Desert Wines and Spirits

Saturday, January 2, 2010

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

We are kicking off the New Year with more recent arrivals that feature well in the under-twenty dollar range.  Three are from California, and the other three hail from France, Spain and Argentina.  There is no rhyme or reason here; only the quest for very good wine at fabulous prices.  So if you have exited your recovery period and no longer consider alcoholic beverages a bad thing, do join us.  After all, we must do our part to support the wine industry.

2008 Domaine Laurier Chardonnay, Sonoma County

List price 9.95; our price 6.99

Laurier derives its name from the French word for the laurel trees that surround the founding winery in Sonoma County. Los Carneros - whose climate is moderated by the north end of the San Francisco Bay - is ideal for growing Chardonnay grapes.  The wine displays excellent fruit character and is balanced with a lively and crisp finish.  The flavors remind of ripe spicy pear, apple, citrus and light oak flavors.  Focused, it turns a bit leafy and earthy on the finish.

2007 Domaine Laurier Cabernet Sauvignon

List price 9.95; our price 6.99

This Cabernet contains clones selected from some of Alexander Valley’s best vineyards.  The preferred winemaking technique here combines European tradition with new technology to create a wine that is abundant with fruit character and silky texture.  Nuances of black cherry, plum, black olive and vanilla top the list of flavors.  Compatible entrees include roast leg of lamb, braised short ribs, grilled Portobello mushrooms and a variety of sharp cheeses.

Chateau de Saint Cosme “Little James’ Basket Press”, Gigondas, France

List price 14.95; our price 12.99

According to Robert Parker, this wine is created from a Solera system based on 50% from 2008, and the rest from older vintages.  It is always 100% Grenache and is finished with a screw cap.  It offers lots of spicy, peppery, black cherry, and even blacker fruits along with medium body, a tasty, satisfying style, and a remarkably low price.  Spicy and rich, with layers of kirsch, cassis and blackberry fruit and a commanding note of minerals and herbs, it screams Grenache.

2006 Bodegas Bilbaínas Viña Zaco Tempranillo, Rioja, Spain

List price 13.00; our price 11.50

Zaco is the rebellious new Rioja from Bodegas Bilbaínas, a Rioja with a contemporary twist. Zaco is not constrained by the rules of the traditional ageing process.  It is neither a Crianza nor a Reserva.  Zaco is simply ready when award-winning international winemaker Diego Pinilla believes the wine is reaching its full potential.  Every year Diego will identify the perfect moment to bottle Zaco.  This is a distinctive wine made in the international style with fresh fruity aromas.  Black cherry and blackberry flavors are framed by smoky chocolate oak in this taut and focused red.  Its firm tannins and bright acidity should keep it at its peak through 2012.  It scored 90 points in the Wine Spectator.

2008 Bodegas Gascón Malbec, Mendoza, Argentina

List price 14.95; our price 11.99

The Don Miguel Gascón Malbec is a full-bodied wine, deep purple in color and layered with flavors of blackberry, blueberry, dark cherry and a hint of mocha.  The mid-palate shows a plumy fruit, finishing with pepper, chocolate, and smooth tannins (wine’s best feature).  It is attractively packaged as well as attractively priced.  The elegant, velvety mouthfeel and round tannins will pair well with grilled red meats, wild game, pasta dishes and chocolate desserts.

2005 Bridlewood Syrah Reserve, Central Coast

List price 22.50; our price 15.99

The aroma displays spice, blackberry, plumy and earthy notes which develop into dark berry and plum as the wine opens up.  You may also pick up hints of violets, chocolate and coffee. This is a full bodied wine with soft, but powerful tannins.  The wine flavors open with blackberry jam, violets and plum; dark berries combine with mouth filling tannins to form a long silky mid-palate and end with a clean lingering finish.  While this wine is already balanced and drinking well now, the moderate alcohol, acidity and tannin structure will allow this wine to improve with additional cellaring and will drink well for the next five years.

