Collection: October

Back in January, we featured this wine and it sold out long before everyone could get their fill.  It’s back! This is your chance to enjoy the Felsina pedigree at an absurdly low price. This wine is sourced from the estate's vineyards that lie just outside the Chianti Classico border but are farmed with the same care as their top bottlings like their Chianti Classico Riserva (above), Rancia Riserva and Fontalloro (below). The nose offers enticing scents of dried herbs, earth and perfectly ripe Sangiovese fruit. The bright and lively palate echoes the aromatic themes and has uncommon complexity and balance in this price range. Dusty tannins frame the soil-driven finish and lend food-friendly structure to this charming wine.

$37.99 bottle / $209.94($34.99) six-pack  “Two thousand twenty-one is the single greatest young vintage I have ever tasted in Chianti Classico. Period. Full stop. The 2021s are majestic wines endowed with striking aromatics, layered fruit and all the energy that is such a signature of the appellation.” - Antonio Galloni, Vinous  Casa Emma (with no U.S. national importer up to this point) flies under the radar from most Tuscan wine enthusiasts and the wine press, thus making the wines hard to find but affordable versus their peers.  Vignlaparco is a single vineyard estate wine made from 100% Sangiovese grapes coming from the top three rows of vines in the choicest location with an exposition that is pretty much perfect.  The Vignalparco Riserva is aged in neutral oak barrels in the traditional manner.  While the great 2021 needs time to unfurl, it already shows immense promise with its classic aromatics and dense, tight, structured palate that's envelops a strong core of dusty cherry fruit.  Buy enough so that you can try some now with hearty fare like grilled ribeye steaks, braised lamb shanks, pork roasts and all manner of pastas featuring tomatoes, mushrooms or meat sauces while saving enough to watch it develop further complexity and refinement over the next 15-20 years.

SALE $33.99 bottle / $179.94($29.99) six-pack (Regular price $39.99).     Gulfi is one of Sicily’s best wineries and make some of the best Cerasuolo in Italy.  Their Classico bottling is especially good.  A blend of Frappato and Nero d’Avola with the Nero d'Avola bringing structure, dark fruit, and depth, while Frappato adds a lighter, floral lift with good acidity and a sense of freshness. Enjoy with white meats, poultry and meaty fish like swordfish, marlin and the like. “A rich blend of plum and cherry sauce comes together with grilled herbs and a tinge of balsamic spice as the 2020 Cerasuolo di Vittorio Classico displays its dark elegance.  Ripe red and black fruits wash across the palate while brisk acidity and a hint of citrus add an almost wiry sensation. Drink 2026-2029” - 90 Vinous - Very limited

$22.99 bottle / $119.94($19.99) six-pack.     Geek Alert: Long time readers of this newsletter know that we love the wines of Alto Piemonte.  While most of them are based on Nebbiolo, the Tucc-Un “All for one” in dialect is a blend of Barbera, Freisa, Neretto di San Giorgio.  Yep, Neretto di San Giorgio is a new grape varietal to us too. The soil-driven nose get the juices flowing in anticipation of the medium-bodied palate with dark fruit and earthy notes that beg for food. Enjoy now and over the next three years with cured meats and sausages, red meats, game, and pasta dishes with tomato or meat sauce and with mature cheeses.  Great as soon as you pull the cork, opening it up an hour or so before serving will only enhance the wine’s aromatic profile. What a deal. Very limited. 

Franck Balthazar is an elite Cornas producer, issuing some of the greatest Syrah in the world. His Cornas (100% Syrah) is made in microscopic quantities and always tightly allocated. Outside the Cornas appellation, Balthazar tends some Syrah and little bit of Grenache, from which he makes this “humble” Cotes-du-Rhone. A blend of 60% Syrah and 40% Grenache, with the Syrah giving the wine depth and a savory quality while the Grenache adds lift and brightness. Aromas of dried herbs de Provence, wild fennel and warm plums segue to a silky smooth palate with bright fruit, suave tannins and a hint of mint on the finish. Enjoy now and over the next three years with burgers, sausages, lamb, mushrooms and garlicky vegetable dishes.

Laurent Schaller (father) had historically sold the family's organically grown fruit to the Chablisienne cooperative. That is, until Camille (son), convinced his father to begin estate bottling. Camille graduated from oenology school and their first vintage was in 2014. Since then, the small domaine has been gaining repute in France. It's easy to see why. Their 2024 Vau de Vey opens with aromas of flint and wet rocks that are buoyed by lemon zest, white nectarine, and a delicate floral freshness. The palate is wonderfully weighted and very focused. We love Chablis when it's this pure and transparent. Pair with fried green tomatoes, topped with lump Dungeness Crab, a drizzle of balsamic reduction, and  squeeze of lemon. Voila! -Lance's Pick 

$29.99 bottle / $161.94($26.99) six-pack.     This dry white wine made from 100% Roussanne is ready for fall and winter fare!  Aromas of apricot and spices segue to the balanced palate with great texture featuring notes of waxy-honeycomb, apricot and a mineral presence from the limestone soil.  Despite this wine’s low alcohol (12.5%), there is still a real sense of richness and density. Yum.  Delicious on its own, this will pair brilliantly with potato dishes, pork, duck, rich chicken dishes, halibut, crab and so on.  Bring on the potatoes dauphinoise!

