People often ask how many wines we offer on our list and how we choose them. The answer to the first question is 769 (at the moment). The answer to the second question is: We fall in love with them. If we don't fall in love with them, they don't get on the list. That's how it started and that's how it is today.
I'm a lucky fellow. You see, for Mark and me, this is still a journey about doing what we love. And what we love is finding the most extraordinary food and wine and spirits in the world and bringing them to you. When we opened our doors back in 1992, people were drinking very narrowly: just a few grape varieties from just a few very established regions and everybody wanted to know the darned Parker score.
Our original 75-bottle wine list contained grower Champagnes, German Riesling, Rhone Whites, Cassis Blanc, Bandol Rose and White Bordeaux. We were off-roading and enough of you came along for the ride that we're here 21 years later and grown exponentially. Thanks for that. Our mission and our passion remain the same.
The wine world is much bigger today than it was twenty years ago. In many ways too, the bar has been raised. Advances in technology and the knowledge-base have really reduced the amount of truly terrible wine out there. It could be argued that they have increased the amount of mediocre wines or even just "average" or even "good" wines. That's good, I guess, but these wines hold no interest. There is a term in the wine industry: "Correct." If a wine is correct, that means it is absent flaws. You have a right to a wine that is correct, but merely correct is just plain boring to me.
Some wines have soul. But great wines and spirits and cocktails make you stop for a moment and say "Wow! What the heck is that?" Life is very short. Wine should be great-- really great-- and interesting. I mean, why else should we be drinking it? It's not vegetables that you need for health (although we know wine is healthy). You drink wine for pleasure and if you are someplace where the wine is blah and boring, I say, have a Coke!
So we choose the wines for our lists only if Mark and I both agree that the wine is indeed correct, but also makes us say "wow." We taste thousands upon thousands of wines every year which we do not buy. Every single one of those 769 bottles would make us say "wow." It is our hope (and our bet) that they do the same for you.
People always ask me, "What's new?" on this ever-evolving wine list. Here are 29 wines from this spring tasting season that made me say Wow!
New White Wines |
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Chardonnay 'Kali Hart' 2011; Talbott; Monterey, California, USA | $35.00 |
Verdicchio 2011; Colonnara; dei Castelli di Jesi Classico, Marche, Italy | $35.00 |
Moscato d'Asti 'Vigneto Biancospino' 2012; La Spinetta; Piedmont, Italy | $37.00 |
Soave 'La Frosca' 2010; Gini; Veneto, Italy | $45.00 |
Chardonnay 2009; Smith-Madrone; Napa, California, USA | $70.00 |
Chardonnay 2009; Ramey; Sonoma Coast, Sonoma, California, USA | $75.00 |
Chardonnay 2010; Ramey; Russian River Valley, Sonoma, California, USA | $79.00 |
Pessac-Leognan 2007; Chateau Larrivet Haut Brion; Bordeaux, France | $99.00 |
St-Emilion 2005; Chateau Angelique de Monbousquet; Bordeaux, France | $179.00 |
Sauternes 2004; Chateau Suduiraut; Bordeaux, France | $199.00 |
New Red Wines |
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Malbec 'Roble' 2010; Valle Las Acequias; Mendoza Valley, Argentina | $35.00 |
Cabernet Franc 'Le Rubis' 2011; Domaine de Juchepie; Anjou, Loire, France | $50.00 |
Priorat 'Embruix' 2009; Vall Llach; Spain | $50.00 |
Zinfandel 'Juvenile' 2011; Turley; California, USA | $55.00 |
Invisible Man 'Cabernet Sauvignon - Shiraz' 2010; Cimicky & Son; Barossa, Australia | $59.00 |
Merlot 'Frediani Vineyard' 2010; Selene; Napa, California, USA | $75.00 |
Tannat 'Laborum' 2009; El Porvenir de Los Andes; Salta, Argentina | $75.00 |
Cabernet Franc 2009; Cultivar; Oak Knoll, Napa, California, USA | $89.00 |
Cabernet Sauvignon 2007; Smith-Madrone; Spring Mountain District, Napa, California, USA | $89.00 |
Zinfandel 'Duarte' 2011; Turley; Contra Costa County, California, USA | $89.00 |
Pinot Noir 'Keefer Ranch' 2011; Failla; Russian River Valley, Sonoma, California, USA | $95.00 |
Amarone 'Vigneto di Campo delle Strie' 2006; Tenuta Chiccheri; Veneto, Italy | $109.00 |
Barbaresco 'Paje' 2007; Roagna; Piedmont, Italy | $145.00 |
Cabernet Sauvignon 2006; Corison; Napa, California, USA | $165.00 |
Barbaresco ''Montefico' Vecchie Vigne' 2007; Roagna; Piedmont, Italy | $225.00 |
Cabernet Sauvignon 'Kronos Vineyard' 2008; Corison; Napa, California, USA | $229.00 |
Barolo 'Monprivato' 2008; Giuseppi Mascarello & Figlio; Piedmont, Italy | $259.00 |
Cabernet Sauvignon 2010; Kongsgaard; Napa, California, USA | $399.00 |
Barolo Riserva 'Monprivato Ca d' Morissio' 2004; Giuseppi Mascarello & Figlio; Piedmont, Italy | $695.00 |
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