2006 Vina Alicia Nebbiolo

http://www.garyswine.com/fine_wine/argentina/11958.html

Brand: Vina Alicia
Style: Red Wine
Varietal: Nebbiolo
Region: Mendoza
Category: Argentina
Size: 750 ml

Price: $64.99

2010 January Wine Club Premiere Selection

Earlier this year, a colleague sent me a transcript from the Parker chat-board in which oenophiles were ranting and raving over the boutique Vina Alicia wines from Argentina. Raving because, well, they should: these are extremely small-batch specialized wines fashioned by a family that has spent much of their lives crafting wines for the Luigi Bosca label, but has recently started their own little project at their home in Lujan de Cuyo. Ranting because, well, they’re darn near impossible to get their hands on. Apparently the wines are available by subscription only in Argentina, and very few cases make it into the U.S.

I knew how they felt. I had first tasted Vina Alicia’s Nebbiolo a few months prior, just before they changed distributors. I was pleasantly surprised by how impressive a bottling it was for, well, such an unconventional project. (Nebbiolo outside of Piedmont? Are we allowed to do that??) A short time later I was ready to place an order and stash it away for my Wine Club friends...only to find the wine out of stock, transferred to another distributor, and now months away from making it to the states again. So I sighed, picked up the phone, and started making calls.

Persistence, friends, is a virtue. Remember that with every sip.

Now don’t open this bottle expecting Barolo. Think of this as Barolo’s flashier, more precocious cousin. A color of purple I believe only Argentina can achieve, the wine is ready to drink young with floral aromas, plumy undertones, ripe tannins and complexity that I believe will allow for interesting development for a few years to come. on erobertparker.com Jay Miller called Vina Alicia’s Nebbiolo “maybe the finest I’ve tasted outside of Italy’s Piedmont.” Opinion most definitely seconded.
http://www.garyswine.com/fine_wine/argentina/11958.html

Gary's Wine & Marketplace - Madison | Bernardsville | Wayne
1308 Route 23 North • Wayne, NJ 07470 • 973-633-3900
E-mail: info@garyswine.com • Toll Free: 1-888-99-GARYS
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2007 Casa Lapostolle Clos Apalta

http://www.garyswine.com/fine_wine/chile/72653.html

Brand: Casa Lapostolle
Style: Red Wine
Varietal: Cabernet Sauvignon / Carmenere
Region: Colchagua Valley
Category: Chile
Size: 750 ml

Price: $79.99

2010 January Wine Club Premiere Selection

If the winery doesn't mind saying so themselves, since its launch in 1997 Casa Lapostolle’s Clos Apalta has been causing quite a stir. I can’t argue with that assertion, as last year’s placement as Wine Spectator’s #1 Wine of the Year made our holiday season extra-hectic.

Produced in very limited quantities from fruit grown in Lapostolle’s prized Apalta vineyard in what they’ve dubbed “the Pomerol of Chile,” Clos Apalta is likely one of the most recognized and sought-after labels from Chile. There’s everything you’d expect for a wine of this fanfare: a gravity-fed winery, 100% hand-harvested and de-stemmed fruit, all kinds of parcel-specific small French oak vat ageing...you get the picture. And after two years of meticulous ageing, the blend of Merlot, Carmenere, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot is released to the anticipating wine market.

It may seem like a lot of hubbub to make over one wine, but what’s in the bottle is consistently stellar stuff. The Pomerol of Chile? I hesitate a bit to concede: not because the quality isn’t there, but because that addition of Carmenere adds such a unique dimension that Chile should be proud to call it their own. But you make your own call on that matter. Drink now or hold for 4-8 years.

http://www.garyswine.com/fine_wine/chile/72653.html

Gary's Wine & Marketplace - Madison | Bernardsville | Wayne
1308 Route 23 North • Wayne, NJ 07470 • 973-633-3900
E-mail: info@garyswine.com • Toll Free: 1-888-99-GARYS
http://www.GarysWine.com • Buy Wine Online • NJ Wine Store

2007 Tikal Amorio Malbec

http://www.garyswine.com/fine_wine/argentina/11957.html

Brand: Tikal
Style: Red Wine
Varietal: Malbec
Region: Mendoza
Category: Argentina
Size: 750 ml

Price: $32.99
Reg: $42.99

2010 January Wine Club Cellar Selection

Tikal is owned by Ernesto Catena, a member of the most well-known winemaking family in Argentina. But the credit for crafting this serious Malbec goes to young winemaker Luis Reginato, who has also been trusted to create wines for the Luca and La Posta labels. Malbec is really his specialty, and for Tikal’s Amorio bottling, he sources high-altitude fruit from Mendoza vines, many of which are 40 years old or older, and rests the wine in 60% new oak for 12 months, followed by no fining or filtration.

