Four 2010 Chateauneufs that have a very real chance of slipping away

I'd estimate there's a 60% chance a 2010 Rhone is named Wine Spectator's Wine of the Year this year. And a 40% chance that wine will come from the Southern Rhone - specifically Chateauneuf.

If that happens to any of the 4 wines listed below there is no chance you'll be able to buy them for less than $100/bottle so it might make sense to buy some now before the opportunity gets away.

One thing that's nice about being on the buy side of the wine game is that you can be selective about how you buy wine. You only have to swing at the perfect pitch.

Here are 4 2010 Chateauneufs Wine Spectator rated 95+ points, have a release price of $100 or less, with 1,000 or more cases produced. They're good buys and they're good picks for Scoop the Spectator. One of these hasn't been guessed yet!

DOMAINE ST.-PRÉFERT Châteauneuf-du-Pape Auguste Favier Réserve
97WS/$58/1,665 Cases Produced

St. Prefert seemed to crush it across the board this year. All of their wines scored well relative to their production levels and price points but this one seems to hit the sweet spot.

I caught a bottle of this at $48.95. Best price I see now is $69.99:

Recommendation: I think the ship has largely sailed on this one. Check out their entry level bottling if you're looking to get a feel for this producer. I thought the 2009 St. Prefert Giraud bottling at $55, especially given that the 2010 Prefert Giraud is completely sold out in the US after raking in a 99 point rating from Spectator (and was it a potential perfect score from Parker?)

LE VIEUX DONJON Châteauneuf-du-Pape
96WS/$66/8,000 Cases Produced

I like the way Donjon produces a single bottling rather than fracturing up their offerings in a confusing manner. But beware that this 2010 isn't as approachable in its youth as the gregarious 2007. That said, I've adored their brambly style across several vintages and this is my favorite play in Chateauneuf.

Although this carries a $66 release price, it's available for around $50 if you look around. But it's drying up quickly.

Recommendation: Buy now from a favored retailer. Even if it doesn't win the top spot it's a great buy at $50. Give it the time it needs and enjoy it over the coming decade. While it's aging consider buying some of the amazing 2007 - you can still find some if you look around.

http://www.wine-searcher.com/find/donjon+chateauneuf/2010/usa?Xlist_format=&Xbottle_size=Bottle&Xprice_set=CUR&Xprice_min=&Xprice_max=

DOMAINE DU VIEUX TÉLÉGRAPHE Châteauneuf-du-Pape La Crau

96WS/$78/4,200 Cases Produced

I put this wine on par with Donjon in terms of prestige. It's fantastic. But it's also a little pricier. I've often seen off vintages of this wine in the mid $50s at Costco but better vintages don't seem to make it there.

Recommendation: Buy selectively in the low $60s. Even if this one wins and it escalates into the $150+ range, it's not like $60 is an affordable wine.


DOMAINE GIRAUD Châteauneuf-du-Pape Tradition
95WS/$54/1,300 Cases Produced

I have no experience with this producer but I love the metrics. Parker rated it 92-94 points so it's not like Spectator's 95 is an anomaly. Nobody has guessed this one in Scoop the Spectator yet!

Recommendation: Give it a try. A $40, 95 WS 2010 CdP? Sold.

They even have it on Wine.com icon

If you haven't gotten your entry in for Scoop the Spectator 2012 you still have time. We're playing for a $200 Amazon gift card so it's worth taking a moment to see if you can find an angle:

http://www.wellesleywinepress.com/2012/10/starts-now-scoop-spectator-2012.html


Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/WellesleyWinePress/~3/MiB1W702Yas/four-2010-chateauneufs-that-have-very.html

types of wines types of wine about wine what is wine wines

Wine Word of the Week: Lees

This week?s Wine Word of the Week is lees. Official definition from Jancis Robinson?s The Oxford Companion to Wine: Lees is the Old English word for the dregs or sediment that settles at the bottom of a container such as a fermentation vessel. Wine lees are made up of dead yeast cells, grape seeds, pulp, [...]

Wine Word of the Week: Lees was originally posted on Wine Peeps. Wine Peeps - Your link to great QPR wines from Washington State and beyond.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/WinePeeps/~3/ybYUWl9WKl4/

wine bottles wine coolers wines and spirits wine store wine making

Landon Winery Wine Club pick up for Aug 2012

It is summer in Texas and that means the heat is on. When the phrase ?dog days of summer? it was meant for Texas. Today the alignment of the moons, stars and solar systems must have had a hiccup because it was a very pleasant day to be out and about in North Texas. So [...]

Source: http://thegrapesaroundtexas.com/2012/08/19/landon-winery-wine-club-pick-up-for-aug-2012/

wine kits wedding wine wine price wine merchants sweet wines

Social Media Quick Tip: Tag Your Favorite Wine Brands on Facebook

This is old news for some, but if you haven’t explored the status tagging feature (similar to photo tagging) on Facebook, take a few minutes and check it out. Status tagging can help your winery’s Facebook fan page to become more engaging and vibrant.  Facebook users can type the “@” symbol before a Facebook fan [...]

