WINE DEALS 3/7/2025
1) Domaine Jouard Premier Cru “Les Vides Bourses” Chassagne-Montrachet 2021, Cote du Beaune, Cote d’Or: $129.99 Vides Bourses translates as “Empty Pocketbooks”. It is a small vineyard located just below the Grand Cru Batard Montrachet, along a little lane that was travelled by monks in the Middle Ages. It is here where bandits would often wait unseen, and rob the monks as they passed over the slight rise between Puligny and Chassagne. Today, the wines from this plot are among the best. The Vides Bourses is simply better than many Grand Cru wines, but at a Premier Cru price. Wow – complex even in youth, with layered vanilla, acacia, litchi and cream. Powerful, but retains a sense of elegance.
2) Laxas Albarino 2023, Rias Baixas: $21.99 100% Albarino. Pale, straw lemon with greenish tinges. Bright aromas of citrusy lemon-lime, lemon zest, white blossoms, lemon candy, nectarine, ripe pineapple, wet stone, and saline. Continuing to the palate, additional flavors of apricot, peach, honey, and cement. This wine is dry and mouthwatering acidic, with full concentration of flavors that is brightened by the crisp acidity. Well-structured with a long finish.
Food Pairing: seafood risotto, fried fish, fish taco, caprese, Caesar salad, oyster, mussel, soft cheese, Manchego, gouda, salty feta.
3) Glantenet Pere & Fils Bourgogne Hautes-Cotes de Nuits Blanc 2021, Burgundy: $34.99 Light white silver gold in color. White spring flowers, with a hint of lemon curd, and fresh lemon juice. Mid weight, with a lithe texture of pear, lemon, and mineral water. Dances on the palate with citrus and cool spring water.
4) Domaine de l’Enclos Chablis 2023, Burgundy: $38.99 Domaine de l’Enclos Chablis Grand Cru Vaudésir 2023 is a white wine distinguished by its elegance and complexity. On the nose, fresh apple aromas emerge, accompanied by subtle notes of toffee and a delicate hint of freshly baked bread. Its palate is creamy and enveloping, offering a full and smooth sensation.
5) Fore by Vina Robles Estate Reserve Blend 2021, Paso Robles: $26.99 Dark garnet in color, offering aromas of dark cherries, boysenberries and cassis with hints of dark chocolate and violets. Full-bodied with dark fruits, mocha notes and a rich creamy finish. 59% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Petite Sirah, 11% Petite Verdot.
6) Francois Crochet Sancerre 2023, Loire Valley: $38.99 Francois Crochet’s entry level Sancerre Blanc is an assemblage of 12 parcels that he farms and in some vintages such as this, this blending of different terroirs yields a wine of incredible complexity, sometimes outshining the more linear focus of his single vineyard (and more expensive) bottlings. Balancing crispness with lively acidity, this wine has intensity as well as freshness. Touches of mango and kiwi go with the tighter citrus tang and chalky minerality.
7) Francois Crochet Sancerre Exils 2022, Loire Valley: $49.99 The direct mineral impression of this wine easily stands apart from Francois’ range. Given that this silex soil is his most unique soil, it also renders the most unique wine from this domaine. The nose is dominated with the smell of minerals, flint, stones and metal. Yes, there are other organic-type aromas, like high-toned citrus fruits, fresh grasses and forest floor, but this wine is dominated by its stoniness. The acidity is perhaps the most impressive in the range of wines and also most elegant. This is a real beauty of a wine.
8) Francois Crochet Le Chene Marchand Sancerre 2022, Loire: $51.99 If there were ever a hierarchical classification of Sancerre, there is no doubt that Le Chêne Marchands would share the top spot with but a few others. Straight out of the bottle it’s polished and exhibits a complex range of aristocratic mineral notes, friendly but taut citrus and white stone fruits, sweet herbs, fresh grasses with an immense amount of purity and laser-sharp focus. Sometimes Le Chêne Marchands seems almost too multi-dimensional, too good at everything. But with every swirl and sip another intriguing layer of aroma and taste springs from the glass. The soils are what start this stunning wine on its course; its forty-year-old vines are planted on a beautifully balanced soil of clay, marne and small limestone pebbles. Wines grown on this limestone formation tend to be brighter, beautiful, less intense and the most accessible for earlier consumption compared to those on the limestone bedrock known as terres blanches (the same Kimmeridgian marls found in Chablis), or those from silex bedrock in the south and eastern part of the appellation. The combination of this south-facing, high altitude, wind-exposed plateau and the density of limestone rocks (that they call “caillottes”) unearthed from below, help to electrically charge this wine.
9) Manos Negras Malbec 2022, Altamira, Uco Valley, Mendoza: $19.99 The bright sunny days give a deep blackish color and dark fruit flavors while the cool mountain nights produce violet aromas and a soft, supple texture. Alejandro Sejanovich is arguably Argentina’s most knowledgeable viticulturist, having worked as vineyard director for Bodega Catena Zapata for 16 years, he pioneered high- altitude vineyard planting and conducted groundbreaking research on Mendoza Malbec clones.
