Dear Rene, As the warmer months of spring approach it will be time to get the deck chairs out and enjoy a relaxing meal al fresco before the real summer heat hits. For casual weekday meals or relaxed weekend lunches a light, crisp white is made to order. And all the better that you can get something delicious and distinctive for ten bucks a bottle. Mike and Shem recently travelled to Spain visiting some of our favorite estates and also sampling wines from new suppliers. The full fruits of this trip will be shown in later email offerings, but to start, the 2008 Bodegas Pedro Escudero "Fuente Milano," is a wine perfect for the season: a crisp white wine from Rueda in north central Spain. This will be the one white wine to set the standards at this price. Will Argentina, France or Italy step up to challenge Spain? Who knows. Why wait, this beauty, bottled in late February is as fresh and delicious as they come. The doors have been repaired and reinforced and we're ready to do it again... another famous Arrowine Door-Buster sale! Are you ready? This Friday and Saturday come in to Arrowine (sorry, no phone or e-mail orders) to get the 90 point (at $11) 100% tempranillo 2007 Campellares Rioja Rosado for just $5.99 per bottle by the case. Save over 45%!! Please come by this weekend. In addition to the Door-Buster sale we have delicious cheese and charcuterie specials and wine tastings. Doug Rosen
 2008 Bodegas Pedro Escudero "Fuente Milano" (Rueda, Spain) Regular: $11.99 Half Case (6): $10.99 per bottle Case (12): $9.99 per bottle
Shem and Mike recently visited this estate in north central Spain and fell in love with this delightfully crisp, refreshing white. They signed up right on the spot to do an email special. When they got back and showed the rest of the staff the wine we were all very impressed. For ten dollars this will be the white wine value to beat in the warmer months of Spring and Summer. The Fuente Milano blend is made of 50% viura, 50% verdejo. Verdejo is the distinctive blue-green grape made famous in Rueda. The light-skinned Viura grape, most frequently used for making Cava, is fresh and floral when picked early, and richer with lower-acidity (increasing aging potential) when picked later. Many of Escudero's viura vines are up to 80 years old. The viura grapes slated for the Fuente Milano are hand picked early to have a light, crisp flavor. The fully modern winery uses the latest equipment to produce the cleanest, purest wines with minimal intervention. To maximize the potential of this wine there is cold maceration of the grapes for 12 hours which is then lightly pressed to extract the free run juice. A long, slow fermentation is utilized then aged sur lees in stainless steel tanks. The wine is lightly filtered for clarity before bottling.  This excellent vineyard site has been in the Escudero family for several generations. The soil and growing conditions here are highly regarded (and envied) by other producers, consisting of large stones, gravel and sand over a red clay sub-soil. The day Shem and Mike visited was bitterly cold and blustery. That is common in this area, along with occasional hail. Although the summers are warm and dry, much of the growing season has the cool climate perfect for stressing the vines and retaining acidity for bright, vibrant flavors. Here's how it tastes: Pretty aromas of lime, green grass and lemon oil. The mouth is teeming with flavors of lime and succulent sweet pink grapefruit, with a long, clean, complex mouthwatering stone dust finish. Food pairing is as you might expect: light summer fare and summer salads with citrus or melon. The wine's crispness also compliments strong salty or briny flavors. Our favorite recipes are for sautéed shrimp in lime, tequila and sea salt sauce, or sautéed shrimp with arbequina olives, scallions and anchovies. To order, please call 703.525.0990. We need your Visa or MasterCard information including expiration date. Wine arrives tomorrow, Friday April 17th. Enjoy! -- Graham Reid | ||||
Thursday, April 16, 2009
2008 Bodegas Pedro Escudero "Fuente Milano"
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
2006 Domaine de Bérane, "Les Agapes" & "Les Blaques" Côtes du Ventoux
Dear Rene, Our Frugal Francophiles series continues! If you are a wine connoisseur on a budget today's double offering is just what you've been waiting for: it's a double dose of deliciousness at a price to delight! Coming estate-direct to Arrowine from our friend and importer Ed Addiss of Wine Traditions cuts out the middleman and saves you big time. Even at their normal everyday price these wines represent tremendous value. At these special prices they are simply unmatched for quality/price ratio anywhere in the market. These are wines that are truly expressive of their unique terroir, from a region in the Southern Rhône which is often compared to Gigondas, and Chateauneuf-du-Pape. These days many basic Côtes-du-Rhône are selling at these prices and they don't offer anywhere near the complexity or depth that these wines have. And the real beauty of it is how wonderfully they drink now. No need to bankrupt the pocketbook or hide the wine in the cellar waiting for the optimum moment - these babies are ready to "pop and pour" right now! Graham Reid
 Domaine de Bérane makes its home at 350 meters on the slopes at the base of Mount Ventoux in the southern Rhône, just north of Provence. The vineyards bask in the sunny Mediterranean sun and enjoy the best of loving, all-organic viticultural care.
