It's back! 1927 Vintage Solera...96 Points...under $30!!  1965 Taylor Fladgate Tawny Port, New 90 Point Spanish Red Under $10 Plus 9 Top Rated Ports Presale!
 
This week we have a couple of extraordinary offerings in the fortified wine category.
Here is your chance to acquire one of the finest dessert wines a 1927 Pedro Ximinez at a fantastic price!! This is a truly special wine that would make a wonderful gift or be a fantastic way to end a special meal with family of friends! Plus don't miss some amazing port selections including vintage character, vintage and tawnies including the extremely rare Taylor Fladgate 1965 Tawny port! Quantities are limited! And lastly we have a brand new spectacular Spanish Red being offered for the first time ever. So scroll down for all the tasting notes on these incredible wines and mix and match cases for 20% off too!  While supplies last! See presale terms below! PS, please feel free to always email us any special requests for a price quote on any item!
 
 
I hope you are also enjoying our new easily viewable format on your mobile device! Reply by email riohillwine@embarqmail.com to reserve your preorders now!  
 
Thank you for your business.  We look forward to serving you soon.
 
Cheers
Doug
  
The Wines
 
(Spain) Flavium Seleccion Mencia Bierzo 2011
Reg. $15  Now Bottle $11.99 10% off mix 6 $10.79 20% off mix 12 $9.59
Wine Enthusiast 90 Points"Jammy aromas of plum and berry are oaky. This is weighty yet balanced. Earthy flavors of baked black fruits, tea and spice are slightly minerally, while the finish is oaky and generous, with a touch of menthol and heat." If you love full throttle reds at bargain prices then be sure to try this big red. Note - The Mencia grape was once thought to be an ancient clone of Cabernet Franc, with which it shares some of its aromas, an impression which has been dispelled with DNA profiling.
 
alvear 1927
(Spain) Alvear Pedro Ximinez 1927 Solera 375ml
Bottle $27.99   10% off 6 $25.19    20% off 12 $22.39
Robert Parker 96 Points  The impressive 1927 Pedro Ximenez Solera, from a Solera begun nearly 80 years ago, boasts a dark amber color as well as an extraordinary nose of creme brulee, liquefied nuts, marmalade, and maple syrup. Huge and viscous, yet neither cloyingly sweet nor heavy, it is a profound effort priced unbelievably low. It is meant to be drunk alone at the end of a meal.  Drink now.
What's a Solera?
This delicious nectar is made from The solera system of wine aging which was developed by the Spanish and Portuguese as a way to provide wines of a constant average age.  It's an example of what the wine industry calls fractional blending. Here's how it works: Barrels of wine of the same type but different vintage are stacked on top of each other, the oldest on the bottom, and the youngest on the top. Let's say we've got eight rows of barrels representing eight vintages of wine. Each year, as the harvest season rolls around, anywhere from 10 percent to 30 percent of the bottom (the oldest) barrels' volume will be drawn off to be bottled as that year's product. The headspace created by this drawing-off will be filled with wine from the level above, and those barrels will be filled with the level above them, and onwards and upwards, while the last year's barrels on the top level will be topped up with this harvest's wine.  Each year, as a limited amount of finished product is drawn off from the bottom level of barrels, the average age of the wine at the bottom barrels will continue to rise with the years until it reaches a constant average age which in this case is 88 years!
 
(Portugal) Quinta do Noval Black Porto NV
Bottle $24.99   10% off 6 $22.49    20% off 12 $19.99
Wine & Spirits 91 Points- "Christian Seely recently introduced this wine in New York as a rethinking of the super-premium, multivintage Porto style. Black replaces LB, Noval's former entry in this range, and uses top-quality fruit to create a soft, accommodating texture. The aromas are purple-black while the flavors are pure black cherry. Acidity spices it up and adds to the juiciness of the finish. It's plump in the middle and supple all the way through, ending on fruit-skin tannin and a touch of chocolate from oak. At the level of many of the region's best LBVs, this wine may become a staple for a new generation of Port drinkers."
 
