Dear Groezinger Customer,
Are you scared yet? Just when you thought it was safe to go to your mailbox, we’re back with our October issue. With All Hallows Eve looming ominously on the horizon, we are forced to face our deepest fears and accept with bitter agony that once the pumpkin cuttin’ is over with, it’ll soon be turkey stuffin’ time, then stocking stuffin’ season, and then yet another year in the can. And if all that isn’t scary enough, Justin is back for a special guest appearance. Justin is the Man; he’s given more farewell performances around here than The Who only to be put back on the menu more times than the McRib. For all of you that missed him, give a call soon to say hi and buy some bottles from him because you just never know when he’s gonna tip his hat and ride off onto the sunset again. For the time being, we’re reunited, and it feels so good, especially since we’ve had the pleasure of putting together the phenomenal wines you’ll find in this month’s newsletter. We have plenty of juice from old friends, extended family, a few surprising new comers, and, as usual, a few items from last month that you clearly overlooked. The dog day afternoons of summer are behind us, and it is once again safe to ship just about anywhere, which brings us back to our most commonly asked question . . . “Does Groezingers still have that bitchin’ three case shipping deal?” You bet Justin’s ass we do! Groezinger’s ships anywhere. UPS is available to most states, and if you live some place where they still burn witches or allow polygamy, we’ll have the mafia bring it to you. $25 ships a case of wine in the state of California, $40-$50 ships a case almost anywhere else, $60 ships a box to difficult states, and $100 will ship three cases almost anywhere in the continental U.S. If this is too confusing, just call 800-356-3970, and I’ll give you an exact quote for shipping wine to your zip code.
Summer storage season is drawing to a close, so it would probably be wise to have your wine shipped before we start drinking it. If we’ve been sitting on your stash, don’t worry, it is safe and sound, but you’d be a fool not to buy a few more cases to take advantage of our three case shipping deal. And if you already have three cases, you’d be down right crazy not to pick up a few more, because the holidays will be here before you know it!
CALL US TO HOOK YOURSELF UP ON SOME HALLOWEEN SWEETS! ALL TREATS, NO TRICKS, WE PROMISE!!
1.) 2008 TIERRA ROJA, Cabernet Sauvignon, Oakville Estate, Napa Valley-$125.00 PRESALE!! SHIPS IN NOV.! This is the finest vintage yet of what we firmly believe to be the ultimate example of Oakville Cabernet. Perfection!
2.) 2008 FORMAN, Cabernet Sauvignon, Estate, Napa Valley-$80.00 Absolute dynamite brand new release! 92 ST.
3.) 2008 REVIVAL, Cabernet Sauvignon, Karios Vineyard, Napa Valley-$115.00 A Groezinger exclusive. Stunning.
4.) 2006 ROBINSON FAMILY, Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, Stags Leap District, Napa Valley-$90.00 Big and bad!
5.) 2008 ROWLAND TEBB, Cabernet Sauvignon, Black Sears Vineyard, Howell Mountain, Napa Valley-$65.00 Items 2,3, and 4 were featured last month, and frankly, many of you overlooked them. Justin was so pissed he flew all the way from the Himalayas just to yell at you. These are some very serious wines that you can only get from us. Call us!
6.) 2008 ROBERT CRAIG, Cabernet Sauvignon, Mt. Veeder, Napa Valley-$72.00 Tight and right.
7.) 2008 ROBERT CRAIG, Cabertnet Sauvignon, Howell Mountain, Napa Valley-80.00 It is no secret that Robert Craig has been on quite a roll over the past few years and these wines are no exception. Big mountain Cab at it’s best!
8.) 2007 HENDRY, “HRW” Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley-$23.00 This is probably the best deal going on Napa Cab. It seriously makes us wonder if George accidentally put his expensive stuff in the wrong bottle and then just said “screw it”. Multi-layered and textured with gobs of lush black fruit, expansive ripe tannins, and the right touch of oak.
