The Squeeze Factor, Pessac-Leognan, Domaine Lafond Tavel, Cantina Parroco Barbera d' Alba, Calvet-Thunevin "les Dentelles"

Greetings from all of us in New London,
Thames River Wine & Spirits - 860-443-9463
Thames River Greenery - 860-443-6817
Brie & Bleu - 860- 437-2474
IMPORT - 860-443-6817



We have a great weekend planned - take a look at the wines for Friday. They are listed just below these items of interest.
But I have to start - with a thank you or two.


• Thank you to Mr. Devin McGarry for hosting a beautiful luncheon for us in Farmington last Tuesday.
It was held at a well known restaurant, right on the river.
They set a table for us in a private dining room on the second floor with windows facing the water.
The occasion was to taste the "portfolio" from Christian Mouiex. The Mouiex family brings us wine like:
Dominus, Chateau Magdelaine, Chateau Hosanna, and Chateau Marzelle.
I wanted to throw my arms around this guy and give him a big kiss - it was a great afternoon.

You might be asking yourself - what do these people do - go to a private wine & food thing every week???

Well, we do not.
We turn down a lot of offers.
It would be easy to arrange to be wined and dined a couple of times a week if we wanted to - thanks to you, we have their attention.

There could be a parade of well dressed people serving us wine from around the world - all the time.
Wine after wine, they are all well made, nice package, cute little story - and we do admire their quality - but that's it.
Mostly, these wines fail to slip their hands down our pants and give us a squeeze.

For us, It is like tracking the elusive White Rhino.
When we accept an offer we are hoping to discover something special -
These are the wines we want to share with you - the discoveries that have the "Squeeze Factor."

• A big thank you to Mr. Michael Kane - a wine authority of the highest order. His encyclopedic knowledge helped to make the private dinner hosted by Joe Mascaro last Thursday evening a wonderful experience - a Master-class - on the wine of France. Remember, all you have to do is ask - we can arrange private affairs for you too.


• The first series of wine dinner menus have been posted - take a look on the calendar of events page.
The first set is for Wednesday night's. After listening to all of the requests and comments we have kicked it up a notch -
Many of you wanted higher end wines with better food pairings - you got it.

In addition to the Wednesday night dinners, we will be posting other menus for theme dinners that will be on other nights with varying price points.
They will be posted very soon - keep an eye on the calendar page and right here in the email. It will also be posted on out blog - if you have not see our blog in a while, take a look. We are able to add photos as well as additional postings that are not always in the email.
You can find it here: http://newlondonwine.blogspot.com/


• Our video series "WineRadio" is becoming quite popular -
We get somewhere in the neighborhood of a thousand downloads a week from the iTunes site. Amazing really, when you think about it.
you can visit the iTunes site here: http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=251715986

Or you can see some of the interviews on the WineRadio section of our calendar of events page - it is towards the bottom.
Calendar of Events Page: http://thamesriver.com/wine/calendar.html


• Brie & Bleu continues to expand it's dinner specials and wine by the glass selections.
A customer pointed out that we have the smallest wine list and the largest selection of any restaurant in Connecticut - all at once.
Keep in mind that she was on her second glass of Duckhorn Merlot at the time, but her point is well taken.
We offer a small, frequently changing, list of wine by the glass - most often not available by the glass at other restaurants.
And they are priced as close to the retail level as possible.
But if you prefer, we encourage you to visit our wine cellar to make a selection and then bring it back to your table.
We do not have a "corkage" fee - and we will set you up with everything you need to enjoy.

• ALVA Gallery announces a new exhibition -- Nancy Friese: New Works from Nature.
A Gallery Talk and Artist reception will take place at 5:30 pm on Saturday, June 30, on view through July 28. - www.alvagallery.com


Wine Tasting Please Join Us
Friday June 22 - 6-9 p.m. - No Charge

1 - Chateau Pontac Monplaisir Graves blanc 2001 $18
White Bordeaux from Pessac-Leognan, a blend of sauvignon blanc and semillon, Same appellation as the legendary Haut Brion, called graves because of gravel deposits from Gironde river. Old fashioned French white wine - the kind that is written about in stories of France with bistros and cafés. This is perfect stuff to get the party going, easy to drink and great with appetizers. Very hard to beat at this price.

2 - Domaine Lafond Tavel 2005 $14
Pascal Lafond's beautifully made wines from Tavel, Lirac and Chateauneuf-du-Pape are among the finest values the region has to offer. This 65-hectare family-run estate, located in the rosé-only appellation of Tavel, produces what is widely considered (by Robert Parker, among others) to be the best Tavel available. A deep, vivid pink color Tavel rosé has an umistakably complex bouquet, and this one dazzles with its floral, fruit, and fresh aromas.
We recently featured this wine, and we have had the opportunity to re-stock - so if you missed it the first time around, please try it. A great choice for your summer table.

3 - Cantina Parroco Barbera d' Alba 2004 $16
This is a great bottle of wine that has a deep, rich color and a lot of finesse for the price - try it with aged cheese, salami, beef that has been carefully braised - Perfect for casual summer dinners out on the patio or deck. It might also fuel a winning game of Bocce Ball.

4 - Calvet-Thunevin "les Dentelles" 2003 Cotes du Roussillon Villages $32
They do not make much of this wine. The entire production for distribution around the world is about 7,000 bottles. It comes from one of the oldest viticultural areas of France, vines in the Roussillon were cultivated by the Romans, and perhaps even before that. the vineyards are extremely steeply terraced, there is no choice but to harvest by hand. You will want to try this wine if only for the history behind it.


Thanks for all of the comments, the emails, and your continued support - we all appreciate it.
Please say hello when you stop in. We hope to see you this Friday.

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




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