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2005 Charles Cimicky Trumps Grenache/Shiraz Barossa Valley
$ 13.99"Bright red. Intensely spicy red berry aromas remind me of high-end New World pinot; this boasts impressive purity and thrust. Exotic baking spices accent fresh strawberry and raspberry fruit, with silky tannins adding gentle support. Sweetness builds on the long, juicy, very precise finish. It's hard to believe that this wine is carrying 15.5% alcohol. The grenache vines used for this bottling are reportedly 80 years old." 90 points - Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar, Jul/Aug 07 "An outstanding bargain, the 2005 Grenache/Shiraz Trumps (72% Grenache and 28% Shiraz aged 15 months in old French oak) possesses a deep ruby/purple color, copious fruit, superb purity, and a touch of background wood. It is a full-bodied, powerful, amazingly flavorful wine for the price. Enjoy it over the next 2-3 years." 89 points - Robert Parker's The Wine Advocate, Issue 167 (Oct 2006) "Firm and spicy, with a distinct licorice note running through the dark fruit flavors, lingering nicely against fine tannins. Best from 2008 through 2015. 1,000 cases made." 89 points - Wine Spectator, October 15, 2007 "A blend of 65% Grenache and 35% Shiraz, this is a lush, easy-to-drink wine meant for early consumption. The blend brings stone fruit and cherries, underscored by spice cake and chocolate, with hints of espresso and cola on the finish." 89 points - Wine Enthusiast, November 1, 2007
2005 Finca Luzon Altos de Luzon Jumilla
$ 14.99"(50% monastrell and 25% each of cabernet sauvignon and tempranillo) Dark red. Suave, oak-spiced cherry and cassis on the nose, with a gentle vanilla undertone. Sweet dark fruit flavors are round and supple, with soft tannins building on the back. Picks up a spicy quality on the long, juicy finish. The fruit and oak work very well together." 90 points - Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar, Sep/Oct 07 "This plush red delivers ripe, sweet blackberry and kirsch flavors backed by chocolate and cola from oak, with appealing earthy accents. The tannins are well-integrated, the structure balanced. Drink now through 2011. 1,500 cases imported." 89 points - Wine Spectator, November 15, 2007 "The 2005 Altos de Luzon is 50% old-vine Monastrell, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 25% Tempranillo (not commonly seen in Jumilla). It was barrel fermented in new French and American oak where it remained for 12 months. Dark ruby-colored, it offers up an enticing perfume of mineral, garrigue, blueberry, and blackberry. Layered and ripe with enough structure to evolve for 2-3 years, this pleasing effort can be enjoyed now and over the next 8-10 years." 89 Points - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, Issue 175
2005 Dominio de Tares Baltos Mencia Bierzo
$ 14.99"The 2005 Baltos Mencia comes from a less steep terroir and is aged in oak for 6 months. This purple-colored effort exhibits an attractive bouquet of minerals, earth, black cherry and raspberry. This is followed by a medium-bodied wine with concentrated, ripe fruit, excellent depth, and a pure finish. Because of the old-vine, labor-intensive vineyards with low yields, wines from Bierzo can be pricey so this well-made wine is an excellent value." 90 points - Robert Parker's The Wine Advocate, Issue 169 "Bright purple. Spicy blackberry and plum on the nose, with intriguing tobacco, espresso and licorice accents. Bitter cherry and dark plum flavors are braced by firm tannins and vibrant acidity, with slow-mounting sweetness carrying through the finish. Impressively energetic and pure, closing with fresh, vivid blackberry and plum." 90 points - Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar, Jul/Aug 07
2006 Vilosell (Costers del Segre)
$ 14.9991TWA - No tasting note published. Below is the tasting note from the 2005 which also received 91 points. "The 2005 El Vilosell is composed of 50% Tempranillo, 26% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, 9% Garnacha, and 5% Syrah aged for 9 months in new French oak. Purple-colored, it reveals a fragrant array of scents including pepper, spice box, smoke, blackberry, black currant, and blueberry pie. Plush in texture, the wine is full-bodied, with layers of spicy fruit, intense flavors, and well-concealed tannins. Drink this superb value now and over the next 6-8 years. " 91 points, Robert Parker's Wine Advocated #169 (FEB 2007) 91 points (RP) & less than $15? Now I love great wines, but usually if I buy wines that score 91 or higher, Im looking for change in my sofa cushions to pay