The resulting Malbec is pretty intense stuff: full of grilled toast, blueberry, tobacco and black cherry. Few people have been able to describe this wine without using the word “sexy,” perhaps because the name “Amorio” means “love affair.” Ernesto Catena chose that name to allude to the undying passion he and the Argentine people have for the Malbec grape.

The original artwork of this passionate dancing couple was created by Ernesto’s close friend and artist, Ariel Mlynarzewicz. And no, we can’t pronounce Ariel’s last name either.

Reviews

Jay Miller Wine Advocate 92 Points

The 2007 Amorio is 100% Malbec sourced from vines with an average age of 41 years. It was aged for 12 months in 60% new French oak and bottled without fining or filtration. Purple-colored, it reveals an attractive perfume of pain grille, mineral, black cherry, and violets. Medium to full-bodied, it is silky-textured with a surprisingly elegant personality for its size. Layered, sweetly-fruited, and intense, the wine has solid aging potential and should provide prime drinking from 2010 to 2018.

International Wine Cellar 90 Points

Saturated ruby. Brooding, pure aromas of blackberry, cassis and bitter chocolate. Lush and creamy-sweet, but a bit inexpressive and in need of patience today. In a slightly sullen stage, with substantial ripe tannins currently enjoying the upper hand over the wine's dark berry fruit flavors. But this boasts excellent intensity and gained in complexity with air.

http://www.garyswine.com/fine_wine/argentina/11957.html

Gary's Wine & Marketplace - Madison | Bernardsville | Wayne

1308 Route 23 North • Wayne, NJ 07470 • 973-633-3900

E-mail: info@garyswine.com • Toll Free: 1-888-99-GARYS

http://www.GarysWine.com • Buy Wine Online • NJ Wine Store

2006 Bodegas Trapiche Malbec Vina Cristina y Bibiana Coletto

http://www.garyswine.com/fine_wine/argentina/12139.html

Brand: Bodegas Trapiche
Style: Red Wine
Varietal: Malbec
Region: Mendoza
Category: Argentina
Size: 750 ml

Price: $43.99
Reg: $54.99

2010 January Wine Club Cellar Selection

Though the Trapiche winery is probably best known for value-priced Argentine wines, their single-vineyard Malbecs have really become the stars of their portfolio. The project was designed as a tribute to their independent grape growers and an exhibition of how the character of the Malbec grape can vary at different altitudes and terroirs within Mendoza. Each year, the Trapiche winemaking team chooses the best three Malbec lots of the harvest and honors them with their own single-vineyard bottlings.

In the great 2006 vintage, growers Cristina and Bibiana Coletto impressed the winemakers and critics alike with the fresh, licorice and fig-laden flavors of their Malbec grown in the El Peral, Tupungato sub-appellation of Mendoza. Juicy, ample and balanced with both acidity and spice, this should drink well now through 2012 or longer.

Reviews

Jay Miller Wine Advocate 95 Points

The saturated purple 2006 Malbec Vina Coletto is sourced from a vineyard planted in 1948. It is loaded with fruit, density, extract and structure. Beautifully balanced, it will continue to develop for another 6-8 years and be in its prime from 2015 to 2030.

Wine Spectator 92 Points

Densely packed for now, with fig, cocoa and blackberry notes up front, while a reserve of boysenberry, blueberry and licorice waits in reserve. Shows flittering hints of violet and graphite as well, with a long, broad finish. Best from 2010 through 2013. 1,355 cases made. –JM

http://www.garyswine.com/fine_wine/argentina/12139.html

Gary's Wine & Marketplace - Madison | Bernardsville | Wayne
1308 Route 23 North • Wayne, NJ 07470 • 973-633-3900
E-mail: info@garyswine.com • Toll Free: 1-888-99-GARYS
http://www.GarysWine.com • Buy Wine Online • NJ Wine Store

2007 Polkura Syrah

http://www.garyswine.com/fine_wine/chile/11931.html

Brand: Polkura
Style: Red Wine
Varietal: Syrah
Region: Colchagua Valley
Category: Chile
Size: 750 ml

Price: $19.99
Reg: $25.99

2010 January Wine Club Reserve Selection

About ten years ago, winemaker Sven Bruchfeld and his friend Gonzalo Munoz traveled the world together trying to decide how they’d make the best wine they could in Chile. They considered a number of options, but it was one day when they were drinking a local Syrah in the South of France that they decided that was their grape. They set to work, and today Polkura has finally made it to the states for us to enjoy.

Now for the sake of full disclosure, Sven adds a bit of Malbec, Viognier, Tempranillo, Mourvedre and Grenache for added dimensions to his Colchagua Valley Syrah. Not much is brought to the States, and we scoop up what we can. Scoring 91 points from the Wine Advocate, this wine offers up some incredible aromatics and complexity, with bacon, dark fruit, and graphite notes ending with a very lengthy and laser-like finish.

