(N0607-101) 08 FETZER VALLEY OAKS CALIFORNIA MERLOT  $7.49
U.S. Newly Available 06/07
Sweet and sassy. Lots of oak spice, cigar box, and vanilla. In the beginning, this covers up the fruit. But the fruit will not be denied, breaking out into sweet merlot cherry goodness. The whole presentation is awfully naughty./ Yes, sweet, sexy cherry and oak spice flavors. Layers them on, lays them on thick. Wow! Long, sweet, spicy aftertaste. Best Fetzer merlot yet, and quite a contrast from the sullen nature of many a young 08 California red. Someone brought a briny pecorino cheese. Salt calls for sweet in my book, and this wine worked well with it. 91/100.

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(N0607-102) 08 WALNUT CITY WINEWORKS WILLAMETTE VALLEY PINOT NOIR  $19.99
U.S. Newly Available 06/07
Dark disposition. Black cherry, black tea. Nice to get a fresh rendition of this. Even too fresh for now./ Taut and burnished. Good pinot expression. Well styled. Nice wood char. Youthful, bit reclusive. Good acidity. Young Oregon pinot all the way. Some tannin to resolve. Good future. Age 1-2 years. 90+/100.

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(N0607-103) 07 BETHEL HEIGHTS ESTATE EOLA-AMITY HILLS PINOT NOIR  $29.99
U.S. Newly Available 06/07
Good, fresh, crisp cherry and tea. Nice Oregon pinot profile. Touch of tar, anise. Everything nice about it. Not a show wine, but, then, Bethel Heights doesn't make show wines. Just dinner wines. 91+/100.

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(N0607-104) 07 FORCHINI PROPRIETORS RESERVE RUSSIAN RIVER VALLEY PINOT NOIR  $32.99
U.S. Newly Available 06/07
Ripe, fresh, crisp RRV style. Good oak integration, with RRV sour cherry fruit./ Ripe fruit palate. Cassis, raspberry, spice, power. Nice crafted. Expensive but deserves a good rating. 92/100.

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(N0607-105) 08 RIDGE THREE VALLEYS SONOMA RED  $19.99
U.S. Newly Available 06/07
American oak and proud of it. Ridge knows American oak. Solid oak and fruit. Large, without being impolite. The full ripeness of Ridge zins of late./ Openly ripe but sturdy and vigorous fruit. Very spicy, ripe berry taste. Hoisin sauce extras.. Big and chewy constitution. One of the best in the series. Long and complex. Well liked by the group. 92+/100.

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(N0607-106) 08 SHADY LANE COOP DE BLANC LEELANAU PENINSULA WHITE  $12.99
U.S. Newly Available 06/07
Sweet, sassy, lemon and peel and curd. And some pineapple. Vignoles. Some north and south aspects of vignoles. In a year that wasn't really ripe. So?/ Passion fruit too. Sweetish sensation and good acidity too. Lots of character here. And uniqueness. I'm liking it. Nice rendition. 90/100.

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(N0607-107) 09 CARLOS BASSO RESERVADO SAN CARLOS CABERNET SAUVIGNON  $17.99
ARGENTINA Newly Available 06/07
Most of this edition's Argentine notes were taken by Dick Scheer at the May 24 Ann Arbor Tasters Guild Wines of Argentina revue. These are his favorites among the 63 wines sampled. The meaning of the brand name precedes some of the tasting notes. Very young, fresh. Seems to have more material than the 09 malbecs tasted this evening. Some time in oak complex. May have filled it up some. Good oak subtlety and integration./ Yeah, good oak vanilla, toffee. Adds dimension. 09 seems to need oak. 92+/100.

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(N0607-108) 08 CASA DE CAMPO MENDOZA CABERNET SAUVIGNON  $8.99
ARGENTINA Newly Available 06/07
House in the country. Super fruity as always. Sweet, ripe fruit. 08 friendly fruit. 08 to advantage in cabernet. Nothing cabernet severe about it./ Relatively dry. Some cab astringency. A cream puff among the world's cabernets though. Nice effort. 90+/100.

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(N0607-109) 06 FABRE MONTMAYOU GRAN RESERVA MENDOZA CABERNET SAUVIGNON  $16.99
ARGENTINA Newly Available 06/07
Oh, boy! A beauty. Shows not only oak complexity and integration but also strong cabernet traits of black currant and blackberry, despite 4 years on barrel and bottle. Nice, warm maturation tones from the gran reserva long in oak regimen. That certainly sets it up. Fabulous./ Quite dry. And more reserved on the palate. Will get better and better. Class act. 92+/100.

