CSWS Collectors' Corner
Featured Specials from The Oak Room
May 7 - May 12, 2012
Ortman Family Vineyards / Chardonnay, Edna Valley, (San Luis Obispo, CA) 2007
Although the Ortman Family Vineyards have closed due to bankers calling in their loans, the wines life on. The Edna Valley AVA is located close to San Luis Obispo on the Central Coast of California. Edna Valley has one of the longest growing seasons is California and thus have longer hang times allowing fruit to completely ripen. This wine is very interesting on the nose with crisp apple fruit well set off by some gentle oak and a slightly leesy character that morphs into something decidedly more floral. This really is rather perfumed, complex, and fresh on the nose. Even the oak, which is noticeably assertive, has something particularly aromatic about it. A really lovely wine on entry with obvious creamy roundness that contrast well with a vibrant spine of acidity. A rare wine that manages to pull off a full bodied, moderately creamy style without being fat or flabby. In the mouth the oak is a bit more obvious in a butterscotch way that it was on the nose, but there's plenty of focused fruit here as well that contributes freshness in the mouth. A strong vanilla streak completes the wine on the moderately long finish that ends with a spicy, almost peachy tone. Note a shy wine, but well balanced for those who like them big. Treat yourself to something no longer produced.
$19.99 ~ Compare @ $23
Hecht & Bannier (H & B) Minervois / French Red blend / France – 2007
90 points Wine Advocate
This is a wonderful wine and anyone who enjoys red wine with grilled meats will enjoy this. Hecht & Bannier (H & B) are two negociants who know the wines and cellars of the Languedoc – Roussillon wine region of France very well. Minervois is a smaller appellation within the Languedoc that offers up wines of incredible beauty but still retaining approachable prices. The wines grow on slopes hand in hand along with Garrigue (wild herbs – summer savory, rosemary, thyme and sage) on sandstone soils, less sensitive to dryness. Thanks to the cold late summer in 2007, the best, deep colorful Syrah kept its intense and tasteful fruit. When grown on limestone, clay soils, Syrah is able to withstand a dry year as it will benefit from the clay capacities to retain humidity, and then, will extend the aromatic spectrum of the blend through a more youthful crunchy fruit expression. The medium bodied wine smells of cassis, marjoram, and white pepper. Lush and silken in texture on the palate, it combines richness with vivacity and freshness of fruit to a remarkable degree, especially for its appellation. A suggestion of beef juices mingles with juicy black fruits, and the finish offers a long, savory, saline, positively invigorating persistence. The wine is mostly Syrah, with some Grenache and very small amounts of Carignan and Mourvèdre. Ageing of this wine was an alchemist combination of tank maturation as well as a varied blending of the wine aged in different use barrels and at different volumes.
$17.99 ~ Compare @ $20
Patz Hall / Chardonnay/ Hyde Vineyard (Carneros AVA), CA - 2007
94 points Wine Advocate
Patz & Hall is well known for their focus and dedication to single vineyard Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Their 2007 Chardonnay bottling is a screamer and the pride and joy of Donald Patz and James Hall. The Hyde Vineyards are located in the very southern most portion of the Napa Valley AVA. While this wine is profoundly consistent from vintage to vintage, the 2007 bottling of the Patz & Hall Hyde Vineyard Carneros Chardonnay may set a new benchmark, combining all the classic Hyde elements with an effortless sense of grace and precision. From its white flower and marmalade aromatics to its flavors of peach, spicy pear, cinnamon, clove, hazelnut and honeycomb, this multifaceted wine seamlessly balances beautiful acids with a plush, creamy quality—ultimately leading to a rich and satisfying finish. This mineral laced Chardonnay pushes the oak to the background in this layered and well textured wine. The is an amazing wine, killer for the patio and best saved for indoors so the neighbors can’t see what you’re drinking, they might want some as well!
$37.99 ~ Compare @ $45
Artesa / Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve / Napa, CA- 2007
Artesa is known as the Jewel of Carneros. Situated in the famous Carneros AVA, this vineyard is owned by the Raventos family of Spain, whose wine making tradition dates to the mid-sixteenth century, the winery takes its name from the Catalan word for "handcrafted. Today, Artesa focuses on producing small, ultra-premium lots of the varietals for which the Carneros and the Napa Valley are best known - Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. This wine shows wonderfully exuberant raspberry, cassis and blackberry fruit and is complimented with cedar, clove, nutmeg, dark chocolate and vanilla aromas and flavors. This is an elegant wine with smooth supple tannins, perfect acid balance and a long, lingering finish. This wine is a treat in its youth, but the joyfulness of the fruit combined with its ample tannin structure means this wine will reach its zenith 10-plus years after release. The composition of this wine is 89% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Merlot and 5% Malbec. This is ready to drink or to cellar for a few more years, but how could you wait?
$32.99 ~ Compare @ $40
Château La Gorce / Médoc (Bordeaux), France - 2007
The very attractive 1821 chartreuse of Château la Gorce is to be found about 7 kilometers to the north of St. Estèphe. The thirty-seven hectares of vineyard stretch out around the property and chais, and are in immaculate condition. A blend of 50% cabernet Sauvignon, 45% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc, Henri Fabre uses 20% new oak barrels each year and makes a wine that always exhibits a juicy fruit and a rich color. The wine is powerful and concentrated and is amply endowed with fruit - very much the modern style of Bordeaux, this medium bodied wine is made for relatively early drinking, so it is ready now.
$19.99 ~ Compare @ $25
Shining Hill / California Red Blend – Columbia Valley AVA/ Benton City, WA - 2006
$32.99, compare at $40
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Prices valid through Saturday, May 12, 2012.
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