2009 Haut de Poujeaux Haut-Médoc & Clos du Clocher Pomerol

2009 Haut de Poujeaux Haut-Médoc, Price: $264/12 ($22/bottle) SOLD OUT

2009 Clos du Clocher Pomerol, Price: $498/6 ($83/bottle) SOLD OUT

Have you spent a bucketful of cash this holiday season yet still want to pick up a few bottles of the fantastic 2009 Bordeaux vintage? No worries. We’ve stocked some tasty petit château wine that’s not going to drain the checking account.

From a blend of 45% Cabernet Sauvignon and 55% Merlot and aged for a year in French oak, Haut de Poujeaux is produced from four hectares of vineyards in Moulis of the Haut-Médoc (practically Margaux!). Medium bodied with soft tannins, this is a versatile, easy-drinking Bordeaux that you can have with dinner, take to parties, hand out as a gift, or simply pour a glass and unwind after work. It pairs exceptionally well with a warm hearth and a good Jean-Luc Godard film. 

This wine has pedigree. Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate gives the estate’s first label 92 points and calls it, “The finest wine I have tasted from Poujeaux over the last 33 years”. So you can bet that this bottling is going to last a while in the cellar for a fraction of the cost.  Château Poujeaux

If you’re looking for a wine with a bit more polish, consider the lovely Clos du Clocher from Pomerol. We’ve had a couple of opportunities to drink this Right Bank, Merlot-based Bordeaux and it gleamed with a simple hunk of wine-braised beef and garlic rosemary roasted redskin potatoes. Developing handsomely over the course of the meal, fine aromas of berries and flowers gave way to earthier hints of fresh-roasted coffee beans and cocoa. Rich and full, this wine really improved until the bottle was gone.

Wine Advocate calls the 2009 vintage “The finest Clos du Clocher ever made” and endorse it with a 92 point rating. This wine is going to drink well over the next ten to fifteen years so go ahead and uncork a bottle whenever the occasion arises. You deserve it. Annual production is only around 2,000 cases.  Clos du Clocher

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Posted on 2012.12.10 in France, Bordeaux  |  Read more...

Castillo Ygay Gran Reserva Especial 2004

Price: $294 ($49/bottle) SOLD OUT

It’s the time of year when media outlets big and small think they can tell you what to drink with your holiday feast. Every angle will be explored, from pairing wine with cheeseball appetizers to leftover turkey sandwiches and everything in between. The real answer when it comes to holiday drinking is that there is no real answer. Why not abandon the anxiety that comes with the attempted “perfect pairing” and just drink good wine?

One of the most famous names in Rioja, Marques de Murrieta was founded in 1852 and has been producing consistent, quality wine since. Only the finest vintages from select parcels of the 300-hectare Ygay Estate are used to make the Gran Reserva Especial. The grapes are a blend of mostly Tempranillo with a small portion of Mazuelo from vineyards located 500 meters above sea level.

The Ygay estate is situated in the Rioja sub-zone of Alta. A continental climate and higher elevation vineyards, along with predominantly clay calcareous soils, are responsible for creating long-lived wines with great concentration and complexity. Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate (95 pts) says the 2004 is “a Rioja speaking of its place with eloquence and clarity”.

Aromas of cherry and plum eventually turn into a leather satchel full of spices. A mouthful is full and rich but not heavy, with a superbly incorporated structure of acid and tannin. There is freshness and vitality and also a whisper of ancient things.

Obviously, we think the 2004 Castillo Ygay is drinking fine right now but it is a true vin de garde that will develop in the cellar for at least another fifteen years. It’s remarkable that this classic Rioja is only a fraction of the price compared to some of the more aggressive newcomers in the region. Add attractive packaging to the abovementioned and you have the perfect wine gift – for a holiday dinner party, for a loved one, or simply for yourself.

Bodegas Marques de Murrieta

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Posted on 2012.11.20 in Spain DO, Rioja DOC  |  Read more...

Paul Jaboulet Aîné 2009

Since the early 19th Century, Paul Jaboulet Aîné has been identified with quality wine in France’s Rhône Valley. But after years of underperformance through the 90s, the name was losing its standing as a premier wine making operation. That is until 2006, when the Frey family (proprietors of the renowned Château La Lagune in Bordeaux) purchased Jaboulet and applied sweeping changes that included a stricter selection process and significantly lower yields.

The 2009 vintage will mark the complete return of Maison Paul Jaboulet Aîné to excellence. With holdings across nearly all the great appellations of northern and southern Rhône, there is a bottle for just about everyone – and we are stocking up.

Prices are for case of six/750mL bottles

If we used this space to describe all of the aromas and flavors you’ll discover in a glass of Hermitage “La Chapelle” it would read like a French village market shopping list as written by François Rabelais. Jancis Robinson (18.5+/20 pts) suggests that you should probably lay this wine down in the cellar for a decade but she wouldn’t fault you for enjoying it now. Robert Parker claims the 2009 vintage (97/100 pts), of which only 2000 cases are available, will be the greatest La Chapelle since 1990 and 1978. $1,434 ($239 per bottle) SOLD OUT

From a glass of Cornas “Domaine St. Pierre” leaps an enormous nose of crushed berries, black pepper and meat. Once you make it past the massive tannins a long and idyllic acidity shows up. This wine is so masculine it has hair on its chest. Albeit, well-groomed hair. Robert Parker (95+ pts) wants to have a love child with this wine. ($150 per bottle) SOLD OUT

Heading into southern Rhone, Châteauneuf du Pape “Domaine de Terre Ferme” will charm you with aromas of purple jelly that eventually lead into wispy wood smoke. A full body finishes incredibly long and slightly herbal. Drink this with your pinkie out while eating spit-roasted lamb tacos. $414 ($69 per bottle) SOLD OUT

Gigondas “Pierre Aiguille” is straight up ruby-red crushed fruits and brawny tannins. Gigondas is sometimes called the little brother to Châteauneuf du Pape, so consider this when you are looking for similar power in the glass at a lower cost. $168 ($28 per bottle) SOLD OUT

If you’re on a tight wine budget, or just want to stock up on a bunch of everyday drinking bottles, try the Côtes du Ventoux “Les Traverses”. A blend of 80% Grenache and 20% Syrah, it’s a medium-bodied, fruit-driven wine with a nose of berries, plums, and dried thyme. Have a glass or two outside on a mild autumn day. This wine pairs beautifully with a fleece jacket and the sweet aroma of decaying leaves. $60 ($10 per bottle) SOLD OUT

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Posted on 2012.10.26 in France, Southern Rhone, Northern Rhone  |  Read more...

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