Robert Parker 90 Points"'Black' is a new blend produced from classic varieties that do not make it into the Quinta do Noval vintage. There are ripe blackberries, tar, smoke and orange liqueur on the nose that takes time to open. The palate is medium-bodied, very sleek on the entry, fleshy black fruits, sloe, spice and just a hint of white pepper, leading to a very focused finish."
 
(Portugal) Quinta do Noval 10 Year Tawny Porto
Bottle $35.99   10% off 6 $32.39    20% off 12 $28.79
Wine Spectator 91 Points "Concentrated flavors of dried pear, apricot, cherry and spice combine into this seamless package. The finish features toffee and orange zest notes, with hints of smoke."
 
(Portugal) Taylor Fladgate 10 Year Old Tawny Porto
Bottle $35.99   10% off 6 $32.39    20% off 12 $28.79
Robert Parker 93 Points"It is my opinion that Taylor's tawny ports are the best of their type. When tasted against other tawnys, they all exhibit more aromatic personalities, greater fruit and ripeness, and a wonderful sweetness and length. The Ten Year Old Tawny is a personal favorite, as well as the best bargain among these ports."
 
(Portugal) Fonseca 10 Year Old Tawny Porto
Bottle $35.99   10% off 6 $32.39    20% off 12 $28.79
Wine Spectator 90 Points- "Refined, with bright flavors of dried berry, plum compote and cherry tart that are long and lush. Very creamy on the finish, which features chocolate mousse."
 
(Portugal) Taylor Fladgate 20 Year Old Tawny Porto
Bottle $57.99   10% off 6 $52.19    20% off 12 $46.39
Wine Spectator 93 Points- "Rich, with a spicy nose, this offers flavors of fig, dried apricot, mango and ginger. Complex and elegant, delivering concentrated creme brulee and tropical fruit notes that linger on the vibrant and buttery finish. Drink now. "
 
(Portugal) Fonseca 20 Year Old Tawny Porto
Bottle $59.99   10% off 6 $53.99    20% off 12 $47.99
Wine Spectator 94 Points "Intense, powerful and complex, this features heady aromas and flavors of toffee, marzipan, butterscotch and chocolate. Notes of mocha and French roast chime in as well, with a long, glorious finish of dried white fruits and spice."
 
(Portugal) Quinta do Noval Colheita 2000 Tawny Porto
Bottle $94.99   10% off 6 $85.49    20% off 12 $75.99
Wine Spectator 91 Points "Offers maple, butterscotch and ripe cherry flavors, with plenty of dried citrus and nutmeg notes. Seductively smoky, presenting a long finish of dried apricot and fig compote. Suave and supple."
 
(Portugal) Quinta do Noval Silval Vintage Porto 2003
Bottle $57.99   10% off 6 $52.19    20% off 12 $46.39
Wine & Spirits 94 Points " Floral scents of rose and esteva give this wine an immediate appeal. It would be approachable now but for its size and scale, the huge, plummy fruit and black satin texture more forgiving than the tannins. It's the salty minerality of those tannins that keeps the wine on track, lengthening the flavors into the distance so that they last a minute after each taste. The blend includes grapes from new plantings at Noval, as well as selections from growers. Silval '03 is close to the Noval in quality, and will likely be drinking best from 2020-'30."
 
