Andrew Murray "Tous les Jours" Syrah
Central Coast, 2009
The Central Coast American Viticultural Area (AVA) stretches roughly 250 miles along the coastline of California, from San Francisco County in the north to Santa Barbara County in the south. Andrew Murray focuses on two regions within the Central Coast AVA, the Santa Ynez Valley and Paso Robles. With a passion for Rhone varietals that began while traveling in the south of France, Andrew Murray only crafts Rhone style blends, both red and white, and Syrahs. He refers to the “everyday” and easy-drinking Syrah as “Tous les Jours”. A red wine blend of Syrah from Paso Robles and Santa Ynez Valley vineyards, it is carefully blended to produce a soft, smooth Syrah full of ripe berry aromas and flavors, balanced with just the right amount of licorice, tar and oak on the finish. Tous les Jours is consistently lauded as a ‘Crozes-Hermitage look-alike’ by wine critics and has been touted as one of the best wines under $20 by Food & Wine Magazine.
Try the Tous les Jours Syrah tonight with some Cave Aged Gruyere or Beemster’s Goat Gouda, all available at your local Wine Thieves. While you are there, pick up some extra as this excellent wine will continue to evolve and improve in the bottle for a minimum of 2-3 years. ~ Darrell Scarlott
$13.99
Maysie "Masut Vineyard" Sangiovese
Mendocino County, 2009
Maysie is a small Berkeley-based producer that focuses on making the best of a single-vineyard Italian varietal, Sangiovese. They produce four wines, three of which are made from this native Tuscan grape, and one that is blended with it. Masut Vineyard is farmed organically and dry-farmed, which means there is no irrigation system, but rather the residual moisture in the soil is preserved by a form of tilling. This method is commonly used in Europe because it is believed that water dilutes the flavor in the grapes.
The end result? This full-bodied red is great for people that like big, oaky, California-style wines! Intense aromas of black cherry and leather up front, and subtle hints of warm vanilla as the wine opens up. Once it reaches the taste buds, you’ll find rich flavors of more black cherry, together with black currant and just enough tannin to grip that lasting, flavorful finish.
If you love to indulge, try this baby with our St. Agur bleu cheese ($21.99/lb, about $6.50/wedge). Made from cow’s milk in a village in the south of France, it is exceptionally delicious because in addition to the traditional tangy profile of most blue cheeses, it has a richer, creamier texture that melts away like warmed butter! Paired with Maysie, the tanginess of the cheese subsides as those lush cherry flavors kick in, and the tannins from the wine melt away with the finish of the cheese. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some wine and cheese to finish… Enjoy! ~ Samantha Porta
$13.99
Smokescreen chardonnay
Napa Valley, 2009
Here's a negociant that has only one ride, but it's worth the ticket. It's a finished chardonnay that they have ingeniously named "Smoke Screen". It's young, but inviting with soft spice, crisp green apples, soft lemons, vanilla, slight oak and young pear. With short cellaring, it will develop a bit more mature pear notes. But it works so well with food right now! This producer calls on higher-end wineries that have an abundance of fruit beyond their regular production levels. Once they decide to purchase the juice from these wineries, they must sign a contract that states that the winery is to remain anonymous. Although they couldn't reveal their sources, I know one prestigious Napa winery that comes to mind... ~ "Sir" John Howell, IV
$12.99
