Italian Powerhouse - Highest Rating - Ever?

Hypnotized card
available at City News

Greetings From New London

This Friday night we will be pouring one of the highest rated wines - In our history. A powerhouse from Italy. The list is just below a few items of interest.

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City News - Cigar Society Update:
On Saturday April 18 6:30 - 9:00 p.m.
Cigar Aficioando Magazine hosts The Big Smoke - MGM Grand at Foxwoods. City News will be right in the middle of all the action. If you are interested in joining us at the show - you must call us and reserve a place and for all of the details.
Tickets will include:
More than 25 handmade premium cigars
A large variety of premium spirits
A delicious buffet
A welcome area for smoking & meeting the Cigar Makers.

Call - 8 6 0 - 4 4 3 - 6 8 1 7

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Italian Dinner Number Two - is sold out.
T H A N K Y O U
Date For The Next Dinner
Will Be Announced Soon
Reservations - 8 6 0 - 4 4 3 - 6 8 1 7
(This is a three dinner series.)

Dinners will be held at City News 70 State Street
Right next door to Thames River Greenery.
8 6 0 - 4 4 3 - 6 8 1 7

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Wine Tasting
Please Join Us
Friday April 4 - 6-9 p.m. - No Charge

1 - Disznoko Tokaji Dry 2006 $18
Made from 100% Furmint, the grape bunches are harvested at the time of full ripening, but before Botrytis development. The culsters are put into crates and brought to the winery, where they are gently pressed, allowed to settle, and fermented in stainless steel tanks.
The wine has a golden-yellow hue with a crisp, young appearance. Very harmonious, elegant in the mouth, and beside the fruity fragrances its aroma reminds of acacia flower with spicy citrus. Its taste is light, fresh and fruity, with notes of apricot, orange and orange skin.


2 - Louis Latour Domaine de Valmoissine
Pinot Noir 2006 $15

This wine shines with a nice pale purple-red color. Forest strawberries, herbes de Provence and cherries pair with bright acidity and supple tannins. Hints of licorice and plums linger on the finale. It is fresh and supple with elegant tannins.

The Domaine de Valmoissine is located on the site of the ancient monastery and university of Valmoissine at 500 metres above sea-level which guarantees sunshine during the summer months whilst remaining cool and limits the possibility of spring frosts. The grapes are entirely hand-picked before being fermented in stainless steel open-vats for a short period of 4-5 days. Pigeage will take place 2-3 times a day to extract color and tannins.

3 - Can Blau Monsant 2007 $18

91 points from Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar: "Dark purple. Sexy aromas of blackberry, blueberry, Asian spices and smoked meat. Supple and open-knit, with sweet dark berry preserve flavors, velvety texture and good mineral bite. Manages to be both nervy and concentrated, with very good finishing clarity and cut. Leaves strong blue fruit notes behind and repeats the spicy quality."

90+ points from Robert Parker's Wine Advocate:
"The 2007 Can Blau is purple-colored with a nose of cedar, mineral, baking spices, blueberry, and black cherry. This leads to a full-bodied wine with layers of flavor, enough structure to evolve for 2-3 years, and a pure, fruit-filled finish. It will be at its peak from 2010 to 2018." (08/08) 90 points Wine & Spirits: "This wine's sweet flavors of blueberries and cloves meld into the smoky notes of oak. It's a robust and tannic wine with powerfully concentrated flavors of wild forest fruits. Still young, it needs at least a couple years in the bottle to mellow." (02/09)

4 - Vitanza Brunello di Montalcino 2001 $70

"Beautiful aromas of blackberry and dried flowers with just a hint of toasted oak. Full-bodied, with fine tannins and a mineral, vanilla and berry aftertaste. Excellent as always. Best after 2010. 1,300 cases made. -JS" -Rated 93, Wine Spectator




"This deeply-colored 2001 Brunello di Montalcino from Vitanza displays an array of super-ripe jammy berry, licorice, smoke and toasted oak nuances. Ample and caressing on the palate, it offers outstanding length and fine overall balance, with an attractive note of sweetness on the finish. A few years of cellaring should help integrate some of the oak tannins that are present today. Anticipated maturity: 2008-2016." -Rated 90, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

"A modern Brunello with dark, inky concentration and toasted wood notes that underscore cracked black pepper, spicy cherry wood, charcoal and chocolate-covered strawberries. As soft, cushiony and velvety as your most comfortable couch, with a powerful tannin punch at the end. - W.E. (4/1/2006)" -Rated 92, Wine Enthusiast

"Cherries and leather, intriguing. Quite tanninc but fruit underneath and overall well-structured. Drink 2011-16. " -Rated 3 Stars, Decanter

"Good deep red-ruby. Deep aromas and flavors of dark berries and nutty oak. Round, lush and rich but dry; full-bodied, broad and pliant. The fruit flavors are downright seductive today even if this wine is very young. Finishes long and ripely tannic. Some bottle aging should bring greater complexity. " -Rated 91, Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar

Thank you all for the comments and suggestions - we appreciate it.

And we are pleased to be pouring such an exceptional Italian wine this week - we hope to see you there.

Please join us. It's fun, informal and a great way to start your weekend.

AAA.

