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".....this is the best Beaujolais Nouveau I've
ever had."
"A Joan Jett song sums up my feelings about this wine: "I Hate Myself For
Loving You." Like the rest of the Wine Review Online team, I can't stand the
marketing hype for Beaujolais Nouveau, which is basically a barrel sample.
When I lived in Japan people would pay more than $30 a bottle for it -- it's
even on allocation. There are huge parties all over the world for it, and
they're the biggest wine parties some people ever attend. And it's a barrel
sample! To be fair, though, this is the best Beaujolais Nouveau I've ever
had, the product of a long, warm, dry summer that got the grapes more ripe
than usual. It's surprisingly sophisticated for a nouveau, with crushed red
plum flavor, notes of licorice and violet, and very mild tannins. It would
be good with Thanksgiving dinner, and appropriate as a product of this
year's harvest. I wrung my hands before scoring it; philosophically, I'd
rather drink a finished wine, but I did really like this, and it is the best
of its type I've ever had. ($11)
90 points, WIneReviewOnline.com, W. Blake Gray, November 17, 2009
2009 Beaujolais Nouveau, Georges Duboeuf, 750ml
$11.00 - Good Wine Stores
$7.23 - Pop's Single Bottle Price
$7.23 - Pop's Mixed Case Price
$86.85 - Pop's Case Price
I love this review.....
90 points too!!
"This leads with surprisingly complex scents of anise, verbena
and parsley. The palate is all about freshness, simple and direct, with a
saline spine informing citrusy limeade flavors, marked with lively acidity.
A natural for a fiery Phuket curry."
90 points, Wine & Spirits Magazine, November, 2009
2008 Kungfu Girl Riesling, Washington State (Charles Smith Wines), 750ml
$16.89 - Good Wine Stores
$15.20 - Pop's Single Bottle Price
$13.51 - Pop's Mixed Case Price
$152.01 - Pop's Case Price
They say $17 (Wine News) we say $11+, when bought
by the case!
.....92 points too!
They say "a remarkably low priced offering" at $17 per bottle. At $11+ what
word should we substitute for remarkable?
"Vibrant purple hue. Uplifting blackberry aromas followed by notes of
mint, toasted oak and vanilla coffee bean. Tasty layers of black fruit laced
with smoky oak and anise-like richness. A remarkably low-priced, well-made
offering drinking nicely right now." $17
92 points, Wine News, September/October/November, 2009
2007 Louis Martini Cabernet Sauvignon, Sonoma County, 750ml
$15.09 - Good Wine Stores
$13.58 - Pop's Single Bottle Price
$12.07 - Pop's Mixed Case Price
$135.81 - Pop's Case Price
They say $12 (Wine Advocate) we say $8+ when bought
by the case!!
90 points too!!
Thumb through the Wine Advocate looking for wines under $20..... you
won't find many. Now.... go looking for wines under $10..... see what I'm
seeing?
"I have never visited Chateau de Paraza (a prominent landmark in the
eponymous, tiny, canal-side village at the eastern extreme of its
appellation) and it had been several years since I tasted one of their
wines, but their 2007 Minervois Cuvee Speciale demonstrates that this
well-known estate can still turn out a head-turning value. Very ripe
blackberry fruit sweetly caresses the palate, with cinnamon, cardamom,
juniper, black pepper, and cherry pit bitterness adding interest. For all of
its richness (in itself amazing for the price) this finishes with
lip-smacking juiciness and an invigorating impression akin to chomping down
on the seeds of the blackberries. Enjoy it over the next 2-3 years." ($12)
90 points, The Wine Advocate, August, 2009
2007 Chateau de Paraza, Cuvee Speciale, Minervois, 750ml
$12.00 - Good Wine Stores
$9.80 - Pop's Single Bottle Price
$8.71 - Pop's Mixed Case Price
$98.01 - Pop's Case Price
 They say $85-$90 (Wine Advocate), we say $65+ when
bought by the case of six!!
.....96-99 points too!!
"The Bramare “Marchiori Vineyard” wines are from 100% estate grown
fruit located in Lujan de Cuyo. The 2006 Bramare Malbec “Marchiori
Vineyard”, tasted from a barrel sample (the wine should be bottled by the
time subscribers are reading this note), is even better than the 2005.
Vintage conditions were ideal and, for the first time, Hobbs stopped
irrigation 12 weeks before harvest, most unusual in Mendoza’s arid
conditions. There was better natural acidity with little acidulation
required. The wine offers more flavor complexity, vibrancy, and aromatic
lift, and sensational length.
The Bramare series is sourced from Lujan de Cuyo, a prime zone in Mendoza.
Some of the fruit is from Cobos’s estate vineyard, the balance from
contracted fruit. The wines at this level receive more oak, longer
macerations, and wild fermentations.
Vina Cobos is the Argentina winery of the renowned Paul Hobbs, best known
for his namesake wines from California’s North Coast. Hobbs began consulting
in South America in 1988 and, early on, became involved with Nicholas Catena
in the startup of that winery’s Chardonnay program. In 1998 he temporarily
left his consulting projects to start Vina Cobos with the first vintage
coming in 1999. In 2005 Vina Cobos constructed its own winery." ($85-$90)
96-99 points, The Wine Advocate, December, 2007
2006
Bramare Malbec, Marchioli Vineyard, Vina Cobos, 750ml
$87.85 - Good Wine Stores
$79.06 - Pop's Single Bottle Price
$70.28 - Pop's Mixed Case Price
$395.32 - Pop's Case Price (6)
 This time around the nodding of the head test went
over so well, I nearly fell out of my chair...
"As we mentioned times before, you look around the room at our
weekly wine tastings and you see a bunch of heads nodding. Kinda reminiscing
a room full of bobble head dolls, but of course with extensive perks. These
dolls get to sample fine wines!! So as planned, we attended our annual
Spanish wine tasting and found many reds and whites to be absolutely
delightful for the price they seek. One in particular, is now labeled "My
favorite Spanish value ever – simply delicious!” But before I go further, it
was about this time last year that I labeled a Chilean wine as my number #1
wine of year, and after doing so, consumers still enjoy my recommendation.
Thank you. But this year, the award goes to Jorge Ordonez (importer) as I
Sommelier-ly introduce 2008 Wrongo Dongo by Juan Gil....
I love wine with a sense of humor. 'Wrongo Dongo' means you are very wrong,
my friend!" and apparently this is wine importer Jorge Ordonez's favorite
expression. The only thing that seems mistaken about this wine is the price
- like many of my favorite wines, this is serious 'juice'. Brimming with
wild berry fruit and spice, this 100% juicy Monastrell ((Moor-VED'rr) was
born exceptionally fragrant, while the nose gives up notes of mineral, spice
box, and blueberry. Round, smooth, and easy-going on the palate, this wine
is truly first-class for all! I highly recommend you glance at the packaging
(brilliantly done with holiday flare), and then steal a case. Cause when you
look at price and design, not many can say they just purchased a wine three
times less the price then what it should sell for. Then, many will react as
I did, NEARLY FALLING OUT AFTER TASTING my newly found #1 wine of the
year..."
Michael Crafa, Certified Sommelier, Pop's Wines & Spirits,
November, 2009
2008 Wrongo Dongo, Jumilia Red Wine, 750ml
$10.15 - Good Wine Stores
$9.13 - Pop's Single Bottle Price
$8.12 - Pop's Mixed Case Price
$91.35 - Pop's Case Price |