my mortgage. All joking aside, if you are like me, youre looking for great wines that wont drive you to foreclosure. Where are these great values? Plain and simple: Spain. Now of course its my job to be informed on the wines from Spain, but this is not just another great wine from Spain, its a damn good wine period. It is named after the adorable little village it is located in called El Vilosell in the D.O. of Costers del Segre which borders Tarragona and Priorat. Predominantly Tempranillo, this blend also contains 17% Merlot, 13% Cabernet and 5% Syrah. On the nose you can smell blackberry, blueberry and pepper with tiny hints of cocoa. It is a gobsmacker for your taste buds with lots of dark fruits, cherry and touches of toast and spice. ¡Delicioso!" Summer Martin, 91+ POINTS! "(50% tempranillo, 26% cabernet sauvignon, 10% merlot, 9% garnacha and 5% syrah) Opaque ruby. Cassis, violet and cured meat on the nose, with slow-building oak spices. Licorice and mineral notes gain strength with air and carry onto the palate, adding complexity to the sweet cherry and blackcurrant flavors. Finishes with good grip and lingering dark berry notes. This is drinking very well right now." 90 points - Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar, Sep/Oct 08
2005 Bodegas Sierra Salinas "Mira" (Yecla)
$ 17.99"The 2005 Mira is 65% Monastrell, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 10% Garnacha Tintorera aged in 60-70% new French oak. Deep crimson-colored, the wine has an excellent bouquet of pain grille, mineral/creosote, black cherry, and blueberry. This leads to a smooth-textured, focused, elegant effort with ample spicy fruit, very good depth and breadth, and a long, pure finish. It can be enjoyed now and over the next 6-8 years." 93 points - Robert Parker's The Wine Advocate, Issue 175, February 2008 Nobody knows monastrell like the Castaño family who produces Castaño Hecula (90TWA) and Solanera (91TWA), two of the best values from Spain. So when an opportunity arose in Alicante, the Castaño family didnt hesitate. The 2005 Mira Salinas is a world class Monastrell blend that will delight Spanish wine fans and dazzle the Rhone drinkers. It is 60% Monastrell, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Garnacha (or Grenache). Loaded with ripe red fruits and dark berries, it is concentrated and full on the palate with a sleek velvety texture that makes it classy and elegant. Its finish is long and sensual with a pinch of spice at the end. It tastes like a $40 wine and has a suggested retail of $25. Its crazy good! 93+ Points, Summer Martin, B-21's Spain Advocate (Staff Selection, October 2009)
2005 Concha y Toro Marques de Casa Concha Syrah Peumo
$ 17.99"The 2005 Syrah Marques de Casa Concha was aged for 16 months in French oak. It offers up smoke, leather, game, and blueberry scents which are followed by a supple-textured, ripe, layered wine with abundant spicy flavors. This nicely balanced wine will evolve for 3-5 years and drink well through 2027." 91 points - Robert Parker's the Wine Advocate, Issue 171 "This opulent syrah feels international in style, but seductive in its generous fruit, the flavor of pure ripe blackberries. The texture is tight and surrounded by dark aromas of coffee and oak. Decant it for roast game." 91 Points - Wine & Spirits, February 2008 "Dark and plush, with espresso, fig paste and plum sauce notes pushed by mocha and dark licorice on the finish. The rich, smoky finish shows fine-grained tannins and the density for moderate cellaring. Drink now through 2009. 7,200 cases made. Smart Buy." 90 points - Wine Spectator, December 31, 2007
2005 Arrowood Chardonnay Sonoma County
$ 19.99"Heres a polished Chard with an elegant balance to a variety that often lacks both. Everything is here, from the ripe tropical fruit and rich oak to the crisp acidity and mineral trimmings, all poised in perfect equilibrium." 90 points - Wine Enthusiast, December 1, 2007 "The 2005 Chardonnay Sonoma (6,500+ cases) is 100% barrel fermented with 100% malolactic fermentation, resulting in vivid honeyed lemon, apple blossom, white peach, and currant characteristics offered in a fresh, lively, medium-bodied format with good underlying acidity. Drink it over the next 1-3 years." 89 points - Robert Parker's The Wine Advocate, Issue 168
2005 Bodegas Poesia Clos des Andes Reserva
$ 19.99"The 2005 Clos des Andes is 100% Malbec sourced from an 80 year old vineyard in the Lujan de Cuyo region of Mendoza. The wine was 50% barrel fermented and was aged for 12 months in 50% new and 50% 1 year French oak. Inky purple in color, the wine has a lovely bouquet of wood smoke, cedar, violets, blueberry, and black cherry. Firm and well-balanced, it has superb depth, sweet, fruit, and a lengthy finish. Give it 3-4 years to evolve and drink it through 2025." 91 Points, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate #174 (Dec 2007)
