Desert Wines and Spirits

Saturday, October 3, 2009

4 to 6 pm

$5.00 per person

Home of: ExecutiveGiftService.com

611 S. Palm Canyon Drive, Suite #1, Palm Springs, 92264,

760-327-7701, 800-925-0030

Next Saturday we will enjoy the company of George Horn representing Classic Wines of California. Always the perfect gentleman, George will present his favorite wines to you and happily discuss his reasons why. He believes in cost-to-quality value which will prove apparent as you taste your way through the following flight. Whether the choices are from France, Argentina, Chile or California, the quest is the same: bang for the buck.

2008 Patianna Estate Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc, Mendocino

List price 15.95; our price 13.99

When patriarch Barney Fetzer died of a heart attack in 1981, his 11 children took over, growing the business from 200,000 cases a year to 2.2 million by 1992, the year Brown-Forman bought the name and its brands. They smartly kept the vineyards and split the pieces among themselves. In 1997 Patti Fetzer Burke laid claim to 126 acres in the Sanel Valley near Hopland, a pristine former pear ranch bordering a mile or so of the Russian River, already planted in spots to her beloved Sauvignon Blanc. This wine’s aromas, Honeydew melon, white peach and citrus with a hint of wild fennel, are characteristic of Patianna’s grapes, grown by means of biodynamic protocols in gravelly, sandy loam soil. Luscious, vibrant flavors of grapefruit and lemon flavors, accented by a subtle mineral quality, carry through the wine’s expansive finish.

2008 Carmenet Vineyards Pinot Noir, California

List price 12.00; our price 9.99

Carmenet Winery was founded in 1982 by the Chalone Wine Group. The name Carmenet (Car-men-ay) was an archaic French term for the family of grape varieties used in traditional Bordeaux blends. In 2002 the brand was sold to Foster’s Group who later sold it to Franzia Wines. This really is a lovely Pinot Noir with good fruit and spice, excellent fruit and a full long finish. Quite the value!

P.K.N.T. Carmenère, Silver Collection, Rapel Valley, Chile

List price 6.95; our price 4.99

The PKNT Winery is located in the Central Region of Chile, the very heart of the country which includes its capital city, Santiago. The wine producing valleys of Cachapoal, Colchagua and Maule are located here. This wine is dark in color, smooth, deep, spicy, forward, delightful and unique; all for 4.99. Besides the berry notes there are hints of exotic spices that tantalize all the way to a long velvety finish. It is ideal with Tex-Mex or spicy food.

2007 Filus Winery, Malbec, Mendoza Argentina

List price 11.00; our price 8.99

This wine comes from a 68 year old vineyard in the Alto Medrano region of Mendoza. The low yield vines produce a wine that is violet in color with purple tones. The nose is intense and complex with the ideal balance of fruit and oak, resulting in a firm structure. Plum and blackberry fruits combine with toasty notes and sweet tannins for a long and persistent finish. The wine won a bronze Medal at the San Francisco Wine Competition.

2006 Chateau Lagarosse Cotes de Bordeaux

List price 18.00; our price 13.99

This blend of Merlot (80%), Cabernet Franc (10%) and Cabernet Sauvignon (10%) is a harmonious blend of layered bright and rich berry fruit flavors. Château Lagarosse has been producing wine since the Roman period and continues to seduce the palate with a silky smooth texture and lingering finish.

2008 Masked Rider Gunsmoke Red, California

List price 9.99; our price 8.75

This young 2008 blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (40%), Petite Sirah (38%), Merlot (15%) and Cabernet Franc (7%) shows aromas and flavors of fresh fruit, plums, black currant, herbs, and espresso notes, complemented with touches of earth. It is smooth in the mouth, with round tannins and a tasty finish.

Saturday, July 18, 2009
4 to 6 pm
$5.00 per person
      Home of: ExecutiveGiftService.com
611 S. Palm Canyon Drive, Suite #1, Palm Springs, 92264
760-327-7701, 800-925-0030

The first Montes Alpha Cabernet Sauvignon, the premium wine of 1987 that brought fame to the company, was concentrated and complex and became an immediate success.  This was the first ever premium Chilean export wine and it opened for Montes and for Chile, a path other wineries quickly followed.  In 1996 Montes developed the stately “M” (a classic Bordeaux style blend) the first ultra-premium wine of Chile.  An entry level line called the Classic Series was introduced in 1999.  The Alpha “M” was followed by another soon to become cult-wine, the Montes Folly in 2000 (100% Syrah), and finally, in 2003, the first Chilean Carmenère, the Purple Angel.  When Montes began (as Discover Wine Ltd.) there were only fourteen wineries exporting from Chile; today the Chilean central bank has over two hundred registered wine exporters.  Montes wines are mainly aimed at exports (94% of its entire production) to over seventy-five countries in five continents.

