R. Lopez de Heredia Tasting!
Saturday 22nd, 2012
11am - 7pm
Featuring on the machine:
1994 R. Lopez de Heredia Vina Tondonia Gran Reserva
(It's gentle and persistent, shockingly so...)
1995 R. Lopez de Heredia Vina Bosconia Gran Reserva
(It's lighter still, earthier, gentle and persuasive...)
2001 R. Lopez de Heredia Vina Tondonia Reserva
(It's still evolving...)
There are lots of code words in the wine business, words that are
supposed to indicate seriousness, even gravitas, words like genuine, or
as the French would say, typicite’. The modern wine press is filled with
others: density, power, weight, intensity, elegance, balance, hell, the
list goes on. We can argue about the meaning of each. More cogently, we
could argue as to whether these are words that have actual meaning or
they are simply words that intended to draw attention, like marketing,
like some billboard, like a celebrity endorsement, when in fact that
celebrity doesn’t drink said vodka at all. But all these words are
intended to mean one thing: This is important wine.
And there are as many reasons why a wine is important as there are wine
reviewers. Sure. Why not? It’s personal. Each of us is looking for
something that might recreate the transformative experience that some
particular glass of wine gave us in the past. We seek that excitement
again. And because of this, and because we have differing palates, we
aren’t likely to be seeking the same wines.
But the zeitgeist sometimes appears, ghostly, to express particular
notions that seem to pertain now, today, to most or at least to many
wine lovers. Authenticity is one such word. Too many wines are
“commercial” or “shallow” or “modern” or “international” or other such
code words that stand in for “I don’t like it and neither should you.”
Hmm. Critics, not surprisingly, see their own taste as an extension of
their egos; the more they flaunt it, the bigger they are. Can you
imagine food critics pulling the same bullshit? “Scallops are soooo
yesterday. You eat those?? Omg. Lol. You need to eat geoduck, then you
would be cool like me.”
But we wine writers play that sad song. We should be singing the song of
the wine: What does this wine mean? What world does this wine represent
(even if it’s not my world)?
Which brings us back to authenticity: if nothing else, the word is
supposed to portray a wine that is grounded in a time beyond the
present. There are lots of places that make wines with that sort of
history, but one could do worse than look to Rioja. Do that and then ask
yourself: who amongst the Riojans really represents Rioja as a
traditional wine? They’re not many, perhaps only a few dozen. But
amongst those, Lopez de Heredia and the two women who run that venerable
19th century producer, deserve to be top of the list.
While their wines are often lighter and softer than internationally
styled wines, they have shocking longevity. With intense earth, mineral
and even cellar aromas and flavors, the wines nonetheless retain vibrant
fruit character. Far too many of Rioja’s great number have succumbed to
New World styling; bouffants of French oak and jammy fruit are not
Rioja’s legacy, a heritage nearly wiped away by the elephantine
footprint of Napa Cab, Barossa Shiraz, Argentine Malbec and all the
rest.
And the ladies of Lopez are not buried in the past; the winery addition
they built a decade ago is one Rioja’s most modern of buildings. The
wines are clean in the main, and always show preserved and even modern
fruit. But the rest of the wine’s flavors and aromas are as complex as
tradition could hope. Indeed, Lopez de Heredia and their bottlings:
Bosconia, Tondonia and the legendary and mind-boggling Tondonia Gran
Reserva, are better manifestations of history made fresh and pertinent
than history itself might imagine.
Happy tasting and we'll see you Saturday!!
Cheers,
Doug Frost, MS MW
Master Sommelier & Master of Wine
Second Label Tasting!
Saturday September 15th, 2012
11am - 8pm
Sometimes the greatest of the great
wines are just simply out of our reach. That being said, you may not
know that most of the world's most expensive wines produce second label
"sibling" wines, often times with the left over juice that went into the
$100 cuvees. It is a rare opportunity to be able to taste the flagship
wine right next to its second label offering, but that is exactly what
we are doing for you this weekend at our Semi-Annual Second Label Tasting!
Find out if the $100 Napa Cab is better than the $35 second offering -
perhaps the $75 estate wine really isn't worth it for you compared right
next to the $25 second label Cabernet from the same producer. Famed
Napa Valley legend Jayson Pahlmeyer summed up his second label "Jayson",
by saying “The Jayson goes into the same brand new French oak
barrels [as the main label, Pahlmeyer], has the same barrel-aging
regimen, same blending, same care and dedication from my winemaker,”
Pahlmeyer explains. “It’s 90 percent of the quality at 50 percent of the
price.”
