Thames River Wine & Spirits - 860-443-9463
Brie & Bleu - 860-437-2474
Thames River Greenery - 860-443-6817
IMPORT - http://www.thamesriver.com/trg/featured.html
Coming Soon - City News - http://www.thamesriver.com/citynews/index.html
It is a very busy week here - So we have just a couple of items of interest before we list the wines for our tasting on Friday night.
And there are a couple real favorites on the list, be sure to arrive early - they will go quickly.
• You may have seen the photos of our stores in Sundays local paper - we hosted the now annual display of Ballerina's dancing in the store front windows as part of the Light & Song celebration: http://theday.com/re_print.aspx?re=e99e87b0-e00c-4aa7-9685-f5187103faf0
• The Sunday New York Times has a nice article in the Holiday Magazine Section, on page 100, about Grower Champagne. Now - how long have we been singing the praises of Grower Champagne? - Their list of favorites is virtually a menu of what we have on our shelves right now. Please take a look the next time you visit the store - and if you would like to see the article, here is a link to the story titled Brut Force: http://www.nytimes.com/indexes/2007/12/02/style/t/index.html?8dpc#pageName=02ssfairAnd if you still have not seen our most recent interviews with the Grower Champagne Maestro, Terry Theise, take a look on the WineRadio section of our calendar of events page - it will enlighten you on the magic that's in the bottle. Here: http://www.thamesriver.com/wine/calendar.html
• Dave's Fave - Monday Tasting - No Charge Santa Ema Merlot Reserve 2005 $12
Dave Says: First off, in Beaujolais Nouveau news, three small grower-producer Nouveaux have arrived via boat (the Duboeuf came via their fleet of old Concordes). What are they like, you ask? Never fear - I and fellow Wine Consultant (Hartford Courant's language) Adam Demorest have volunteered to sample and compare all of them over the weekend, so by the time you read this, we will be awash in New-Found Nouveau Know-How.
And for Monday, "We ARE SO drinking Merlot!!!" Santa Ema Reserva is a big stunner from Chile with a small table-wine price. So don't neglect this grape because of the rantings of a fictional cinema nebbish: come on in and try it Monday!
Wine Tasting - Please Join Us Friday December 7 - 6-9 p.m. - No Charge
1 -Clos Des Papes Chateauneuf du Pape BLANC 2006 $70 -
Rated 95 points Wine Spectator
Alain Junguenet made a name for himself as a Grand Prix racecar driver, before turning his passion for wine and his friendship with many of France’s foremost vignerons into a second career that was to bring him much more notoriety. “The name Alain Junguenet on a bottle,” wrote Robert Parker in December, 1991, “is an indication of a fine wine that is probably under-valued in terms of its quality,” and that remains all the more true today.
This is what Wine Spectator has to say about this wine: "Supertight and pure, with blanched almond, star fruit, acacia and lemon verbena notes all gliding along a bright, minerally frame. Lingering hints of orange blossom, honeysuckle and lime add further complexity. Should age beautifully."
Their red wine was rated number 1 on the Wine Spectator Top 100 list - This is a wine you really will not want to miss - please try it on Friday night.
2 - Byron Santa Maria Valley Pinot Noir 2005 $27 www.byronwines.com
The Byron name is familiar to you because it is often on the top rated lists of all the noted publications. The Santa Maria Valley is an appellation apart, 300 miles south of Napa Valley, 150 miles north of Los Angeles. Byron Vineyard and Winery was founded in 1984 by winemaker Ken Brown. With years of experience as a winemaker in Santa Barbara County, Ken recognized the region's potential for great wines in the Burgundian style, and was the first winemaker to introduce Rhone-style grape varieties to the area.
With the aid of noted architect R. Scott Johnson, who designed the Opus One winery in Napa Valley and San Francisco's Transamerica building, Ken designed a multi-level winery that replaces pumping with gravity flow, resulting in more complex, dynamic wines. The result is a remarkably smooth wine. This wine displays aromas of dark plum and dark cherry, accented by hints of brown sugar, brown spice, vanilla, and smoke. The flavor profile has a core of dark cherry and dark plum with hints of clove and brown spices, backed by a smoky finish. An absolutely excellent food wine - you will be a hero when you serve this to your family and friends over the holidays. Try it on Friday night and see why we have made this a "house favorite" here at the store.
3 - Masi Campofiorin Ripasso 2002 $16
Ripasso is an Italian red wine from Valpolicella made by fermenting young wine with the skins and lees left over from making Amarone.
The Boscaini family have been the owners of the Masi vineyards for six generations. Masi is a specialized producer of premium wines from the Venetian area. This led writer Hugh Johnson to refer to Masi as "a touchstone for Verona wines. Masi rediscovered and refined the technique of double fermentation using semi-dried grapes. This speciality of Masi, resulting from the refermentation of wine from fresh Veronese red grapes with a percentage of semi-dried grapes of the same varietals , splendidly encompasses the qualities of the Verona area: the excellence of the zone, the highly individual style of the indigenous Veronese grape varieties, and the originality of the techniques of "appassimento" (semi-drying) and double fermentation by Masi. It combines simplicity and grace with power and majesty. It is rich, full-bodied, round and velvety, and has an aging potential of 10 to 15 years."
This is a great bottle of wine for the price. We drink it ourselves and I think that after you try it on Friday night it may become a favorite of yours too. Here is a link to a photo of the family - look at these folks - they care about what they make: http://www.masi.it/agricola/components_table/FAMIGLIA_PAGE.pag
4 - Beckman Estate Cabernet 2004 $24
This is still our best selling California Cabernet, all estate fruit, only 1500 cases made. For the life of us we cannot figure out why the price has not gone through the roof. The name Beckman has been whispered around as the "next big thing" for a while now. Awed and inspired by a perfect convergence of soil, microclimate, wind and sun - Tom Beckmen purchased a stunning, unplanted 365-acre hillside property overlooking the Santa Ynez Valley in 1996. Respect for the land is a fundamental element of the Beckmen Vineyards philosophy. In this spirit, beginning in 2006, Steve Beckmen began farming 100 percent of the Purisima Vineyard biodynamically. In the years since Beckmen first started farming Purisima Mountain Vineyard, it has proved to be an ideally situated property that consistently bears superior fruit. The stellar vineyard, together with Tom and Steve Beckmen's approach to winegrowing and their innovative viticultural practices, represents a coming of age for Santa Barbara County winegrowing.
For lovers of Cabernet you will not want to miss this one. The nose of this wine is almost bottomless with aromas of jammy black cherry, earth, and chocolate. Flavors start off big and follow up with a seductively long finish. Please try it on Friday.
Your support during this holiday season is tremendous - thank you all for shopping locally, we appreciate it.
Thank you for all of the comments and suggestions - we are listening and there is a lot on the way.
Please Join Us -
It's fun, informal, and a great way to start your weekend.
AAA
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