Unreal Wine Tasting!

Taste the World's Best
High End Wine Tasting
Saturday June 20th (that's right - tomorrow!)
11am - 8pm

Father Drinks Best

With Winestore’s third anniversary here on Saturday and with the opening of our new store, we’re feeling a little self-congratulatory. We think we deserve something for all our hard work. Or maybe it’s just that Father’s Day is coming and we’re trying to put together a nice gift suggestion list.

Since we’ve been open, we’ve tried to have great wines available for tasting. Like other retailers, we’re offered world-class wines by the importers. We’d like to think we have better taste than most, and so we hope that our selection is a far more consistent group of wines than what most retailers are offering.

But who knows? Taste is very personal. Maybe you won’t like the following wines as much as we do. Even if these are all legends in the wine world and a lot of people would offer up an important organ to acquire one of them.

But it’s not like YOU don’t deserve something. I mean, it’s Father’s Day, after all. Have you done all you need to do to deserve these wines? Go ahead; mentally check your list. We’ll wait. Faucet fixed? Good. Light bulbs changed? Excellent. Bills caught up? Well, not everything has to be perfect.

These powerful gems are rarely available by the bottle, so having them by the glass is pretty cool. Here is what we will be tasting for you all day at the store tomorrow.

1992 Louis Carillon Puligny Montrachet – available at Southpark only - old wines are a crapshoot; let's be honest. Seventeen-year-old white Burgundy is a far more likely prospect than old California Chardonnay, and Louis Carillon is a wonderfully consistent and smart producer of Puligny Montrachet. Didn't he used to be mayor of the town of Puligny? Something like that. So, anyway, expect lots of earth, lots of nuttiness mixed in with that earth and a buttered pear character. But also expect it to show fresh fruit for about five minutes after it's poured into your glass and not much longer. Hey! It's old and it's gotta right to be a bit tired.

1990 Au Bon Climat Chardonnay Reserve Bien Nacido – available at Blakeney only - like I say, California Chardonnay doesn't age. Oh, except this one (and few others), because Jim Clendenen is an amazing winemaker who does amazing things. But this, I gotta admit, is just bizarre.

1986 La Jota Cabernet Franc Howell Mountain - available at Southpark only - the wines produced in the year 1986 seemed too tannic to ever turn out to be lovely or lush. And places like Howell Mountain only made for more tannin than any amount of aging could soften. At least that's what I thought twenty years ago when I wrote stuff like that. It turns out, that I, uhm, well, I, uh, yeah, I, uh, I didn't get that right. They're actually really great wines.

1984 Chateau Montelena Zinfandel – available at Blakeney only - this is the vintage I thought would woo all the pretty girls with its soft and generous fruits. The generosity ran out a few years ago, but with some wines (like this one) there is an ethereal character that remains: soft, fleeting but I think this is compelling stuff.

1982 Diamond Creek Cabernet Sauvignon Gravelly Meadow – available at Southpark only - Speaking of tannins, Diamond Creek has crafted some bombers in its long and storied history. The 1982's are still eager for battle. If you think great wines should bite back, then 1982 Gravelly Meadow is your man. This may still have another ten years left to go…

1985 Chateau Sociando Mallet Haut Medoc – available at Blakeney only - one of the go—to wineries for anyone who is knowledgeable about Bordeaux and its cedary, smoky, earthy, seductive aged wines. The 1985 vintage lies somewhere between the richness of 1982 and the intensity of 1990.

2005 Patrick Jasmin Cote Rotie – the Rhone Valley's amazing string of brilliant vintages (2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007) can be constructively viewed by tasting the work of one of the greatest wine producers in the world: Jasmin, who also happens to be in the northern Rhone Valley, in the "roasted slope" of Cote Rotie (that what it means).

2006 Mas Doix "Doix" – this is not the Salanques bottling (which is fantastic and cheaper) but still not as good as this. This is why we drink Priorat. It might seem like a lot of money to those who aren’t drinking Priorat, but they would be wrong, wouldn’t they?? Not that you aren’t entitled to your own opinion but PLEASE!!!

2004 Domaine de Marcoux Chateauneuf Du Pape Vieilles Vignes – The 2004 vintage is first-rate and a far better vintage than the much-heralded 2003 vintage. And among the many estates of Chateauneuf, Marcoux is unquestionably a star. Consider this a guaranteed winner in the cellar or on the table tonight. Simply put, just hurry up and buy it.

2006 Lewis "Reserve" Napa Cabernet - Thermonuclear fruit bomb from our Indy Car race friend Randy Lewis. If you like big wines then this, you could say, is GIGANTIC wine.

2005 Araujo "Eisele Vineyard" Syrah - Eisele Vineyard is hallowed ground for Cabernet lovers but don't forget about the amazing Syrah that is grown there as well. Araujo is a top class operation that producers the types of wines people fight over to get their hands on - so enjoy this beauty from the brilliant 2005 vintage and see what all the fuss is about.

2006 Vieux Telegraphe Chateauneuf du Pape - as stated above the 2006 was part of a string of brilliant vintages in the Rhone and if you are a Chateauneuf fan than certainly you are familiar with this marvelous wine.

2005 Domaine de la Soumade "Confiance" Rasteau - note that 2005 was a brilliant year (see notes above) and know that this is not your Fathers Rhone wine. Soumade makes dense and powerful creations that are the perfect treat for Dad to drink while grilling steaks on his special day.

There will be plenty more surprises on the machines to taste but this should hopefully gets you pretty excited. We hope to see you tomorrow to enjoy these rare and wonderful treats and we want to wish all of the Father's out there a Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day and Happy Drinking,
Doug Frost, Matthew Hartley, Matt Snyder and the Team @ winestore.