Staff Favorites - Alexandre Brisoux

Review Date: 5-21-2013

It's finally back! The Tavel rose you all have been waiting for! Plush grenache fruit of raspberry and red cherry, with hints of lush spice. Medium acidity and super refreshing. Bring on the poolside or picnic appetizers! YAY!

Review Date: 5-21-2013

Sprightly goodness is back! Yet another delightfully quaffable, lime zest and mineral driven vinho verde. Medium plus acidity and low alcohol at 11.5% and a killer deal at $8.99!

Review Date: 5-21-2013

Another great little wine from Foxglove. This wine is distinctively less tropical than the 2010 vintage showing more pear, quince and even a hint of lime zest character. Fantastic value in CA Chard!

Review Date: 5-20-2013

A fantastic value. This d'Ognoas is full bodied and spicey with beautiful aromatics. I really like the 2000 Domaine d'Ognoas and the 1973 shows that extra aging adds comcentration and spice to a lovey Armagnac.

Review Date: 5-20-2013

The first word that came to my mind when I tasted this sake was "pure". The Takatenjim is clean, delicious and multidimensional. It should please any lover of sake. On the dry side, it will go well alone or with lighter foods.

Review Date: 5-20-2013

A big wine full of juicy complex fruit that has accents of vanilla from oak aging.The Affiniy is a Bordeaux style blend that is complex with a lot going on in it. In short, a fun yet serious wine.

Review Date: 5-20-2013

This Donati Claret is very easy to drink and enjoy. It is juicy and round with layers of different flavors. It will go well with hearty foods or alone for those who like to sip on a full bodied red wine.

Review Date: 5-18-2013

Reading my co-workers' reviews, I couldn't help but notice both the huge number of total reviews, and the fact that they are all very similar raves about this whisk(e)y.I'm admittedly late to have caught this train, but absolutely feel the need to chime in on this one. As a sherry drinker, I'm especially fond of the burnished, burnt caramel, dried citrus peel and walnut husk flavors of dry oloroso. This bottling perfectly embodies these flavors; you can tell that not only are these first fill Oloroso Sherry barrels, but really high quality ones at that! (I wonder where they were purchased?) I have to agree with David; this is perhaps the most complete, well balanced, delicious bottle of sherry barrel aged scotch I have tasted. A new favorite and instant classic for me and, I suspect, for many of our single malt customers as well.

Review Date: 5-18-2013

Well, where do I start with this wine? I guess I should start out by saying what's in the bottle is REALLY GOOD!! A blend of 85% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Lambrusco, I was prepared for this wine to be okay at best, an abomination at worst. But it was rich, well balanced, varietally correct, long on the palate with a fair dollop of complexity. I was very impressed. So what's with the bottle. Well, let me start that off by saying I'm no fan of motorcycle racing, but the Italians are obsessed with it, and I'm obsessed with everything Italian, so I guess that, by extention, I am indeed a fan of motorcycle racing. "Piega" is the leaning angle of a rider as he makes a turn. 68.2 degrees is, according to Ducati, the optimum "piega", and that is the angle of the bottle/decanter. This is a bottling commissioned by Ducati from an excellent producer(Ceci) for their cafes around Italy. Yes, Ducati has cafes around Italy. (I told you they were obsessed!). Anyway, wine is great whether your into the groovy bottle or not. But chances are, you will be. CM

Review Date: 5-18-2013

I came across this wine at a Prosciutto di Parma seminar and immediately fell in love with it. I guess I should mention Italians in general have a penchant for "fizzy" wine, there refered to as "frizzante" or "vivace" (lively), and the people of Emilia-Romagna in particular LOVE it. Not only does it make an already refreshing wine even more so, it makes the wines that much more food friendly, especially with the richer, more fatty cuisine of Emilia-Romagna. Hence it's pairing with the Prosciutto. I could go on and on how much I adore and appreciate the food and wine of this part of Italy, but suffice to say this wine rocks! Lovely lime, pear blossom, jasmine and acacia flower on the nose, medium bodied with just enough spritz and acidity to make it achingly refreshing. Perfect not just with charcuterie and affitati misti, but along side a salad or pannino, or even just on it's own on a beautiful summer afternoon. CM, LA Italian wine specialist

Review Date: 5-18-2013

Of the two single cask Rusty Blade offerings cask B was the more subtle one. There are juniper and baking spices but they a slightly more delicate and nuanced than cask A. Cask B , however, is the fuller bodied of the two.

Review Date: 5-18-2013

This aged gin is full of expressive and pronounced aromatics and flavor. There is juniper mixed with baking spice flavors enveloped in a full bodied and round liquid.In other words, it is delicious, unique, is good alone and should go well in creatively inspired cocktails.

Review Date: 5-17-2013

The Erik Banti Ciabatta is 85% Sangioves, 10% Alicante and 5% Ciliegiolo and is a good alternative to Chianti. The flavor of the Sangiovese is fattened up by the Alicante and creates a wine that is medium to full bodied,has nice fruit,and is balanced with complexity and acidity. It is delicious and interesting and will go well meats, pasta and pizza.

Review Date: 5-17-2013

When you taste this wine you won't believe that it only cost $6.99. It is a bright juicy medium bodied wine that is easy to drink alone and will go well with pasta and pizza.

Review Date: 5-17-2013

The 2007 vintage in Tuscany produced many top quality wines and this Super Tuscan from Viticcio shows the power, structure and age worthiness of Bordeaux blends from Chianti. Powerful,focused with a blend of gravelly earth and ripe cherry on the palate, long and intense a wine with great structure.