Pinot Deal of the Year?

Foxes Island Pinot Noir 2005, Marlborough NZ  $23.99

This is one of the silkiest, sexiest, most exotically scented Pinots we have EVER offered and is being retailed for as high as $49.99 at other stores in the US. We have 100 bottles only at this killer price and we expect them to vaporize shortly. Call today if you need some...

Houston, Rusticity Base here....the Coturri have landed!

H. Coturri & Sons Limited, Glen Ellen, Sonoma County, California

Over the years one of the few California wineries to have a consistent place in our decidedly Italo-phile inventory has been Coturri, a third generation Italian American cantina in Sonoma making wines of extraordinary personality and idiosyncrasy. The Albarello and the Testa Vineyards Carignane have had a small but dedicated fan club here for years. Tony Coturri has access to some amazing old vine fruit and practices even older ideas about wine making. The slogan of the winery is: Just GRAPES! As in no additives of any sort, just organically grown fruit fermented with its natural yeasts and then carefully watched over but not messed around with until it is bottled without filtration. The results are shall we say somewhat divisive in the wine world: Some folks LOVE the wild and full throttle flavors and textures of the wines and some folks just cannot abide their ability to express themselves differently from bottle to bottle and time to time (not unlike a great but cranky blues musician). So, a couple of years ago, Ali had occasion to visit some relatives in Sonoma and found himself close to the winery. He arranged a visit with Tony (who, just to complete the picture, looks EXACTLY like Tommy Chong in Cheech & Chong Up in Smoke), spent an afternoon tasting various bottlings and vintages and then took a position which lead to nine different wines plus some Olive Oil arriving shortly after:

Coturri Albarello 2004, Sonoma Valley $16.99 ORGANIC

Perfectly balanced, rocking, one of the best of the range. For years we have had had a sign on this saying “Third generation Italian-American vignerons practicing traditional Cultura Promiscua (multi-varietal, field-mixed vineyards) without protection but with molto passione, the Coturri Brothers give it to you raw, unfined, unfiltered and in-yo-face!.” 733 case production

Coturri Founder's Series RED Sangiovese 2002 Sonoma Valley $25.99 ORGANIC

A seriously BLACK deposit on the cork, deep garnet in the glass, high toned spicy bright red fruit aroma, medium body with suprisingly strong acidity and a firm dry finish, this one is looking for some righteous BBQ. 140 cases made.

Coturri Chauvet Vineyards Zinfandel 2004, Sonoma Valley  $19.99 ORGANIC

Wow, Wow, Wow: HUGE body, phat fruit (raspberry, cranberry, pomegranate, but also citrus and clove), but also strong meat and earth notes on the palate. With its strong acidity and just off dry finish, we see tandoori plates or hot links in its future. 527 cases.

Coturri Chauvet Vineyards Zinfandel 2004

East Block Old Vines Cuvée, Sonoma Valley  $22.99 ORGANIC

THICK, rich, insane texture, meat and lots of candied fruit, slightly off dry finish, got cheese?  350 cases made

Obligatory miniscule production Cult Wines made in a garage:

Carini Winery "Chateau Garage", Peanut* California

Carini Merlot Kenefick Ranch 2002, Napa Valley  (215 cases)  $54.00

Carini Merlot Oakville 2002, Napa Valley  (96 cases)  $54.00

Carini Cabernet Sauvignon

Alder Springs Ranch 2002, Mendocino  (125 cases)   $64.99

Carini Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville 2002, Napa Valley  (165 cases)  $64.99

* just beyond the middle of nowhere....

Shannon Ridge Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2006, Lake County  $21.99

Don't let their location fool you, this is no hot climate mess 'o'fruit 'n' oak bomb! The vineyards are located on a mountain face high above Clear Lake so they benefit from both elevation and the lake effect in staying calm, cool & collected. Just 270 case production, rich, velvety, dark fruit and spices on the nose, NOT over the top.

