New Wine Arrivals

Just Arrived - A Bourbon Barrel Aged Shiraz

Only Dan Philips and Chris Ringland Could Pull This Off

Well, leave it to one of the most creative winemaking duo's of all time, Dan Philips of The Grateful Palate Imports, and superstar Aussie winemaker Chris Ringland, to figure out how to take Shiraz to the next level. Just add used Bourbon Barrels. Not just any barrels, but ones from Kentucky's own Pappy Van Winkle Distillery that had held their famous whiskey for 20 years.

And you know with Dan, the story can't just stop there. With three different labels that tell a story of Southern culture, designed as a collaboration of American graphic designer Jeff Keedy with illustrations by American artist James Jean, each bottle can be enjoyed alone but are better together (like a gathering of friends over dinner).

What about the wine? Well just like a Southern Belle it is coy and petit. Light on her feet, well mannered, behaves with food, but is more than a little feisty and sometimes a bit naughty and misbehaved. Even downright nasty from time to time, bless her heart.

2008 Southern Belle Shiraz Barossa Valley

$24.99

Wine Advocate 90 Points
The 2008 Southern Belle Shiraz was aged in seasoned oak including some ex-bourbon barrels. A glass-coating opaque purple, it displays a nearly room-filling nose of smoke, game, incense, and blueberry that leaps from the glass. Opulent and full-bodied on the palate, it lacks only complexity. Drink it over the next 6-8 years. It is an outstanding value.

This wine is limited, so come in and grab some before it is all gone.

Taste This Wine at Our BBQ and Shiraz Fest Next Tuesday Evening, March 16th.
Get all the details on our "Tastings and Events" page.

Wine Meets Whiskey
Kentucky and Australia blend in a new Shiraz
by John T. Edge, Garden & Gun Magazine

"It is my sincerest hope that this wine offends every sommelier and Frenchman in the world," Dan Philips said to me the other day. He was talking about a new wine in his portfolio: a 2008 Shiraz, sourced from the McLaren Vale, south of Adelaide, the capital of South Australia.

He calls the new Shiraz Southern Belle. And if you have any doubt that he coined the name with tongue planted firmly in jowl, the labels, featuring twisted takes on traditional moonlight-and-magnolia belles, should clue you in. The true perversion, however, took place back in Australia, where Philips convinced a cadre of winemakers to age some of their most promising juice in used whiskey barrels, sourced from Julian Van Winkle, proprietor of the Pappy Van Winkle Distillery in Kentucky. (Before those charred oak barrels held wine for eighteen months, whiskey slept in that same wood for twenty years.)

I recently drank an early-release bottle. It was a heady, fruit-driven bomb of a wine, with a nose full of vanilla and a spine cobbled out of post oak. It was a wine that defied the dictates of terroir and tradition and begged for a rack of ribs. When I told Philips as much, he said, "I've always thought there's more of an affinity between the American South and Australia than there is between the American South and the American North. The winemakers feel it; I feel it." Now you'll get to taste it."

Taken from Garden & Gun by John T. Edge
http://gardenandgun.com/article/wine-meets-whiskey

Other New Wines Just Arriving

We have been doing quite a bit of tasting lately and have found a great group of new wines for you to try. These are now in stock on our shelves. Drop in a mix a case of these wonderful selections.

	2008 Quinta da Aveleda Vinho Verde Portugal $10.99 Now One of Our 20/20 Values Selections Harmonious with a fresh, fruity and delicate aroma full on notes of tropical fruits and white flowers. It is well balanced with flavors of tropical fruits and citrus, with a very nice, clean, crisp finish. One of the best Vinho Verde's we have found. It simply dances in your mouth!
	2007 Marquis Philips Hudson Yards Chardonnay, California $15.99 Now One of Our 20/20 Values Selections Done by Aussie superstar winemaker Chris Ringland in California from Lodi and Monterey fruit, it is a complex mix of rich tropical fruits and mineral notes. Ripe Bartlett pear, peach and melon on the nose, and delivering a lush, unctuous mouth filling flavor profile that follows on from the bouquet. The hint of sweetness leaves a rich honeyed backdrop to a long finish that remains refreshing. We think it is outstanding!
	2008 Mountain View Pinot Noir Carneros $16.99 Now One of Our 20/20 Values Selections This wine is a lovely medium weight Pinot Noir with layers of herbal notes and cherry, plums, cloves and modest vanillan oak. Shows off the Carneros fruit in fine style and show a quality far above the price! Robert Parker, Jr. of the Wine Advocate writes: "Some of the best values in the marketplace have come from Mountain View" We certainly agree on this one!
	2006 Marquis Philips Shack Shiraz SE Australia $16.99 Now One of Our 20/20 Values Selections A blend of fruit from the Barossa Valley and Riverland, it has a deep, nose of dark berry fruits with tons of spice and vanilla. Vibrant ripe berry fruit, plums, kirsh liquor, dark chocolate and caramel all are present in the super luscious palate. A very dense, concentrated wine with far more complexity than you usually find at this price, even for a Chris Ringland made wine! We highly recommend!