Along with Sancerre, Pouilly-Fumé is the heartland of Sauvignon Blanc and the Marchand family have been growing grapes for at least 150 years before the creation of both appellations. The ancient Kimmeridgian (chalky and clay marl with filled with fossilized crustaceans) out date them all by a mere 150 million more years. The 2025 Les Kerots offers the senses a direct connection to place with aromas that open with pink grapefruit, lemon blossom, quince, and crushed oyster shell. Sauvignon Blanc can often feel exotic and plush on the palate but here we see more chisel and mineral expression that works to refresh and cleanse the palate while finish has a touch of lemon pith that adds dimension and complexity. Enjoy this wine now and over the next 3 years to capture its fresh exuberance.  -Lance's Pick

$47.99 bottle $263.94($43.99) six-pack  Enticing expressive nose with beautiful fruit. The palate is the most open of these 2024 Pinot Noirs and offers the lushest fruit. Simply delicious. Hard to imagine someone who likes Pinot Noir not loving this wine. This is the wine that’s most ready to enjoy now. 

$47.99 bottle / $263.94($43.99) six-pack  This wine is from the famous Koosah vineyard, the highest elevation vineyard in the Eola-Amity hills and one of the state’s great vineyards.  The wine was labeled with the Koosah designation on the label, but Evesham Wood’s price is lower than what the vineyard owners want to see on any bottle from any winery with the Koosah name on it….so, there is a sticker over the word “Koosah” on the label that renames the wine “Cuvée Ciel.” It seem like the sticker can be easily removed.  Anyway…Koosah’s energy is on full display here. Pretty nose with blue fruit and a tough of cinnamon and cardamon. The palate has it all: bright Pinot fruit, a hint of earth, complexity, balance, real depth, silky tannins and a seamless texture that will make you swoon. Enjoy through 2044.

$47.99 bottle / $263.94($43.99) six-pack  This is from a 1982 planting of Pommard clones in the upper reaches of this high elevation vineyard, one of Oregon’s finest. Temperance Hills is widely considered one of the undisputed “Grand Crus” of new world Pinot Noir, and for good reason. This is total class. Temperance Hill’s depth, complexity, earthy and savory nature are on full display in this sleek Pinot Noir along with the elegance and structure that are signatures of the hallowed vineyard. Enjoy through 2046.

$47.99 bottle / $263.94($43.99) six-pack  This wine has the densest, darkest fruit of the 2024 Evesham Wood wines. While full-bodied, it’s still perfectly balanced with plenty of delicious complexity.  “Imagine having the instant gratification of a warm vintage with the freshness and vivacity of a cooler vintage…except it's not imaginary, it’s the essence of 2024. They are delicious–now–and so well balanced that their evolution will be transparent. They’ll be great in a year, in three, in five, in ten. This is what made me break from my usual low-key character to say, “what a vintage!” - winemaker Erin Nuccio

$58.99 bottle /$317.94($52.99) six-pack  Because Le Puits Sec is a monopole (Only made by one winery), it is not quite as well know as some of the other great sites in the Eola-Amity’s hills.  But, make no mistake, it is unsurpassed as a source of very age-worthy Pinot Noir.  Having tasted 15 vintages of Le Puits Sec this summer going back to 2000, I can personally attest to it’s age-worthiness.  Concentrated fruit,   great balance and a strong gout de terroir are cradled by velvety tannins.  Enjoy through 2046. 

$39.99 bottle / $215.94($35.99) six-pack Sacred Shore was founded by Andrew Riechers and John Soares in 2021 to explore their mutual love of both Galician wines and the incredible terroir that Oregon has to offer. While most of us have never considered this, the climate of Galicia in northwest Spain and the Willamette Valley here in Oregon are very similar in terms of rainfall and temperatures. The fruit used to make this wine comes from a one-acre planting of Albariño in the Treos Vineyard. Aromas of sea shells, peach, nectarine and jasmine dazzle. The palate offers flavors of meyer lemon, nectarine, and honeysuckle with a lashing of minerals, framed by refreshing acidity. There is finesse and elegance to this Albariño that is matched by its depth and intensity. Enjoy this chiseled, structured wine now and over the next five years as it continues to gain in complexity.