9.) 2008 WOODWARD CANYON, “Artist Series” Cabernet Sauvignon, Columbia Valley, Washington-$40.00 What a steal! 93+ from Wine Advocate, normally fifty bucks, with fruit coming primarily from Washington’s oldest Cabernet vines (Champoux Vineyard), this is a big and balanced wine with a Bordeaux like structure and personality.
10,) 2007 FORT ROSS, Reserve, Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast-$44.00 Another gem from last month too good to miss.
10.) 2008 BOHEME, Pinot Noir, Taylor Ridge, Sonoma Coast-$41.00 Brilliant depth and complexity, ultra polished, this is a gorgeous wine made with minimal intervention, although you may need an intervention after you taste it.
11.) 2009 BIG BASIN, “Homestead”, (49%Grenache/43%Syrah/11%Cabernet), Santa Cruz Mountains-$30.00 Another stellar wine from Big Basin, this is a dark and concentrated wine redolent of crushed violets, black currants, spice box, crushed rock, and whoop-ass. The only problem with Big Basin is you always seem to run out of it too fast . . .
FEATURED RED WINES
2008 DESANTE, Cabernet Sauvignon, Oakville, Napa Valley-$55.00
It has long been said up and down the Valley what a nice guy David DeSante is, which makes it ironic that he makes this wine. That is because this when you merely sniff this wine, it smacks you in the face, grabs you by the crotch, looks you straight in the eye, and calmly informs you that it is about to kick your ass. The fruit for this wine comes from a chosen few immaculately farmed vineyards in Oakville, a few of which we are not allowed to tell you the name of, in an area of east Oakville surrounded by cult wineries with long driveways, locked gates, and very expensive mailboxes. Bizarre late frosts and record high temperatures made 2008 an extremely difficult vintage for most wineries, but DeSante and his colleagues found ways to harmonize with Mother Nature’s tough love. The tiny yields of extremely ripe grapes resulted in a wine of incredible weight, depth, and intensity, surpassing even his potent 2007 vintage. This mean S.O.B. packs punch after jaw shattering punch of black cherry, wild blackberry, fig jam, plum tart, dark cocoa bibs, and the signature hints of Oakville red earth and wild mint, all delivered in a rich velvety cascade of fine grain tannins and French-vanillin Oak. This wine is approachable now with an hour or two in the decanter. However, in another couple of years, this bruiser will unleash it’s deepest unrestrained fury and will certainly hold together for at least another decade. This is one Cab you shouldn’t miss, and as many of you remember from last year, this tiny production sells out fast. Incidentally, Dave also makes the insanely good 2008 Tierra Roja Oakville Cabernet, listed on the front page.
2007 OLIVIA BRION, Red Blend (69%Cabernet Sauv/31%Cabernet Franc), Napa Valley-$75.00
One of the great things about being a long time wine consultant in the Napa Valley is that it gives you access to some of the best fruit from the best vineyards for your solo projects. Dave Mahaffey is one such fellow. One of the great things about having a wine shop in Yountville with long established relationships with such fellows as Dave Mahaffey is that you can get their wine when no one else can. Groezinger’s is one such wine shop. Dave bottled a miniscule 50 cases of this wine for Olivia Brion, a blend of ultra plush Cab Franc from the famed Stagecoach vineyard, and Cabernet grapes hailing from such legendary sites as Beckstoffer X in Rutherford, Ink Grade on the slopes of Howell Mountain, and Palladian in St. Helena. Even though the Cab Franc is only 31% percent of the blend, it drives this train like the bruthas on the TCU football team, bringing crushed red and black stone fruit to the field and a whiff off crushed rose petal, backed by Cab Sauv, notes of Rutherford dust, Howell mountain spice and mineral, and pure crème de cassis from up valley. The amount of pedigree evident in this bottle is obvious in the nose, palate, and finish, which is why you should pick up as much of this as you can. After all, one of the best things about being a Groezinger’s customer is that you have access to some of the most magnificent and unique wines available from California, and you are one such lucky person.
