4 to 6 pm
$5.00 per person
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611 S. Palm Canyon Drive, Suite #1, Palm Springs, 92264,
760-327-7701, 800-925-0030
This Saturday we will be visited by Corina Vandever from importer Southern Starz from whom we buy quite a lot of wine. The reason is quite simple: they bring in lots of good stuff. With her will be George Gee of TGIC Imports who represents the Southern Starz portfolio in California. Our southern hemisphere tour will take us to New Zealand, Chile, Australia and South Africa. All of these wines are truly exceptional.
2008 Sherwood Estate Sauvignon Blanc, New Zealand
13.99
The fruit was harvested in the cool of the night and transported to the winery where only the free run and light pressed juice was used. It was cool fermented for an average of 19 days, then left for an extended three month period of contact with the yeast lees. The wine is fresh, offering up lively gooseberry and passion fruit aromas with a touch of cut grass. The palate is rich and concentrated with a beautiful long finish.
2008 Montes Syrah Rosé “Cherub” Chile
9.99 (Sat. only: Buy 6 get 1 FREE)
After several years of experimentation, Aurelio Montes settled on producing a rosé from Syrah, a grape he made famous in Chile with the country’s first-ever Ultra Premium 100% Syrah called Montes’ Folly in 2002. The wine follows a process of cold maceration where the must is left in contact with the skins overnight (for approximately eight hours) to fully extract color and aromas and infuse the wine with flavor. Once the juice was racked until totally clear, it underwent alcoholic fermentation using selected yeast at 50º F for 20 days. On the nose and the palate, it demonstrates a distinctive Syrah character with spiciness and hints of strawberries, rose and orange peel. With good fruit concentration, it shows richness in texture across the palate that leads to a delightfully long finish. It has a strong backbone of acidity and a slight amount of tannin that gives the wine a defined structure.
2005 Flinders Run Shiraz, Australia
29.50
This wine has received some serious accolades (albeit somewhat obscure):
95 pts Robert Parker, the Wine Advocate #173
Purple/black in color, the wine exhibits a big, brooding bouquet of pain grillé, pepper, Asian spices, blueberry, blackberry, and licorice. This leads to a full-bodied (15.2% alcohol), super-rich, plush wine with layers of spicy black fruit flavors, excellent balance, and a long, pure finish. For a wine of this size, it is remarkably light on its feet.
92 pts Stephen Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar 2007
Glass-staining ruby. Explosively perfumed nose offers a surreal array of dark fruits, oak spices, flowers and minerals. Fat but focused, with intense, spicy blackberry, cassis and floral pastille flavors. Gentle tannins add structure but can’t contain the wine’s expansive, sweet personality. Gains strength on the long, sappy finish. This has enormous immediate appeal.
91 pts Wine Spectator Web 12/21/07
Dense and peppery. A lively mouthful of dark-hued fruit and spice, lingering on the clear, focused, juicy finish. Fine tannins frame this nicely. Best from 2009 through 2015. 2,000 cases made.
2005 Black Pearl Vineyards, Oro, Paarl, South Africa
17.50
The name of the blend “Oro” comes from the God Oro, King of the Firmament, who gave the black pearl as a gift to the ocean. The vineyard is situated on the slopes of Paarl Mountain, and, after it has rained, Paarl Rock resembles a black pearl. The blend is Shiraz (57%) and Cabernet Sauvignon (43%). This is a rich wine with hints of clove and spices; plum, dark berries and licorice flavors.
2007 Tait Winery “The Ball Buster”, Australia
17.50
The age of the vineyards that make up the 2007 Ball Buster Blend vary between 7 and 40 years. Deep Black Purple. Intense aromas of blackcurrant, stewed plums, cherry, and chocolate. Full bodied berry palate with a sweet long lasting finish. It received a 90-point rating from Stephen Tanzer International Wine Cellar just arriving on Wednesday at TGIF.
NV R.L. Buller & Son Muscat, Australia
14.75/375 ml
You can’t get too much better than a 97-point rating from Robert Parker, of The Wine Advocate: “This wine is nearly flawless. Fabulously perfumed as well as unctuously textured, it offers incredible notes of prunes, raisins, honey, molasses, roasted nuts, etc., etc. Australia continues to be a treasure trove for fortified, after-dinner wines. Once bottled, they do not change, and often age up to a decade where well stored. After opening, most will last for a week. This is one of the top wine discoveries of this year’s tastings. Many consumers are going to be overjoyed with this offering.”