"90% of the quality at 50% of the price" - now that is an equation we
are ready to get on board with! We think you'll be astounded how close
these second labels taste to the real thing! Come in this Saturday and
see for yourself! We have something for everyone, Cabernet from
California, Chardonnay from Napa Valley, Chateauneuf from France, and
more!
Wineries featured include:
Silver Oak Cellars
2008 Silver Oak Alexander Valley
2007 Silver Oak Napa Valley
Laurel Glen Estate
2007 Laurel Glen Estate Cabernet
2008 Laurel Glen "Counterpoint" Cabernet
Belle Glos
2010 Belle Glos "Taylor Lane" Pinot Noir
2011 Belle Glos "Meiomi" Pinot Noir
Domaine Marcoux
2010 Domaine Marcoux Chateauneuf du Pape
2010 Domaine Marcoux Lorentine Lirac
Miner Family Vineyards
2010 Miner Family Napa Valley Chardonnay
2008 Miner Family "Wild Yeast" Chardonnay
Trefethen Winery
2010 Trefethen "Double T" Chardonnay
2008 Trefethen "Harmony" Oak Knoll Chardonnay
2009 Castano Hecula
2009 Castano Hecula
Regular Price: $14.00
Winestore Price: $9.99 (net)
SAVE 29%
We take all wine hype with a grain of
salt, but we know Hecula and we are certain of the value it represents.
That is why when the world's most powerful wine critic starts saying
things like "possibly the world's greatest wine value"
we get excited and depressed all at the same time. Excited because we
love Castano wines and want them to be successful, depressed because the
wine will be more and more difficult to source if the praise and
adulation keeps up!
But the lovefest continues - with writers from all over the world saying:
"Is the average buyer at this price point ready for this? An amazing value"
"Perhaps the most rewarding under $15 wine I have had in a long time"
"As long as I have been drinking wine this has over-delivered in the value category"
So we are pleased today to bring you the 2009 Castano Hecula for what
is basically the lowest price in the US. We say basically because there
is some dude out there selling it for $9.95, so we are going to let him
keep the title.
We'll have the wine on the machines at both stores all week, so swing
by and try some or you can just take our word for it....we won't let you
down!
To order you can:
Order ONLINE by clicking HERE
Call SOUTHPARK @ 704-442-4024
Call BLAKENEY @ 704-443-2944
Wagtail Pinot Noir and Shiraz
2009 Wagtail Shiraz
Release Price: $13.99
Winestore Price: $4.99 (net) per bottle
SAVE 64%
2008 Wagtail Pinot Noir
Release Price: $13.99
Winestore Price: $4.99 (net) per bottle
SAVE 64%
You may remember the $3.99 little gem we
offered a few months ago...and we just found another beauty! Much like
the Agoston, for $4.99 per bottle (yes, you read that price correctly)
these wines are the bomb. We bought the last 30 cases of each varietal
for each store and are pleased to be able to offer it to you today.
Is this wine going to change your life? Not even close. Are your friends
going to taste it at your next dinner party and wax poetic about it for
hours and hours? No chance. Are these some quality quaffers for lasagna
and green beans (honestly not sure why we paired those together, that
sounds horrible) on a Wednesday night? Yes. Are these the ultimate
tailgates? Yes. Is this the perfect...well, you get the idea here.
So - $4.99 per bottle for some tasty vino. Pretty sure I've paid that for a milkshake before...
To order you can:
Order ONLINE by clicking HERE
Call SOUTHPARK @ 704-442-4024
Call BLAKENEY @ 704-443-2944
Thermonuclear Fruit Bomb Tasting
Saturday September 8th, 2012
11am - 8pm
Nothing says the start of football season
and the beginning of fall like a big, hearty red wine. People
absolutely LOVE really big wine. Wine that stains the teeth, enough
alcohol to run your hybrid and thick, jammy fruit. Well, we decided to
go out and find some of the absolute biggest flavored wines that exist
on the planet. Big Malbec from Argentina, gigantic Cabernet from Napa,
and even some monster wine from Chateauneuf du Pape (in magnum of
course). There are some wine writers that would describe these wines as
"Hedonistic Thermonuclear Fruit Bombs" and that is exactly what these
are...