Finca La Anita, Alto Agrelo Mendoza

One of the first wave of “Cult Wineries” in Argentina ,Finca la Anita is rarely offered in the US. This bodega was founded in the early nineties in an attempt to revive the tradition of small, self contained and self sufficient wine producers that began disappearing when the giant Co-ops and large producers funded by outside investment started buying all of the grower’s grapes for their world wide brands. All of the wines are estate bottled (and only in the best vintages) and the philosophy of the bodega is to let each vintage and varietal speak its mind, not force them into some “house style” through manipulation in the cellar.

The estate farms 175 acres located on the slopes of the highest peaks of the Andes mountain range, at 1000 meters above sea level and far away from any signs of civilization, using strictly organic viticulture. The vineyards are composed of dry and porous soils, set off by the permanent reflection of the sun on the snowcapped Andes mountains. Cold, dry winters and dessert-hot summer days contribute to the quality of the harvest. A large part of the crop is sold off with only the best fruit going into these bottlings.

Finca La Anita Linea Tonel 1999, Mendoza  $24.99 ORGANIC

A fabulously elegant blend of Syrah (70%) and Malbec aged for 18 months in very large wooden tuns instead of barriques, lending a soft and fragrant character to the resulting wine which is bottled without filtration.

Finca La Anita Syrah 2002, Mendoza  $24.99 ORGANIC

This is the flagship wine of the bodega and we are VERY glad to get some. It is deep and very flavorful (but never heavy) and virtually jumps out of the glass with a rich aromatic spectrum. VERY limited!

Down Under:

Johnston Oakbank Pinot Noir 2003, Adelaide Hills South Australia  $14.99

Remember when Pinot Noir was elegant and ephemeral, sexy and elusive (and wasn’t 15% alcohol and didn’t taste like boysenberry pancake syrup)? So does this. Great value too...

Pirramimma Old Bush Vine Grenache 2003, McLaren Vale Australia  21.00

Wow! Decisively WINE, not fruit juice, the Pirramimma launches a complex barrage of wild berries, nutmeg, tea / tobacco and maybe teenage lust from your glass (we kept a glass of this on the counter all day last week just to SMELL it some more). Relatively light in body by Aussie standards and packing enough acidity to stand up to spicy foods, red sauces or your Uncle Bo’s famous dry rubbed pork butt, this is just too much fun.

Fromm Winery La Strada Reserve Syrah 2004, Marlborough, NZ  $29.99

Luke, we’re not your Father but we do pour the Dark Side: Cool Climate Syrah? This comes from a zone world famous for crisp, snappy Sauvignon Blanc: No jam, no oooze, no overpowering oak and it’s not 16% ABV. It IS however packed with VERY dark fruit, a touch of smoke and herbs plus a whiff of white pepper. Enjoy...

Dutschke Four Vines Vineyard Shiraz 2005

Lyndoch, Barossa Valley Australia  $26.99

These guys (grape grower Ken Semmler and enologist Wayne Dutschke) are BIG DEAL PRODUCERS down under, famous for making rich, complex wines with more meat and earth than jammy fruit. VERY limited at this price.

Johnston Oakbank Shiraz 2001, Adelaide Hills, Australia  $9.99

Swan's Flight Cabernet Sauvignon 2001, Barossa Valley, Australia  $9.99

Both of these are deep and rich and smooth a delicious yet seriously affordable (and they don't look cheap). Deal!

Chapel Hill Cabernet Sauvignon 2006, McLaren Vale, Australia  $17.99

Classy, balanced, full flavored but easy to drink, makes a lot of people happy, under $20, you had better take two...

Clarendon Hills Brookman Merlot 2003, Australia  $26.99

This is a large framed, plush and cushy Merlot with deeeep plum and coffee flavors from a very famous winery down under that originally wholesaled at a price that had even the deepest of discounters retailing it in the mid $50’s. Well, as you may have heard, the Aussie wine market is imploding with such force that it makes the California real estate market look positively gangbusters so now we have six cases for you at less than half price. Don’t dally...