WINE TASTING: CONCORD

FRI. DEC. 7, 4-6p & SAT. DEC. 8, 1-5p 

Complimentary when purchasing wine from the tasting. 

To the average wine drinker, richness and heaviness are sought-after qualities. Malbec grapes bake in the high desert of Mendoza, concentrating their sugars. Adding just the perfect amount of irrigated water to simulate a growing season, they create an inky purple wine of limited complexity. Contrast these qualities with the 2008 vintage of Barolo and Barbaresco, and you have a quintessentially "classic" growing season, creating wines of vibrancy, clarity, fine-grained tannins and best of all, "drinkability." The single most sought-after quality in a wine is this very simple idea...the wine is easy to drink! Depth of flavor, brilliance of aromatic perfume, equilibrium between fruit, tannins and acidity, gives a wine a lightness on its feet without compromising the profound qualities that make wine so compelling. 2008 is the oasis after crossing the desert of 2007, thirst-quenching refreshment! Of course, 2007 was a rare vintage where super-ripe wines maintained a relative freshness due to unparalleled amounts of sunlight without excessive heat. 2007 was also a year to expose more full-bodied wine drinkers (i.e., Napa Cab aficionados) to the wonders of Nebbiolo. 2008 is more for the 'initiated,' for someone who knows that bigger isn't necessarily better, and that subtlety is not a weakness. Or simply for someone who likes to drink wine.

Renato Vacca

2008 CANTINA del PINO Barbaresco DOCG $45 (1.5L $95 available also)

2008 PRINCIPIANO Barolo "Ravera" $60 EXCLUSIVE- Tasting Special: $48. While Ferdinando continues to experiment with his top Barolo "Boscareto," we have been happy to purchase his Barolo "Ravera" from Monforte d'Alba. This limited production Barolo is made in an elegant 'Traditional' style, aged in large casks to avoid imparting strong flavors of oak, and is more medium-bodied than full, and intended for more immediate pleasure rather than squirreling away in your cellar.

2008 BREZZA Barolo "Bricco Sarmassa" 95 pts. $75 EXCLUSIVE. Tasting Special $63.75. 

"One day people will figure it out." -- WA

This is what Antonio Galloni (Wine Advocate) had to say this year about the stellar work of Enzo Brezza

Brezza's cellar

from Barolo, a sentiment that we have felt very strongly since first tasting the wines of Brezza. Another thing we feel strongly about is the fact that our customers, and only our customers, can enjoy these wines because they are only available in our stores. It gives us a sense of pride that we have developed a reputation for quality and integrity that has afforded us the ability to represent some of the top growers and winemakers of their respective regions. Brezza's wines could be the short descriptor for our own business, "relatively unknown producer, achieving highest standards of quality, brought here for your enjoyment!"  

2008 RINALDI Barolo Brunate-Le Coste 96 pts. $125 Tasting Special $100.  

Every year I could say, as far as wine is concerned, the

Beppe Rinaldi

highlight of being the merchant that I have become is the relationships and visits to see people like Giuseppe Rinaldi and his daughter Marta. Visiting their cellar is a combination of going back in time and being, at the same time, at the forefront or the cutting edge. Because the wines of Rinaldi are both relics of history and the epitome of the mastery of wine making, pristine examples of wine that transcend wine as a "beverage," to achieve wine as a "work of art." And like all great art, whether we like something or not can be disputed, but whether something is great or not, cannot be. This is precisely why we love Rinaldi.

2008 ELIO GRASSO Barolo Ginestra 'Casa-Mate' 98+ pts. $85  Tasting Special $72.25 

When something is perfect it almost becomes boring, when the slight flaws or roughness in texture that can add personality or character are not there, all we are left to do is marvel at how amazing a thing is. Like the perfect sunset over Nantucket Sound as opposed to an overcast day when the sunlight just falls below the cloud line producing an intense however brief spectacle before sinking into the ocean. Actually Grasso's Barolo Ginestra could be like that as well.

TASTING SPECIAL PRICING AVAILABLE DEC. 7 & 8 ONLY! 

Enzo Brezza in Barolo

GIACOMO BREZZA, Piemonte, EXCLUSIVE

"Brezza remains one of the best-kept secrets in traditionally-made Barolo. One day people will figure it out, but in the meantime, shrewd consumers would do well to pay attention to the best wines that emerge from this small cellar in the center of town."  -- Wine Advocate (April 2012) 

2011 BREZZA Langhe Freisa $19.99

"Freisa" ("fray-za") is a red grape local to the Piedmont region, often enjoyed with salumi, appetizers, pizza, and lighter pasta dishes. Brezza's Freisa offers cherry-plum fruit, and a hint of forest floor, with refreshing acidity and fine tannins. 

Francis Egly

When it comes to bubbly, it's time to shake things up! Break out of the big house "Barcalounger" and choose a more shapely, structured, "grower" Champagne.  

A signature producer for our store over the last ten years, EGLY-OURIET's star continues to rise. The market demand for this outstanding Grand Cru "grower" champagne increases every year, making it ever more rare and exceptional. We are thrilled to present the new releases of these Grand Cru champagnes from one of the premier independent wineries in the region. (If you have a moment, Eric Asimov talks about why you should try "grower" champagnes in his "On Point" interview this week on NPR -- see sidebar.) 

Quantities are very limited, and we are filling orders as they come in.  

As always, thank you for supporting the high-level of wines we strive to offer on a continual basis.  

-- Eric Broege, Wine Director

EGLY-OURIET NV Brut "Les Vignes de Vrigny" $65  

NV EGLY-OURIET Brut "Tradition" Grand Cru $80  

NV EGLY-OURIET Brut Rose' Grand Cru $110  

1.5L $275 (very limited; mags still avail.) 

1999 EGLY-OURIET Millesime Grand Cru 1.5L $400  

Magnums of thirteen year old Grand Cru Champagne freshly released from the cellars of one of
the finest wineries in all of France?? to good to be true......maybe....but we don't have to ask why, we only have to feel lucky that we have the opportunity to possibly drink this amazing Champagne, with a debt of gratitude to Francis Egly for saving some for us. Available only in magnum format.