Hot Sheets
5 Summer Specials from The Cellar Door!
WALLA WALLA
SPECIAL PRICE - $13.99 BTL./$167.88 CASE
At 24.00, this was still a top-drawer wine from one of Walla Walla's fine newcomers. At 14 bucks, you're nuts if you pass this one by!! "Gifford Hirlinger's Stateline Red is perhaps the least-known best-value wine in the Walla Walla AVA. The blend changes radically from year to yearthis is 83% Cabernet with splashes of Malbec, Tinta Cão, Tempranillo and Petit Verdot. Focused and concentrated, it has a streak of orange and cherry liqueur, and yummy highlights of coffee cake." – 91 POINTS, THE WINE ENTHUSIAST
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2010 GUADO AL TASSO VERMENTINO
BOLGHERI, TUSCANY
[reg. $27.99]
SPECIAL PRICE - $16.99 BTL./$101.94 SIX PACK CASE
BOLGHERI, TUSCANY
SPECIAL PRICE - $16.99 BTL./$101.94 SIX PACK CASE
Guado al Tasso is legendary Tuscan producer Antonori's Tuscan Coast (Bolgheri) estate that is well-known for its super-luxury wines, both red and white. Last week when we had the chance to sample this Vermentino, we were very pleased with the results, when we found out that we could sell it for under 20 bucks, we were ready to do backflips!!
A sterling example of Central Italian white wine, the Vermentino grapes utilized in this wine are picked over several passages for levels of ripeness, then carefully selected with only the best making it into the final blend which is a stately 12% alcohol. Enthralling lime, peppermint and saline aromas carry over to a texture that's mouth-filling and quite penetrating. Abundant depth is charmingly set off wonderfully by blazing peach-pit and zesty minerality which provides dazzling freshness from start to finish. Classy and drawn-out, this wine is excellent to pair with fish dishes done in tomatoes.
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2005 RODA RIOJA RESERVA
[reg. $56.99]
SPECIAL PRICE - $34.99 BTL./$209.94 SIX PACK CASE
SPECIAL PRICE - $34.99 BTL./$209.94 SIX PACK CASE
Bodegas Roda is a small estate that started in 1991 and one where prestige and accolades arrived early on. Despite its youth as a winery, the vines used for these wines have an average age of over 50 years. Roda owns twelve separate parcels of land, which vary in exposure, elevation, and soil and meticulous farming, impeccable winemaking and major attention to detail is what makes this awesome Bodega thrive. 85% Tempranillo, 9% Graciano and 6% Garnacha, the 2005 is absolutely smashing! Alluring aromatic tones of smoked oak, adobe, smoked meat, prominent violet and blackberry which mesh nicely together to form a Rioja that shows quasi-Bordeaux inspiration. Owning a sophisticated, rich, velvety texture that crawls throughout and coats the palate, it also picks up grip and structure on the deep middle and persistent finish that's stacked with fine material. Extremely lovable now, this exciting upscale Rioja from one of the great modernistas will also develop and drink nicely through 2020.
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2005 ANTONELLI MONTEFALCO ROSSO RISERVA
[reg. $37.50]
SPECIAL PRICE - $24.99 BTL./$149.94 - SIX PACK CASE
SPECIAL PRICE - $24.99 BTL./$149.94 - SIX PACK CASE
Fillipo Antonelli is a producer who makes wines that are an alternative to the more-known, but heavy-handed wines of Caprai who seems to be the name that everyone mentions when they think of Umbria. Truth be told, Caprai wines are alcoholic, overoaked beasts in comparison to this!! Striving to make wines that are both full of character and flavor while retaining freshness and balance and will carry over to the table, Fillipo attains all of this with plenty of Umbrian terroir and concentration.
Montefalco Rosso embodies the great bond between wine and the area of Montefalco in the landlocked region of Umbria which borders Tuscany, Le Marches and Lazio. With Fillipo's wines, Riserva really signifies something more than just adding more shiny new barrels. Produced from their oldest vines and finest plots, the blend of 70% Sangiovese 15% Sagrantino, 10% cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Merlot really morphs into a wine that is certain to seduce. Major-league, very deep aromas waft from the glass. Prominent blackberry, sage, cherry pit and balsamic notes follow through to a texture that is palate-staining, layered, and complex all while maintaining an airy aspect. Extensive, expansive and very Italian, at age 7, this wine is really starting to take shape and drink beautifully. Enjoy this with a slow roasted leg of lamb jacked with Italian herbs or a full-flavored meat and cheese-filled lasagna over the next 5-7 years.
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2009 VIEUX TELEGRAPHE CHÂTEAUNEUF-DU-PAPE
"LE CRAU"
[reg. $92.99]
SPECIAL PRICE - $65.99 BTL./$791.88 CASE
"LE CRAU"
SPECIAL PRICE - $65.99 BTL./$791.88 CASE
Along with Beaucastel, Rayas Clos des Papes, etc., the Brunier family's Domaine du Vieux Telegraphe is one of this appellation's true icon estates that cellars impeccably. Those who love and collect wine, especially Châteauneuf should definitely have some of this in their cellar, especially when the price is whacked down this much.
Vintage 2009 from Vieux Telegraphe is a mighty impressive one that is deserving of the hyperbole that is being heaped onto it. Classically put together VT with tight-knit aromas of hickory, herbes-de-provence, black cherries and licorice. Full-bodied and firmly structured and backward at this point, We always recommend following the "VT Golden Rule". In a top vintage such as this one, don't touch it for 7-10 years from vintage date, and when you finally open one, it'll make your eyes bug out like Susan Sarandon with its power, smoothness and starstruck complexity! The perfect example is the 2001, which is absolutely ravishing today in 2012 and will keep for another decade as well. Buy some now, cellar it, then drink it from 2017 – 2027. To learn any great wine region, one must have the benchmarks and this is one of them.
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