Niepoort 2017 Vintage Port

Half Bottles On Sale

Rated (99-100) The Wine Advocate

"Niepoort says it is the best he's ever made. It's certainly the best I've seen from him, and it is a leading candidate for "Wine of the Vintage" - The Wine Advocate

$45 On Sale (375ml) - Arrives Friday

This near perfect Vintage Port from the spectacular 2017 harvest is already sold out in 750ml bottles, so we took advantage of the remaining stock of half bottles while the competition was sleeping and locked them up. The Taylor offer a month ago sold out in hours, and only a dozen or so cases are available on what may be a perfect 100 point wine when the final score is determined. Wine arrives Friday - a great stocking stuffer for the Port lover on your list, or buy a 12pk and lay it away in the cellar for a decade or more!

Rated 99-100, The Wine Advocate - "The 2017 Vintage Port is a field blend from old vines (80 to 100 years old). It comes in with 89 grams per liter of residual sugar. This was set for bottling in two weeks, but it was the final blend. Even when open for a couple of days, this was still tight, muscular and concentrated, grabbing the palate and never letting go. On opening, it was fragrant and delicious, but even then, there was plenty of muscle and evident concentration. The concentration and power merely improved as it aired out—unlike a lot of 2016s (which year Niepoort did not declare). Tasting it after several days open showed that it shut down and closed up in terms of expressiveness, but it definitively proved that it's an old-school, long-haul wine. Dry, stern and long on the finish, this is brilliant. It is hard to think of any basis on which this is not perfection just now—Niepoort says it is the best he's ever made. It's certainly the best I've seen from him, and it is a leading candidate for "Wine of the Vintage," although certainly not the only one. Finally, this is going to require patience. Nothing about it says "drink me now." It should age brilliantly. If you lack a cellar and patience, look away."

Rated 96, Vinous Media - "The 2017 Vintage Port was picked early to obtain optimal ripeness, commencing 24 August and finished 26 September. Yields are some 30% below the previous year. The fruit was foot-trodden in granite lagares and matured in large barrels in Vila Nova de Gaia. It has a refulgent purple colour. The nose is explosive, a heady cornucopia of blueberry, black cherries and crème de cassis, later just a touch of lavender. There is no holding back on these aromatics. The palate follows suit with sumptuous black fruit, quite tannic but simultaneously rounded and lavish/velvety in texture. Touches of fresh fig and raisin appear towards the finish. Drop dead gorgeous."

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Best Buy Amarone from Farina

94 Point Vintage

Incredible Value in a Perfect Winter Red!

$29.99 On Sale 

Lowest Online Price $33.99*

Wine Arrives Thursday

One of the greatest winter reds on earth has to be Amarone, with it's deeply concentrated, full-on richness and power. Yet some Amarone is almost too much to pair with most foods, especially when young. Many of them need a decade or more until they are truly ready to drink, but Farina's Amarone Classico (unlike their $75-85 Montefante single vineyard that needs years to evolve) is powerful yet approachable after only a few years in the bottle. The 2016 on offer today is drinking exceptionally well right now, and will drink great for the next 5-8 years at least. At under $30 (priced less than some producer's Ripasso or Valpolicella Classico) you can't do better than this!

Drying Grapes for Amarone

The 2016 Farina Amarone is a lovely medium deep ruby purple, with beautiful aromas of crushed red fruits, dried cherries and dark fruits, winding up with hints of spice box and currants. On the palate it is amazingly silky and smooth, with deep, plush red fruit, ripe fine tannins, and a warm richness across the palate.

Pair this with pastas with red sauce, Bolognese and meat based ragu sauces, short ribs, game, steaks, burgers and so much more. We will also be offering it by the glass in the restaurant and tavern - stop in and give it a try!!

We were able to get an excellent price on this spectacular full bodied red and are offering it at 10-15% lower than the lowest prices online in the country*. And while we would generally advise caution when buying low priced Amarone (as the region has expanded and there are many newcomers and large scale producers offering inexpensive low quality Amarones), at under $30 this gets a strong "must buy" recommendation. 

