WINE TASTING ROOM-Completo's
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UPDATED AS OF MA7 20, 2017
AALTO Ribera del
Duero Spanish RED $5/taste
Made
of Tempranillo and aged in small oak barrels, this is a
Spanish red you can put on the dinner table in place
of fancy Bordeaux or Napa Cabernets.
VON WINNING SAUVIGNON BLANC
$4/taste
Delicious
dry Sauvignon Blanc which reminds
us of Smith Haut Lafitte's white wine...
except this doesn't cost more than $100 a bottle.
You'll be pleasantly surprised by this remarkable
wine.
HONIG 2014 NAPA CABERNET SAUVIGNON $4/taste
Full-throttle Napa Cabernet that's
drinkable now...and it can be cellared for a
few years, too.
Good value as Napa Cabernets go.
VASSE FELIX 2014 "Filius"
CABERNET SAUVIGNON $2.60/taste
John and Gerald tasted
this wine independently of one another and
both said it reminded them of Robert Mondavi's Napa Cabernet
of the 1969 to 1971 era!
It's a supple, balanced wine...drinkable now.
JAYSON 2013 North Coast CHARDONNAY $5/taste
Big, creamy, nicely oaked Chardonnay...it's a full-throttle California
white but despite its high alcohol, it still seems balanced.
FRISSON 2012 Rutherford/Napa Valley CABERNET
$9.50/taste
Beautiful
Napa Valley Cabernet from a famous vineyard
in Rutherford...
Dark fruit of the Cabernet and some cedary oak
tones...
Gentle enough to enjoy now, too, by the way.
RAMEY 2013 Russian River Valley
CHARDONNAY $4/taste
One of our favorite California Chardonnays, this is a wine made with
an astute awareness of French White Burgundies, but with a
decidedly California accent. Very fine.
VIETTI 2015 ARNEIS $2.40/taste
The latest vintage of Arneis from Vietti is another benchmark
bottling...
Dry, no oak and perfect for summer aperitivo service and seafood dishes...
Linguine con Vongole, anyone?
SHUMI "TSINANDALE" Blend $1.40/taste
They've been making wine forever in Georgia (nowhere near Atlanta)
and this is a
delightful blend of Rkatsitelli and Mtsvane. Peachy and showing a woodsy
note.
CIU CIU 2015
PECORINO $1.60
A fantastic
example of the Pecorino grape...certainly this will appeal to you if
you're enchanted by crisp, non-oaked Sauvignon Blancs.
DROUHIN 2015
CHABLIS $2.00/taste
You
can easily taste that the 2015 vintage produced wines which are a shade
riper than normal. Still good though.
DAULNY 2015
SANCERRE $2/taste
Crisp,
tangy, stony, minerally and bone dry...no oak.
Classic Sancerre at a rather modest price.
MINER 2013 Napa CABERNET SAUVIGNON
$5/taste
Miner now labels its Napa
Valley Cabernet as Emily's Cuvee in honor
of the late Emily Miner. Dark fruit and nice oak.
GREEN + RED
Chiles Mill Napa ZINFANDEL $3/taste
We're big
fans of Jay Heminway's wines...this comes from a great site above Napa
Valley not far from Lake Hennessy. Beautifully berryish with mild spice
notes.
DELILLE 2014 CHALEUR
WHITE $4/taste
From a snazzy
Washington State winery comes this terrific
blend of Sauvignon Blanc & Semillon. It's mildly toasty and
unusually complex.
PEAY Sonoma PINOT NOIR $4.30/taste
The Peay brothers
make some compelling Pinot Noir from their
northern climes in the Sonoma Coast area.
SUMMERS NAPA CHARBONO $2.30/taste
Jim & Beth Summers make our favorite California
Charbono...teeming
with blackberry & blueberry fruit...mild tannins...fairly full-bodied.
VAUGHN
DUFFY Sonoma SYRAH $3.50/taste
The 35s
are Nice?
Not sure what that means, but this is a delicious and
somewhat Rhone-like California Syrah.
ERMES PAVESE "BLANC DE MORGEX" $2.70/taste
Bone dry, light, crisp Alpine white from north-western Italy.
Prie Blanc is the grape...might remind you of a crisp,
flinty, non-oaked Chablis.
VENICA 2015 Friuli SAUVIGNON $2.50/taste
The Venica family make some exceptional dry whites in
northeast Italy...Friuli. Mildly herbal/grassy.