(Portugal) Quinta do Noval Vintage Porto 2012
Bottle $94.99   10% off 6 $85.49    20% off 12 $75.99
Robert Parker 94 Points "The 2012 Vintage Port was bottled in July of 2014. A blend of 70% Touriga Nacional, 25% Touriga Franca; 5% Tinto Cão, it was aged for 18 months in wood and comes in at 102.5 grams per liter of residual sugar. This is going to be a sentimental favorite for a lot of consumers, although few will call it truly great. A big mouthful on first taste compared to most 2012s, it assaults the palate with delectable fruit. It's not only tasty, though - it is astonishingly fresh and lifted, a creature of this vintage. Beautifully balanced and never seeming heavy, it manages to project power and grip on the finish while not searing the palate with tannins - relatively speaking, of course. (This IS young Port.) Tasted next to a group of other 2012 Ports, this wasn't particularly more concentrated, but it was more expressive, better balanced and more vibrant. Coming back to it the next day showed what it does best: being rather invigorating and sometimes downright exciting in its freshness. The fruit finishes with crispness and vibrancy. It is exactly the profile I would expect from a good performance in a vintage like 2012 - a year that favored fresh, elegant wines with good acidity rather than deep and rich powerhouses. By Day 4, it was sensationally delicious, but certainly not the most powerful or concentrated Noval ever - and it had fleshed out a bit even so. By Day 5, it seemed like ready-to-roll, drink-me-now Port. You'd still be well-advised to cellar it a bit. There were 1,000 cases produced.

I asked winery representative Rute Monteiro why Noval declared in 2012, not really a year that most would consider the model for Vintage Port. She said to me, echoing Managing Director Christian Seely when Noval announced a late declaration, that: "Quinta do Noval has always had a slightly eccentric approach to Vintage Declarations, and indeed the house to a great extent made its name with its declaration of the great 31 Vintage. When we are convinced that we have a wine that merits declaration as a Quinta do Noval Vintage Port, we do so. 2012 is an outstanding example."
 
Taylor Fladgate Single Harvest 1965 Tawny Port (Single bottle in wood case) - Very Limited!
Bottle $320 10% off mix 6 $288 20% off mix 12 $256
95 points Robert Parker's Wine Advocate "The 1965 Very Old Single Harvest Port, that is, a Coheita, single vintage tawny, is part of Taylor's continuing series of releases of old Colheitas. A field blend of typical grapes, it comes in at 157 grams per liter of residual sugar. In the overall context of amazing old Colheitas, it may not take 1st prize, but it will strike anyone who loves them as pretty fine. Get ready for those aromatics that are powerful from several feet away. Irresistible on opening, it has an up-front rush of sugar, concentrated aromatics and remarkable concentration of flavor on the finish. Laced with classic old tawny nuances, including a bit of molasses and treacle, it ends with a dark, burnished feel. The mid-palate depth is just average. There are some whiffs of brandy that are sometimes rather too obvious here and there, but not often. Overall, it is bright and lively, with its good acidity cutting through the sugar and concentrated flavors. The two balance each other well. Some tawnies are caressing and sensual; some are rich and lush; some lean more to bite and focus. This is in the latter category, but the price of admission here is that concentration of mature, old tawny Port flavors. The acidity and the sugar lace those flavors into the palate. It emphasizes treacle more as time goes on. It's pretty fine."


Presale Terms
*Wines ETA - Orders will be confirmed and then arrivals within a week 
Pricing - quoted per bottle 750ml or 1.5 liter 12/750ml per case 6/1.5 per case Reserve right to correct errors.
AVAILABILITY and CONFIRMATION: All orders will be confirmed prior to delivery and are subject to prior sale and availability.  
TO ORDER: Place orders now for immediate delivery as orders will be filled first come first served! Call 295-8466 or reply to this email or fax orders 434-295-2328
DEPOSIT REQUIREMENT / PAYMENT TERMS: Preorders accepted with valid CC# only. Please call us with a credit card # at 434-295-8466. You will be charged upon confirmation of order.
   Thank you for helping us spread the word that we are located in the Rio Hill Shopping Center! Please tell your friends and neighbors about us. We appreciate your business and look forward to serving you soon.
We look forward to serving you soon!
Cheers!
 
Doug, Kim, John & Stan
 
Rio Hill Wine & Beer
1908 Rio Hill Center
Charlottesville VA 22901 
434-295-8466 (VINO) 
 
 Rio Hill Wine & Beer | 434-295-8466 | 434-295-2328| riohillwine@embarqmail.com | www.discountvino.com