I forgot to mention in yesterday’s posting about the exclusive discount offer from Hill Family Estate the extra savings…
In addition to the 15% discount offered exclusively to Deep Red Cellar customers, you get a 10% discount for ordering a case of any wine with Hill Family Estate. That means a generous 25% discount on this great balanced red wine (mixed cases excluded).
Don’t wait….order your case today!
I am re-posting the below write up on Napa Valley’s “Barrel Blend” wine because the good folks of Hill Family Estate have offered a DISCOUNT exclusively for Deep Red Cellar customers!
15% Discount on a case of Hill Family Estate “Barrel Blend” wine.
Go directly to www.hillfamilyestate.com and put BB15 in the “offer code” section during check out.
This is being offered exclusively for you, the customers of Deep Red Cellar.
I have some good news! I have found a really good wine that does not taste like it was made for every wine drinker on the planet. You may think that is NOT good news, but I say it is. After living in Italy for 3 years, I came home to America to find most of the “everyday drinking” wines tasting the same – all geared toward ease of drinking but lacking in complexity and finish. But alas, I have stumbled on a really great everyday wine that has some depth to it.
I was happy to see a new wine store in my town called Wine Styles. They carry many reasonably priced bottles of wine, have a monthly wine club and offer special events like tastings, pairings, etc. It was about day 3 of being in town that my husband and I walked into this store to purchase some wine (afterall, a hotel room with no wine is not really a hotel room at all). I was signing us up for the wine club, and my husband started talking with one of the employees. Turns out, the employee was professional surfer, Kyle Knox, who just happens to have a passion for wine. So much so, in fact, that he teamed up with Hill Family Estate to make his signature “Barrel Blend” wine (the pun is intended).
I bought a bottle to try and was very impressed. Gone was the overly fruit forward taste that had drained me of all hope in finding reasonably priced, reasonably complex California wine. This wine is really good. It is a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Petit Verdot and Malbec. Sounds enticing doesn’t it – a great blending of varietals. This wine is all about balance. Hill Family Estate winemaker Alison Doran puts it best: ”The nose has a great ‘wow’ factor – unmistakably Napa in its elegance, but with an earthy blackberry and vanilla appeal that really makes you want to take a sip. And the palate is lovely, balanced, seductive and interesting, with plushy berry fruit and vanilla scented oak playing backup on tannins.”
Maybe it’s just me, but I also tasted plum. Whatever the case, this wine will be coming home with me often. I may not drink it literally everyday (retails for about $20 a bottle) but as often as I crave a balanced, interesting wine.
Guess what? Vosges Haut Chocolat’s new Toffee Bunny & Enchanted Mushroom are featured in People Magazine this week!
This issue of People magazine highlights some Easter celebrity favorites. Vosges new Enchanted Mushroom and sweet little Toffee Bunny are featured as one of Kelly Ripa’s favorites.
Toffee Bunny, $12
The new toffee bunny is sure to be a favorite with its flop-ears, petite pouf tail and unique interior of deep milk chocolate, crunchy butter toffee and a touch of pink Himalayan salt. It is a custom blend of milk chocolate, punctuated with just a touch of dark to deepen the flavor profile, and encapsulates crumbles of Vosges popular Caramel Toffee. Each 2.5 ounce solid chocolate bunny arrives in its own box complete with a story of its origin.
The Enchanted Mushroom, $75
Hidden by the shade of the cacao trees, deep within the rain forest hides the Enchanted Mushroom of Wolakaloua. A hunt must be carefully planned, as they are only visible to the human eye for three minutes at the first light of dawn.
Should you find yourself in possession of this precious prize, a helpful hint…one side will cure your mind and the other will cure your body. With a nibble off the first side of the Enchanted Mushroom or as some say, “toadstool,” you will feel your blood begin to flow with a powerful boost of antioxidant immunity. The opposite side will yield increased wisdom and happiness.
Here’s a little incentive to get you started but hurry, this offer ends March 31: 2 Free Mini Exotic Candy Bars with $50 spend
I bet even the Easter Bunny won’t have anything this good in his delivery basket!
It has dawned on me that I have not done much campaigning for white wines. This one sounds complex and intriguing. The best part about it, you can drink a few bottles now and hold on to a few bottles to enjoy in a couple of years.
| Tasting Notes (compliments of Wine Access) 2007 The Ojai Vineyard Chardonnay Clos Pepe Santa Rita Hills “Yellow-gold. Musky peach pit and mango aromas are complicated by zesty, smoky minerals. Tightly focused citrus and dried pit fruit flavors gain a gentle sweetness and put on weight with air, picking up a juicy mango quality. Firm finishing notes of bitter pear skin, tarragon and minerals give this wine a serious aspect. I’d hold off on opening this impressively concentrated wine for another couple of years.” 93 points–Stephen Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar “Pale gold color. Stony, mineral aromas giving way to lemon curd and a touch of honey. Wound up on entry, oxygen resistant, long and persistent. Slowly unfolding aromatics, with ripe citrus aromas and flavors, slowly unwinding. Two hours later, still opening up, coming on. This one will go forever. Bracing acid structure with fabulous length and purity. This is a very rare California offering and a memorable one.” |
I like a good Syrah. In fact many times, I love Syrah and this one from Rodgers Creek sounds like it could be one of those times. With only 200 cases available, this regular $60/bottle wine is available for a special price while supplies last:
2006 Syrah Rodgers Creek Vineyard Sonoma Coast – $32.99-$34.99/bottle + free ship on 4 bottles.
| Tasting Notes (compliments of Wine Access) 2006 Ramey Wine Cellars Syrah Rodgers Creek Vineyard Sonoma Coast “Deep, bright ruby. Highly expressive bouquet of blackcurrant and boysenberry, with sexy floral and spice notes adding vivacity. Lively red and dark fruit flavors gain an exotic floral quality with air and become spicier on the back end. Impressively vibrant syrah, with excellent finishing clarity and sweet persistence. As with the barrel samples of ’07 that I also tasted, this is more energetic than the Shanel.” 94 points–Stephen Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar“The dense opaque purple-hued 2006 Syrah Rodgers Creek Vineyard offers aromas of melted chocolate, ground pepper, exotic peach and lychee nuts (5% Viognier is co-fermented), and an earthy, blackberry, smoky mid-palate as well as finish. Enjoy this superb Syrah over the next decade.” 92 points–Robert Parker, The Wine Advocate |
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