“Let’s Go Cabbing Tasting”

It’s been a while since we’ve sampled a flight of Cabernet Sauvignon so let’s do it this weekend. We’ll open up with a lush Orogeny Russian River Chardonnay before moving into the reds.

The first Cab comes from Tuscany, a Tommasi Poggio al Tufo, followed by a Columbia Valley, Wash. Cab, our own favorite Press Cellars from Napa and we’ll cheat a bit with a Cab blend from Farrier in Sonoma.

Please join your host, Bill Callahan, and sample this interesting assortment of terrific wines served up with our usual fine fruits and cheeses.

Harvest Ranch El Cajon Wine Tasting Event:

Friday, May 30th, 2014  5pm – 7pm
Saturday, May 31st, 2014  3pm – 5pm

759 Jamacha Road
El Cajon, CA 92019
619-442-0355
View Map

Featuring the “Let’s Go Cabbing Tasting”

This weekends selections: $15.00

Orogeny Chardonnay 2012   ($23.99 During Tasting)

• This Chardonnay shows the lushness and brightness typical of the Russian River Valley’s cool climate. Tropical peach-mango overtones are balanced with bright Meyer lemon flavors for a food-friendly wine.

Tommasi Poggio al Tufo Cabernet Sauvignon 2011   ($13.99 During Tasting)

• “Fragrant, with intense aromas and flavors of black currant, cherry and licorice, augmented by spice. Supple and balanced, delivering vibrant acidity and well-integrated tannins on the long finish.” - 91 Points Wine Spectator

Chateau St. Michelle Cabernet Sauvignon 2012   ($15.99 During Tasting)

•  This winery always produced dependable Cabs and this one offers concentrated Washington red fruit in an accessible style. This is an inviting Cab with plenty of complexity and structure with silky tannins.

Press Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon 2010   ($32.99 During Tasting)

• This Howell Mountain Napa Valley appellation is positioned well above the fog, leveling out spikes in heat that tend to be more exaggerated at lower elevations which, translates into a rich diversity of complexity and flavor in your glass. Robust, yet smooth on the palate.

Farrier Presshouse 2009   ($18.99 During Tasting)

• Okay, we snuck a blend in and it’s terrific with a mix of Cab, Cabernet Franc and Merlot from Sonoma’s Alexander Valley. The nose immediately captures your attention: pencil shavings, sandalwood, dried orange rind and black currant over lush, ripe blueberry. Rich and tasty blackberry flavors.

Here are our regular tasting notes:

On Friday we will be featuring Talbott Winery.  Talbott Vineyards devotes itself to handcrafting world-class wines.  Furthermore, Jeb Dunnuck from Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate was extremely impressed with the Talbott offerings he tasted claiming, “I was blown away by these current releases.  Across the board the wines show beautiful balance and loads of class. In addition, the Kali Hart and Logan releases are serious values that should not be missed!”  The evening will feature two Chardonnays and two Pinot Noirs and then culminate with a great little Cabernet from Fisticuffs Winery.

On Saturday we will be featuring California Petite Sirah. The “petite” in the name of this grape refers to the size of its berries and not the vine, which is particularly vigorous. Petite Sirah produces dark, inky colored wines that are relatively acidic, with firm texture and mouth feel; the bouquet has herbal and black pepper overtones, and typically offers flavors of blue fruit, black fruit, plums, and especially blueberries. We will begin with the elegant Hanzell Chardonnay before diving into the Petite Syrah selections. First one from the boutique winery Andrew Will, then two from wineries many of you know I have an affinnity for, Niner and T-Vine.  We will finish with the 94 point Jaffurs Winery.

See you this weekend!

Jason

Jonathan’s Market La Jolla Wine Tasting:

Friday, February 14th, 2014 – 4pm – 7pm
Saturday, February 15th, 2014 – 4pm – 7pm

7611 Fay Avenue
(between Kline St & Pearl St)
La Jolla, CA 92037
Phone: 858.459.2677
View Map

Friday, February 14th, 2014 – 4pm – 7pm

Friday’s Selections: $20.00 per person

Featuring “Talbott Winery”

2012 Talbott Logan Chardonnay ($24.99)

• “This wine is a light, bright yellow. It shows musky pear skin, peach pit and citrus pith on the fragrant nose. On the palate, spicy orchard, pit fruit flavors, sweeter honeydew, and tangerine qualities gain strength with air. It closes silky and long, with resonating spiciness and lingering sweet citrus fruit qualities. This elegant wine has the balance to repay a little patience.” Steven Tanzer 90 Points International Wine Cellar!

