PARES BALTA 2009
MAS PETIT PENEDES
CABERNET / GARNATXA
Is this what they mean by outsourcing? We have been preparing ourselves for what we see as a difficult time in the value Cab arena. It is hard enough to find good Cabernet under $10 when the vintages are kind as most of them taste manufactured and homogenized. Looking down the barrel of tougher vintages for both consistency and volume (which will affect prices) in California, the forecast cannot be too rosy. Enter this little surprise from Penedes in northeastern Spain, an area that, besides making some fine sparkling ‘cavas’, has been growing Cabernet for decades. This blend of 77% Cabernet (from 30+-year-old vines) and 23% Grenache could carry a varietal Cabernet label in California. But its Old World charm and honest, unmanipulated, pure fruit tells a more complex story. There’s a sense of place here that your typical ‘value Cab’ simply doesn’t have. There’s black currant and black cherry character with flecks of earth, anise, wild herbs and graphite. It sees seven months in oak to soften the tannins, but doesn’t taste overtly oaky like those ‘grocery store’ Cabs that were ‘pumped up’ with wood chips. In fact, how many value Cabs can you say were made from estate-grown grapes that were farmed organically? To round it out, the alcohol is only 13.5%, and we can sell it for under ten dollars! There is plenty of weight and ripeness to the fruit thanks to the proximity to the Mediterranean and something else you rarely find in wines of this price range, soul. The excellent 2009 vintage in Spain no doubt helped, but it should also be noted that this family has been here since the 18th Century. It just matters more right now.
add to cart $9.99
JOAN D'ANGUERA 2010
GARNATXA MONTSANT
$10.99
This 100% Garnatxa (Catalan for Grenache) from Montsant has a beautiful bouquet of ripe, red berries, particularly raspberries and cranberries. It reminisces the fruitiness found in Starburst candy, but without all the processed, fake sugar. There's good acidity with a solid structure and at this price, it's a perfect wine for your grilling needs.
add to cart $10.99
RARE WINE CO.
STRATFORD HALL
MADEIRA SPECIAL RESERVE
LEE FAMILY
$59.99
Many people have a misconception that Madeira is a sweet and viscous dessert wine but it is quite the opposite, ranging from sweet to bone-dry. The Lee Family Stratford Hall Special Reserve would be somewhere right in the middle of that scale. It displays a multitude of fascinating aromatics including brown sugar, caramel, dried apricot, orange zest, and roasted nuts. The acidity keeps the wine lively and balanced on the palate, bringing it to new heights. There is no doubt that Madeira played an important role in U.S. history. It was used to toast the Declaration of Independence and it has been told that Geroge Washington drank a pint of it per day. One might question why Madeira was used as the toast, but we defintely understand why George drank it everyday. This is good stuff!
$59.99
LAFORMICA 2010 SOAVE
$14.99
This is one of the most lively and virbant Soaves that we have tasted recently. The aromatics display notes of apples and peaches with a hint of beeswax. Ample acidity is integrated well into the structure while keeping its character crisp and refreshing. Many Soaves tend to a lighter style but the Laformica maintains a weightiness with its rounded body. The amount of dishes to pair with this is endless and at this price you can afford to experiment with them all.
add to cart $14.99
MONTEVIEJO LINDAFLOR
2008 MALBEC
$16.99
The Lindaflor Malbec by Bodega Monteviejo is great display of a modern, lusty Malbec. The color and aroma immediately reminds you of concentrated violets while dark berries surround this floral note with hints of vanilla and coconut. The creamy and velvety texture with its sweet and chewy tannins are all trademarks of its winemaker, Michel Rolland. The mid-palate reveals dark fruits, anise, cinnamon, and good minerality. A lingering finish leaves you eager for the next sip.
Jay Miller writes in Wine Advocate: 'The deep purple-colored 2008 Lindaflor Malbec (100%) displays tons of spice along with black cherry and black raspberry aromas. Elegant on the palate with a velvety texture, potential complexity, and precision balance, this lengthy offering presents a drinking window extending from 2012 to 2023."