10) Domaine Paquet Saint-Veran 2023, Maconnaise: $32.99 This is a rich wine that exhibits white flower aromas, especially acacia with hints of licorice. The palate has a pleasant structure with good balance between fruit and mineral flavors. Great pairing for Mandarin orange salads or chicken, with seafood, a cheese plate, or just a pleasant sipping white wine. Still of some of the best affordable Chardonnay in Burgundy.
11) Matthieu Barret Petit Ours 2023, Cotes du Rhone: $28.99 One of the most coveted, yet accessible natural wines in France. From legendary winemaker Matthieu Barret of Domaine de Coulet in Cornas. The Matthieu Barret labelled wines are from a leased organic and biodynamic vineyard in Visan, about an hour South of the Domaine. Petit Ours (‘Little Bear’) is Matthieu Barret’s nickname. It is 100% Syrah from clay and limestone soils. Expect fresh dark berries with hints of black pepper, lavender and smoky tones on the nose. On the palate it’s vibrant, tight, refreshing and with gripping tannins.
Enjoy this wine with classic wine bar fare chicken liver mousse, duck confit and mushrooms or a dish of lentils with boudin. Savor the last sip with a blackberry and rhubarb butter tart.
12) Hanna Cabernet Sauvignon 2020, Alexander Valley: $35.99 WE 93 pts. Black pepper and black olive nuances blend with black cherries and dark chocolate in this medium- to full-bodied wine that includes 24% Malbec. An elegant feel, silky texture and nicely restrained flavors give the wine a charm all its own. Best through 2030.
13) Sebastien David “Hurluberlu” St. Nicolas de Bourgueil 2022, Loire Valley: $26.99 “Hurluberlu” is crafted from 20 distinct parcels and stands as the estate’s largest cuvée. The name “Hurluberlu” is actually Sebastien’s nickname, bestowed upon him by the villagers, meaning “someone with their head in the clouds”. This wine is crafted in a primeur style, emphasizing vibrant fruit character. Made from 100% Cabernet Franc, the grapes are meticulously hand-harvested in small crates. The winemaking process involves 25 days of carbonic maceration, with daily racking of the juice to minimize skin contact extraction. After pressing, the free-run and press juices are blended and aged in concrete tanks for several months. True to Sebastien’s low-intervention philosophy, the wine is bottled without filtration and zero added sulfites.
14) Lise et Bertrand Jousset Premier Rendez-vous Montlouis-sur-Loire 2022: $43.99 “Premier Rendez-vous” is the first Montlouis-sure-Loire ever produced by Lise and Bertrand. It is a blend of 8 parcels of very old vines. Some of them are 120 years old. This is the largest cuvee of the estate. Floral, orange, and unripe peach aroma that is both invigorating and pleasant. Flavors of melon and minerals are present in this wine with a medium-heavy body and medium-acidity. Wine of the highest quality; perfect for an aperitif.
15) Diel Nahesteiner Riesling Kabinett 2021: $25.99 Schlossgut Diel began making wine in the Nahe back in 1802 and still run by the same family- currently led by Caroline Diel who spent time working with Ruinart and DRC before returning to the family business. The ‘Nahesteiner Kabinett’ is blended from several of their vineyards which are grown on a range of soil types giving this regional cuvée a lot of complexity for the price. Really pretty on the nose bright juicy peach and meyer lemon delightfully off-dry on the finish.
16) Patricia Green Cellars Freedom Hill Vineyard Pinot Noir 2022, Willamette Valley: $36.99 Crazy good price! This bottling represents one of our highest QPR wines, each and every vintage. Because we are fully committed to this site, we take more acreage of Pinot Noir than any of the other wineries that pull fruit from here. Because we take a lot by both volume and diversity of blocks and clones and because we choose to bottle some barrels from some of the individual blocks, we can create a larger bottling that is still full of Freedom Hill goodness while coming in at a price atypical of Freedom Hill Vineyard made by any other producer. We are proud to be able to offer a Pinot Noir from one of Oregon’s premier vineyard sites at a price that many entry level, blended Pinot Noirs go for. Freedom Hill is known for dark, elaborately pigmented wines with a wealth of fruit, generous mouthfeel and a dollop of tannins that gives the wine framework and dimension. While not a lightweight this is far from some bruising or sultry wine. This has intense red/black fruits, earthy spices and just a bit of grip. This will be excellent in its youth but will have solid footing and great upside for well over a decade. This finished with a TA of 5.7, a pH of 3.48 and was bottled with under 25 ppm free SO2 and less than 75 ppm total SO2.