2011 Talbott Diamond T Chardonnay ($54.99)

• “The 2011 Chardonnay Diamond T Vineyard is decadent stuff. All barrel-fermented and aged for 14 months on lees in 45% new French oak, it’s a rich, full-flavored effort that stays balanced and pure, with knockout detail and clarity on the palate. Offering up notes of grilled peaches, toast, honey, vanilla custard and flower oil, it’s a full-bodied, balanced white that has great underlying acidity and focus. Drink it over the coming 3-4 years. Drink now-2017.” Jeb Dunnuck Wine Advocate 94 Points!

2012 Talbott Logan Pinot Noir ($24.99)

• Talbott Vineyards devotes itself to handcrafting world-class wines.  This wine is crafted using carefully selected all estate grown grapes from our Sleepy Hollow Vineyard. This wine combines fruit from both mature vines and youthful elite Pommard and Dijon clone vines, to create a lush medium bodied Pinot Noir with flavors of ripe cherry and blueberry.

2011 Talbott Sarah Case Pinot ($69.99)

• “My favorite of the Pinots and more fresh and lively than the Diamond T Pinot Noir, the 2011 Pinot Noir Sleepy Hollow Vineyard Cuvee Sarah Case offers gorgeous complexity and elegance, with sweet cherries, red currants, spice box, underbrush and earthy nuances giving way to a rich, medium to full-bodied red that has silky tannin, great acidity and an all-around classy feel. It will be better in another year or two and have a decade of longevity, possibly longer. Drink 2014-2021.” Jeb Dunnuck Wine Advocate 93 Points!

2011 Fisticuffs Cabernet($29.99)

• This Napa Valley Cabernet can spar with the heavyweights! Hourglass Winery owners Jeff & Carolyn Smith team up with their good friends, winemaker Rob Lawson (Ghost Block, Mirror & The Fearless Rider) and his wife Pavi to produce a delicious, crowd pleasing and affordable wine that delivers a mean uppercut. Classic flavors of black fruit, cassis and baking spice surround the ring and the aromas on this wine and will beat any smelling salts after a knockout punch.

Saturday, February 15th, 2014 – 4pm – 7pm

Saturday’s Selections: $20.00 per person

Featuring “California Petit Sirah”

2008 Hanzell Chardonnay ($64.99)

• The attractive, high-toned aromas are of citrus blossoms, pear, green apple, vanilla, lemon oil, anise, clove, graphite, and clean mineral. A bit tightly wound initially, the mouth-watering acidity belies the full body and concentrated, sweet lemony fruit. As the wine opens up, the inherent richness and flavor intensity rise to demonstrate the quality and longevity of the vintage. The unfolding flavors are of ripe apple, citrus, clove and caramel on a long, mineral-laden finish.

2007 Andrew Lane Petite Sirah ($19.99)

• Andrew Lane draws fruit from some of the finest vineyards in the Napa Valley, specializing in an Oakville-hillside Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Gamay Noir and Petite Sirah Their small, artisan winery celebrates community around the world through limited production wines. The Petite Sirah shows blueberry on the palate with huckleberry, blackberry, pencil lead, roasted thyme, and earth. It has a silky mouthfeel, with a long rich and lush finish.

2008 Niner Petite Sirah ($27.99)

• This wine is well-structured with a balance of earth, spice and black olive. On the nose, there are hints of cocoa followed by brambly blackberries, and a sweet and savory tobacco facet. The wine finishes with chewy tannins.

2008 T-Vine Petite Sirah ($37.99)

• T-Vine was founded in 1992 by winemaker Greg Brown, with the intent to produce small lot wines of old vine origins such as Grenache, Zinfandel and Petite Sirah. Though full-bodied and densely packed with dark rich fruit and thick tannins, the 08 Petite Sirah is remarkably balanced, polished and smooth – a Greg Brown winemaking calling card. It is worth noting that among the sources of this limited production Petite Sirah is the half-acre Oak Glade Vineyard, unique for its pre-prohibition cuttings. Only 670 cases made.

2011 Jaffurs Petite Sirah ($44.99)

• “Last of the 2011s and one of the most elegant Petite Sirahs out there, the 2011 Petite Sirah Thompson Vineyard is a knockout effort that offers up thrilling aromas of smoky black and red raspberries, tar, licorice, mineral and dark chocolate. Full-bodied, tannic and structured, yet also seamless and silky, with loads of depth and richness, it needs 2-3 years of bottle age and will have 15+ years of total longevity. Drink now-2026.” JD Wine Advocate 94 Points!