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(N0607-110) 05 JOFFRE E HIJAS GRAND VALLE DE UCO CABERNET SAUVIGNON  $14.99
ARGENTINA Newly Available 06/07
Well, a year older than the malbec and much, much better. Maturity, beauty, cabernet stature and significance. Good oak. A nicely mature wine with plenty of integrity and build. Has thrived on aging, unlike the malbec./ Well, this has great maturity of fruit, and a nice display of oak and time in oak. Yeah, challenges the Fabre. I guess it will hold a spell. I think it's at its peak now though. 92/100.

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(N0607-111) 06 ALMA NEGRA MENDOZA RED  $21.99
ARGENTINA Newly Available 06/07
Dark soul. Malbec and bonarda. Very, very rich fruit with complexity of bottle age, oak and oak aging, and two varieties. Bonarda chips in brightness and floral qualities. Uplift. Sound basis of malbec. Very fine quality. Certainly worth the premium. The oak adds complexity but yields nicely to the fruit performance. Variegated and exciting./ Yeah, great acidity too. Bonarda really lifts the fragrance and complexity. Super beauty. 93+/100.

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(N0607-112) 08 CARLOS BASSO DOS FINCAS VALLE DE UCO CABERNET-MERLOT  $11.99
ARGENTINA Newly Available 06/07
Well executed. Nice sweet oak in background. Plus sweetness and plumpness brought to the act by merlot. A joy to have the merlot here. Well assembled./ Boy, great acidity. Good cabernet peels extract gives dark, deep, astringent properties to give a foil to 08 and merlot plumpness. 08 with strictures. Well crafted. 91+/100.

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(N0607-113) 08 CLOS DE LOS SIETE MENDOZA RED  $18.99
ARGENTINA Newly Available 06/07
Walled vineyard of the seven. They've done nice job with this 08. More fruit driven and less oaky than the earlier ones. Which probably accounts for why the critics aren't as keen on it. Nice chocolate-caramel-spice oak background though. And 08 gives the bright, plump fruit. So for me, this is one of the champs of the series./ Oak dries it out some. Makes it astringent. Hopefully that will settle in. Michel Rolland goes full throttle on oak in his wines, and not even the 08 fruit can compensate in toto. Class wine though. 92+/100.

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(N0607-114) 08 CRISTOBAL 1492 MENDOZA RED  $5.49
ARGENTINA Newly Available 06/07
Merlot, bonada, sangiovese. Bright, light, lively, uplifting as always. A pleasant relief at this interval. Particularly fruity this vintage. Good complex of varietal contributions./ Just fruit juicy good. Light and lively, delicious, fresh fruit. It's got it! I'm impressed. 90/100.

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(N0607-115) 08 ALTOS LAS HORMIGAS MENDOZA MALBEC  $12.99
ARGENTINA Newly Available 06/07
Ants heights. One of the grand, grand malbecs in its price range–once again. More open and revealing that months back. Now it's full steam ahead 08 style. Generosity, multi-dimensions. Dark and rich and roasted and ripe and serious. Complex too. Way beyond simple fruit forward 08./ Brilliant cherry fruit and juice. Great acidity. Baked cherry pie and crust quality. Singularity. 92+/100.

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(N0607-116) 08 AVE PREMIUM MENDOZA MALBEC  $14.99
ARGENTINA Newly Available 06/07
Bright, crisp, fresh, splashy fruit. Nicely meshed oak too, with lots of toast and spice. Some chocolate./ Good, juicy fruit acidity for sure. More acid and race than many 08s. Sets it up nicely for food. 91/100.

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(N0607-117) 08 CARLOS BASSO RESERVADO MENDOZA MALBEC  $17.99
ARGENTINA Newly Available 06/07
Sweet black cherry with cherry pie crust baked dough stuff. I like this intro to Basso./ Good oak toast. Good acidity. Good form. Good future. Large and ambitious 08 not made to stroke your right away. 91+/100.

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(N0607-118) 07 DECERO REMOLINOS VINEYARD MENDOZA MALBEC  $18.99
ARGENTINA Newly Available 06/07
From scratch. Lovely complex of fruit and wood, especially wood. Not sawdusty though. Some brett too, for sure. Soft and chocolatey, warm spicy, caramelly oak. Plenty of cherry juice too./ Really good acidity. Really sings. Great with food. Good job. 91/100.

