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WINES MADE FOR
HEAVEN........and shelters
Earthquakes: yes, they scare us. We realize other wine-growing
regions on our lovely planet must deal with bouts of flooding and frost among
other things, but the chances of an earthquake ripping through a vineyard or
decimating a winery are not exactly ordinary job hazards relating to wine
everywhere. We used to have our “desert island wines”, but now we are
compiling a list of our “earthquake shelter wines” just to be safe. Below is
a list of wines we are currently touting for obvious reasons quoted in each
description.
CALLUNA VINEYARDS CUVEE, RED WINE, CHALK HILL 2007 $30 (Case price
$342.00)
Only 210 cases of this red wine blend were made. We consider ourselves very
fortunate that tiny wineries like this are recommended to ACME because we honestly
only have to schedule the lovely appointment, sit down and raise a glass with
the winery folks, and decide whether we think our clients are going to love a
wine like we do. In this case, the harmonious blend: 39% Cab, 30% Merlot, 27%
Cab Franc, and 9% Malbec, the price point and the production size all lend
themselves to what we feel is a slam-dunk for an everyday wine that delivers.
Speaking of delivering, if you live in Napa Valley, we deliver for free! Just
let us know the location of your earthquake shelter and we’ll be there.
TRIVIUM, “LES IVRETTES VINEYARD”, CABERNET SAUVIGNON, ST. HELENA 2006
$60 (Case price $684)
This 300 case production, hand-crafted Cabernet project is very, very
special. The story has to be one of the sweetest we’ve heard in a while;
therefore, we would like to share it with you. The name of the vineyard “Les
Ivrettes” is a French term for “Tipsy girls” which is what the partners
recall when thinking of their daughters celebrating with friends in the
vineyards. The partners? Doug Wight (daughter Haley of Hayfork which we were
honored to help launch last year) owns the famous Lewelling Ranch estate
property in St. Helena; Stu Harrison was instrumental in launching Domaine
Chandon and Opus and more recently the Continuum project; and Jack Stuart who
is the talented winemaker for this project, a veteran in winemaking in the
Napa Valley and holding accolades from his many efforts. Together, they form
a Trivium or a place where three ways meet. The fruit hails from the northwest
corner of the historic Lewelling Estate……..think Mercury Head, Hayfork,
Meander and Lewelling, of course, as only a few when imagining whether we are
serious about the pedigree, attention to detail, quality and appreciation for
great wine we have found in Trivium. This could well be one of our wines of
the year……..if we may be so bold in this first month of 2010!
EL NIDO, “CLIO”, JUMILLA, SPAIN 2007 $50 (Case price $570)
The 2007 vintage wasn’t just a great one in California and the El Nido name
is routinely interchangeable with any wine superlative we know. This is the
wine winemakers in the Valley buy when they dine at a favorite local hangout
in downtown Napa called “ZuZu”. Go in any evening and you are sure to run
into the local winemaker celebrities……..it’s our quaint, tapas-style version
of Chateau Marmont ;) Anyway, the wine is incredibly similar to that rich
sun-drenched style of Napa reds even though the blend is 70% Monastrell
(Mourvedre) and 30% Cabernet Sauvignon. We are accepting pre-orders of this
wine as it is presently making the journey from Spain to us. We have a few
six packs left and highly, highly recommend it. What? Drop a name? Okay, Les
Behrens is but one huge fan of this winery---he thinks it is one of the best
in the world---and, he already reserved his allocation with us so feel free
to grab yours before it is gone.
STANTON, PETITE SIRAH, ST. HELENA 2006 $45 (Case price $513)
Some of you already know of our not-so-secret love affair with the
Stanton wines. The Stanton family has been farming in the Napa Valley for
decades and owns quite a bit of vineyard land in Oakville and a bit in St.
Helena, too. They hired Dave Phinney to make the wines for their own label
which could possibly have been the smartest decision early on in their label
developing process since Dave seems to have achieved superstar status in the
industry at a young age with other winemakers trying to emulate his style and
other business owners dying to know his secrets of success. Juicy, rich,
mouth-filling Petite Sirah is what you’ll get here. It is quite the
earthquake bonus pack when combined with his 2006 Cabernet from Oakville at
$75/btl, too!
