November 2 Wine Sales & Deals

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Winter is coming so time to stock up when the deals are hot! Later today I will be making the rounds to the following locations to stock up.

Stop 1: 1010 Washington Wine & Spirits

Website: https://www.1010wws.com/

1010 Washington Ave
Minneapolis, MN 55415

Free indoor parking: ENTER ON 11 AVE, MIDDLE OF BLOCK, EAST SIDE

What I am buying? There are some really good deals on this sale and some items that are overpriced but that is any Twin Cities Sale now a days. Usually it is $5 to $10 different but some of the other wine educators promotions typically get in to the $15 to $20 range. Let’s just put it this way I go on price not necessarily service since I am already providing the service aspect with my wine reviews/recommendations.

THE BEST DEALS!!!

2015 Tenuta di Arceno Il Fauno Di Arcanum Toscana IGT – Italy, Tuscany, Toscana IGT (10/16/2019)
Day 1: Blue currants, minerals, subtle oak, graphite, cherry and exotic spices. This wine is BALANCED. Medium plus finish and super complex. This is not only the value wine of the year but candidate for wine of the year. Beautiful!!! 93+
59% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Franc, 9% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Petit Verdot.
Day 2: Pencil lead, blue currants, minerals, mild oak, spice and floral notes. Medium plus finish. Not a power house wine but super complex. This is a tremendous value. 92 points (93 points)

$21.99 (BEST PRICE IN THE NATION!) This is a lock for top ten wine of the year in the value category & regular category as well.

2013 La Rioja Alta Rioja Viña Alberdi Reserva – Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja (10/6/2019)
Day 1: Wood, cherry, spice and leather. Pretty tight wine right now. Finish is a bit harsh. Going to need some time prior to be able to score this wine.
Day 2: Opening up big time. Raspberries, wood, spice, leather, perfume and minerals. Medium plus and intense finish. This wine will be a long term ager. 90 points
Day 3: Rewarded!!! Probably one of the better transformations of the year. White pepper, spice, leather, raspberries, floral and wood. The fruit is more pronounced on day 3. Medium to long finish and picks up subtle hints of dill. This is an amazing value for under $20. Certainly top five this year in that category. 93 points (93 points) $18.99 Same as South Lyndale

2014 Achával-Ferrer Quimera – Argentina, Mendoza, Lujan de Cuyo (10/10/2019)
One of the better values at the tasting. Blackberries, floral, minerals, spice and dark chocolate. A little bit of everything on this wine. Powerful finish.
50% Malbec, 24% Cabernet Franc, 18% Merlot and 8% Cabernet Sauvignon (91 points) $22.99 Great Price!!! Usually over $30

2009 La Rioja Alta Rioja Viña Ardanza Reserva – Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja (10/10/2019)
Top 3 wines of the night. This wine does have some dill but also features wood, raspberries, floral, minerals and leather. Complex and long finish. I love the concept La Rioja Alta lives by. Release the wines when they are entering the drinking window. This wine has another decade of enjoyment. 93 points now with 95 potential. (93 points) $29.99 Great Price!!!

2015 White Rose Estate Pinot Noir Appellation Series Dundee Hills – USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Dundee Hills (10/31/2019)
Day 1: Fragrant nose. This is the first White Rose Estate wine I have tasted. For interesting featuring soy, rose petals, minerals, cranberry, spice and dirt. I can see this wine will evolve over the course of a few days. 90 points
Day 2: Mushrooms, cranberry, soy, sweet fruits and spices. Medium plus finish. Quite complex wine and flavorful. Distinct style. 90 points
Day 3: Earth, mushrooms, soy, minerals, cranberry and spices. Medium plus finish. Similar to day 2. 90 points
Recommendation: $30 on sale a decant enough buy. Would not pay $45 for this. Should age for 5-7 years. (90 points) $29.99

2017 Emmanuel Darnaud Crozes-Hermitage Mise en bouche – France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Crozes-Hermitage (7/15/2019)
Fresh wine with minerals, cherry, blueberries, dust and pepper. Medium finish. This should age well. (90 points) $21.99

Other wines that have some really good data points at great prices.

