opaque in color.  The perfection of the vintage is evident immediately in the color of this immaculate wine.  First words from my pen, upon engaging the aromatics: Stunning, just a stunning nose.  All the power, all the red currant, red raspberry and all the classic, perfumed, nearly pastille, yet polished and refined fruit one expects from a world class estate harvested in a perfect vintage.  This has that perfectly proportioned and well structured body that carries the deeply perfumed and decadently sweet flavors through to a harmonious finish.  There seems to be absolutely no tannins here as they are swallowed up by the palate soothing fruit and absolutely sexy finish.  What a wine!"
                  -- Cepage Noir

Review by Tanzer's International Wine Cellar
International Wine Cellar Issue Jan / Feb 2008
Rating: 92
"Outstanding" Tanzer
Drink: NA

        "Dark ruby. Spicy raspberry and dark cherry aromas with a dusty herb overtone. Chewy, deep cassis and blackberry flavors are firmed by youthful tannins, which give the finish power and grip. Leaves sweet, liqueur-like fruit in its wake. More brooding than last year's showing, but no less impressively concentrated or sweet. This is ideal for the cellar."
                  -- Tanzer's International Wine Cellar

$42 btl / $426 the case
combine any Corso selections for the case price

2007 Domaine Gilles Noblet Pouilly - Fuisse

Gilles Noblet
Chardonnay Dry White Table Wine
Pouilly Fuisse, Maconnais, Burgundy, France

Review by Cepage Noir
E*Newsletter Winter 2009
Rating: 90
"An Outstanding wine worth your serious attention that will impress and offer memorable drinking experiences." CN
Drink: 2008 - 2012

        "A new estate to this taster, Gilles Noblet was selected to Wine Spectator's Top 100 list for 2008 for their Pouilly Fuisse, placing them in rarified company indeed.  This version offers a brilliant clarity to its color, suggesting years of drinking enjoyment ahead.  Delicious aromas entice the senses to include fresh drawn cream, decadent buttery nuances yet a freshness from the fruit that never allows for this wine to become flabby nor overbearing.  While the flavors and textures are deliciously decadent with a tease of cream and butter, this is refined and elegant at the same time.  A truly balanced and sophisticated white Burgundy."
                  -- Cepage Noir

$36 btl / $372 the case
combine any Corso selections for the case price

2007 Chateau Sainte Eulalie Minervois

Chateau Sainte Eulalie
15% Syrah, 45% Grenache, 40% 85 year-old Carignan Dry Red table wine
Minervois, Languedoc Roussillon, France

Review by Cepage Noir
E*Newsletter Winter 2009
Rating: 90
"An Outstanding wine worth your serious attention that will impress and offer memorable drinking experiences." CN
Drink: 2008 - 2013

        "Another new experience, yet an appellation that this taster has considerable tasting prowess with, Eulalie exemplifies not only the cutting edge techniques of today's young superstar wine-makers, but the perfection you're reading about regarding this 2007 vintage for the regions from Avignon to Carcassonne.  Just a gorgeous aromatic display unfolds from the glass of this amazing over-achiever.  A sexy, alluring combination of blue and red fruits on the aromas and palate combine with an almost buttery texture to offer a lip-smacking, gulp-able, yet utterly serious drinking profile.  This is simply a total turn on and a joy a to drink!"
                  -- Cepage Noir

$15 btl / $156 the case
combine any Corso selections for the case price

2005 Chateau Laronde Desormes Bordeaux Superieur

Chateau Laronde Desormes
50% Cabernet, 45% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot Dry Red Table Wine
Macau, Bordeaux Superieur, Bordeaux, France

Review by Cepage Noir
E*Newsletter Winter 2009
Rating: 92
"An Outstanding wine worth your serious attention that will impress and offer memorable drinking experiences." CN
Drink: 2008 - 2018

        "From very near the Haut Medoc appellation, from just outside the city of Macau, comes undoubtedly one of the vintage's super sleepers.  Inky / purple right to the rim, we find a wine with exceptional aromatics offering buckets of decadent cassis, black berry and licorice notes.  The aromas and flavors here could very easily confound even the most seasoned drinkers if tasted blind along side $60 - $70 New World or Classified Growth Cabernet - based wines.  This is world class in its lush, sweet, hedonistic textures and miles of cassis fruit.  Absolutely outstanding and terrifically well - priced."
                  -- Cepage Noir

$29.50 btl / $300 case
combine any Corso selections for the case price

2007 Gustave Lorentz "Le Rose" d'Alsace

Gustave Lorentz
100% Pinot Noir Dry ROSE' Table Wine
Berghein, Haut-Rhin, Alsace, France

Review by Cepage Noir
E*Newsletter Winter 2009
Rating: 87
"An Excellent wine with all the qualities expected of a near-outstanding rated wine."
Drink: 2009 - 2011

