Rogers & Company Newsletter
Half Bottles
May 2009
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Greetings!
Here's a little something to brighten your Monday, a selection of some of our wines available in half-bottles. Sometimes called "splits" these are the perfect size bottles for sharing between two people for a week-day dinner or maybe just for enjoying alone while relaxing.
There is evidence that wine in half bottles matures faster than wine in full sized bottles, and our 2003 Altesino Brunello is currently in it's prime drinking window.
As always, prices are per bottle pre-GST and bottle deposit. Please visit Rogers & Company for our full catalogue and full information on all of our wines.
Have a great week and I hope to hear from you.
My best,
Chris.
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Chateau de Maligny Chablis "Carré de César" 2007 [375ml/12cs] $14.65
 The largest land owner in Chablis, Chateau de Maligny produces this wine from the best parcels of its own estate vineyards. The most unctuous and opulent of Chablis, this wine walks the line between new world tropicality and old-world Chablis minerality and vivacity.
Although no oak is used in the production of this wine, extended lees (yeast) contact provides an earthy complexity to the vibrant fruit, and allows development of complex flavours over short term cellaring.
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Chateau de Maligny Chablis 1er Cru "Vau de Vey" 2007 [375ml/12cs] $20.55
 Chateau de Maligny farms only 2 hectares of this precariously sloped, Premier Cru vineyard, and from it produces a definitive Chablis.
A pale, golden lemon colour with a rich, firm nose with hints of honeyed
nectarines & passion fruit. On the palate it is very full, soft and expressive,
with a creamy mineral flavour. Good balance & acidity wil allow development in a cellar for 5 to 10 years.
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Masson-Blondelet Pouilly-Fumé "Villa Paulus" 2007 [375ml/12cs] $17.95
 The Fumé of Pouilly-Fumé refers to the "gunflint or smoke" character that differentiates this village's wines from its neighbour Sancerre.
The rich
marley clay of the Villa Paulus vineyard combined with millenia of crushed marine fossils gives enhanced extract, body,
and richness. Aromatically, this wine is pure Upper Loire Sauvignon Blanc.
As
the wine hits the palate there is an explosion of grapefruit and lime,
yet underpinning this is a mineral complexity. The fruit
on the palate is particularly round, lush, and supple yet retains good
balancing acidity. This concentration persists impressively over the 30
second finish.
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Pellé Sancerre Blanc 'La Croix au Garde' 2007
[375ml/12cs] $18.90
 "This is the Ingrid Bergman of Sancerres - ravishing, polished and
effortlessly elegant. In great years, besides having perfect tension
between acidity and fruit, the wine has a unique kind of purity and
clarity, with absolutely vivid smokey/minerally flavours."
Karen MacNeil, The Wine Bible
The Pellés farm only 4 hectares in the village of Sancerre, making this white example a true artisan wine. The midpalate is richly textured, and the bright acidities make you long for another sip. A lovely, classic, refined example of Sauvignon Blanc.
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Domaine Vacheron Sancerre Blanc 2007
[375ml/12cs] $20.95
 In 2003 Domaine Vacheron's vineyards were certified organic and one year later certified Biodynamic--to be sure, you won't find more terroir-driven Sancerre
anywhere else in the appellation. No herbicides, pesticides or fertilizers touch these vines, which get everything they need in the healthy soils and truly reflect their terroir in Sancerre.
Interestingly, Domaine Vacheron is the only producer in Sancerre with equal parts of
limestone and flint in its vineyards. Limestone contributes to balanced
acidity, while flint provides aroma and minerality.
"You'll find Lime blossoms blend with notes of chalk dust on the aromatic, lively
nose. Suggestions of freshly squeezed lemonade and the crispness of
green apple slices are evident on the abundantly juicy and delectable
mouth. A touch of sea spray and dried flowers on the finish set the
palate up for another (and another) sip. An invigorating, beautiful
Sancerre that continues the unparalleled success of this great
organic/biodynamic domaine!"
North Berkeley Wine Imports
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Altesino Brunello di Montalcino 2003 [375ml/12cs] $33.60
 An underrated vintage in Montalcino, the 2003s provide an opportunity to enjoy your Brunellos without the requisite cellar time.
