SNOVEMBER-DESOBER       2008                       1-800-356-3970

WWW.GROEZINGERS.COM
DEAR GROEZINGER CUSTOMER,
Fellow Americans, now that the “big day” has come and gone and nobody has anything left to talk about, it’s time to turn our full attention to the holiday season, pop some corks, and let the good times roll. Regardless of which side of the partisan spectrum you are on, we hope that we can all reach across the great political divide with something other than a switchblade or a crowbar.  It’s time for a national group hug. We even took time to send out sympathy cards to our friends who were the most hurt, and received some very touching responses. Thanks Chip. Enough about politics already. Let us now talk about that fat, red faced drunk bastard who makes lists of people who’ve been good or bad. We mean Santa, not Robert Parker. Santa isn’t faring as well as he was last year, when he was acquitted for the murder of Cheng-Shu Hung. His past is catching up with him, as it has been recently disclosed that he was the leader of the guerilla freedom fighter group that helped succeed the North Pole from Canada. He has now been declared a war criminal and an international terrorist, and his Boeing Stealth Long Range Sleigh is marked to be shot down on sight. Tell your kids it’s gonna be a tough Christmas. Betcha never heard the North Pole used to be a Canadian province, but then again, who in America cares about Canada? If you’re wondering, “Where the fuck is Canada, eh?”, you may also be wondering . . . “Does Groezinger’s still have that phenomenal 3 case shipping deal?” You bet your back bacon and beer we do.  WE SHIP ANYWHERE EXCEPT UTAH. UPS IS AVAILABLE TO AK, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, HI, ID, IA, IL, LA, MI, MO, MN, NC, ND, NE, NH, NV, NY, NM, OH, OR, SC, TX, VA, WA, WV, WI & WY for about $25-$50 a case depending on how far away you are from us.

Overnight, 2-Day, and 3-Day services are available to the above states at an additional cost.  $60 for 1 case, $90 for two cases, and $100 for three cases going to the very few non-UPSable states, OR for those of you that prefer receiving your wine via bootlegger (it’s cheaper on big orders). A $10 residential delivery fee is waived on purchases of 3 cases or more.

We prefer shipping to businesses because you’re never home and we need a signature.

THANKS TO ALL OF YOU WHO HELPED US THROUGH THE LAST EIGHT YEARS. WE LOVE YA.
1.) 2004 SHAFER, “Hillside Select”, Cabernet Sauvignon, Stag’s Leap District, Napa Valley-$400.00 97 pts RP.
2.) 2005 GEMSTONE, Cabernet Sauvignon, Yountville, Napa Valley-$175.00  95 RP. Best price in the country.
3.) 2005 TIERRA ROJA, Cabernet Sauvignon, Oakville, Napa Valley-$135.00 98 points from Rush/Beard. Seriously folks, the top three wines on this page represent the best of the best from Napa. Treat yourself right.
4.) 2006 PALOMA, Merlot, Spring Mountain District, Napa Valley-$65.00 This is the new release you need!!
4.) 2005 BARLOW, Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley-$41.00 Rich, round, and luxurious Cab from Calistoga.
5.) 2005 BARLOW, “Barrouge”, (70%CS/20%ML/5%CF/5%PV), Napa Valley-$36.00 Give it to me!! Now!!!
6.) 2005 SNOWDEN, Cabernet Sauvignon, “Reserve”, Napa Valley-$65.00 Back by popular demand, this was one of last years top sellers. Big Parker points (95+) and a sweet price. Who loves ya baby? Call now if you missed it.
7.) 2005 ETUDE, Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley-$80.00  Etude is always good, this one exhibits true greatness.
8.) 2006 ROBERT CRAIG, Mount George Cuvee, Napa Valley–$23.00  Super tasty and priced to move. Built for discriminating palates and tough economic times, this makes a great gift and they’ll think you spent fifty bucks.
9.) 2006 CLIFF LEDE, Cabernet Sauvignon, Stag’s Leap District, Napa Valley–$60.00  It’s Canadian Cabernet.
10.) 2005 CLOS VALMI, Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley–$29.00 This is “Joe The Sommelier’s” favorite Cab. From a small hillside vineyard on the Yountville/Stag’s Leap border. It’s lush, dark, and very satisfying. 77 case prod.
11.) 2005 ILSLEY VINEYARDS, Seis Primas, Stag’s Leap District, Napa Valley–$46.00 (58%Malbec, 42%Cab)
12.) 2007 ORIN SWIFT, “THE PRISONER”, Napa Valley–$31.50 Here’s the criminal everyone loves. Kind of like “Cool Hand Luke”. There’s no failure to communicate with this wine. It’s big, dark and bursting at the shackles with loads of blackberry, raspberry, cocoa, black cherry, plum and spice. It’s far superior to common prison pruno.
13.) 2007 TWO HANDS, “Gnarly Dudes”, Shiraz, Barossa, Australia–$36.00 Great Shiraz from the deeep South.
14.) 2007 LIOCO, Chardonnay, Sonoma Coast–$19.00 Super-great unoaked, bright, crisp and clean coastal Chard.
15.) 2006 DE SANTE, Old Vine Sauvignon Blanc, Napa Valley–$30.50 The best in the Valley. 40 year old vines.