Source: http://familylovewine.wordpress.com/2010/01/14/social-media-quick-tip-tag-your-favorite-wine-brands-on-facebook/

wine reviews fine wine wine on line red wines wines red

More New Wines from Tablas Creek Vineyard

Hey, we got some new wines to try from Tablas Creek Vineyard, and guess what? They?re really good!!! (Like we haven?t been saying that for how many years now??) Here are our impressions, starting with one that we’ve never had previously. (Click images to enlarge.) 2011 Tablas Creek Vineyard Vermentino Paso Robles, 100% Vermentino, 13.1% [...]

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/gangofpour/uncZ/~3/9TlVlbIkKwM/more-new-wines-from-tablas-creek-vineyard

cabernet sauvignon wine racks best wine wine bottles wine coolers

Wine & The Connected Consumer

Randall Grahm is one of the true characters of the American wine scene. A self-styled terroirist, intuitive branding genius and all around eccentric, Grahm has taken his Bonny Doon Vineyard on quite a ride over nearly the past 30 years. After setting out in 1983 to make great Pinot Noir in California, Grahm was drawn [...]

Wine & The Connected Consumer originally appeared on Winecast. Licensed under Creative Commons.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Winecast/~3/nrx_xWDCG2s/

dessert wine ice wine good wines dessert wines vintage wine

TMiW 1 ? Looking Back, Looking Forward

This is the premier episode of This Month in Wine, a monthly discussion about what is going on within the wine world from a consumer and insider perspective. Hosts: Tim Elliott and Jeff Lefevere Topics What?s up with Good Grape? Is wine blogging on the decline? Wine Trends & Predictions for 2012 Value Replaces Cheap [...]

TMiW 1 – Looking Back, Looking Forward originally appeared on Winecast. Licensed under Creative Commons.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Winecast/~3/G2HGzSDlbQM/

wine white wine cellar cabernet riesling zinfandel

Field Notes from a Wine Life ? Power Structure Edition

Odds and ends from a life lived through the prism of the wine glass…

Naked Wine and Occupy Wall Street

It’s not hard to notice the parallels between the natural wine movement and Occupy Wall Street - both are valid causes sorely lacking coherence and a rallying point that would move them from fringe head-scratcher to mainstream momentum.

  Natural wine is about purity of wine expression—shepherding grapes grown without chemicals to the bottle with as little human manipulation as possible, representing the place where they came from in the process.


  Occupy Wall Street is about re-calibrating the world’s best economic system – capitalism—to preserve the middle-class, the labor force that has allowed the U.S. to create the most productive economy in the world.

Neither movement represents fringe radicalism as some would have you believe.  I look at both as being valid inflection points and, at their core, about keeping a balance between big and small, allowing every man and woman an equal opportunity at pursuing success around their particular truth.

image

What reasonable person would deny the validity of either if not clouded by confusion?

One idea well-conceived and well-communicated can change the world, but, unfortunately, both the natural wine movement and Occupy Wall Street are prevaricating from their essential truth, rendering them both toothless and feckless.

No need to crib from Che Guevara, but appealing to base logic and the common denominator would do both movements some good.

Just one man’s opinion…

On the Aussies, Redux

A few weeks back, I noted how the Australian wine industry was poised for a rebound in public perception due in part to two things happening in concert – public backlash to Yellow Tail wine, what I call the, “Derision Decision,” and an unspoken coalition of influencers recognizing Australia’s artisanal wine production – the antithesis of Yellow Tail.  I cited recent sympathetic mentions from Jay McInerney in the Wall Street Journal and Dan Berger, wine writing’s current patriarch, as proof points.

You can add to the list of sympathetic mentions about artisanal Australia with recent mentions from Jancis Robinson and James Suckling.

Don’t sleep on Australia.  It’s making a comeback slowly, but surely in public perception.

Tim Mondavi and Wine Spectator

Thomas Matthews, the Executive Editor for Wine Spectator magazine (WS), has commented on my site a few times.  Each of these instances has been to protect or project Wine Spectator around its editorial goals.

image

Good on Thomas for not being afraid to get in the ring.  Certainly, WS takes its fair share of shots from the wine chatterati, mostly with grace and aplomb.

Lest I cast myself as anything but objective, I should note that James Laube’s article on Tim Mondavi and Continuum in the current issue of WS (November 15th issue) is everything right about what mainstream wine media can offer wine consumers that online wine writing (mostly) doesn’t –long-form, depth, first-person access and an effort that takes weeks and not hours.

Laube’s piece is excellent - well-written and balanced; acknowledgement thereof is in order.

Besides the Wine

Jordan winery has two wines – a Cabernet and Chardonnay, but they really have a triumvirate in terms of things to buy.  Jordan focuses on food and wine as being partners at the table and, to that end, any purchase from Jordan should also include their olive oil.  Wow!

The Jordan olive oil makes Trader Joe’s EVOO seem like Two Buck Chuck, comparatively speaking.  A little whole wheat Barilla pasta, some homemade pesto using the Jordan olive oil and some artisan bread in five minutes a day and you’re assuredly living the good life.  The rub is I wouldn’t pour the round Jordan Chard with the pesto, probably a Sauvignon Blanc, but don’t let that dissuade you from picking up their olive oil – it’s good stuff.

Source: http://goodgrape.com/index.php/site/field_notes_from_a_wine_life_power_structure_edition/

dessert wines vintage wine sparkling wines wine prices wine aerator