High-elevation vineyards like Altesino's benefitted in the heat of 2003 by avoiding the over-ripening effects of the vintage, and producing softer-than-usual wines with good deep, dark fruit and firm acidities, ready for immediate consumption and cellaring.
"Good full, bright red. Vibrant if idiosyncratic nose offers exotic peach and blood orange suggestions as well as a piquant mineral character. Sweet, intense and cleanly made, with a distinctly penetrating, high-pitched quality to the juicy flavours of red fruits, orange peel and peach. Conveys a strong impression of cooler terroir."
90 points, International Wine Cellar, July/Aug 2008
"From a big, warm summer growing season in Tuscany, this wine maintains its poise, with flavours of pure cherry, leather, tobacco and mushroom. Silky and opulent, it's ready to drink now and could age for a decade."
Globe and Mail, October 28, 2008
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Brigaldara Amarone della Valpolicella Classico 2005 [375ml/12cs] $28.95
 "The 2005 Amarone della Valpolicella Classico is a relatively straightforward wine but I loved it for its superb balance and harmony. Sweet red cherries, herbs, leather, spices and earthiness are buffered by finessed tannins as this soft-textured wine opens in the glass. This is a great introduction to Amarone. Curiously, the 2005 comes across as more advanced than the 2004, and I would choose to drink it on the young side. Anticipated maturity: 2008-2015."
90 points, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, October 2008
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Château Fortia Châteauneuf-du-Pape Rouge
"Cuvée du Baron" 2006 [375ml/12cs] $21.95
 "Rich but restrained, with graphite, game, hot stone, tobacco and plum sauce notes allied to a surprisingly grippy frame that extends through the lengthy finish. best from 2009 to 2023. 3,915 cases made."
91 points, Wine Spectator, October 2008
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Chante Perdrix Châteauneuf-du-Pape Rouge 2006 [375ml/12cs] $21.95
 "Perfumed up front, with incense and macerated cherry notes giving way to a stylish palate that shows sandalwood, mineral, sage and raspberry flavours. Drink now through 2018."
90 points, Wine Spectator, October 2008
"Spot-on, this has the warm, juicy red fruit with lots of spice, earth and herbs to back it up. The gentle texture and medium weight make it a good match for duck confit."
90 points, Wine & Spirits, February 2009
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Kenwood Pinot Noir "Russian River Valley" 2007 [375ml/12cs] $14.95
 Generous aromas of fresh red currant and cranberry are accented by notes of nutmeg and earth. Delicious red currant, cranberry and cherry flavours gain complexity from delicate spice nuances. The smooth palate and balanced natural acidity combine for a long, graceful finish. This is an uncommonly appealing Pinot Noir offers extreme value for Pinot Noir from the prestigious Russian River Valley. |
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Shafer Merlot 2006 Napa Valley [375ml/12cs] $36.95
 "17% Cab Sauv, 7% Cab Franc. Heavily extracted aromas of black cherries, dark soils, hints of licorice and scads of rich oak announce this wine's serious intentions, and it continues in the mouth with deep, ripe, layered flavours whose slight tilt towards ripeness is nothing more than we have seen in virtually all Shafer's releases. The key, of course, is that Shafer wines have historically shown their ability to carry the style off to perfection, and, given this bottling's depth of fruit and underlying solidity, it joins the exhalted ranks of its predecessors."
92 points, Connoisseur's Guide to California Wines, March 2009
"Inky garnet hue with a fuchsia rim. Heady blueberry and plum aromas with a secondary mineral nuance. Supple, mouth-filling black fruit laced with dusty, graphite accents. Dry, charred oak and an herbal spiciness cap the finish."
92 points, The Wine News, Spring 2009
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Kenwood "Jack London Vineyard" Cabernet Sauvignon 2005
[375ml/12cs] $22.95
 "Dense garnet rim. Powerful scents of plum, black cherry and thistle. Rich flavours of cherry pie, brown sugar and blackberry. Full, refined tannins and lingering impressions of blackberry and brown sugar in the close."
91 points, The Wine News, October 2008
"Dark plum and cassis note, minty nuance. Cassis and berry jam notes. Firm, dry leathery tannins. Nice length. From 2013."
3/5 stars, Decanter magazine, January 2009
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Chris McLean
416 961 2294 x 29
c.mclean@rogcowines.com
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