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(N0607-119) 08 KU DE TA MENDOZA MALBEC  $11.99
ARGENTINA Newly Available 06/07
Wonderful scents of black cherry, oak, spices. Well crafted, well balanced. Lots of clarity./ Very flavorful, smooth, fruity. Another great example of the 08 fruit driven style. Just delicious. June 7: Just finished off the bottle two weeks later with chicken parts (no boneless, skinless chicken breast allowed!) simmered with tomato, onion, garlic, oregano, and basil. The wine remains succulent, drop-dead alluring. Why ask for carbon negative half bottle alternatives while half a 750ml bottle, stoppered and stored in a cool place, will offer equal or greater satisfaction when you return to it days later? 91/100.

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(N0607-120) 06 LAS ACEQUIAS CLASE A MENDOZA MALBEC  $12.99
ARGENTINA Newly Available 06/07
A wonderful plump fruitiness for its age. This vintage too was pretty fruit driven. Charming. Very nice wood spices too. Delightful./ Dry, good acidity. Attractive oak astringency. Makes it very meal-worthy. 91/100.

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(N0607-121) 08 PASCUAL TOSO MENDOZA MALBEC  $12.99
ARGENTINA Newly Available 06/07
Wine Magazine Gold Medal. Oh, boy! Runs deep. Fine oak. French oak. Subtle, butterscotch, warm spices like nutmeg. Fruit is 08 plump. Upscale. Gets more aromatically complex every time I return to it./ Just abundant fruit and flowers. Wonderful experience. Class wine. 92/100.

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(N0607-122) 08 TAMARI RESERVA MENDOZA MALBEC  $14.99
ARGENTINA Newly Available 06/07
To do everything with passion. So much more revealing that when last tasted. The true 08 openness now, fruit beauty. The elegance, acidity, fruit clarity, exciting oak spices and exotica. One of the best of the series./ Oh, boy. Beautiful oak, cherry, and spice flavors. Anise. Another great one. 92/100.

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(N0607-123) 08 VILA CRUZ DE PIEDRA MALBEC  $9.99
ARGENTINA Newly Available 06/07
Family name. Sweet and warm. Exhibits its warmer origin. I like it. A roasted fruit style. Little or no oak./ Very dry. Quite powerful. Not nearly as plush as many of the 08s. But this is the house style. Good with food. 90+/100.

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(N0607-124) 08 YELLOW AND BLUE SAN JUAN MALBEC LITER  $9.99
ARGENTINA Newly Available 06/07
Not maize and blue. Yellow and blue make green. Organic. Much better than 07. Again, you've got to 08 fruit driving it. Fresh and juicy. Coming out of that box, it's fruit juice like. Fulfills. Very grapey. Genuine malbec cherry./ Juicy taste too. Fruitful. Good acidity. Good value in liter. A joy to drink. 90/100.

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(N0607-125) 07 DON RODOLFO CORNEJO COSTAS CAFAYATE TANNAT  $10.99
ARGENTINA Newly Available 06/07
Valley at 6000 feet. Not to severe. Malbec on steroids. Super concentrated take with those thicker peels. Very bright cherry. Floral overtones. One of the most uplifting in the series. Not as roasted as usual. A bit warm and alcoholic but not too./ Dry, relatively undeveloped. Some fine dry tannin and astringency. Will work out. 90+/100.

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(N0607-126) 09 ALFREDO ROCA SAN RAFAEL PINOT NOIR  $11.99
ARGENTINA Newly Available 06/07
Special. Got a spicy, cherry cola and smoky, toasty, oaky thing that returns me to Savigny les Beaune, especially the Doudet-Naudins of yore. Gets me every time. Boy, flair and penetration. Burnishes the nostril lining./ Pinot soft, embracing. Shows some warmth of background. I'm a sucker for Roca's pinots. 91+/100.

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(N0607-127) 08 LAS PERDICES RESERVA MENDOZA PINOT NOIR  $18.99
ARGENTINA Newly Available 06/07
The Partridge family of wines. Very sweetly fruity, candied black cherry, maybe dark chocolate cherry pinot. A nice pinot that's poles apart from the Roca./ Bursting with crunchy black cherry flavor. Not so candied after all. There's great acidity here. And not screwed up by a lot of wood complications. Geez, tell me about it! I'm impressed by this one too! Keep pumping out pinots, Argentina! 91+/100..