2007 STONE EDGE FARMS, “SURROUND”, Cabernet Sauvignon, Sonoma County-$23.00 (780 cases made)
Maybe you need a case or two to stack up in front of your DeSante and Olivia Brion Cabs. Maybe you are tired of your drunk neighbor cracking open your last few ’95 Shafer Hillsides at 3:00 a.m. on a Wednesday. Or maybe you are a fan of late night cable news, an insomniac, or a member of the long-term unemployed, and sick of hearing the kid on t.v. saying “Before GameFly, I couldn’t play all the games I wanted to, because I couldn’t afford it!!” If you suffer from these or any related conditions, this is your cure. The 2007 Surround is a succulent blend of 86% Cabernet and 14% Merlot containing more extract and complexity than most Napa Cabs we’ve tasted this month at twice the price! Aromas and flavors of black cherry, blackberry, chocolate covered espresso bean, and cigar box waft from the glass, and this wine is equally appropriate to drink whether it’s from your finest Reidel crystal or the sturdy cup holder on your Hoveround. This is an absolutely screaming deal not available in stores! Call Now! Operators are standing by! Then, get some sleep.
2009 MIKE & MOLLY HENDRY, Heritage Zinfandel, R.W. Moore Vineyard, Napa Valley-$34.00 (292 cases made)
Talk about a match made in heaven and some serious Napa Valley lineage! Mike is the nephew of Napa’s own Super-Fly Mac and master winemaker George Hendry, and his wife Molly is the daughter of Bill Moore, curator of one of North America’s most historic vineyards-the 100+ year old Moore Vineyard. It was only a matter of time before chocolate and peanut butter collided to produce this amazing wine. A perfect rendition of Heritage Clone Zinfandel, this bottling expresses all that is unique to California’s oldest vines: rich black and blue fruit, roasted pepper, dried herbs, lavender, smoked meat and mineral, all wrapped up by dusty tannins and the slightest hint of white pepper on the finish. Many of you will recognize this vineyard as the source for Turley’s “Earthquake” Zin, but should also note that this offering is slightly Moore restrained, Moore structured, Moore food friendly, and, oh, half the price, so you can buy even Moore!!!
2010 PHEONIX RANCH, Cinsault, Bechthold Vineyard, Lodi-$18.00
The vines which produced this wine are over 130 years old, though recent research suggest the Bechthold vineyard was originally established by French Neanderthals, who crossed over the Bering Strait Land Bridge near the end of the Pleistocene ice ages. Even cave men knew their precious Cinsault would never fully ripen in their native Rhone Valley, so they sought out the sun baked wastes of Lodi, where these grapes can express their true selves. Think raspberries, rhubarb, blueberries, cigar box and baking spice, and you’ll have a good idea of what this wine tastes like. And at $18, this wine is an absolute no brainer! Best to buy a case of this lip smacker and drink it over the next 3-5 years!!
MORE GREAT WINES YOU CAN’T WAIT TO TRY
SEAN THACKERY, Pleiades XXI, Old Vine Red, California, (Non-Vintage Field Blend)-$24.00
To call Sean Thackery a slightly eccentric winemaker would be an understatement akin to stating that Charlie Sheen is an actor with a minor substance abuse problem, the main difference being that Mr. Thackery has spent the last two decades offering us interesting to profound gifts of the table, while Charlie has left us nothing but “Hot Shots: Part Deux”, the dumbest Comedy Central Roast ever, and multiple strains of medication resistant STDs. Sean spends a lot of his time pouring over and translating arcane texts with the same voracity that an occultist from an H.P. Lovecraft story would in hopes of raising Great Cthulhu from the Sunken City of R’yleh. Luckily, Sean has more benevolent goals, or we’d probably all be dead by now. Thackery’s knowledge and use of ancient wine making techniques result in some of the most unique wines on the planet. For instance, Pleiades, his vin de table if you will, is a medium bodied non-vintage blend of Sangiovese, Syrah, Petit Sirah, Pinot Noir, Cinsault, and Viognier, among others, and shows wildly complex flavors of baked plum, red currant, cedar, mint, pipe smoke, Turkish hash, anise, fennel seed, herbes du Provence, and bacon fat, with dusty tannins and cracked szechuan pepper corns on the long, slow finish, making this a wine that pairs well with, well, just about anything (making it the ultimate Thanksgiving wine, btw). Resistance is futile. Call us now.