Basic Côtes-du-Rhône (blended from vineyards throughout the Rhône Valley) may solidly hit all the middle notes, but you'll never get the high overtones or the deep powerful bass notes that true terroir-driven wines can express. These two wines definitely "kick it up a notch." You can go dark and full-bodied, or light and bright, depending on mood or culinary inspiration. You'll see what we mean by "wines of character." They'll take even a simple mid-week meal to another level. You may mix six or mix a case of twelve to get the best price.
 2006 Domaine de Bérane, "Les Agapes" Côtes du Ventoux Regular $15.99 Half Case (6): $13.99 per bottle Full Case (12): $11.99 per bottle Save over 25%!! Mix or match to get the best price. "Les Agapes" is primarily grenache and displays gorgeous aromatics, suppleness of texture and delicious bright fruits and spice. We think of it as a sort of miniature Chateau Rayas (a landmark grenache-based Chateauneuf-du-Pape costing nearly $200 a bottle). It is made from 70% grenache, 25% syrah and 5% mourvedre. Only the syrah component sees any oak. This impressive wine shows lip-smacking red fruits such as cherry, strawberry and red currants, along with herbes de Provence and a dusting of white pepper. The texture is supple, finely balanced, and with just enough zip to make grilled chicken jump with mouth-watering flavor.
 2006 Domaine de Bérane, "Les Blaques" Côtes du Ventoux Regular $16.99 Half Case (6): $14.99 each Full Case (12): $12.99 each Save nearly 25% !! Mix or match to get the best price. "Les Blaques" is all dark brooding fruits, dried meats, smoked meats, scorched earth and posh velvety texture. It is made from 70% syrah and 30% grenache. It displays rich dense fruit with hints of smoked meats, dried violets and well-worn leather. Fine tannins give it a big, velvety texture on the palate. This has been a customer favorite since we first introduced it with the 2004 vintage, and we all agree the 2006 is the best yet! While both drink just fine by themselves, they really shine with the right food pairing: "Les Agapes" best with chicken, pork, pasta, vegetarian, Lebanese or Moroccan cuisine; "Les Blaques" best with hearty casseroles or red meat of any kind. Mix and match to get the best prices. To order please call 703.525.0990. We need your Visa or MasterCard information including expiration date. Wines arrives tomorrow, April 15th. Enjoy! Graham Reid |
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
2006 Villa da Filicaja Chianti Superiore
Dear Rene, It's hard to believe you can still get a wine this good for $12.99. Our e-mail price is even better! Start with a grand estate in the famed Chianti hills of Tuscany that has been making wine for 550 years. Add in a Count and Countess as owners who devote their (considerable) resources to improving their wine slowly but constantly, just as their family has century after century. Combine this with a fantastic Tuscan vintage that received Parker's highest vintage score in Tuscany(tied) since Parker started rating Tuscan vintages in 1970, 96 points. What is the result? A majestic $200 trophy wine? Nope, it's my new favorite Chianti for weekday pasta or pizza or roasted chicken, or just about any other uncomplicated meal. It's a great deal at $12.99 but today, just for our e-mail customers, we've made the price as low as $9.99. This is pure, delicious, full-flavored and an absolute joy to drink, with absolutely nothing heavy or harsh. Get your case today. Jim Cutts
 2006 Villa da Filicaja Chianti Superiore DOCG Reg. $12.99 Six Bottles: $10.99 each Case Sale Price: $9.99 per bottle This wine has lots going for it:
Here's just one example of how this winery masterfully combines tradition and innovation: They still harvest their grapes by hand, the traditional method of harvest that, while not as fast as mechanical harvesting, allows them to be selective with the quality, ripeness, and cleanliness of the grapes they choose. Their experienced pickers avoid immature grapes, broken skins, leaves and other things a machine can't. To improve on the traditional harvest, though, they have an innovative transfer system which assures that each crate of hand-picked grapes is de-stemmed and put into fermentation tanks within 15 minutes of the time each grape is picked. If you've ever seen truckloads of grapes parked in smoggy traffic in the hot sun waiting, sometimes for hours, to make their way to a winery, you'll understand what a difference this innovation makes to freshness. And it shows in the purity of the wine. Here's how it tastes: This Chianti Superiore, a traditional blend of 90% sangiovese, 5% canaiolo and 5% merlot has a beautiful bright ruby color. The aromas are of refreshing red and black cherries and savory cooking spices. The flavors are pure, bright, and refreshing, not at all heavy. They're reminiscent of black cherries, red berries and subtle spices. The finish is refreshing and palate-cleansing. This beautiful glass of wine, full of flavor yet not at all heavy, is perfect for rinsing the palate with uncomplicated meals like spaghetti bolognese, pizza or roasted chicken. Many of us eat a little lighter as the weather warms up and this light to medium bodied, but extremely flavorful red wine is perfect with these lighter meals. On a hot day you can even give it a light chill to make it even more refreshing. Order this by the case. To order please call 703.525.0990. We need your Visa or MasterCard information including expiration date. Wine arrives tomorrow, April 8th. Thank you for reading. Jim Cutts |
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