17) Patricia Green Cellars Chehalem Mountain Vineyard Pinot Noir 2022, Chehalem Mountains: $36.99 This wine combines the fruit driven intensity of the two California clones that make up around 65% of its volume with the more densely structured and earthenly nuanced clones that are common to Oregon. Combined with growing in marine soils and the isolated valley nature of this site it all adds up to a unique, dynamic, and intense without being too powerful sort of Pinot Noir. This is richly colored, highly aromatic and abounding with darker/bluer sort of fruit notes and finishing with an excellent structural composition that reins everything allowing for it to be balanced and delicious in the short term while giving appropriate framing for, most certainly, medium term aging and quite possibly rewarding aging well into a second decade in bottle. This finished with a TA of 5.4, a pH of 3.61 and was bottled with under 30 ppm free SO2 and less than 85 ppm total SO2.
18) Due del Monte Sauvignon 2021, Venezia Giulia: $36.99 91 Points – Vinous “The 2021 Sauvignon is spicy, with a burst of lime zest, granny smith apples and wild herbs forming its bouquet. This soothes with its juicy acidity as silken textures smooth over the palate with tart orchard fruits and citrus tones. The mouth is left watering through the tension-filled finale as a tart lemon-rind twang puckers the cheeks, and minty herbal tones slowly fade. Drinking window: 2024 – 2028.” – Eric Guido. Tasting date: December 2023
19) Due del Monte Rosso 2020, Collio, Venezia Giulia: $36.99
20) Zeni Corvina Veronese Rosso 2020: $17.99 This is a delicious, modern expression is harmonious and shows off the local character and elegance of the Corvina grape. Known for its sour cherry aromas and flavors. This is like a baby Amarone! With its intense ruby red color, fragrances of ripe fruit and spices, a full-bodied, soft and long lasting taste this wine is a perfect match for traditional dishes like pasta with different sauces or grilled meat.
21) Willm Pinot Blanc Reserve 2022, Alsace: $15.99 A pale yellow with a fresh and floral nose reminiscent of elderflower; notes of gooseberries. The attack is supple. Fresh, dry and easy to drink, it goes well with Alsatian specialties (tarte flambée, charcuterie). This wine pairs well with Seafood, fish, white meat, savory pies, meat pies, vegetable tian, asparagus, cheese soufflés, cream cheese.
22) Coppo Tenuta La Rocca Gavi DOCG 2023, Piedmont: $23.99 Coppo has managed the Tenuta La Rocca in Monterotondo in the town of Gavi since the mid-1980s. Gavi, a classic, white Piedmontese wine, is made entirely from the Cortese grape, one of the region’s oldest native varieties. Its name derives from the wine’s original consumer – the nobles of court, or “corte”. Gavi La Rocca comes from marly-calcareous soils that lend it an unexpected mineral complexity. Pale straw colored yellow, fresh and fruity with evident mineral notes, and savory with a nice trace of citrus orange skin. Ripe fruity hints of white peach.
23) Bezel Cabernet Sauvignon from the Cakebread Family 2022, Paso Robles: $26.99 Our Cabernet Sauvignon from Paso Robles is bold and generous, with intriguing depth and loads of California charisma. Layers of sun-kissed wild blackberries alternate with boysenberry jam, dried bay leaf, and dark chocolate. Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, Malbec. Aged 14 months in French oak.
24) Bezel Pinot Noir from the Cakebread Family 2023, San Luis Obispo: $26.99 Our Pinot Noir from California’s San Luis Obispo Coast is deep and thoughtful, with layers that are well worth getting to know. Ripe plum, black cherry, and raspberry reach out first, with a whisper of cedar and a wink of baking spice. This California Pinot pairs well with others – especially the ones you love. In jewelry making, a bezel is the grooved setting that secures a gem or watch face in place. The name speaks to the craftsmanship behind every bottle of Bezel wine – the skill, precision and experience we’ve honed through 50 years of winemaking at Cakebread, and brought to the Central Coast. Our winemaking mission is simple, though the resulting wines complex: Seek the best grapes from the West Coast’s finest vineyards and let that region’s personality shine through in each wine.
25) Penfolds Koonunga Hill Shiraz 2022, South Australia: $13.99 Penfolds Koonunga Hill Shiraz displays a vibrant crimson red color. It boasts a powerful aromatic bouquet with hints of mixed berry compote on top of custard, complemented by a touch of cinnamon. The palate is enriched with flavors of butchers shop pork, fennel sausage, perfumed aniseed, cardamom, and clove. Fresh notes of raspberry and rhubarb add a juicy and bright succulence to the wine. A creamy texture reminiscent of French pastries is enhanced by the influence of French oak. The cinnamon dusting gradually builds up the wine’s texture, leading to a fleshy mid-palate with well-structured, powdery tannins that are perfectly integrated and balanced.
26) Penfolds Max’s Shiraz 2021, South Australia: $22.99 91 Wine Enthusiast This inky-hued Cab-Shiraz blend is a broody bottling, with a savory, black olive and dusty library-book note to the raspberry and black cherry fruit. There’s a minty, earthy nuance too, plus a subtle polish of mealy, chocolatey oak. The powerful palate is densely packed with dark fruit and spice, cinched by chiseled tannins. While intended as Penfolds’s more approachable range, this vintage is a big, chewy one.