2013 Beringer Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Private Reserve (USA, California, Napa Valley) $99.99 SOLD OUT!

2015 Beringer Vineyards Chardonnay Private Reserve (USA, California, Napa Valley) $26.99

2015 Bedrock Wine Co. Zinfandel Old Vine (USA, California) $25.99

2013 Hartford / Hartford Court Zinfandel Russian River Valley (USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley) $29.99

2016 Arterberry Maresh Pinot Noir Old Vines (USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Dundee Hills) $44.99

2015 Trisaetum Pinot Noir Willamette Valley (USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley) $24.99

DECANT PRICING

2016 Seghesio Family Vineyards Zinfandel Sonoma County – USA, California, Sonoma County (5/2/2018)
Day 1: Fruit forward but not a lot of heat which you typically find on under $25 zinfandel and sometimes over that mark. Bursting with blackberries, ripe plums, Bing cherries and smoke. Quite balanced and nice acidity. A solid effort. 91 points
Day 2: Very similar to day 1 and has not lost any of the gorgeous fruit. Picks up some nice perfume qualities and subtle spices. This is a great barbeque wine. Still 91 points.
Day 3: Still singing. Just a nice balanced wine which you don’t find often with Zinfandel at any price point. Back up the truck for a six pack for summer barbeques. 91 points.
Recommendation: Drink right now on a pop and pour or cellar up to 3/5 years. Excellent value. (91 points) $19.99

2017 Pax Syrah Sonoma Hillsides – USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley (10/2/2019)
Day 1: 12.9% alcohol. One of the more interesting wines I have tasted this year. Black and green olives, tar, roasted meats, ink, stone, white pepper and violets. On the palate picks up some blueberries and boysenberries. This possesses a long, concentrated finish. Top five wine for sure this year! Reminds me of the better wines from the Rocks district. Outstanding. 95 points
Day 2: Not as intense but still many similar qualities. Black and green olives are pronounced along with stone, violets, roasted meats, white pepper and tar. Medium to long finish. Good acidity. Just a well made enjoyable wine. Not an in your face effort like so many Syrahs out there. 93 points
Day 3: Olives, tar, gravel, spice, floral, roasted meats and white pepper. Very interesting wine and holding strong on day 3. Similar to day 2 in quality. 93 points
Recommendation: For $40 this is a no brainer wine. Drinks better than wines 2 to 3 times the price. This will drink well from now to 2025. (95 points) $44.99

2007 La Rioja Alta Rioja Gran Reserva 904 – Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja (10/11/2018)
Hennepin Lake Tasting 2018; 10/11/2018-10/14/2018 (Minneapolis, MN): Good acidity and the first pour out of bottle had that classic dill quality. One hour later at the tasting the evolution occurred and this offered wood, vanilla, red currants and minerals. Classic Rioja and love this wine on every vintage I have ever had. This might be my favorite Spanish wine for the money. (93 points) $54.99

2015 Cambria Chardonnay Bench Break (USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Maria Valley) $15.99

2014 Chateau St. Jean Chardonnay Belle Terre Vineyard (USA, California, Sonoma County, Alexander Valley) $14.99

2016 Bodega Catena Zapata Malbec Paraje Altamira (Argentina, Mendoza) $14.99

2014 Robert Mondavi Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve To-Kalon Vineyard (USA, California, Napa Valley, Oakville) $109.99

2014 Chateau St. Jean Cinq Cépages (USA, California, Sonoma County) $44.99

2012 Domaine de la Terre Rouge L’Autre (USA, California, Sierra Foothills) $29.99

2014 Dog Point Vineyard Pinot Noir (New Zealand, South Island, Marlborough) $32.99

2016 Agricola San Felice Chianti Classico (Italy, Tuscany, Chianti, Chianti Classico DOCG) $17.99

2015 Tenuta di Arceno Chianti Classico Riserva (Italy, Tuscany, Chianti, Chianti Classico DOCG) $22.99

Stop Two: Next stop Hennepin Lake Liquors

Coming off the tasting of the year for the basically every year the sale prices are not nearly as good as they used to be and I can’t figure out why. Phil does large volume so not sure why his prices seem to be more than others. A few worth buying! Don’t forget they usually have some nice free tastings on Saturdays.