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(N0607-128) 09 MAIPE MENDOZA BONARDA  $10.99
ARGENTINA Newly Available 06/07
Still some 09 narrow quality. Plenty fresh. As it airs, more and more spews forth. Richness if not sweetness. Depth, spice, variegation. Cherry and flowers./ Fruit getting even more plush on the palate. Coming up. Better than the 09 malbecs. Plush, tasty, good acidity. Confirms an earlier impression. Flavor complex. 91+/100.

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(N0607-129) 09 CARLOS BASSO TUNUYAN SAUVIGNON BLANC  $11.99
ARGENTINA Newly Available 06/07
Nice, crisp gooseberry-grapefruit set./ Yes, it's bright. More like Chile than New Zealand. No tropics. Good freshness and astringency. Some New World power. Good work. 90/100.

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(N0607-130) 09 CRISTOBAL 1492 MENDOZA CHARDONNAY  $8.49
ARGENTINA Newly Available 06/07
Continues to impress. Macon like. Apple, citrus. Crisp, bright, no wood. Total./ Richness of New World. Will serve well with food. I'm still a fan. 91/100.

How many:   

(N0607-131) 07 JOFFRE E HIJAS GRAND VALLE DE UCO CHARDONNAY  $14.99
ARGENTINA Newly Available 06/07
Oh, a lot of sweet, toasty, creamy, spicy oak here. A beauty./ Yeah, nutty, grainy, oaky. A little low in acidity. If it had more acidity, you could throw it in blind with a set of white burgundies. Killer. 91+/100.

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(N0607-132) 09 LAS ACEQUIAS MENDOZA CHARDONNAY  $12.99
ARGENTINA Newly Available 06/07
Very fruity. Little or no oak. A fragrant grape in the mix. Likely torrontes. Seems more than just chardonnay musque. Great appeal./ Dry, uplifting. Some astringency supports the torrontes theory. Appealing, if eccentric. 90/100.

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(N0607-133) 09 LURTON VALLE DE UCO PINOT GRIS  $9.99
ARGENTINA Newly Available 06/07
Oh! Large, racy, crisp, penetrating. Mineral. Citrus peel. Racy./ And along with the race is pinot gris viscosity. Unbelievable effort. Improving, putting on mass. 91/100.

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(N0607-134) 09 CRISTOBAL 1492 MENDOZA WHITE  $5.49
ARGENTINA Newly Available 06/07
Chardonnay, viognier, chenin. Yes, the chardonnay apple, viognier honeysuckle, chenin soft melon. They nailed it./ Yeah, freshness, relief, viognier astringency, dry, plump, lots of dimension. Delicious. 90+/100.

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(N0607-135) VALENTIN BIANCHI NEW AGE ROSE  $8.99
ARGENTINA Newly Available 06/07
Spritzy. Popular. Cherry soda style. Not the sweet cherry sodas; more like the seltzer ones, like Jones./ Cherry with a squeeze of lemon. Fun juice. Good cocktail base. 89/100.

How many:   

(N0607-136) VALENTIN BIANCHI NEW AGE WHITE  $8.99
ARGENTINA Newly Available 06/07
Spritzy, fragrant. Torrontes, likely, with maybe some muscat and verdelho. Nice./ Good and clean and fruity. Lemon-lime, some ginger. Soda-poppy like the rose. As intended. Well done. Also cocktail oriented. 90/100.

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(N0607-137) 08 AVE PREMIUM CAFAYATE TORRONTES  $12.99
ARGENTINA Newly Available 06/07
Totally pomaded. Incredible cold cream./ Good astringency. A good, refreshing, clean dinner wine. Dry. Good effort. 90/100.

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(N0607-138) 09 CASA DE CAMPO MENDOZA TORRONTES  $8.99
ARGENTINA Newly Available 06/07
More of the floral mock orange blossom muscat like stuff. Peach./ Good muscat like astringency. Fresh. Toward the muscat side rather than gewurz. Fabulous as before. 91/100.

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(N0607-139) 09 FINCA DE ORIGEN RESERVA CAFAYATE TORRONTES  $10.99
ARGENTINA Newly Available 06/07
Lots of rose. More gewurz like. Floral./ Pretty astringent, without the compensating glycerol. Dry and stark here tasted brut, but better with food. 90+/100.

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(N0607-140) 08 TAMARI RESERVA LA RIOJA TORRONTES  $14.99
ARGENTINA Newly Available 06/07
Oh, boy! Fresh, vital, stimulating. Tingles the nostrils./ Huge extract, like a great riesling. Saturated. Good astringency of the variety. The flavor is not all that intense, but it sure has that mouthfeel, that extract., the build. The meal-worthiness. 92/100.