The Farinas, who have been in the region since the 16th century, spare no expense to craft their superb wines. They begin with the selection of only the best grapes, 70% Corvina, 20% Rondinella and 10% Molinara from 25-30 year old vines. The vineyards lie at about 300 meters in volcanic-calcareous-gravelly soils, with a western exposure to get the most of the afternoon sun. After harvesting at optimum ripeness the grapes are then dried on plastic trays until January/February when the grapes are finally pressed. The wine is then aged for 2 years in Slovenian oak barrels, then aged 1 more year in bottles to amplify its supple, plush texture and mouthfeel.

Accolades for the winery include "Best Italian Wine Producer of the Year" at the 46th International Wine & Spirit Competition (IWSC) and also received a Gold award for the best variety of indigenous grape with their Amarone della Valpolicella DOCG Classico Riserva Montefante 2010. At the 48th IWSC in 2017, they were awarded the 2017 Silver Trophy for the Amarone della Valpolicella Riserva Montefante 2011 and Amarone della Valpolicella DOCG Classico 2014 and the 2017 Bronze Trophy for the Valpolicella Ripasso DOC Classico Superiore Montecorna 2015 and Bianco del Veneto IGT Appassilento 2016. On January 30th, 2016 the 13th Anteprima of Reds from Valpolicella took place in VERONA and the 2012 Farina Amarone Classico was awarded first prize out of 76 wines. The blind jury was composed of renowned sommelier Luca Gardini, Pier Bergonzi, director of the Gazzetta dello Sport , the Master of Wine Christy Canterbury, Raul Salama, and journalist Marco Tonelli. Luca Gardini, one of Italy's most famous sommeliers, ranked the 2012 Amarone della Valpolicella as 29th out of his lineup of the 50 best wines in the world. All that for under $30 - amazing!

*Winesearcher 12/10/19

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Roederer Brut 2012

94 Points Wine Advocate

Roederer Brut Rosé 2013 

93 Points Vinous Media

Both on sale $64.99

Wines arrive early next week

Whether it's for your holiday celebrations or as gifts for the lover of fine Champagne on your list you can't do much better than these two fantastic vintage Champagnes from Louis Roederer. There is simply no question that the legendary Champagne House of Louis Roederer crafts some of the finest bubblies in the world. With their Cristal Rosé and Cristal Brut regularly topping the charts with 99/100 point scores (and selling for as much as $500 per bottle), it isn't exactly for every budget or occasion.

But if you want to experience the luxurious, blue-chip pedigree of the house of Roederer without breaking the bank, this pair of exquisite vintage bubblies delivers it in spades, all for a fraction of the price of Cristal! Wines arrive early this week - stock up now for the season. Cheeers! 

Roederer Vintage Champagne Brut 2012

Rated 94 points, The Wine Advocate - "Roederer’s white golden 2012 Vintage is a classic Millésime. Based on 70% cool-climate Pinot Noir from Verzy and Verzenay (Montagne de Reims) and 30% Chardonnay from a very warm, south/southwest-facing vineyard in Chouilly (Côte des Blancs), the 2012 represents the mineral terroirs of its origins beautifully—pure, refined and fresh. Fermented 8% in oak and with just 16% of the volume having done malolactic fermentation to make the Roederer Vintage Brut a classic gastronomic wine, the 2012 shows a deep, rich and ripe but also fine, precise and elegant chalky nose with hazelnut, toasted almond and blossom flavors. The palate is profound, round, highly elegant and fresh, and the long, remarkably salty finish is very complex and terribly fresh in its persistent mineral expression. This is an impressive, ripe and almost creamy textured but precise and finessed 2012 with power, body and structure. A true, highly stimulating classic. Just love it! Disgorged in January 2017 after four years of bottle aging (dosage: nine grams per liter). Tasted in Reims in May 2018."

Roederer Vintage Brut Rosé 2013

Rated 93 points, Vinous Media - "The 2013 Vintage shows the compelling interplay of ripeness and high acids that are so typical of the year. The Vintage is built on a core of Pinot from Verzy, with Chardonnay from Chouilly, on the Cramant border. Constantly changing in the glass, the 2013 is a fabulous Champagne will reward readers with many years of exceptional drinking. The saltiness of Chouilly Chardonnay is a wonderful foil for Pinot here. Chef de Caves Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon continues to bump up the Pinot here, as he takes the Vintage back to the blend that was used in the 1840s. Dosage is 8.5 grams per liter."

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