Review Date: 6-18-2013

I know many of you went nuts over the previous 2011 Napa Chardonnay that we had, with its rich, creamy, fat style with tons of oak and a full malolactic presentation, this beauty has richness, depth, and better structure, and exhibits better balance and more upfront fruit characteristics. Opulent aromas of spicy cinnamon apple to tropical fruit tones with hints of a creamy, vanilla note, this wonderful wine offers gorgeous rich fruit flavors with excellent acid structure and depth of flavor. This Gem will be, according to Rusty, one of our house whites for however long it is around. 14.5% ABV

Review Date: 5-30-2013

Medium-deep ruby in color, the bouquet offers up tons of black cherry to currants-like fruit notes with mocha to roasted coffee bean undertones, and a hint of slate-like minerality. All of this carries over nicely to a complex, broad, viscous wine in the mouth. Rusty has informed me that this will be one of our every day house wine in five to ten years For those of you who are hung up on points from the wine gods, The Wine Spectator gave this 89 points, Parker gave it 90 points, and Suckling gave it 92 points. 14.0% ABV

Review Date: 5-30-2013

Medium deep ruby in color, the nose shows lush plumy to blueberry notes with just a hint of wet stone minerality. With its soft, round, integrated entry, this Gem, which is mostly Merlot, offers up immediate drinkability and completeness, with a long, warm finish. Dusty has informed me that this Gem will be one of our house reds for the month. 14.0% ABV

Review Date: 5-30-2013

Inky in color, the nose exhibits a woodsy, almost mushroomy note with distinctive cassis to blueberry fruit overtones. In its creamy, rich, viscous, fleshy mouth presentation, this Gem is well-integrated, balanced, broad and loaded with lush, deep, ripe fruit. As with the Beaumont, this Gem will drink in the near-term (three to six years) and Rusty has told me to bring at least a few cases home for that purpose, For those of you who are hung up on points from the wine gods, The Wine Spectator gave this 89 points.14.5% ABV

Review Date: 5-30-2013

We have imported this wonderful Cru Bourgeois for well over twenty years. Deeply colored, this lovely, opulent wine shows tons of cassis to mocha aromas, with a broad, well integrated, viscous mouthfeel, and a long, rich finish. Rusty has informed me that this near-term Gem will be our house red for the next three to six years. For those of you who are hung up on points from the wine gods, The Wine Enthusiasts gave this puppy 89 to 90 points.14.0% ABV

Review Date: 5-30-2013

We have imported this wonderful Cru Bourgeois for well over twenty years. Deeply colored, this lovely, opulent wine shows tons of cassis to mocha aromas, with a broad, well integrated, viscous mouthfeel, and a long, rich finish. Rusty has informed me that this near-term Gem will be our house red for the next three to six years. For those of you who are hung up on points from the wine gods, The Wine Enthusiasts gave this puppy 89 to 90 points.14.0% ABV

Review Date: 5-14-2013

Produced from an old vine, mid-slope South facing vineyard, this powerful wine provides tons of opulent yeasty, nutty characteristics on the nose that transcend its impressively complex, rich, lush, and deep flavors with incredible structure and a finish that defines Champagnes that are three to four times this price. The Bean has informed me that, without a question, we need to have a case of this Gem in our cellar, now! 12.0% ABV

Review Date: 5-14-2013

Produced from Chardonnay [obviously, since it is “Blanc de Blancs”], this amazing Gem throws tons of yeasty, nutty, creamy fruit at you both in the nose and on the palate, with brilliant complexity, and a lush, broad, and rich finish. The Bean has ordered me to bring at least one case of this home for our consumption in the next one to three-plus years. I will probably bring home more than that. 12.0% ABV

Review Date: 5-14-2013

Lush aromas of jasmine to white peach underscored by a wet river stone to slate-like minerality define the very serious bouquet of this lovely wine that was created by our German Wine Buyer, Eric Story [his third such creation in three years], which is a not quite a Tröcken nor a Halb-Tröcken, but somewhere in between those styles. Incredible structure and depth of character on the palate, this Gem is off-dry, yet refreshing and bright due to its excellent acid levels and presentation of superb Riesling fruit. According to Rusty, this very serious Gem is one of the best buys in the store and he has informed me that we need at least several cases of this wonderful wine. 11.5% ABV

