Olga Raffault - Cabernet Franc "Les Picasses", Chinon, Loire Valley, France 2016 Incredible value, Ageworthy Cabernet Franc from the Benchmark Red Wine Producer of the Loire! Vinous Media - 93 Points - From a limestone-based plot on the Chinon plateau, the 2016 Chinon Les Picasses features intriguing warming spices, including garam masala, as well as piquant black cherry, all followed up with mouthwatering acidity. Like their other cuvées, it's not showy and extroverted but quiet, its joy being in its tender caress on the midpalate. It has grown up in large foudres (50hl) over a year but reveals little woody influence. The finish has fine sinew and refined chalky tannins that draw the palate out on the lengthy, tea-leaf-like and spiced finish. Newsletter Special - $27.99 As we go into the colder months of the year, wines like Olga Raffault's 'Les Picasses" Cabernet Franc are perfect for warming up any occasion. Their wines are wonderfully expressive with depth and spice to compliment nearly any fall and winter meal, especially Thanksgiving! 100% Cabernet Franc, Les Picasses is the most famous Chinon lieu-dit, close to the village of Beaumont-En-Véron on the north bank of the Vienne River. It is a slope with full southern exposure and chalky clay-limestone soils, the combination resulting in fully ripened, structured wines. Les Picasses is the fullest-bodied, most structured and most complex of the Raffault reds. Quinta da Pellada - DAC Red Blend, Dão, Portugal 2018 Extraordinary Value Portuguese Red, Marked by an Intuitive, ‘less is more’ Approach Winemaking and Sustainable Agriculture by One of the Worlds Greatest Winemakers! Last week we had the pleasure of tasting with one of the best, if not the greatest Spanish and Portuguese wine importer in the world - Ole & Obrigado. Ole's selection is focused on family-owned, soulful wines of exceptional quality from across the Iberian Peninsula. We couldn't be more excited to share some of our favorites we tasted. To start, we're proud to offer this incredible Portuguese Red Blend by winemaker Alvero Castro. This is a wine of place and elegance, I could see this appealing to lovers of red Burgundy, Spanish Grenache, and Italian Nebbiolo. The wine is fresh and light on it's feet, as the varietal blend offers a depth of nuance. The wine shows great energy with notes of earthy red cherries, crushed provencal herbs, black pepper, and wild violets. This wine screams 'food', with its lively acidity, herbacousness, and spice. Overall a stunning example of terroir driven wines from the Dão. Newsletter Special - $14.99
Botanica Wines - "Arboretum" Cabernet Sauvignon Bordeaux Blend, Stellenbosch, South Africa 2017 Outstanding Quality Cabernet Based Bordeaux Style Blend from South Africa's Premier Region! If you're looking for serious quality Bordeaux style without breaking the bank, Stellenbosch South Africa needs to be on your radar. Arboretum is crafted from the fruit of the organically-farmed estate vineyards in Devon Valley, Stellenbosch. This top-wine is a blend of the estate's best barrels. The Botanica is absolutely stunning - expect rich flavors of blueberry, vanilla, graphite, black cherry, and earthy tobacco. The palate is extrordinary, the wine is unfinned and unfiltered and well-textured with grainy tannin, mouth coating richness is balanced with juicy acidity and a clean mineral rich finish laden with warming barrel spice. We were blown away by the quality of this wine for the price. Newsletter Special - $21.99
Cheers! -Alex Alexander Knechel - Certified Sommelier Wine Sales Manager - Plucky Wines alexanderknechel@pluckywines.com
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