Staff Favorites - Doug Burress

Review Date: 5-13-2013

Great wine that is a little more reserved than most of Launois' rich, decadent style. From a single vineyard and bottled at a slightly lower pressure. Soft orchard fruits abound, some fleshy peach character and a nice toasty note on the finish with our being overly buttery of nutty. This restraint allows the quality of fruit to show through a little more precisely. Excellent value.

Review Date: 5-9-2013

Do you love unoaked, dry white wines? This is textbook, deliciously crisp, slightly fizzy, bone dry txakoli! One of my favorite wines to drink in summer, I have in the past always been happy to pay the piper for these delicious, mineral, yet ultimately uncomplicated and refreshing whites. Now that we import this one directly though, I think I've found a new go to summer white (though I'm sure I'll be drinking this in the winter as well, with oysters, dungeness crab, pan fried trout...). A by the case purchase for me and probably for staff as well; buy some before we drink it all.

Review Date: 5-9-2013

This succulent wine made a big impression on me when I tasted it today. Something this refreshing, clean and easy to drink seems like it should come with a warning label that reads: "Caution this wine is easy to get carried away with"! I can imagine pairing it with tapas, or just with a warm summer day. It is fantastic and a great deal!

Review Date: 5-9-2013

If you desire a richer style, the botryized and off-dry 2009 “Vandenberg” is more generous and rich in the mouth than the 'Kick On Ranch', yet still gorgeous and vibrant. It's laden with lush tropical and lychee fruit aromas and a flavors and a finish that lingers...perfect for spicy exotic fare or a sumptuous fruit dessert. Very impressive form for Riesling from as unexpected a locale as Santa Barbara! Graham Tatomer is a winemaker to watch.

Review Date: 5-8-2013

Beautiful red currant, red cherry, raspberry, cassis, black plum, graphite, & spice with medium plus acidity and fine, well-integrated tannin. Elegant and graceful, I want to sit and linger with this wine all afternoon.... Simply stunning.

Review Date: 5-8-2013

Loir Valley comes to New Zealand? Although a bit riper and more generous in body, the PVV "Howell" vineyard Cabernet Franc shows notes of iron, sweet beets, dark red fruits, and a hint of bell pepper that is classic to many a Loir Valley Cabernet Franc. On the palate there is good structure with supporting acidity and very good length. Tradition meets the modern world.

Review Date: 5-8-2013

Fun, with lot's of crispy raspberry, peaches and currants. Just delicious to enjoy on a hot day.

Review Date: 5-8-2013

The "Calvert" vineyard Pinot from PVV shows a bit more deeper fruit profile and broader shoulders typical of the Bannockburn sub-region in Central Otago compared to the Cowley in Marlborough. There's a lovely bouquet of smokey dark plum, Asian spice, flat cola,a hint if anise and dried tangerine peel. On the palate the wine is seamless in its balance with juicey acidity, velvety supple tannis and a dusting of coco powder. Everything come together in perfect order with a long persistent and complex finish. Gorgeous.

Review Date: 5-8-2013

The Cowley Pinot from PVV "sings" with black cherry, raspberry, clove, cedar, sandlewood, dried orange peel, earth, forest floor and a light meaty note.On the palate the wine is deftly balanced with ripe fine tannins and a fine length. If you haven't had the Pinot Noirs from Pyramid Valley Vineyards, this is a great introduction to their style.

Review Date: 5-8-2013

The 2009 Tatomer “Kick-On Ranch” Santa Barbara County Riesling convinved me this guy knows his Riesling. With pure lime, peach and stone fruits, bracing acidity, and fine mineral framing, this is high caliber stuff that will complement a variety of dishes.

Review Date: 5-7-2013

This lower pressure Champagne, coming from the single vineyard Chetillons is another astounding deal from Launois. The soft creamy feel of the mousse and the long lingering palate feel showing sweetcake and creamy apple richness mid-palate flows to a long lingering finish (another Grand Cru at this price!) ..... what's not to like?

Review Date: 5-7-2013

There's not a lot more to say about this one, it a no-brainer! Grand Cru Champagne of this quality at this price is just not to be missed.

Review Date: 5-7-2013

At some point last year I was sitting at my desk thinking about some of the wines I’ve had from what I believe to be truly great wineries in the fine state of California. One of these great wineries that kept popping into my head was York Creek. The saddest part is that I hadn’t carried the wine for a couple of years due to lack of distribution. So I picked up the phone and made a call, long story short James Beard Award winner, beer icon, owner of York Creek Vineyards and an all around great man Fritz Maytag was at my desk a couple of weeks later showing me the lineup from his estate high upon Spring Mountain. From that meeting a fruitful business relationship developed which began with us selling almost 300 cases of the highly touted 2007 Estate Cabernet, followed by the possibly even more popular 2004 Estate Cabernet that flew out the doors during the Holidays of 2012. Well we’ve gone back to the well once again and found another true gem at a completely ridiculous price. We recently tasted every vintage, minus the 1998 which they did not make, between 1994 and 1999 of the Estate Meritage. What we found was amazing, all of the wines were wonderful in their own vintage specific way but we really loved the 1999 vintage. I feel like this vintage is really at its apex right now and is a wonderful example of an old wine with plenty of freshness and life. Sure there are some secondary notes of tobacco, sandalwood and mint in the nose and of course the tannins here are polished to a fine patina but this is insanely drinkable and full of fresh red fruits and a deep set forest driven spice that only Spring Mountain can deliver. Add that all up, plus you get a wine that is almost 15 years old, for $24.99 and this maybe the bargain of the year.

Review Date: 5-7-2013

Lots of Bourbon-cask style action going on with this Miltonduff. Wood spice, burnt sugar, lots of round fruit with vanilla overtones. Then there's a rather herbacous note on the finish that adds an earthy character on the back end. This is just delicious. I know it's from Miltonduff, a distillery whose whisky mostly goes into Chivas blended goods, but if you're not interested in big names or collectable bottles you're getting mature, 18 year old, full proof hooch that tastes great for a great price. That's all we can ask for anymore, right?

Review Date: 5-7-2013

For anyone who is still nursing that last sip of the 1992 Bladnoch we bottled back in 2011, have no fear of finishing that final gulp. We've got you totally covered. Imperial is an old Allied Distillers distillery that was closed in 1998. It was purchased in 2005 by Pernod Ricard, but never reopened. In 2013 the buildings were demolished and plans to build a new "Imperial" distillery on the same site were announced. What we've got in this bottle is some of the last juice from the original facility. This whisky is all sweet fruit, vanilla, jelly beans, and wood oils. Lots of unsherried roundness going on. Delicious, fun, and easy to drink. Perhaps a bit too easy.