LET’S TALK ABOUT SOME AFFORDABLE WHITES FOR YOUR TABLE OR GATHERING:
LONEN, CHARDONNAY, CALIFORNIA 2008 $10 (Case price $114)
If this isn’t a great value, we don’t know what is! This somewhat new
project to us is lush and ripe and toasty---aren’t those the qualities we
look for in most of our wines? Great for parties, weddings and everyday
drinking!
WORTHY, SAUVIGNON BLANC, “FIVE CLONES” 2008 $28 (Case price $319.20)
A Gus Kalaris wine with direction from Bob Egelhoff, master winemaker, this
blend of vineyards and clones is a great Sauvignon Blanc selection offering
balanced flavors of lemon-lime, peach and apricot and a creamy yet bright
finish that lingers on and on………..great for food pairings when looking for
something new!
LAST CALL:
DANA ESTATE---with the recent Parker scores, this incredible
wine estate we found last vintage in its inaugural release has just entered
into unobtainable territory………..except through us and a few other places who
knew how special the Philippe Melka project was before the scores catapulted
them into the stratosphere. We aren’t patting our backs at all. We would have
been quite satisfied keeping them a secret as long as possible. We sent their
2005 Helms Vineyard to our Kahuna Club members in January of 2009 and it has
been a hit with our luxury club members ever since. Collectors: looking for
that next big wine? This is it! We have the following left in our allocation
which turns into a pumpkin on January 31st at midnight:
2006 Dana Estate, Cabernet Sauvignon, Helms Vineyard $275/btl (3
three packs available in beautiful cedar wooden boxes: $825/3pk)
2006 Dana Estate, Cabernet Sauvignon, Lotus Vineyard $275/btl (4
three packs available in cedar boxes: $825/3pk)
KEPLINGER, GRENACHE, RED SLOPE, KNIGHTS VALLEY 2007 $50 (Watch
out world---Helen Keplinger is here---studied under Heidi Barrett and is well
on her way to reaching house-hold name status!)
KEPLINGER, SYRAH, KINGPIN ROWS, KNIGHTS VALLEY 2007 $50 (Keplinger
wines $570 by the 12 pack case)
BEAU VIGNE, RESERVE, CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2007 $100 (6 BOTTLE
PURCHASE: $570)
BONANNO, CABERNET SAUVIGNON, STAGS LEAP DISTRICT 2007 $21 (AN
ACME FAVORITE! Case price: $239.40)
VOLTA, CABERENT SAUVIGNON, NAPA VALLEY 2005 $60 (END OF THE
VINTAGE! $684 by the 12pk case)
*****As a special today, we are SPOTLIGHTING CARTER CELLARS and
their COLISEUM BLOCK, CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2007 $125. We are
happy to hear the famous Carter House Inn is still standing. We would like to
offer a half-case discount to purchases today--just mention this ACMeLOG.
Let ACME host your private tasting when you come
to the Valley! We are your one-stop shop for trying wines that do not have
tasting rooms! SCHEDULE WITH US NOW…………..we’re having a blast—come join us!
888.963.0440
FRIDAY
NIGHT COMPLIMENTARY WINEMAKER POURINGS:
January
Jan 15: Matthew (winemaker: Araujo) & Sean Taylor: Matthew D. Taylor
Jan 22: Aaron Pott pouring Pott Wines
Jan 29: Tuck Beckstoffer pouring 75 Wine Company wines
February
Feb 05: Tor Kenward pouring Tor selections
Feb 12: Pam Starr pouring Crocker & Starr
Feb 19: TBA
Feb 26: Stu Harrison & Jack Stuart of Trivium Wine
March
Mar 05: Juan, Mike and Schatzi of Realm and Relic Wines
Ask to have your bottles purchased on Friday evenings signed by our guest
winemaker or owner!
STAFF FAVORITES COMING SOON! VISIT OUR SITE FOR OUR FAVORITES...........
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