Saturday, December 12, 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

It wouldn’t be a proper December without our annual Champagne event.  Lisa Wherry will be back discussing and pouring a selection of Champagne and other sparkling wines that should cover most celebratory needs.  So, if you have not begun your year-end celebrations, let us help you kick off the December bacchanal.  The following week, December the 19th, we will be visited by Kirsten York from Italy’s Mionetto Winery.  Mionetto is all about Prosecco, which functions well for year-end partying without breaking the budget.

Villa Sandi Prosecco, Veneto, Italy

List Price 12.95; our price 9.99

Villa Sandi is an exquisite Palladian-style villa dating back to 1622, located at the foot of the Marca Trevigiana hills, in the Veneto region and represents the combination of art and agriculture which has characterized the Venetian landscape for centuries.  This Prosecco is an ideal accompaniment for a variety of cuisines and courses.  Whether served as an apèritif, or at the end of a meal, or any course in between, the natural acidity and fresh taste lightly compliments, but never over-powers, a meal.  This elegant sparkler achieves a nice balance between sweet, fruit flavors and lively crispness.  Look for peach, pear, jasmine, grapefruit and stone that characterize the fruit with a bit of almond bitterness at the finish.

Bouvet Brut, Saumur, Loire Valley, France

List price 14.00; our price 11.95

This is a well-rounded, Champagne-like bubbly that makes a superb apéritif on its own before a meal and complements most meals as well.  It is a delicately fruity sparkling wine showing crisp citrus and white fruit flavors with a hint of toast refined by notes of Chardonnay ending in a fresh, lively finish.  Mostly Chenin, with 10% Chardonnay, this delicious bubbly mixes spicy yeast with clove and herb scents, inviting repeated sips.  Full-bodied fruit flavors follow, with a slightly candied appeal, and the finish wraps you in hints of vanilla and light toast.  88 Points Wine Enthusiast.

2006 Schramsberg Blanc de Blancs, Napa

List price 30.00; our price 26.95

Blanc de Blancs was the first wine Schramsberg produced in 1965 and was America’s first commercially produced Chardonnay-based sparkling wine.  Small lots of malolactic- and barrel-fermented wines are added for complexity.  The wine is aged on the yeast lees in the bottle for about two years prior to disgorgement.  It delivers aromas of key lime, freshly cut green apple and honeydew melon, followed by just a hint of pineapple upside-down cake. Upon entry, the palate is layered with flavors of citrus, ripe Anjou pear, dried pineapple and baked apple pie. With its vibrant, fruitful and crisp nature, this sparkling wine will maintain its freshness, structure and refined finish for many years, following release.

Taittinger Brut, Cuvée Prestige

List price 39.00; our price 32.50

Pale almond gold in color, this Champagne is punctuated by delicate strands of fine, persistent bubbles.  The full, aromatic Pinot fragrance of berries, toast and earth is allied to subtle notes of white Chardonnay fruit, both of which are confirmed on the generously full bodied palate.  In the mouth, the wine is marked by a smooth, round, creamy texture and elegant, toasty nuances of black Pinot grapes. The ample fruit dimension is offset by a clean, delicate acidity which carries into a warm, yeasty finish of exceptional refinement and breed.

2004 Iron Horse Russian Cuvée, Sonoma

List price 30.00; our price 27.00

This wonderfully rich and creamy wine is a classy blend of 75% Pinot Noir and 25% Chardonnay, aged an average of four years on the yeast in the bottle.  It is finished with a rich dosage, which makes it more opulent, and slightly sweeter, heightening the fruit. This vintage was awarded 90 points by Wine & Spirits magazine. It was originally designed for the historic Reagan-Gorbachev Summit Meetings ending the Cold War.

Juve & Camps Brut Rosé Pinot Noir, Spain

List price 18.00; our price 14.99

Positively delicious; this juicy little number has a bright beam of ripe raspberries, vanilla and yeasty brioche right down the mid-palate.  Definitely balanced & fine, it appears to have been designed for heavier fish dishes where a crisp acidity is needed for balance.  It is produced from Pinot Noir grapes wherein the free run juice is allowed a brief maceration on the skins.  Long bottle aging has brought balance, length and weight while retaining freshness and vivacity; it has good legs!