2005 Penny's Hill Shiraz McLaren Vale
$ 26.99"A long-term proposition is the inky/purple-hued, elegant, medium to full-bodied 2005 Shiraz. Not as fruit-forward as its less expensive sibling, it reveals attractive notes of black fruits interwoven with spicy oak, flowers, and earth. Cellar this moderately tannic Shiraz for 1-2 years, and drink it over the following 10-12." 90 points - Robert Parker's The Wine Advocate, Issue 167 "Inky ruby. Classic syrah aromas of dark berries, black olive and smoked meat, with a gentle graphite undertone. Tightly focused and linear, with vivid red and dark berry flavors, silky texture and easygoing tannins. Finishes with very good cut and lift-not to mention surprising elegance. The graphite element recurs on the back." 90 points - Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar, Jul/Aug 08
2005 Slipstream Fastback Shiraz
$ 27.992005 Slipstream Fastback Shiraz: Importer Ben Hammerschlag makes this wine from his estate in Australia. Firm, juicy and beautifully focused, packing in blueberry, plum and sweet spice flavors under a blanket of refined tannins. Needs time to develop, but it's a keeper. Best from 2009 through 2015. 700 cases made. 500 cases imported. 91 Points, Wine Spectator, March 27, 2007 2005 Slipstream Fastback Shiraz: The 2005 Shiraz The Fastback, which was made by Reid Bosward, exhibits an inky/purple color in addition to a sweet perfume of blueberries, blackberries, and pepper. Richly fruity, nicely extracted, medium to full-bodied, elegant, and long, it should drink well for 2-5 years. 90 Points, Robert Parker's, Wine Advocate #167 (Oct 2006) Slipstream is essentially the negociant label (although it includes some estate fruit) from importer Ben Hammerschlags home estate in McLaren Vale. This young, 35-year-old, who has done so much for Australian wine, expects to release wines under an estate name (the name of which I do not yet know) beginning with the 2006 vintage. These releases include the Fastback Shiraz from his estate, a Sauvignon Blanc from Western Australia, and a Shiraz/Grenache that is a blend of fruit from his own estate and elsewhere. Ruby-red. Vibrant redcurrant and raspberry aromas are complicated by toasty oak spice and cured meat. Vibrant, finely etched red berry flavors are pure and precise, with a fresh kick of acidity on the back adding cut. Finishes urgent and tangy, with silky tannins and excellent persistence. There's nothing outsized about this. These vines are planted in importer Ben Hammerschlag's own vineyard. 90 Points, Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar, Jul/Aug 07
2005 Rusden Driftsand (Grenache-Shiraz) Barossa
$ 27.99"The 2005 Grenache (60%) Shiraz (40%) Driftsand was aged for 18 months in neutral French oak. Medium ruby-colored, it delivers a fragrant perfume of lavender, sage, strawberry, and rhubarb. Supple and sweet, with no hard edges, this easy-going blend, lacking only complexity, can be savored over the next 6-8 years." 90 points - Robert Parker's The Wine Advocate, Issue 173 "Rusden is owned by Dennis and Christian Canute with the talented Christian serving as winemaker. The vines were planted in the early 1970s in the tenderloin of the Barossa. Christian Canute has a unique ability to produce wines of great finesse combined with the intensity and power obtained from Barossa Valley fruit." Robert Parker's The Wine Advocate, Issue 173
2005 Monteviejo Proprietary Red Valle de Uco Mendoza
$ 27.99"Red Proprietary blend from Bodega Monteviejo; made of 60% Malbec, 20% Syrah, 10% Merlot, and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon. Big, ripe and explosive; a deep, dark, dense wine for the Aussie and CA drinker that is intrested in trying elsewhere. We'd tasted and ordered the 2004 and this one arrived by, what we thought until tasting, a mistake, one we were happy to have occurred. Think L'Aventure in Argentina!" 93 Points - Rhett Beiletti, B-21 Wine Company "The 2005 Monteviejo is a blend of 60% Malbec, 20% Syrah, 10% Merlot, and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon. It was aged for 16 months in new French oak. Inky purple, it offers aromas of toasty oak, espresso, mocha, black cherry and blueberry. On the palate it exhibits a smooth texture, layers of spicy blue and black fruit flavors, light tannin, excellent balance, and a 45-second finish. It will evolve for several years in the bottle but can be enjoyed now with a charcoal grilled Argentinian rib-eye." 90+ points - Robert Parker's The Wine Advocate, Issue 174
