Wine Tasting 12/29
What to pour at your New Years Party? : Excellent values from Chile and Argentina
It isn’t exactly a secret that Chile and Argentina are delivering the highest quality to price ratio wines in the business and have been doing so for nearly the last 10 years. Tragically however, what used to be the best known wines have turned into a lot of really commercial, formulaically flashy labeled, unsubstantial wines littering the shelves of your local grocer. However, if you’ve got the foresight and are committed to serving your guests the very best of what our friends to the South have to offer : You can think of the Santa Ema winery as the Chateau Ste. Michelle of Chile. Pretty much everything they touch tastes of the rich, ripe fruit from which it was produced and it won’t contribute to your economic woes either. A boutique winery it is not, but very reliable. If you’ve tried the $10 Costco special and are curious as to what the next step tastes like, we can tell you the “Amplus” series is well worth the extra money. They’ve just started producing a Sauvignon Blanc in this series and it is a relatively minuscule production of 3,000 cases for a deliciously crisp S.B. for under $18. We’ll taste the Cab too, which might even be a better value under $20. Malbec may very well be the most popularly requested grape variety for our by-the-glass program at the shop. It is a household name. Achaval Ferrer will be too…someday. This winery continues to pump out super-premium wines produced traditionally, from low yielding, ancient vines high in the mountains of Mendoza. Put it this way, their cheapest wine is $26! They also make the highest scoring wine ever tasted from Argentina which goes for over $150! Definitely worth a try. The Kaiken winery is owned and operated by Aurelio Montes of the Chilean juggernaut winery Montes. The “Ultra” line is a big step up from the grocery store stuff and really shows off some fancy winemaking for your buck. And finally, we’ll finish off with an exotic “late harvest” Chardonnay from Bodegas Norton. You gotta have the sweet stuff and is only $12.99
HOLLYWOOD VINE WINE TASTING!
Tuesday December 29th, 2009
6:00-9:00 pm
No charge for tastings
Santa Ema “Amplus” Sauvignon Blanc 2007 Leyda Valley, Chile
Very precise from start to finish, with pure, chiseled lemon verbena, chalk, fleur de sel and thistle flower notes that race through the stony finish. Delicious. Wine Spectator 90 points
BTG $6.75 Retail $17.99
Achaval Ferrer Malbec 2008 Mendoza, Argentina
Really vivid, with plum and fig notes laced with a bright violet hint. The lingering finish lets raspberry and pastis notes chime in. Fleshy and concentrated, but pure,
with mouthwatering acidity. Wine Spectator 91 points
BTG $9.50 Retail $25.99
Kaiken “Ultra” Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 Mendoza, Argentina
Solid, with a mix of red and black currant fruit layered with coffee and bittersweet cocoa notes. Good grip on the finish. Wine Spectator 88 points
BTG $7.50 Retail $19.99
Santa Ema “Amplus” Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 Rapel Valley, Chile
The 2006 Amplus Cabernet Sauvignon was aged for 12 months in barrique. Purple-colored, it has an alluring nose of spice box, black currants, blackberry, and a suggestion
of chocolate in the background. Smooth-textured, forward, and easy-going, this nicely balanced wine has a lengthy, fruit-filled finish. Robert Parker 88 points
BTG $7.50 Retail $19.99
Bodegas Norton “Late Harvest” Chardonnay 2009 Mendoza, Argentina
…pours a beautiful gold color with glints of amber. The intense aromas of floral, honey, baked pear, apricot, nutmeg and cinnamon jump out of the glass to meet you.
The palate is soft yet lush with apple, soft honey, hazelnut and sweetness balanced with healthy acidity.
BTG $5.00 Retail $12.99