Stephen Tanzer writes in International Wine Cellar: Saturated bright ruby. Aromas of boysenberry, dark chocolate, mocha and oak. Fat, silky and sweet but not heavy; this really fills the mouth. Less minerally than the 2007 release but shows a more serious tannic structure and less obvious sweetness than the 2009 Petite Fleur. Very long on the finish, with the structure to age.
add to cart $29.99
PASCAL COTAT 2008
MONTS DAMNES SANCERRE
$17.99
A top producer from a fabled vineyard, this is a different creature than the zesty Cottat (with 2 ‘t’s) we also profiled. This is Sancerre with a Burgundian feel. The wine simply proves why this Cotat is synonymous with greatness in Sancerre; it’s lush, citrus and stone fruit flavor profile buttressed by surprising (given how ripe Cotat harvests his Sauvignon), profound acidity and piercing minerality takes all that lush fruit on a serious joyride across your palate. Grapefruit and lemon but also ripe melon and a faint sense of sweetness (even though it’s dry). Not many people doing it this way in Sancerre nowadays, and it isn’t easy to do. This is Sancerre with depth, richness and attitude and something truly special for Sauvignon Blanc lovers. The Advocate 90 on this wine is a bit too low in our minds.
Josh Raynolds writes in International Wine Cellar: Light yellow. Smokier and more powerful than the Caillottes on the nose, showing ripe pear and yellow plum. Rich, palate-coating pear and pit fruit flavors are firmed by a bitter lemon zest quality and pack a real punch. The finish repeats the citrussy note and lingers with excellent persistence.
David Schildknecht writes in Wine Advocate: Musky scents of narcissus emerge from the glass of Francois Cotat 2008 Sancerre Les Monts Damnes, along with mint and Persian melon, setting the stage for a surprisingly soft and rounded palate presentation, at once soothing and refreshing, with subtle interplay of herbal, fungal, and fruit notes in the finish. A discreet sense of chalkiness follows in an impressively long, luscious finish, although I would have anticipated a greater and more diverse sense of minerality than this is showing right now.
add to cart IWC 92 WA 90 $39.99
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Club Red
Club Red is an all-red version of the Insiders Club. You get two different bottles of carefully selected red wines per month, plus original comments about the wines and an entertaining and informational narrative about the wine, the region, and the wine world at large. You can join the program for $24.99 per month (plus applicable shipping and/or sales tax).
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You get one bottle each of a specially selected red and white wine of any origin, varietal or producer per month delivered to your door, plus original comments about the wines and an entertaining and informational narrative about the wine, the region, and the wine world at large. You can join the program for a cost of $19.99 per month (plus applicable shipping and/or sales tax).add to cart
Why We're The Best
Our buyers have been involved as judges in several California wine competitions. We see, literally, thousands of wines a year in the course of our regular retail operation. Simply put we have more options and more buying power than other clubs.
Our monthly wine clubs were named best of the inexpensive clubs by Food & Wine Magazine, an independent testament to the quality of wine we put in the program.
We have more flexibility. We are used to working on tighter margins (we were, in fact, one of the very first to introduce the whole discount wine concept in California), and we have proven we can do just that with the club programs as well. We dont need to make the standard 60-80% 'club' markup either. So we don't have to buy less desirable wines at drastically discounted prices to maintain 'margins'and hit attractive price points on the programs. For us, economics will not compromise quality.
We believe wine clubs are about the wine, first. We put our effort and budget into the selection itself, and take pride not only in the consistent quality of what we send out, but the variety of things we are able to do because of our large network of suppliers and exposure to the widest possible variety of choices.
Its not only about quality, but about variety. Our buyers have consistently been picking winners, often well ahead of the trade and media, for over two decades.
How It Works
You get one bottle each of a specially selected red and white wine per month in Insiders Club, or two different reds in Club Red, delivered to your door with original comments about the wines and a brief vignette (see below).
You can join the Insiders Club for a cost of $19.99 per month (plus applicable shipping and/or sales tax), $24.99 (plus shipping and/or tax) for Club Red.
The subscription period is for a period of three, six, or twelve months, charged when your order is placed.
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