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(N0607-141) 09 ZOLO MENDOZA TORRONTES  $11.99
ARGENTINA Newly Available 06/07
Fresh. Combo of muscat and gewurz tones. Rose, orange, peach./ Good astringency. Medium flavor intensity. May develop more. Nice work. 91/100.

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(N0607-142) 08 KIM CRAWFORD MARLBOROUGH PINOT NOIR  $18.99
NEW ZEALAND Newly Available 06/07
Light-hearted, sweet, uncomplicated. Cherry. Taut berry, and tea. And some brett./ Full, lush, fruity, expressive, elegant. Good NZ acidity. Both racy and rich. Juicy and flavorful. A tantalizing wine. 92+/100.

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(N0607-143) 09 WIRRA WIRRA MRS. WIGLEY MCLAREN VALE GRENACHE ROSE  $14.99
AUSTRALIA Newly Available 06/07
Sweet, easy, sassy Aussie style. No edges./ Ripe and juicy. Big berry flavors. Soft, with plenty of power to balance the richness. The acid's OK too, and there's some red peels astringency. Weighty. Fills the mouth. Large and long. Here's a crowd-pleasing rose I could take to a BBQ. 91/100.

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(N0607-144) 09 BANROCK STATION SE AUSTRALIA MOSCATO  $6.99
AUSTRALIA Newly Available 06/07
Oh, boy! Just perfect! Peach, apple, flowers, cold cream./ Bulb flowers, apples, loquat. Everything a moscato should have. Really intense. A little spritz for refreshment. Exemplary. 5.5%. Great with fruit and with chocolate. 91/100.

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(N0607-145) 06 CHATEAU HAUT GAZEAU, LUSSAC SAINT EMILION  $16.99
FRANCE BORDEAUX Newly Available 06/07
Nice nutty oak touch. Soft and warm, with a lush, burnished fruit forward aspect. Mulberry, cranberry./ Quite a bit of terroir intrigue. Nutty oak and warm fruit. Beguiling, contemplative. Different. Pleasing. 90/100.

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(N0607-146) 08 CHATEAU COURONNEAU, BORDEAUX BLANC  $14.99
FRANCE BORDEAUX Newly Available 06/07
Well, this is worth tasting again, because in November it was really tight compared to the wonderful 07 at its later stages. Now it's fuller and richer. Some wood? Or maybe just the sauvignon gris peels extracts giving that impression. Semillon heft too. Wow! Really penetrates!/ Wow, indeed! Full of sauvignon gris and perhaps some barrel contributions. Plump, dense, juicy fruit. Notions of pear, peach, passion fruit, and guava. Delivers in spades. 91+/100.

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(N0607-147) 09 COTES DE GASCOGNE SAUVIGNON, LA JAJA DE JAU  $10.99
FRANCE BORDEAUX Newly Available 06/07
Fresh. A grassy and citrusy sauvignon character. the typical mildness of southern sauvignon, especially in the warm 09 vintage./ Fresh and tangy, with peachy ripeness and brisk, ripe acidity. Pleasant summer quaffer.. 89/100.

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(N0607-148) 09 CHINON RIVE GAUCHE, M. PLOUZEAU  $14.99
FRANCE LOIRE Newly Available 06/07
Dark. Expresses the ripeness of the vintage and also the good crispness of northern cabernet franc. Red raspberry beauties./ Dense and rich cabernet franc black fruit. Good weight and polish, with fine tannin grip. Solid ripeness and constitution of Chinon. Well priced and very attractive. And promising. Will improve 3-5 years. Will have to check on the terroir here. 16.3+.

How many:   

(N0607-149) 09 VOUVRAY SILEX, DOMAINE DES AUBUISIERES  $16.99
FRANCE LOIRE Newly Available 06/07
Good grip. Great edge for warm 09. Quince, pear, lime, calcaire./ Oh, boy! Rich, deep, lush feel with nice culling stony edge. Really great grip, edge, extract. Lots of calcaire. Totally dry–nothing sec tendre about it. However, it is not austere, just nicely dry. Well liked by the group. 92+/100.

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(N0607-150) 08 MARSANNAY LES CLOS DE JEU, DOMAINE COLLOTTE  $26.99
FRANCE BURGUNDY Newly Available 06/07
Ric: Full and juicy. Black cherry and plum. Exotic, with touch of northern Cote d'Or grip./ Lush and juicy, with a graceful mien. Some light tannin. Will improve 3+ years. 92+/100.

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