FEATURED RED WINES

2006 GRACE FAMILY VINEYARDS, Estate Grown Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley–$350.00
Most of you know that Dick Grace gives all the profit from this wine to charity. Actually he builds homes, schools, and hospitals in third world countries which is quite noble if you ask me. I’m sure there’s a few of you that have been naughty over the last year and probably don’t deserve any presents. May we offer a solution. You could buy a six pack of this stuff in effect making a $2000 donation to poor, suffering people who need it bad. It’s like getting the rechargeable, wind-up, combo flashlight, warning strobe, cell phone charger and emergency radio when you donate to public radio. Except it’s way cooler and will get you drunk and make your friends think you are a philanthropist. Plus, a good deed like that should give you a clean slate, making you once again eligible for holiday gifts. Did we mention how great the wine is? The vineyard was planted in 1976 using the Bosche’ clone from Freemark Abbey just down the road. Winemaker Gary Brookman crafts this pioneering cult wine that started when cults were groups of people who liked Kool Aid. From hillside vineyards in the heart of St. Helena’s finest dirt, the wine shows incredible concentration and persistence. The tannins are perfectly integrated offering the option of consuming or cellaring. The flavors are bright and clean, with a great backbone of firm acidity and tannin and a core of fruit that dishes out a fat slice of dark and concentrated goodness. It’s so thick and dense it pours slower when it’s cooler.  800-356-3970

2005 KELLY FLEMING, Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley–$85.00
Here’s the new release from one of the finest vineyards in Napa Valley. Steep hillsides of superb soil, organic farming practices, and a general overall love for the land are a few reasons why this Cabernet is so good. Two more reasons would be vineyard manager, Jim Barbour and winemaker, Celia Masyczek. This dream team couldn’t screw up if they tried. The vineyard is just up the hill from places like Araujo, Frediani, Kenefick and Fisher if that’s any indication of the superb soil in this vineyard. Only 700 cases were produced so get your phone and your credit card. The majority of the vineyard was planted in 1999 and the flavors are showing more depth and earthiness as the vines mature. This is a great bottle of wine dishing up aromas of dark, ripe cherries, spice, plum and cinnamon. Flavors on the tongue are concentrated and loaded with black cherry, blackberry, plum and cassis all wrapped up with a big French kiss of 90% new, tight grained oak. This stuff is the ka-bomb, will cellar up great, and should be in the stash of any Cab fanatic.

2005 PARALLEL, Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley-$55.00
If you haven’t heard of this wine yet, you’d better sit up and take notice. We first heard of Parallel back in ‘03 shortly before their first release, when it was announced the “Dream Police” (winemaker Philippe Melka and winegrower Jim Barbour) were working together on a new project. We’ve waited patiently ever since to get an allocation of more than a couple boxes. That time has arrived, friends. Rich like blackberry jam, this onyx-ruby nectar rocks like old Cheap Trick, showing a tightly wound array of flavors ranging from deep cassis and plum to black cherry, dried herbes de Provence, Chinese five-spice powder, smoke, licorice, coconut shell, black truffle and crushed stone. In fact, it’s hard to believe they can fit so many flavors into one bottle of wine. Decant it for an hour or put it away for eight to ten years, but whatever you do, get some of this. Once the buzz is out on this wine, it’ll be hard to catch a buzz from it.

2005 BARLOW, Estate Grown, Merlot, Napa Valley–$30.00
It’s been a while since a modestly priced Merlot has blown our skirts up. Not only did this one blow our skirts up, it also ripped our nylons to shreds, tore off our panties and had its way with us. Now that’s what we call a Barlow job! Thick, dark, round, and long on the finish, this super stud delivers load after Balicious load of wild blackberries, black currant, crushed violet, crème-de-menthe, and toasted vanilla bean up you nose and on your tongue, making this a drinking experience that will make you question everything you’ve ever thought about Merlot in the past. The tannins are luxuriously firm and expansive, yet the wine is exceptionally elegant and multifaceted, making this the ideal dining companion for you and/or your spouse. Seriously, this is one of the best deals on one of the best wines Barlow has ever produced. If you don’t hold this review against us, we promise not to tell anyone how much you bought of it!

2005 RETRO, Petite Sirah, Old Vines, Howell Mountain, Napa Valley-$45.00
Not since I fell backwards off that ladder onto a magnum of Dunn Cab have I attempted to fit such a huge wine into such a tight space, but here goes. Son-of-a-Dunn Mike Dunn has crafted yet another ass-crushingly huge Petit Sirah from the family’s historic Park Muscatine vineyard, front loaded with black and blue fruits and showing plenty of grip and tannin on the back end. This is Mike’s third vintage under the Retro label, and he claims it’s the softest, meaning it’ll only take two days of decanting to come around. Its big ass butt is still balanced and structured, Retro style.
MORE HOLIDAY CHEER!!
A Reminder: we’d like to drop our inventory for the end of the year, and we know how many of you like a sweet deal. Therefore, we’ll cut you some completely insane deals on our end of bin inventory. Give us a buzz and let’s chat.