2010 FAILLA, Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast-$33.00
We’ve been waiting years for this, and now the time has arrived that we can offer you Pinot Noir from our old buddy, Ehren Jordan. See, it used to be the production of Failla was so small we’d only get a case or two of each of his single vineyard bottlings, and they’d be gone as soon as they hit the shelf. Back in ’09 he was able to contract with a new vineyard and bump up the production of the Sonoma Coast Pinot by a few hundred cases. As with all the Failla wines, there is a nod to his European mentors evident-slightly lower in alcohol and higher in acidity, tightly wound when you first open it up, but the fruit is pure Sonoma Coast. With a little air, the flavors and aromas shift and expand, bouncing from black cherry, spice, pine needle, violet perfume, and back to raspberry and cherry. I know this review seems a little tame and ass kissing for a Groezinger review, but it’s true, this wine is like that, like a lovely mademoiselle, like a fragile green caterpillar on a green stem, about to build a silken cocoon in your cellar, only to re-emerge a few years later as a beautiful butterfly, a blushing bride. After a few more years living at your house, she will turn into a sex crazed cougar milf looking to run out to the bar at Bouchon and bang anything that moves. Protect your stash.
2007 ELYSE, Cabernet Sauvignon, Rutherford–$32.00
The other day, we were discussing how there aren’t many good cabs in the $30-$40 price range that are worth a shit. A few minutes later, in walks Santa, er, Ray Corison with this badass Cab. He must have ESPN. With some substances, you’re lucky to only get a few grams for $32, but with this magical elixir, you get around 25 oz. Fruit harmonizes on your palate with a balance of acid, oak, and tannin, with wild raspberries, blackberries, and cassis all wrapped in a layer of creamy oak and mushroomy earthiness that might make you become an addict. Not only is Ray an awesome winemaker, he is also my favorite person to hang out with at Redd. So don’t bother callin’ Debo or O-Dawg to hook you up with this kickass juice. Call your dealer at Groezingers, and if we don’t answer, call Redd and ask for J-Boogie.
Note to you our customer: not finding what you are looking for? CALL US! We have wines available for every palate and every budget. Stumped? CALL US! Let us help you out. In short, CALL US! 1-800-356-3970
FEATURED WHITE WINES
2010 FAILLA, Chardonnay, Sonoma Coast-$33.00
Yet another wine we’ve been dying to sell you for quite a while. Have you ever hooked up with someone and realized midway that it was all way too easy? I mean, it seemed to make sense at the time, she/he had a great package, was all dressed up, talked a good game, smelled okay, made you really think you wanted it, and they clearly weren’t going to make you wait . . . but then, after bailing on the first round of appetizers or the first twenty minutes of the movie, you are naked in some strange apartment, sampling the goods, and you wonder to yourself, “what the f**k am I doing here?!?” That is exactly what drinking most California Chardonnay is like. They’re just skanky sluts. Not so with this mysterious stranger. This is the kind of wine that captivates you from the first encounter, entices you with it’s perfume, seduces you with it’s lithe and sensuous form, commands all of your attention, and makes you wait a bit. Then the stuff is down right kinky. In short, this isn’t a tramp stamp and g-string wine. This is Victorian lingerie and garter belt wine. Fermented in a concrete egg and neutral oak, this wine will make you swoon with it’s purity and nuanced flavors of lemon zest, jasmine, honeysuckle, flint, and papaya seed. You’ll just want to lie in bed all day pounding on this one.