Review Date: 4-16-2013

The wineries that Leon Sobon owns (Sobon Estate and Shenandoah Vineyards) have produced some of the best Zinfandels, Syrahs, and other fine red and white varietals over the past twenty years at comparatively, wonderfully low prices This estate Syrah is a perfect example of my assertion. Deep ruby in color, the opulent aromas of classic white pepper to plumy fruit notes explode from your glass, and leads to richly flavored, well integrated and focused Syrah in the mouth, with silky tannins and lush characteristics. The finish refuses to surrender and, as Rusty so well stated it, this Gem is an amazing value. This will be one of our house reds for the month, according to Rusty. 14.1% ABV

Review Date: 4-9-2013

This production is medium ruby in color, with aromas of currants and cherry-like tones, and creamy, cedary notes. In the mouth, this Gem is soft, integrated, fleshy, and long. Nice wine for near-term consumption. Rusty has made this one of our house reds for the month.13.0% ABV

Review Date: 4-9-2013

This is an interesting vintage. Many wine critics and noted wine magazines initially gave this harvest bad reviews due to weather problems (rain and cold before and during the harvest). But, as I have pointed out to my colleagues and customers, when I started in this business in the very early 1970s, many, if not most, Chateaux would wait for veraison to take place, go to their calendars and mark off forty-five days when the harvest would begin, regardless. And, they would then pick everything, good or bad. But, in the early 1980s, their century-plus practices began to change. Instead, most began to selectively pick grapes as they ripen, take them to a sort room (tossing any questionable clusters), and only crush those grapes of high quality. So, you have a wet vintage as 1997 that would have been a disaster back in the 60s (like 1965 and 1968), actually resulting in lovely, near-term productions. I love this wine and have watched it evolve gracefully for the past ten years. Medium-deep ruby in color, the nose offers cassis to blackberry notes with cedary undertones. In the mouth, it is silky, almost creamy, broad, balanced, complex, and just a pleasure to drink. Rusty has informed me that this Gem will be one of our house reds for however long it is around. 13.0% ABV

Review Date: 4-9-2013

This is an interesting vintage. Many wine critics and noted wine magazines initially gave this harvest bad reviews due to weather problems (rain and cold before and during the harvest). But, as I have pointed out to my colleagues and customers, when I started in this business in the very early 1970s, many, if not most, Chateaux would wait for veraison to take place, go to their calendars and mark off forty-five days when the harvest would begin, regardless. And, they would then pick everything, good or bad. But, in the early 1980s, their century-plus practices began to change. Instead, most began to selectively pick grapes as they ripen, take them to a sort room (tossing any questionable clusters), and only crush those grapes of high quality. So, you have a wet vintage as 1997 that would have been a disaster back in the 60s (like 1965 and 1968), actually resulting in lovely, near-term productions. I love this wine and have watched it evolve gracefully for the past ten years. Medium-deep ruby in color, the nose offers cassis to blackberry notes with cedary undertones. In the mouth, it is silky, almost creamy, broad, balanced, complex, and just a pleasure to drink. Rusty has informed me that this Gem will be one of our house reds for however long it is around. 13.0% ABV

Review Date: 3-29-2013

One of the first wines that caught my attention when I first started selling and collecting wine in this business in the very early `70’s (1972 AD, and don’t believe my colleagues that it was 1972 BC) was Petite Sirah. It was a huge wine, when produced correctly, with tons of black pepper spiciness and a plumy varietal characteristic. Like Zinfandel (which formerly came from Croatia and the Puglia area of Italy), Petite Sirah is not really the name of this grape/wine (which originated from the Southwestern Regional area of France), but the records of this grape’s origin was lost over a century ago. The name Petite Sirah was assigned (because the experts of that time thought it was related to Syrah), but the actual grape is named Durif, a scarcely planted grape that is used for blending in France. The Kalinda 2010 Petite Sirah from the Dry Creek Valley is a classic, old style, traditional Petite. Deeply colored, it loaded with black pepper spiciness, with a plumy and blueberry set of fruit characteristics that carry over to a flashy, broad, well-structured palate impression. Integrated, balanced, and deeply flavored, this lovely wine will drink well now and will continue to evolve for another five to ten years. Rusty has informed me that this Gem will be one of our house reds for the next three to six years. (14.5% ABV)

Review Date: 2-21-2013

I think of all the vintages from Lanessan, this is the most delicate, less aggressive one. Medium ruby in color, you get that classic cassis and blackberry presentation from this chateau, but with a much less assertive and powerful dimension. The tannins are integrated, and soft, with fine depth and soft, moderately complex flavors. Rusty has informed me that this Gem will be one of our house reds for the month.13.0% ABV