Hope to see you all out this weekend!

We’ll start off with an essential for any Valentine’s Day celebration: the bubbly. Ours is a pleasing French brut, Placere, which takes its name from the Latin word for “pleasure.”

That leads to the Hitching Post, or in this case, a Hitching Post Central California smooth and charming Pinot Noir. By now passions are beginning to rise and who embraces love more than the Italians, from whom we present a passionate Sicilian Merlot followed by another salute to love from Argentina – the delicious Enamore, a blend that is made in the Amarone style.

An absolute favorite of our customers, the Stephanie Cabernet Sauvignon, which draws nothing but loving reviews from anyone who has taken home a bottle will be next. A perfect pairing with an intimate Valentine’s Day dinner.

Finally, what would love be without sex and our final wine with be the 2012 Sexual Chocolate, a seductive blend of syrah, zinfandel and petite sirah from Napa, Sonoma and Santa Barbara.

Please join your favorite cupid, Bill Callahan this weekend and enjoy the wine and company.

Harvest Ranch El Cajon Wine Tasting Event:

Friday, February 7th, 2014  5pm – 7pm
Saturday, February 8th, 2014  3pm – 5pm

759 Jamacha Road
El Cajon, CA 92019
619-442-0355
View Map

Featuring “Be My Valentine” Tasting

This weekends selections: $15.00

Placere Les Filantes Champagne NV   ($25.99 During Tasting)

• The name for this French champagne is taken from the Latin word for pleasure and this tasty brut is a pleasure to share with your Valentine.

Hitching Post Pinot Noir 2011   ($25.99 During Tasting)

• Hook up with this Central Coast offering of nice berries tasty enough to smooth over the bumps in any relationship. – 89 Points Robert Parker

Feudi del Pisciotto Valentino Merlot 2008    ($27.99 During Tasting)

• Ah, from the Italians, who claim to have invented love, comes this Sicilian Merlot brimming with the island’s passionate approach to life.

Allegrini & Renacer Enamore 2011    ($25.99 During Tasting)

• Marry Argentinean Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Bonarda and Malbec for a wine that delivers a flavor crafted in the Amarone style. Absolutely delicious.

Stephanie Cabernet Sauvignon 2008    ($46.99 During Tasting)

•  Cupid’s instruments of love: a bow, an arrow and a harp. The harp’s on the front of this fabulous Napa Cab. A fantastic gift to share with a sweetheart  – 96 Points Wine Enthusiast

Sexual Chocolate 2012   ($22.99 During Tasting)

• A delicious blend of 60% Syrah, 30% Zinfandel and 10% Petite Sirah the winemakers warn sweethearts to “enjoy responsibly, just not conservatively.”

See you all this weekend!

On Saturday we will be featuring three wines that I just brought into the store from Benton Lane Winery.  The night will begin with a nice Willamette Valley Rose of Pinot Noir from Cardwell Hill before moving on to an outstanding Pinot Gris and Pinot Blanc from Benton Lane.  Our first of two reds is the Benton Lane First Class Pinot Noir which received 93 Points from Wine Spectator.  In an effort to maintain the high standards it has set, Benton Lane does not produce a “First Class’ Pinot Noir every year, and releases these only during the best of vintages.  The last wine will be a Sangiovese from the well received Leonetti Winery.  Leonetti has developed quite an impressive resume for producing some of the best wines available in Washington.

See you this weekend!

Jason Perry

Jonathan’s Market La Jolla Wine Tasting:

Friday, January 31st, 2014 – 4pm – 7pm
Saturday, February 1st, 2014 – 4pm – 7pm

7611 Fay Avenue
(between Kline St & Pearl St)
La Jolla, CA 92037
Phone: 858.459.2677
View Map

Friday, January 31st, 2014 – 4pm – 7pm

Friday’s Selections: $20.00 per person

Featuring “The wines of Spain”

2012 Garnacha De Fuego ($11.99)

• “The 2012 Garnacha de Fuego offers straightforward, simple, but delicious cherry fruit intermixed with notions of loamy soil, pepper and earth. Drink it over the next several years. Just when you think you have found the wine worlds greatest value, along comes the Bodegas Brecca.” Robert Parker Wine Advocate – 86 Points!