Saturday, December 20,2008
4 to 6 pm

$10.00 per person

Home of: ExecutiveGiftService.com
611 S. Palm Canyon Drive, Suite #1, Palm Springs, 92264,
(760) 327-7701, (800) 925-0030

The holiday season looms before us and what better way to beckon the season than to pop open a few bottles of Champagne.  Lisa Wherry will join us on Saturday to discuss and to pour the fine sparklers from her portfolio.  Hors d’oeuvres will be served.  This year we have increased the selection to include eleven sparklers!  Not to be missed!

Schramsberg Mirabelle, North Coast
$18.50
This delightful sparkler is a blend of Napa, Sonoma and Mendocino county Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.  It is big and buttery with aromas of baked apple, lemon curd, nutmeg, malt and bread dough.  A whiff of buttered toast leads to balanced flavors of citrus, white flowers and butterscotch. Its citrusy, nutty finish refuses to fade.

2004 Domaine Carneros Brut, Napa
$18.99
This winery blends Pinot Noir and Chardonnay at a two to one ratio and tosses in a splash of Pinot Blanc for good measure.  Typical of each vintage are lovely flavors of lemon blossom, honeydew melon, ripe peaches and pears. Toasted nuts, caramel and hints of baking spice add to the complexity.  The creamy mousse is very special.

Taittinger Brut Champagne, Cuvée Prestige
$33.50
The color is a brilliant, golden straw yellow and the bubbles are fine. The mousse is both discreet and persistent.  The nose, very expressive and open, is both fruity and bread-like, exuding aromas of peach, flowers, and vanilla.  On the palate, this lively fresh wine is harmonious and delicate with flavors of fresh fruit and honey.

2004 Schramsberg Blanc de Noirs, Napa
$29.95
The Blanc de Noirs bursts with a lively bright mixture of peach, strawberry, and candied orange aromas.  Honeyed and caramelized characters have developed over the course of bottle-aging in their mountain caves.  The palate shows off vibrant stone fruit flavors with a silky mix of vanilla crème and zesty acidity.

Perrier- Jouët Grand Brut
$39.95
Perrier Jouët’s house style tends to be light, fresh and elegant, showing apple blossoms, peach nectar, baked bread and a hint of ginger.  The bubbles are small and fine, supporting a creamy, rounded texture that is simply delicious.

Mumm Brut Cordon Rouge Champagne
$29.95
Cordon Rouge has always been a distinctly fresh, full bodied Champagne with impeccable consistency of taste.  Its richness and elegance have been symbolically represented by the diagonal red ribbon across the label since 1876. 

Piper Heidsieck Brut Champagne
$26.99; $14.50/375ml; $9.95/187ml
The majority of the blend is Pinot Noir with small amounts of Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier balancing out the blend.  Selected reserve wines from preceding years are incorporated into the blend to insure consistency of style from year to year.  The blend is aged on the lees for a minimum of two years before release.  Always excellent and a great buy!

Charles Heidsieck Brut Reserve Champagne
$39.99
From the bread-like, floral and citrus notes in the bouquet to the apricot, melon and rum pastry flavors, this well balanced wine performs well as an apéritif as well as a versatile accompaniment to food.  Wine Spectator scores this 92 points.

2002 Iron Horse Russian Cuvée, Green Valley, Sonoma
$27.00
The same base wine as Classic Vintage Brut, but with a richer dosage, which makes it more opulent, slightly sweeter and heightens the fruit . Originally designed for the historic Reagan-Gorbachev Summit Meetings ending the Cold War.

2003 Iron Horse Brut Rosé, Green Valley, Sonoma
$44.00
The wildest of the Iron Horse sparkling wines and surprisingly the driest.  Bold and vibrant in both color and taste, it is pure exuberance.  The color and richness come from cold soaking the Pinot Noir on the skins.  Brut Rosés are the most versatile of food wines, functioning perfectly as an apéritif or with a very wide variety of foods.  This one is fantastic!