MONTERAPONI 2014
CHIANTI CLASSICO $2.70/taste
This is a smallish estate
which has long been a proponent of "natural"
viticulture and winemaking. First vintage we've had in the shop as they
seem to have refined their recipe.
TAILLE AUX LOUPS
"Formerly Vouvray" $3.20/taste
This
outstanding Chenin Blanc used to be labeled as Vouvray, but a
silly bit of bureaucracy forces winemaker Jacky Blot to labeled it
simply as a "Vin de France," despite it being from Vouvray.
Still tastes good, no matter what it's called.
GREYWACKE 2013
PINOT NOIR $4/taste
The 2013 vintage produced
some remarkable New Zealand Pinots and this is
one of our favorites.
HOWARD PARK Aussie
SHIRAZ $3.50/taste
Dark
purple in color & teeming with black fruits...berries and a sweet
wood spice...
CASTELL'IN VILLA
2012 CHIANTI CLASSICO $2.70/taste
Castell'in Villa is an old-school producer in south-east
Chianti...100% Sangiovese...no Merlot.
No Cabernet. No Syrah. This vintage is spot-on.
ALBERT BOXLER
EDELZWICKER $2.50/taste
This wine
could only be made in Alsace...if you want to taste a wine
that handsomely displays its origins, try a sniff/taste of this.
MERAYO'S
"LAS TRES FILAS" MENCIA $1.70/taste
Mencia!
What a delicious wine this is!
From Spain's Bierzo region...lots of red berry fruit notes and
a slightly floral note.
Very charming and well-priced.
TALLEY 2014
CHARDONNAY $2.60/taste
Talley is
a highly-regarded winery just north of Santa Barbara.
We have featured their Chardonnay since the late 1980s!
They grow their own fruit...
ODOARDI 2014 SAVUTO $1.30/taste
Not many folks know the Savuto appellation from Italy's
Calabria...it's a
nice blend based upon
Gaglioppo and Aglianico.
PEWSEY VALE 2010 "Contours" RIESLING 3.40/taste
This is a benchmark
Riesling and it's from Australia. They typically give it
substantial bottle aging so you can drink it immediately. Dry, of course.
And it's still a bit young.
SWEET
WINES OPEN TODAY:
QUINTA DO NOVAL 2011 VINTAGE PORT $10/taste
The most recently-declared Vintage is offered today for
tasting...quite showy now and it
will repay cellaring handsomely.
CHATEAU HAUT-MAYNE 2010 SAUTERNES $3.80
You're not alone...nobody knows this fine little domaine...
JM da FONSECA 20 YEAR SETUBAL (Moscatel) $6/1 ounce pour
Hugely famous in Portugal and around Europe, they're a mystery to most
wine consumers in the US. Remarkable wine, though.
STONY HILL 2010 Napa SÉMILLON DU SOLEIL $4.50/taste
A sort of Napa Valley "passito" made of Semillon.
SMITH WOODHOUSE 2002 LATE BOTTLED VINTAGE PORTO $3/taste
Savvy wine buyers know this brand from the Symington Family (Graham's, Warres,
Dow's)
for its killer LBV Port...If you have taste for hundred buck bottles of Vintage
Port and are
on a budget, check out this delicious Porto!
LA MAGENDIA Jurançon $3.60/taste
From master winemaker Jean Bernard Larrieu comes this stellar sweet wine
which is
balanced by laser-sharp acidity.
CARMES DE RIEUSSEC 2005 SAUTERNES $3.50/taste
A second wine from the famous Chateau Rieussec, this is nicely honeyed and
rather affordable...
BARBADILLO 30 YEAR AMONTILLADO SHERRY $5/taste
When we pour a taste of this stellar Sherry, its perfume permeates the entire
shop...nutty
and very fine with an after-taste which lingers for a very long time.
NIEPOORT 1988 COLHEITA PORTO $5/1 ounce Pour
Dirk Niepoort is a leading light in Portugal and he makes some top Colheita
(single vintage tawny) Ports. Here's a nicely aged bottling...old,
but not too old and not too young...
PIETRI GERAUD 2005 BANYULS $3.30
France's answer to the question "Port?"
EXCINDRE MUSCAT DE MIREVAL $2.20/taste
Terrific Muscat from the south of France.
From the Republic of Georgia, there's a remarkable
dessert wine...claimed to be comprised of more
than
300 different grape varieties! It's along the lines of Port/Madeira, but
uniquely Georgian.