2011 Bodegas Breca Breca Garnacha ($19.99)

• “The 2011 Breca was fashioned from remarkable yields of .4 tons of fruit per acre, and was aged 21 months in French oak. The long aging regime appears to have resulted in a slight  austerity, and the fruit seems slightly faded. Nevertheless, the wine offers enjoyable notes of strawberries, black cherries, dusty, loamy soil and meaty, peppery characteristics. Consume this medium-bodied 2011 over the next several years.” Parker Wine Advocate – 87 Points!

2009 Vina Real Crianza ($19.99)

• Another sensational value is the 2009 Rioja Vina Real Crianza. Made from 90% Tempranillo blended with other authorized varietals, this effort comes from vineyards in the foothills of Sierra Cantabria. Exceptionally ripe with a dark ruby/purple color, excellent texture, and outstanding concentration, length and equilibrium, this is one of the finest value-priced Riojas in the marketplace. Enjoy it over the next 4-5 years.” R. Parker Wine Advocate – 91 Points!

2011 Bodegas Volver Tarima Hill ($19.99)

• “The 2011 Tarima Hill is made from old vine Mourvedre grown at a high elevation of 2,000-2,500 feet. Aged 20 months in French oak, its sensational inky/purple color is followed by a sweet bouquet of acacia flowers, blueberry liqueur, blackberries and graphite, and a full-bodied, rich mouthfeel. This sensational red wine could easily sell for three to five times the price with no complaints. It should age easily for another 5-6 years.” Robert Parker Wine Advocate – 91 Points!

2005 Finca Allende Aurus ($129.99)

• “The 2005 Aurus raises the bar.  It is 85% old-vine Tempranillo and 15% Graciano. It was aged for 24 months in French oak and bottled unfiltered. Purple/black in color, the aromatics seem to have an extra dimension of complexity. Notes of pain grille, pencil lead, crushed stone, blueberry, and blackberry are superb. This leads to a thick, rich, opulent, massive wine with an exceptionally lengthy finish and a decade of aging potential. Drink this behemoth through 2040.” Jay Miller Wine Advocate – 98 Points!

Saturday, February 1st, 2014 – 4pm – 7pm

Saturday’s Selections: $20.00 per person

Featuring “Benton Lane Winery”

About the Winery:

Steve and Carol Girard founded Benton-Lane in 1988. They shared a passionate desire to produce great Pinot Noir but, after careful consideration, looked to Oregon where the cooler climate offered the possibility of producing Pinot Noir with better balance, structure, and more interesting flavors. Benton-Lane produced Pinot Noir exclusively until 2003, when small quantities of Pinot Gris and Pinot Blanc were produced from small 1 and 2 acre experimental plantings of each in the Benton-Lane vineyard. These wines were sold exclusively in the tasting room. In 2004, the winery began full-scale commercial production of Pinot Gris from grapes purchased from carefully selected Willamette Valley growers.

2012 Cardwell Hill Rose ($16.99)

• Terrific domestic pink from the gang at Cardwell Hill. Produced from 100% Pinot Noir from the outstanding 2012 vintage, this joyous, bouncy bottle of summertime truly engages with its surprisingly dense strawberry and watermelon flavors.

2011 Benton Lane Pinot Gris ($19.99)

• The 2011 Pinot Gris exudes aromas of honeysuckle blossoms, grapefruit and comice pears. It is crisp and refreshing to the palate with flavors of white peach, honeydew and lime zest. The lively acidity makes it a wonderful food wine, especially with shellfish and fresh salads.

2011 Benton Lane Pinot Blanc ($22.99)

• Exhibiting complex aromas of honeysuckle, butterscotch and baking spices; this Pinot Blanc is medium bodied, with a lightly creamy texture carrying a hint of meringue with tamarind and ripe pear flavors.

2011 Benton Lane First Class Pinot Noir ($59.99)

• “Fresh and vibrant, deftly playing its cherry, orange peel and black tea flavors against a veil of crisp tannins. Persists impressively on the expressive finish. Drink now through 2017. 525 cases made.” –HS Wine Spectator – 93 Points!

2008 Leonetti Sangiovese ($79.99)

• “The 2008 Sangiovese is redolent of dark cherries and spices. Intense, racy, and structured, this beautifully proportioned wine will perform optimally from 2012 to 2023.” Jay Miller  Wine Advocate – 93 Points!“Ripe and floral, this is tightly wound with refined tannins, as carnation and violet overtones add interest to the cherry fruit. Finishes with finesse. Best from 2012 through 2017. 809 cases made.” –HS  Wine Spectator – 91 Points!

Hope to see you all out this weekend!