Piper Heidsieck Brut Rosé Sauvage
$49.99
Piper mixes still red wine into the traditional Cuvée Brut recipe, resulting in a wine with a surprising dark red hue.  Beyond that, the wine is quite refreshing with citrus flavors and blood orange character. Tack on cherry, strawberry and plum and now you have something.  Despite all this wildness, the crisp beverage comes together in perfect harmony, delivering elements of richness.  This wine is age-worthy, but for now, pair it with roasted duck breast.

Saturday, December 29, 2007

4 to 6 pm

$5.00 per person

Home of: ExecutiveGiftService.com

611 S. Palm Canyon Drive, Suite #1, Palm Springs, 92264, 327-7701

Party holidays like New Years require good tasting wines that can be bought in volume at reasonable prices. Among the new arrivals to our store are a few that deserve our attention. The quality level is up and the pricing level is down…and there will be funds left over in the budget to buy food.

We will be closed only on New Year’s Day and will revert to our usual schedule in January, closing each Sunday and holidays. During the period in January that Zola and I are on vacation, Richard Duran will attend to your needs. The Saturday wine events will continue with a different wine industry representative performing the duties as host, each week.

If you cannot make it in this Saturday, let me wish you here a Happy and Prosperous New Year!

n.v. Grandial Blanc de Blancs Sparkling Wine,
$7.99

We have established relationships with some small importers that search out good wines of exceptional value. Sparklers like this are a good case in point. It comes from Landiras, a commune south of the Gironde (which contains Bordeaux) and just south of Bergerac. A wonderful little sparkling wine is produced here from 100% Ugni Blanc that is surprisingly clean, refreshing and totally dry.

n.v. Taltarni Brut Taché Sparkling Wine, Australia
$14.95

Clos du Val Winery of Napa Valley imports this sparkling rosé that is a blend of Chardonnay (52%), Pinot Noir (41%) and Pinot Meunier (7%). “Taché” is the French word for stained and refers to the red wine that is added to the dosage after disgorgement, thereby staining the resulting sparkler a light pink. This is a traditional “Méthode Champenoise” wine fermented in the bottle and matured for a minimum of 18 months. It shows refinement and personality in its lovely color, abundant fruit and mouth filling flavor.

2006 Four Vines Naked Chardonnay, Santa Barbara
$9.99

This wine was entirely fermented in stainless steel and has not seen any oak. This is crisp, concentrated Chardonnay with all its natural acid, for it was not allowed to undergo malolactic fermentation. The resulting wine exhibits flavors of apple, white peach, and pear, finishing long with hints of citrus and minerals.

2005 Epiphany Grenache Rosé, Santa Barbara
$10.95

The grapes for this rosé come from Fess Parker Estates in Santa Ynez Valley. 30% of the wine was produced in stainless steel tanks and the other 70% was barrel fermented. The beautiful aromatics segue to crisp fruit flavors of strawberry, cherry and watermelon.

2005 Louis Martini Cabernet Sauvignon, Sonoma
$9.99

Grapes from several Sonoma County vineyards contributed to the final blend of this well balanced Cabernet Sauvignon. Don’t let the low price fool you into thinking of this as low quality Cabernet. It is a fine bargain, projecting fresh ripe flavors of cassis, black cherry and oaky spice.

2005 Klinker Brick Zinfandel, Old Vine, Lodi
$17.95

As vineyards age, they tend to have fewer clusters of grapes which are of smaller berry size, yielding more intense sugars, color and concentration of flavors, and producing wines that are generally better balanced with more body and structure. The grapes came from eleven different vineyard blocks, ranging in age from 35 to 110 years old, the latter yielding less than one ton per acre. The resulting wine explodes with full, juicy flavors of cherries and plums coupled with the perfect balance of oak and spice. There is a nuance of mint and clove on the nose and a lingering, elegant finish.