"Before the wine, a word on this vintage, and a note to inform you readers that my stocks of 2007 Lorentz only BEGIN with this delicious specimen; I have in stock nearly a dozen offers from this firm and each deserves to be explored by the serious Alsace wine drinker.
2007 in Alsace is one for the record books. Defined by professional wine critics as outstanding, and by the wine growers as a perfect blending of 2005 and 2002, every wine I am tasting from 2007 offers terrific texture allied to succulent, racy acidity; the perfect balance between ripe fruit and mouth watering minerality and natural PH balance are combining to offer you some of the best wines in years.
As for this wine, the intro wine for Lorentz, we have a color that captures the eye; a shimmering pale pink, with clarity right to the rim. Aromas of the purest, most delicate red Pinot fruit fill the glass to include fresh, ripe strawberries and just-crushed cranberries. The palate is delicate as well yet bracing with those fresh red fruits and a forward and lip smacking, extremely refreshing style. A recent bottle drank with Asian seafood was just perfect and beckoned this taster to consume glass after glass.
Another note on this delicious Rose' is its relatively moderate alcohol level. At just under 12%, it is totally dry yet not a heavy nor overbearing - in the alcohol department - wine. Perfect as an aperitif OR dinner wine, this could just be your new daily drinker.
IT CERTAINLY IS THE 'FRIDGE WINE AT OUR HOUSE..."
-- Cepage Noir

$15 the bottle / $160 the case
combine any Corso selections for the case price

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Panther Creek passes the 20 year mark!

Twenty years; my how time passes! Stop for just a moment and try to recapture a moment in your life from twenty years past. That would have been somewhere near 1986 for the folks at Panther Creek (their 2006 release is adorned with the anniversary label). Considering that 1984 was my “official” entry into the wine business, and still very, very wet behind the ears in terms of wine experience, I’d say that my most impressionable memories - professionally AND personally - were yet to come. And for the great wine team at PANTHER CREEK, in that year of 1986, who could know that their greatest moments were years in front of them as well?

What began as a passion would soon turn to one of the great success stories of our time. But before that moment of recognition, that great public awakening, there were certainly the times of intense labor and sleepless nights. These were the days LONG before “Sideways”; days when Pinot Noir was far from the fashion plate it is today. Days in the 1980s and early 1990s when only the truest of palates would seek the fine and fickle Cepage Noir. Days when Pinot was for only the few of us; the folks who knew of its luster and great inner beauty.

And yet the people of Panther Creek trudged on; daily working with their vineyard friends in search of that perfect single row of vines, that perfect single harvest among a half dozen picked. Then, as if by divine intervention, the words were printed, the article was written. The world’s most influential and powerful critic had descended into the lives of the owners of this beautiful winery, and had announced to the world his passionate opinion:

“This winery has quickly established itself as one of Oregon’s finest producers. The wines, which are Oregon’s most beautifully packaged are also among the most concentrated and ageworthy wines now being made in Oregon. In less than 5 years, Panther Creek has established itself as one of the most consistent, high quality Oregon wineries. Consumers who have not tasted a wine from this star should not hesitate…One of Oregon’s benchmark producers….”
– Robert Parker, The Wine Advocate

Think about it; case production numbers of less than 100 per each wine they offer. And then the words of praise as you’ve just read. Perhaps you’ll understand the severe scarcity of these treasures as we now find ourselves the very lucky - yet limited - recipients of the outstanding 20 year releases. Wines from the greatest vineyards throughout Oregon, bottled by one of that state’s true elite!
Make your requests know soon dear readers, we have precious few bottles to offer….

2006 Panther Creek
20 years of perfecting an art:

2006 Panther Creek Cellars Pinot Noir Freedom Hill Vineyard

Panther Creek
Pinot Noir Dry Red Table Wine
Willamette Valley, Oregon, USA

Review by Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate (JM)
Wine Advocate # 179 (Oct 2008)
Rating: 91
Drink 2008 - 2020

“The 2006 Pinot Noir Freedom Hill Vineyard was aged for 16 months in 30% new French oak.
Dark ruby-colored, the enticing bouquet exhibits spice notes, pomegranate, and assorted black fruits.
On the palate, earth notes and cola make an appearance. Nicely structured with good depth, concentration, and balance, it should evolve for 2-3 years and drink well through 2020….”
– Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate

contact store for pre-arrival pricing

2006 Panther Creek Cellars Pinot Noir Shea Vineyard

Panther Creek
Pinot Noir Dry Red Table Wine
Willamette Valley, Oregon, USA

Review by Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate (JM)
Wine Advocate # 179 (Oct 2008)
Rating: 91+
Drink 2012 - 2021

“The 2006 Pinot Noir Shea Vineyard is dark ruby with an expressive perfume of black cherry, black raspberry, and spice.
This leads to a mouth-filling wine with savory flavors, mineral and earth notes, and a firm structure.
It should evolve for 3-4 years and be at its best from 2012 to 2021.”
– Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate

contact store for pre-arrival pricing

2006 Panther Creek Cellars Pinot Noir 20Th Anniversary Reserve

Panther Creek
Pinot Noir Dry Red Table Wine
Willamette Valley, Oregon, USA

Review by Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate (JM)
Wine Advocate # 179 (Oct 2008)
Rating: 90

“The 2006 Pinot Noir 20th Anniversary Reserve was fermented with native yeasts and blended from four vineyards (56% Shea).
Dark ruby-colored, the attractive aromatics reveal smoke, spice box, black cherry, black raspberry, and plum.
This is followed by a balanced, structured wine with ample black fruits, good depth and concentration, and a persistent finish.”
– Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate

contact store for pre-arrival pricing

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