City News, André Danford, Sella Mosca, Astica Torrontes,Hesketh The Protagonist,Kynsi Pinot Noir, Vitanza Brunello

State Street Looking East - circa 1910
Vintage Post Cards Available At City News

City News Now Open - Every Morning

Greetings from all of us in New London,
The list for Friday night is just below a few items of interest, and it includes an amazing $6 find - take a look.

* We have also added an anonymouse comment section at the bottom of the newsletter - please take a minute too let us know what we can do better to serve you.

Start your day with a business meeting over scones and lattés or spend the afternoon answering email using our free wireless connection, City News is open every morning - The perfect place to meet or just mind your own business.

Located next to Thames River Greenery, just one block from the train station at 70 State Street. Featuring Big City newspapers, magazines, coffee, candy, refreshments, fine cigars & tobacco, New London souvenirs, vintage & regular NL post cards, travel & personal necessities and much more.

Call 8 6 0 - 4 4 3 - 9 4 6 3

Mind Body & Soul

André Danford has been our Director of Entertainment for almost 30 years. He has recorded and toured with with some of the biggest names in the business and this Friday night you can see him Live In New London. Start your evening with us at the weekly tasting, have a bite to eat at Brie & Bleu and then make your way to Stash's by the Pfizer rotary for an evening of music and dancing.

Bonus - Present the coupon below for a free copy of his latest CD "Tall Cotton" - while they last.

Dave's Fave
The Monday Tasting 10.20.08
Sella and Mosca Cannonau di Sardegna
Riserva 2005 $15

One of our regular customers just stared at me when I told her the wine she had just bought and enjoyed was now gone.
I explained that our running-dog lackey sales people don't really care and would rather we bought omnipresent corpo-swill wines just to make it easier on everybody.

I shook my fist at the ceiling, "Arghhh! Forsake not the meager shopkeeps who seek the great wines of the world!" With a great wail, I collapsed. Picking myself up off the floor, still she stared, arms folded. I checked the computer, "Oh wait, hey we just got another case today."

I relate this tale to make the simple point: it ain't easy. A wine we adore is dropped, forgotten, or maliciously heaved by somebody in the supply chain every day. Then there are the happy surprises - the light, lyrical red Cannonau di Sardegna was one of our favorites for years. We sold the last bottle of the 2002 vintage in March and it was gone. Surprise, it's back! Straight to the 2005 vintage for no apparent reason. Daunted? Nay, not I! Let's crack one open Monday. DA.
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The Friday Tasting - Please Join Us
Friday October 24 - 6 - 9 p.m. - No Charge

1 - Astica Torrontes 2007 $6 (!)

After a day of horseback riding in the Andes, I was sitting in a big lounge chair that had placed on the lawn of the Estancia.

Looking north, I stared out into the vast, beautiful nothingness that is the Pampas of Argentina. Jose was in a field digging up potatoes for lunch, while a Gaucho cooked Empanadas on a hot rock and wood fire.

Wild horses ran up and down the foot hills chasing one another, while big furry cows meandered through the tall grass and thistle drinking from a small stream of glacier run-off from the mountains.

A dark haired woman in riding boots offered me a glass of white wine, "Quieres, Senor Guapo?" It was a perfect moment in my life. Torrontes, perfect for a sunny day on the Pampas with friends.

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2 - Hesketh The Protagonist Shiraz 2005 $18

Fruit for this wine is sourced from mature low yielding vineyards located on the northern (Kalimna & Ebenezer) and western (Seppeltsfield) sub regions of the Barossa Valley.

Fruit is picked at optimum ripeness, with individual parcels matched to a selection of American oak where it matures for two years prior to bottling.

This wine is so named for a number of reasons.

Firstly, Shiraz and Barossa Valley Shiraz in particular, has been the principal leader of the Australian wine industry internationally. Secondly, the name is an apt description for the role Jonathon Hesketh's father Robert played in the industry in the 70's, 80' and early 90's.

Thirdly, it's a good strong name for a good strong wine. Finally - it matches Hamish Macdonalds artwork which has a strong central character.

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3 - Kynsi Pinot Noir 2005 $38

Kynsi is a small family winery located in the temperate Edna Valley Appellation of San Luis Obispo on the Central Coast of California.

Don and Gwen Othman, the winemaker/proprietors, focus on producing vineyard designated wines, sourcing their grapes from select coastal vineyards.

Their passion for quality from the vineyard to the bottle is manifested in lush, generously complex, elegantly balanced wines that reflect distinctive terrior and varietal character.

Tasting Notes, " A heady fragrance of red roses, blackberry, pomegranate and star anise that repeat on the palate with rich blood orange, plum and vanilla." Only 480 cases produced.

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4 - Vitanza Brunello Di Maontacino 2001 $70 2001

This wine has been resting comfortably in our cellar for a year now and is drinking quite well.

In these uncertain times, when there have been so many irregularities (fraud) in Brunello production, isn't it nice to be able to buy a well made wine from a trusted producer that has been throughly vetted by your own friendly neighborhood wine shop?

93 Points Wine Spectator "Beautiful aromas of blackberry and dried flowers with just a hint of toasted oak. Full-bodied, with fine tannins and a mineral, vanilla and berry aftertaste. Excellent as always. Best after 2010. 1,300 cases made."-JS
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We Really Want Your Comments & Suggestions

If you have an extra minute we would appreciate your comments. All comments are completely anonymous and you can add them HERE
We look forward to hearing from you.

Please join us. It's fun, informal, and a great way to start your weekend.

AAA.