2015 Robert Mondavi Winery 50th Anniversary Maestro – USA, California, Napa Valley (11/1/2019)
Day 1: Classic Napa Valley. Bright fruit featuring cherry, plum and blueberries along with spice, coffee beans, oak and graphite. This is delicious and at $30 a bottle a super steal.
65 % Cabernet Sauvignon, 16 % Merlot, 9 % Cabernet Franc, 6% Malbec, 4 % Petit Verdot. Back the truck up on this one. 93 points
Day 2: This is not as good on day 2 but still solid. Coffee beans, cherry, spice, mild oak and minerals. The pop and pour was where its at on this wine. I will revisit day 3 but this one might want to be consumed on the younger side. 90 points (93 points)

2017 Pendulum Cabernet Sauvignon – USA, Washington, Columbia Valley (10/12/2019)
Day 1: Really nice wine featuring cherry, plum, menthol, chocolate and dust. Medium finish. This represents a tremendous value. 90 points
Day 2: Solid again with cherry, plum, spice, dust and earth. This is an under $20 wine that over deliveries. 90 points
Day 3: The true test on a less expensive bottle. Still winning! Great fruit profile, menthol, spice, dust and earth. Medium plus finish and decant acidity. 90 points
Recommendation: A must buy. Put this in a blind taste test against Caymus and Silver Oak. (90 points) $18.00 with tax

NV Piper-Heidsieck Champagne Brut – France, Champagne (4/13/2019)
Candied fruit, lemon, chalk, spice and citrus fruits. Very clean wine overall and medium finish. Good acidity. A good NV batch.
Day 2: A bit better with lemon, spice, citrus and minerals. Crisp, clean wine. 91 points
Day 2.5
My wife is not a fan so I took the rest and put one in a Pinot Stem and one in the traditional Champagne stem.
Champagne Stem: Nose is a bit more expressive. Citrus, lemon, lime, dough and spice. Medium plus finish and good acidity. Very nice. 92 points
Pinot Stem: Not nearly as expressive. Good but not as focused as the Champagne Stem. I am going to do more research on using the two but the traditional Champagne stem wins this round. 90 points (91 points) $29.99

Stop 3: Costco (Burnsville)

If you only buy a case here and there Costco is one of the best places in the Twin Cities to buy wine. Prices are always competitive and they carry some nice wines. Try these out.

• 2015 Bodega Norton Privada Mendoza – Argentina, Mendoza (10/29/2019)
  Day 2: Fruit forward featuring plum, blackberries and cherry. A bit hot with cinnamon, spice and floral notes. This is not as good as previous efforts. 87 points
  Day 3: Plum, cherry, dust, spice and floral notes. Medium finish. This is better on day 3. Much better and balanced wine. 90 points
  Day 4: Berries, dust, spice, floral and mild oak. Medium finish. Good concentration and flavor. This has benefitted with time. 91 points
  Recommendation: A nice blend from Argentina for the money. $15.99 at Costco. (90 points)
• 2015 Buena Vista Chardonnay Carneros – USA, California, Napa / Sonoma, Carneros (10/25/2019)SOLD OUT
  Day 1: Honey dew melon, spice, mild oak, Carmel and tropical fruit. This is a very flavorful wine with medium plus finish. Quite complex for $9.97. One of the top values of the year for sure. 90 points
  Day 2: This is really good and one of the best Chardonnays under $10 I have ever tasted. Carmel, tropical fruit, melon, mild oak and vanilla. Tastes like a $40 Domestic Chardonnay from a good producer. Great balance and finish. 90 points (90 points) $9.99 A top value of the year!

Please comment on what you purchased this weekend! As the only wine educator that promotes the best deals in the Twin Cities it helps inspire me to stay independent and not get on the pay role of the wineries or distributors.

Cheers,

John Glas

3 Day Wine Review