2009 DESANTE, “L’ATELIER”, Old Vine Sauvignon Blanc/Semillon, Napa Valley-$25.00
“L’Atelier” means artist’s studio, and we all know how much sex artists have in their studios. You will need a few bottles of this to drink before you get into the DeSante Cab. White peach, honey suckle, mandarin orange and melon will strip the panties off of your still life model without waking up your wife or husband. Straight, gay, or switch, this is the perfect addition to your arsenal of mass seduction. Old vines, native yeast fermentation, what else do you want?
A FEW MORE THINGS TO CONSIDER
2010 MAZE, Sauvignon Blanc, Blau Vineyard, Knights Valley–$25.00
When you find your way out of the maze of boring and insipid Sauvignon Blancs, you can set yourself loose yourself in this complex labyrinth of flavors. It will attack you like the Minotaur, but when you are done pouring the last drops on to your Bacchanalian tongue, that’ll make you Theseus, and who doesn’t want to feel like an Athenian hero when they are buzzed? Answer-no one! Okay, enough with the Mythos. This delectable wine was crafted by one Shawn Johnson, and while we suspect he isn’t Greek, he has been involved in some serious Dionysian cults: Merus, Kobalt, and Caldwell. Only 80 cases were cracked out of cement egg fermentators to produce a wine laden with bright citrus and floral aromas and weighty mineral undertones. Fly like Icarus, buy a case, and behold the birth of a legend!
2010 BODEGA RANCHO, Viognier, Santa Lucia Highlands–$22.50
Does he like football? Is he a fan of Divas? Does he dress well? Does he like musical comedies? Has he ever been in a fight? Does he drink Viognier? These are just a few of the many questions on Android’s new app “Is my son gay?” Don’t be scared to show your feminine side. This fruity gem is sourced from Caymus’s “Mer et Soleil” vineyard in Monterey’s Santa Lucia Highlands and is made by one of our favorite winemakers, Kurt Beitler, of Boheme fame (check the front page for his intervention inducing Pinot Noir!). On the nose, you’ll get tropical fruits, pear, mango, and lychee. Pink grapefruit, tangy citrus, white peach, and stone fruit flavors pair with crisp acidity and minerality making this metro wine easy to chug on it’s own or paired with any sea faring cuisine. Only 125 cases of this rijpma were produced. Take it from Mamie, homophobia is out, Viognier is in, and you couldn’t get laid in Napa without some Bodega Rancho.
WINE MAKER MINI-FEATURE
Kenneth Juhasz has been a friend of Groezinger’s for years, and has made many of our favorite Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays for Robert Stemmler and our beloved Donum Estate. Here’s what he makes on his own time . . .
2009 AUTEUR, Chardonnay, Hyde Vineyard, Sonoma Valley-$42.00 It seems impossible that a wine could have so much raciness and weight at the same time. Last years model got huge scores from everyone, and so will this one. An assault of white peach, citrus, and pear skin with a nervous acidity characteristic of the renowned Hyde vineyard. This wine is so super sexy you are going to want to take it to bed with you and have a ménage a trios with your Failla Chard.
2009 AUTEUR, Pinot Noir, Sonoma Stage Vineyard, Sonoma Valley-$60.00 Touted as one of the greatest vintages on record for Sonoma Pinot Noir, this is a behemoth of a wine without loosing any varietal character. Brooding aromas of deep black and red fruit, dried rose petal and morel mushroom on the nose lead to a rich mouth full of black cherry, raspberry jam, sliced plum, toasted spice, and earthy undertones. 93 points from the Spectator but deserved a few more in our humble opinion. This is a killer wine from a phenomenal vintage and belongs in any Pinot lovers cellar.