Wines
12 Items Found
- Castle Rock Pinot Noir Monterey 2009 Product #25381 (In Stock)
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Castle Rock is America's top value Pinot Noir producer, although which cuvee is best varies from year to year. This year, we like the Monterrey County Pinot the best for it's ripe fruit, good weight, and accents of cola and spice. The flavors are ripe and kissed with a touch of oak, but stay true to Pinot Noir's character and grace. Velvety and smooth and great value.
- Elizabeth Spencer Sauvignon Blanc 2011 Product #25646 (In Stock)
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Certified Organic Wine Elizabth Spencer has a reputation for making intense wines with elegance and restraint. The 2010 Sauvignon Blanc has intense aromas of lemon zest and tart pineapple. The flavors found on the palate are bright and hint at notes of green apple, wet stone, and tangy grapefruit. Beautifully ripe fruit combined with a stark minerality, makes this Sauv Blanc one refreshing wine.
- Mandolin Pinot Noir Monterey 2011 Product #26867 (In Stock)
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It's too darn hard to find honest, ripe and balanced California Pinot Noir for less than $20 these days, which is why we are so thrilled to have found this! Fruit comes from in and around the Sta. Rita Hills, where cooling daily winds help Pinot retain freshness even as it ripens fully in the bright sun. The aromas are honest and earthy, with dark black fruit framed by a bit of earth and smoke. Then ripe and round in the mouth with black cherry fruit, cola notes, and a touch of smoke and earth on the end. A tad forward, but very tasty and outstanding value.
- Calera Pinot Noir Central Coast 2011 375ml Product #27216 (In Stock)
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The folks at Calera are all about limestone, and that stony, mineral, streak is what makes the pure and bright Pinot so captivating. Great finish here and real elegance.
"Calera’s 2011 Pinot Noir Central Coast wafts from the glass with freshly cut flowers, sweet red berries and mint. This is a fairly laid-back vintage for the wine, with less of the pure breed of the 2009 and 2010, but frankly that may be an unfair comparison as those wines were superb over achievers. The 2011 is more an inline performer. The tense, saline finish laced with pretty floral and spiced notes is lovely. Anticipated maturity: 2013-2018."Wine Advocate 90 points
- Varner Chardonnay Foxglove 2011 Product #27172 (In Stock)
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The newest release of what Wine Advocate has called, "one of the top values in California wine" is another winner. A blend of fruit from Santa Barbara, Paso Robles, and other sites with zero oak and no malolactic acidity, it delivers honeyed lemon, pear, and honeysuckle notes with a touch of fresh pineapple. Zesty and clean on the end with fine purity and balance. A winner!
- Bishops Peak Chardonnay Central Coast 2012 Product #27291 (In Stock)
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As always, the folks at Talley do a fine job with their "no oak" Bishop's Peak program. As they explain, "One of the coolest summers on record resulted in long hang time and grapes with high natural acidity. The resulting wines balance refreshing acidity with concentrated flavors due to the low yields. This chardonnay has a refreshing bouquet of green apple, guava, citrus zest and white flowers. The fresh fruit theme continues on the palate with bright flavors of pear and pineapple." No oak and no malo mean this is fresh and crisp.
- Au Bon Climat Pinot Blanc/Pinot Gris 2010 Product #26982 (In Stock)
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This 66/34 blend of Pinot Gris and Pinot Blanc is what most California Chardonnays aspire to be, but never quite are. It opens with ripe aromas of stone fruits and juicy pear, along with a hint of something rich and creamy. It’s not quite butter – maybe crème fraiche? On the palate, the Pinot Gris lends weight and full fruit flavors, while the Pinot Blanc comes in with minerality, structure, and racier acidity.
Like all ABC wines, it’s barrel fermented and aged and goes through malolactic fermentation, but on this wine the wood is all used. Rather than the syrupy, blowsy, movie theater popcorn-notes that too much oak and malolactic often lends to California whites, here it lends texture and just a hint of something warm, sophisticated and spicy, like a grating of fresh nutmeg over a cream sauce rather than the whole bakeshop.
This unusual blend would be an ideal partner for richer seafood like scallops or lobster, but would work equally well at the Spring holiday table with dishes involving ham, new potatoes, or salmon with fresh dill. Because of its appealing richness, this would also make a fantastic stand-alone glass to sip before dinner or on a warm afternoon. - Folk Machine Pinot Noir Central Coast 2011 Product #26751 (In Stock)
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Kenny Likitprakong is probably nuts, but he's certainly making some really interesting wine! Kenny likes wines that are lower in alcohol both for their greater refreshment and balance, and because it means he can drink more. He's put some very fine vineyards under long-term contract so he can have them farmed the way he likes, producing perfectly ripe fruit that can be harvested while sugars are lower and bright acids are still intact.
His Folk Machine Pinot Noir is a fine example, showing a lovely, ripe, California Pinot nose of red fruit, spice, and earth. In the mouth, light, fresh, and refreshing with more pretty red fruit, floral notes, and a juicy, citric, mouthwatering, finish. More like a fine Bourgogne rouge than Central Coast Pinot, perhaps, but very tasty and appetizing. - Logan (Talbott) Chardonnay Sleepy Hollow Vyd 2011 Product #26861 (In Stock)
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Full-throttle, old-school, Cali-Chard that delivers swirls of spiced vanilla bean and banana on the nose. The palate is rich with flavors of pineapple, golden pear, and white peppered cashews on the back of the palate. A long toastiness lingers on the finish. A rich Chard for big Cali Chard fans. Pairs wonderfully with rich seafood dishes, especially lobster.
- Calera Pinot Noir Central Coast 2011 Product #26777 (In Stock)
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The folks at Calera are all about limestone, and that stony, mineral, streak is what makes the pure and bright Pinot so captivating. Great finish here and real elegance.
"Calera’s 2011 Pinot Noir Central Coast wafts from the glass with freshly cut flowers, sweet red berries and mint. This is a fairly laid-back vintage for the wine, with less of the pure breed of the 2009 and 2010, but frankly that may be an unfair comparison as those wines were superb over achievers. The 2011 is more an inline performer. The tense, saline finish laced with pretty floral and spiced notes is lovely. Anticipated maturity: 2013-2018."Wine Advocate 90 points
- Belle Glos Pinot Noir Clark & Telephone 2011 Product #26685 (In Stock)
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The Clark & Telephone vineyard Pinot Noir has been going from strength to strength in recent vintages, with a 91 point rating from Wine Spectator for the 2008 and then back-to-back 93s for 2009 and 2010. The last vintage clocked in at #77 on Wine Spectator's Top 100 of 2012 for its "impressive mix of dense blackberry, raspberry and huckleberry, holding its focus and maintaining its supple texture." As Joseph explains, the cool 2011 growing season allowed him to "achieve moderate levels of sugar, meaning moderate levels of alcohol, yet full fruit ripeness." Here's his tasting note:
"Deep scarlet red in color, this wine leaves little to the imagination with rich, expansive aromas of blackberry, raspberry, plum and sweet baking spices like cinnamon, clove and nutmeg. The palate is similarly intense with flavors of ripe blackberries, raspberries, warm cherry pie, blueberry and fresh cranberry, perfectly balanced with velvety tannins and a smooth toasty oak finish. Best described as 'Christmas in your mouth!'" - Williams Selyem Pinot Noir Central Coast 2010 Product #27129 (In Stock)
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From the estate-owned Vista Verde vineyard in San Benito County, the Central Coast Pinot boasts flamboyant aromatics, from rose petals to cola.