Reviews

Jay Miller Wine Advocate 91 Points

The 2007 Syrah contains a dollop of Malbec, Viognier, Tempranillo, Mourvedre, and Grenache. It shows off a superb aromatic display of bacon, game, mineral, pencil lead, and blueberry. Layered, bordering on opulent, it has great depth of flavor, savory fruit, and a lengthy, pure finish. Give it 2-3 years to blossom further and drink it from 2011 to 2019.

http://www.garyswine.com/fine_wine/chile/11931.html

Gary's Wine & Marketplace - Madison | Bernardsville | Wayne

1308 Route 23 North • Wayne, NJ 07470 • 973-633-3900

E-mail: info@garyswine.com • Toll Free: 1-888-99-GARYS

http://www.GarysWine.com • Buy Wine Online • NJ Wine Store

2007 Veranda Oda Chardonnay Miraflores

http://www.garyswine.com/fine_wine/chile/12025.html

Style: White Wine
Varietal: Chardonnay
Region: Bio Bio
Category: Chile
Size: 750 ml

Price: $23.99
Reg: $29.99

2010 January Wine Club Reserve Selection

Chile, as it stands today, is more known for their red varietals than their white, but that reputation could change with the help of a jet setting winemaker rooted in the Burgundian tradition.

Forty-six year-old Pascal Marchand was born in Montreal, but earned his winemaking stripes in one of the most competitive wine markets in the world: Burgundy. His resume boasts wineries like Domaine des Comte Armand, Domaine de la Vougeraie and Joseph Phelps Freestone, as well as consulting gigs in Australia, Argentina, Greece, the US and finally Chile at Bodegas Veranda.

From the Miraflores Single Vineyard in the cool-climate Bio Bio Valley of Southern Chile, this Chardonnay shows the minerality and restraint that Burgundian winemakers often strive for, while also displaying the kind of softly ripe white fruit that New World Chardonnays often carry. A success for March and, indeed for this relatively new Chilean winery.

Reviews

Jay Miller Wine Advocate 89 Points

The light gold-colored 2007 Chardonnay Oda Miraflores Single Vineyard offers up a white Burgundy-like bouquet of minerals, hazelnuts, white peach, and baked apple. It has lively acidity and good flavors but could use a bit more concentration. Veranda produces distinctive, elegant, cool climate-styled wines.

International Wine Cellar 90 Points

Pale yellow. Musky peach skin and pear aromas are complicated by smoked meat and wet stone. Fresh orchard and pit fruit flavors are firmed by juicy acidity and brightened by a note of orange zest. The citrus note repeats on the tight, minerally finish. I really like this wine's balance and precision.

http://www.garyswine.com/fine_wine/chile/12025.html

Gary's Wine & Marketplace - Madison | Bernardsville | Wayne
1308 Route 23 North • Wayne, NJ 07470 • 973-633-3900
E-mail: info@garyswine.com • Toll Free: 1-888-99-GARYS
http://www.GarysWine.com • Buy Wine Online • NJ Wine Store

2009 Los Cowboys Torrontes

http://www.garyswine.com/fine_wine/argentina/10047.html

Brand: Mendoza Vineyards
Style: White Wine
Varietal: Torrontes
Region: Medoza
Category: Argentina
Size: 750 ml

Price: $9.99
Reg: $12.99

2010 January Wine Club Vintner Selection

For the past few years, we’ve been looking for a Fair Trade project that we could really get behind: one that not only provided good wine for the nt proceeds back to the community where the wine was made. This project fit the bill on both counts.

If you haven’t yet tried the intensely aromatic Torrontes grape, you’re in for a treat. Crisp yet slightly creamy, the wine combines the zestiness of Sauvignon Blanc with the floral headiness of Viognier. And because the company distributing this wine gives back twice the profits required by Fair Trade standards to build playgrounds and educational and medical facilities for the Mendoza vineyard-workers’ families, you can feel twice as good about enjoying a glass of this special Argentine wine. (If you’re interested in learning more, visit www.doubleupfairtrade.com)

Los Cowboys Torrontes is Fair Trade Certified™ from grapes sourced from high density vineyard with low yields helping to increase the intensity of the fruit. Vines are planted in loam and are hand harvested for optimum ripeness. Cold fermented in stainless steel to maintain the bright lively flavors of the Torrontes. Bentonite fining and finishing is utilized making for a vegan friendly wine. This Torrontes is refreshing with an aromatic nose of tropical fruits, honey, melon and a delightful finish.

http://www.garyswine.com/fine_wine/argentina/10047.html

Gary's Wine & Marketplace - Madison | Bernardsville | Wayne
1308 Route 23 North • Wayne, NJ 07470 • 973-633-3900
E-mail: info@garyswine.com • Toll Free: 1-888-99-GARYS
http://www.GarysWine.com • Buy Wine Online • NJ Wine Store