Sooo - if you are looking to enjoy some really amazing wine this
weekend, here are a few of the gems that we will have on the machine on
Saturday...several of these definitely qualify in the "cult" wine
category:
2010 Caymus Cabernet
2009 Donelan "Cuvee Moriah"
2005 Analog Proprietary Red Wine
2010 Venge Scout's Honor Red Wine
2009 La Peira
2007 Laurel Glen Estate Cabernet
2009 Marcoux Chateuneuf (in a Magnum Bottle!)
2009 Darioush Capataz Malbec
2008 Patrick Jasmin Cote Rotie (this is more like an acid bomb)
and some other treats as well!
So, call your best friends, draw straws to see who's going to be the
D.D. and bring everyone to the tasting! The wines are going to be
AMAZING!!!
Plus - FREE Tasting Tonight!
Featuring 2008 Ladera Napa Cabernet
Thursday September 6th 2012
6-8PM
Napa good! Napa wine big! BIG! Big Napa
wine! Napa wine big and good! Mountain fruit even bigger!! BIG Mountain
fruit! BIGGER NAPA WINE!!
As you can tell, we are pretty
excited about the 2008 Ladera Napa Cabernet. That is why we decided to
add it to our tasting tonight. The best part is that this tasting is
FREE! If that's not enough, we'll also have three other great wines to
try tonight from Jeanne Courteaud & Tryon Distributing. Remember,
we host our wine tastings at both winestore locations, Southpark &
Blakeney. So, round up all your wine loving friends and make sure to
join us on Thursday night. Check out the wines below & we look
forward to seeing you!
Wente "Morning Fog" Chardonnay
Mapema Sauvignon Blanc
Belle Glos "Meiomi" Pinot Noir
Ladera Napa Cabernet
2010 Leese Fitch Cabernet
Whole Foods Price: $12.99
Winestore Price: $9.99
SALE Price: $7.99 (net)
SAVE 38%
SALE Runs Wednesday September 5th - Sunday September 9th, 2012
Nobody loves your more than we do (well, maybe a few people do but rest
assured we do love you), and that is why every now and again we have to
take some of our best products and get them to you at an insane price.
With all the traffic headaches caused by the DNC this week you are
probably going to need a glass of wine, and this is where we come
in...$7.99 per bottle is right in our "sitting on the couch watching the
convention while eating lasagna" sweet spot.
You all know and love Leese Fitch, so no real need to go into the
specifics, other that this has been our best selling Cabernet since May
of 2009, the very month we brought it into the store!
So order online, swing on by (we love seeing you!) or give us a jingle
and take advantage of this fun deal through Sunday. Football season has
started, school is back in session, the temperatures are cooling down -
now it's time to get back into some red wines!
To order you can:
Order ONLINE by clicking HERE
Call SOUTHPARK @ 704-442-4024
Call BLAKENEY @ 704-443-2944
2011 Herencia Altes Wines
Release Price: $11.99
Winestore Price: $9.99
SAVE 17%
Save an additional 10% by the case (12) or 5% by the half case (6)
We told you back in July that Charlotte based wine importer Eric Solomon
is on a roll. Like, the guy is just absolutely crushing it right now
and we are super excited he lives in Charlotte so we can get access to
some of these outstanding values.
We landed 60 cases of the Herencia Grenache (the red wine) back in July
and you guys gobbled it up in record time. Well, we just got the red
wine back in stock and for the first time in Charlotte we are bringing
you the white wine - which is an insane value for $9.99. It tastes like a
baby white Chateauneuf du Pape!
If you are into sub $10 awesome wine you might want to grab yourself
some of this bad boy. The most powerful wine critic in the world
recently said after tasting the Altes wines, "As I told Eric Solomon, at
these ridiculously low prices, consumers will never suspect the wines
are at this level of quality." We could not agree more...
So here we go again - more silly good wine at scary good prices from
your friend and neighbor Eric Solomon. I guess now when we drink some of
his Spanish gems we can really say we are drinking local :)
To order you can:
Order ONLINE by clicking HERE
Call SOUTHPARK @ 704-442-4024
Call BLAKENEY @ 704-443-2944