2005 Emiliana Coyam Colchagua Valley
$ 29.99"Concentrated, with a layer of creamy toast leading the way for blackberry and boysenberry fruit, dark cocoa, graphite and sweet tobacco. Has a lot of fruit in reserve, but also shows a nice note of terroir on the finish. Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Carmenère, Merlot and Petit Verdot. Organic. Drink now through 2009. 9,500 cases made." 90 points - Wine Spectator, May 31, 2007 "The 2005 Coyam is composed of 45% Syrah, 27% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Merlot, 11% Carmenere, and 3% Petit Verdot. It was made with organically grown grapes and was aged in a mix of French and American oak. It exhibits an attractive array of pepper, vanilla, clove, cassis, and black fruit aromas. There is ample ripe fruit, very good flavors with some complexity, but the finish is quite firm bordering on hardness. Time is likely to round this wine out at which point my score will appear to be conservative." 90 points - Robert Parker's The Wine Advocate, Issue 171
2005 Robert Mondavi Chardonnay Reserve (Carneros)
$ 29.99"Right now my preference between Mondavis Reserve and regular Chard is the regular. This is a better wine, from a classic Chablisian point of view, but it needs time. Its firm and deep in fruit, with an impressive minerality, and the balance for aging. Lay this Chardonnay down for two to four years as it gains some bottle complexity." 92 points - Wine Enthusiast, September 1, 2007 "If not among the more flamboyant and blustery Chardonnays of the month, the latest Mondavi Reserve is a direct, well-fruited working that counts clean, candied-apple fruit, sweet oak and good balance among its achievements. It is moderately rich and ends with a nice touch of crispness, and it can take a bit of age even if very tasty right now." 90 points - Connoisseurs' Guide to California Wine, February 2008 "Good pale yellow color. Aromas of apricot, peach, tangerine, smoke, nuts and butter. Sweet but firm, with lovely grapefruity acidity framing and lifting the peach and spice flavors. This should age more slowly than the 2004 bottling. The 2005 growing season featured longer hang time and cooler weather at harvest-time, noted associate winemaker Gustavo Gonzalez, but part of this wine's malolactic fermentation was blocked, as it has been for the past ten years or so." 90(+?) points - Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar, May/Jun 07
2008 Chateau Fleur Cardinale (Saint-Emilion) »FUTURES«
$ 29.99The 2008 possesses a deep ruby/purple color as well as complex aromatics of graphite, cedar, blackberries, black currants, and subtle background oak. Dense, with abundant fruit, soft, ripe tannin, and a long, heady finish, I am not sure it is as powerful, rich, or as potentially long-lived as the 2005, but it will be drinkable at a much earlier age, and should evolve for 15 or more years. This 45-acre vineyard owned by the Decoster family has produced fabulous wines over recent years. In 2008, yields were the lowest to date, 35 hectoliters per hectare, and the final blend is 70% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc, and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon. Only 5,000 cases have been produced because of the tiny yields and strict selection. The winemaking is overseen by Jean-Philippe Fort (Michel Rollands right-hand man) as well as Jean-Luc Thunevin. 91-93 Points, Robert Parkers' Wine Advocate, Issue#182. The term wine future refers to buying wine shortly after it is made at the winery, but before it is bottled and shipped. Buying wine futures allows you to lock in a significantly discounted price relative to what the wine will sell for on general release. When the wine arrives at B-21, customers who purchased futures will be notified that the wine is ready for shipment. 2008 Bordeaux will begin arriving in 2011.
2006 Sbragia Chardonnay Gamble Ranch (Napa)
$ 29.99"Even better than the 2005 is the 2006 Chardonnay Gamble Ranch, which reveals more honeyed tropical fruit, a brioche/roasted hazelnut character, and a notion of citrus oil. This beauty should drink well for 2-3 years." 92-94 points - Robert Parker's The Wine Advocate, Issue 174 "Big, rich and creamy, with toasty oak, fig, melon and a hint of butterscotch, ending with flavors that fan out in a complex manner. Drink now through 2011. 1,380 cases made." 91 points - Wine Spectator Web Only 2008
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