2006 PHILIP TOGNI, Cabernet Sauvignon, Estate Bottled, Spring Mountain District, Napa Valley-$90.00
As long as you’re stuffing your stockings with classic Napa Cabernets, you should definitely grab a few of these for your cellar. Check out Philip’s track record: twenty three vintages from his Spring Mountain estate, prior to that he made wines on Pritchard Hill for Chappellet, as well as for other wineries in Napa and in Bordeaux. This is a man who knows what to do with Cabernet grapes. The 2006 Togni is an oasis of pure cassis, blackberry, incense, wild thyme, anise, and olive, with a freight-train like persistence and perfectly balanced tannin and acidity. Wines like this are the reason you keep a cellar or bought a wine cooler, so drink some of your other stuff and replenish it with this. Did we mention the Parker 96 point rating? This stuff should age 25+ years. Why pay more for lesser wine?

2006 PALAZZO, Cabernet Franc, Truchard Vineyard, Los Carneros of Napa Valley-$60.00
This is the new wine from our good buddy Scott Palazzo which last year was only available at the French Laundry and Per Se because it paired so well with the Fresh Lard Granita with Bacon Chips (unfortunately no longer on the menu) as well as other things expensive, like Armani suits and top-tier escorts. This year he stopped holding out on us and we are happy to offer you what we believe is one of finest Cab Francs in the New World. The aromatics are heady and exotic, reeking of rose, violet, and wild boysenberry. On the palate the lucky drinker will experience a mind shattering display of pure ripe fruit, beautifully nuanced with hints of roasted orange peel, cigar box, and smoked meat, without a single trace of the green bell pepper that ruins so many other wines of this varietal. It’ll make you feel like you are being spoon fed fresh fat by the most out outrageously hot paid companion you’ve ever seen, shortly before she peels of your silk suit, gives you a “lap dance”, then an “erotic massage”, and then just charges you a mere sixty bucks. Seriously, it’s that good. Don’t tease yourself with the mere thought of it. Just pick up the phone and call.

2006 BERGSTRÖM, Pinot Noir, “Cumberland Reserve”, Willamette Valley, Oregon-$39.00
Not only is Josh Bergström one of the best new winemakers and vineyard managers in Oregon, he is also a very savvy businessman. This wine is normally about $48 per bottle, but in these tough economic times he cut us a deal on this spectacular Pinot, and we’re passing that on to you, because we love you. Only thing is, we’re not supposed to tell you that, so don’t go telling him, you dig? Blended from lots that went unused from his single vineyard bottlings (most notably Bergström, Shea, and Temperance Hill), the Cumberland Reserve showcases Josh’s talent and expertise derived from his time working in Burgundy, as well as the incredible quality of fruit he produces from some of Willamette’s finest vineyards. Layer after complex layer of red and black fruit compote, sweet baking spices, cocoa powder, and a hint of black truffle make this a rich and elegant wine without emptying your bank account. Just don’t tell Josh we sold it to you so cheap or we’ll end up as organic fertilizer in one of his vineyard blocks. Great stuff!!
FEATURED WHITE CHRISTMAS WINE

2007 QUPE, Chardonnay, Bien Nacido Vineyard, Y-Block, Santa Maria Valley–$19.00
If you’re dreaming of a white Christmas but don’t have enough cash for wine and snow, get a case of this and blast your holiday season into high gear. This not-so-little Chard delivers a big pile of flavor with great structure and a whiff of expensive oak. It tastes expensive and is ready to party. Whether you’re having the boss and the board over for Maine lobster or having your wife’s friends over for a good old fashioned Scarface party, this is it. Things go better with Qupe. The flavors are bright, clean and nearly ethereal. Granny smith apple, white pear, pineapple, lemon zest and candied sesame spin your tongue and twist your jaw. It’s delicious, affordable, classy and still legal.

Don’t for get to get some 2004 TOPAZ, Late Harvest Dessert Wine, S.B.-Sem.–$35.00 for your holiday desserts
Or you might want some if the incredible and rare PORTO SOUZA Ports from 1967 to 1997–$50 to $125.  Perhaps you need more 2005 WATERMARK, Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley for only $41.00.  Maybe you forgot to get your 2006 PALOMA, Estate Merlot, Spring Mountain District, Napa Valley–$65.00……….Whatever you forgot to get from us we probably still have because we bought it for you and then you didn’t get it. We’re still thinking about you and how we hope you’re bullet proof to this so-called recession/depression thing. Thanks a bunch to all y’all for keeping us in the sauce through these turbulent times. We know you could buy wine somewhere else if you wanted to. We also know that would be lame and not nearly as much fun.

Seriously.

Thank you and happy holidays!