2008 Montes Sauvignon Blanc, Classic Series, Casablanca Valley
9.99
The wine was fermented in stainless steel allowing no oak contact.  It has attractive tropical fruits and grassy notes owing to the cool Casablanca climate.  It is a fresh, crispy light, wine to be enjoyed in its youth.

2008 Montes Chardonnay, Classic Series Curico Valley
9.99
This wine is fermented 60 % in casks and 40 % in stainless steel, with only half allowed to proceed through malolactic fermentation.  The process is carried out under controlled temperature conditions to maintain the fruity aromas.  Its aroma blends hints of butter and vanilla with tropical fruits including banana.  It is a fresh wine, fruity, with good body and balance, creamy and complex in mid palate, showing a nice elegant finish.

2007 Montes Alpha Chardonnay, Casablanca Valley
16.99
The wine was vinified as three different lots using three different strains of selected yeasts: “D”, Montrachet and native. Fermented and aged in French oak barrels for 1 year, 40% of the wine underwent malolactic fermentation.  The wine remained in its original cask for one year using a monthly batonage to enhance the complexity of buttery flavors and tropical fruit.  It is full bodied and creamy in the mid palate.  This is one of the few Chilean whites that is ageable.

2007 Montes Merlot, Classic Series, Colchagua Valley
9.99
Here is a young Merlot with six months of American oak ageing.  It is elegant and refined with a marked fruitiness and softness on the palate despite the spicy black pepper elements.  Aurelio Montes decided to blend 15% Cabernet Sauvignon with this Merlot, to better marry with the oak, and give structure and finesse.

2007 Montes Cabernet Sauvignon, Colchagua Valley
9.99
The nose is packed with layers of caramel, cinnamon, candy and hints of mint, with a prevalence of fruit over oak.  This is a spicy, full-flavored wine, with good body, fruit and firm tannins ending with an engaging, strong finish.

2006 Montes Alpha Cabernet Sauvignon, Colchagua Valley
16.99
Considered one of the top Chilean Cabernets, it is aged for 12 months in French oak barrels. It is deep ruby in color with flavors of red fruits, blackcurrant, chocolate and cigar box, in balance with well-integrated oak, specifically, fine grained French Alliers.  It is complex in the mouth, full bodied and balanced with a lasting persistence leading to a long finish.  Although a superb wine as it is now, it may also be considered for cellaring.  The first (1987) version was recently selected among the best ten year old red wines (18th) in the world and the 1990 version was ranked 10th in the world, also by WINE magazine.

2006 Montes Alpha M, La Finca Estate, Apalta Valley, Colchagua
77.00
The wine is powerful and elegant with a deep dark red color.  Yet it has soft, round, solid tannins framing a distinguished character with aromas of red fruits, cassis and a touch of cedar and cinnamon.  It has delightful notes of vanilla and coffee, and a long, lingering finish with a pleasant and harmonious balance of fruit and oak.  The “M” is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (80%) for elegance, Merlot (5%) for softness, Cabernet Franc (10%) to add harmony and Petit Verdot (5%) for austerity.  The Petit Verdot adds an extra element of complexity by linking all the other grapes.  The structure of this wine will keep it for over 20 years.

2006 Montes Purple Angel, Apalta and Marchigue Vineyards
56.00
Carmenère was rediscovered in Chile only in 1993, after being believed extinct since phylloxera hit Bordeaux, its original home, around 1880.  The wine has a distinctive deep purple color with delicate hints of chocolate and cigar box aromas.  The wine is a blend of 92% Carmenère and 8% Petit Verdot from the Colchagua Valley.  The Carmenère from Apalta adds sophistication and subtlety to the blend, providing chocolate, vanilla and tobacco aromas, as well as the combination of dark fruit flavors and the spiciness typical of the variety.  The grapes from the Marchigue estate provide potency and color to the wine creating a fine balance of power and elegance.  The blend is ultimately enhanced with Petit Verdot to provide structure and at the same time flavors of wild black berries.  It is full bodied, with a generous amount of ripe tannins giving grip and depth to this lovely wine.