$10.99 (retail) Wine Club pricing reflected in receipt

Gary’s Notes: Bodegas Atalaya is part of the Gil Family Estates in partnership with Oro Wines Group in Spain, and if that sounds as complicated as European economics, well, it is. Fortunately, this wine is a no-brainer. . .it is a solid wine that you can enjoy any time because it fabulous with food or by itself and it costs less than a six pack of Coronas.

A blend of 70% garnacha (grenache) and 30% monastrell, this wine was fermented in stainless steel tanks and then aged for just four months in French oak barrels. That is one clue to its low price, but this wine is a pure extraction 30-year-old vines in a limestone vineyard at 2,600 feet in the province of Albacete in the southwestern corner of the country. It is the antithesis of Lodi and we think you are going to love it.

The winery says Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate rated this wine 89 points, but my search could not confirm this. . .so you decide. Besides, wineries always tell the truth, right?

Winery Tasting Notes: “Deep red cherry in color. Elegant, fresh and complex nose that highlights ripe fruit and floral notes. Nice and fresh on the palate, well balanced with sweet but still young tannins, a delicious mouthful sensation that lingers on the very long and smooth finish.”

$34 (retail) Wine Club pricing reflected in receipt

Gary’s Notes: Desperada is part of the Plough Wine Group, a collection of independent winemakers that includes Russell From, whose Rhone blend is another selection this month. Here’s how Desparada winemaker is described online:

“Owner, winemaker and sole employee, Vailia Esh, is the heart of Desparada Wines. Blending fruit and regional styles as she sees fit, her lust for life has taken her around the world, only to lead her to the Central Coast of California. There she produces soulful and eclectic Mediterranean-styled blends, as only her mind can dream, and her hands make.”

This wine is 100% cabernet sauvignon from the Chelle Mountain and Diamond Jem vineyards in Paso Robles. It was aged for 16 months on French oak: 25% one-year, 25% two-year and 50% neutral.

Winery Tasting Notes: Coming soon!

$59.99 (retail) Wine Club pricing reflected in receipt

Gary’s Notes: Back in the day when we were just dialing in our process for rolling out winemaker dinners, we were incredibly lucky to get David Long of David Arthur in Napa Valley to come to Auburn. The wine was fabulous, the dinner incredible and the party didn’t want to end. That all came flooding back for me when I joined Drew and a group of his friends for our Totally Tomatoes prix-fixe in the Wine Mine and we opened two bottles of David Arthur’s 2009 Meritaggio, a red blend.

By coincidence I had ordered Chef Alexander’s incredible pasta dish as my main course, and the Meritaggio was an absolute killer pairing. No kidding, it stopped me cold with the first sip. Quite simply an elegant explosion of flavors if that is even possible. Just thinking about it I want more—right now—even though it is barely 9 a.m. as I write this.

You gotta love the name. . .”Meritaggio”. . .an absolute Italian rip off of the high-falutin’ “Meritage” moniker used by some American red blends. This wine is comprised of all-Napa Valley fruit: 60% cabernet sauvignon from three blocks, 18% sangiovese, 9% cabernet franc and 5% petite verdot aged for 22 months on 60% new French oak. . . .add it up, and that’s how you get to $55 per bottle.

Winery Tasting Notes: “A dark ruby red color with a light magenta hue offers aromas of dark cherry, baked strawberries, rhubarb and hints of violet and lavender followed by milk chocolate and roasted coffee beans. The entry has a silky and chewy palate texture with flavors of fruit cake and blueberries. The finish has sweet tannins and carries a long finish with flavors of black currant jam and red licorice.”

$34 (retail) Wine Club pricing reflected in receipt

Gary’s Notes: Desperada is part of the Plough Wine Group, a collection of independent winemakers that includes Russell From, whose Rhone blend is another selection this month. Here’s how Desparada winemaker is described online:

“Owner, winemaker and sole employee, Vailia Esh, is the heart of Desparada Wines. Blending fruit and regional styles as she sees fit, her lust for life has taken her around the world, only to lead her to the Central Coast of California. There she produces soulful and eclectic Mediterranean-styled blends, as only her mind can dream, and her hands make.”

This wine is 100% cabernet sauvignon from the Chelle Mountain and Diamond Jem vineyards in Paso Robles. It was aged for 16 months on French oak: 25% one-year, 25% two-year and 50% neutral.

Winery Tasting Notes: Coming soon!

$48 (retail) Wine Club pricing reflected in receipt

Gary’s Notes: Interesting story behind this label. It is owned by Nikki and Jeff Nelson of Los Angeles, both of whom have a background in the wine industry. Jeff works for a French champagne house and Nikki, who earned a degree in wine and viticulture from Cal Poly, earned her chops at a wine distributor before departing in 2011 to oversee the launch of the first vintage of Liquid Farm.

The pair has always preferred Old World wines, so when they decided to develop their own brand, they focused on low-alcohol, cool-climate chardonnays with minerality and nice acidity. Today they make three chards and a Bandol-inspired rosé.

Fruit for Golden Slope was sourced from the Zotovich and Rita’s Crown vineyards in Paso Robles. This wine was aged for 14 months in mostly neutral barrels, unfined and unfiltered.

Winery Tasting Notes: Liquid Farm makes two chardonnays and it says Golden Slope is. . .”The richer of the two bottlings, with a small amount of new barrel to add warmer tones and a more voluptuous texture, all the while still maintaining restraint.

PROFILE: flavors of hazelnut, mineral, cardamom, lemon cake, poached pear and crème fraîche.”

$32 (retail) Wine Club pricing reflected in receipt

Gary’s Notes: Herman Story Wines is owned by a vastly independent fellow who describes himself as “I am Russell P. From, winemaker and sole employee” whose wines are “mad, schlepped, peddled and drunk with friends by me.”

Herman Story is Russell’s grandfather and inspiration he describes as “a rancher, logger, swapper, banker, philanthropist, a teller of tales. . .” Russell’s core brand of four wines comprises barely 2,000 cases and they sell out quickly. Perhaps for that reason, he has launched a new line called R.F.P., consisting of three wines totaling less than 1,000 cases. This month, we bring you his new Rhone blend of 42% vigonier, 33% marsanne and 25% roussanne, aged in mostly neutral French oak.

Winery Tasting Notes: “Scents of grilled ripe peach, paper whites, nutmeg and white pepper open to a spring-fresh palate of Asian pear, clementine and lemongrass with a crisp acid-driven finish. Enjoy now or cellar up to 3 years.”

$32 (retail) Wine Club pricing reflected in receipt

Gary’s Notes: Herman Story Wines is owned by a vastly independent fellow who describes himself as “I am Russell P. From, winemaker and sole employee” whose wines are “mad, schlepped, peddled and drunk with friends by me.”

Herman Story is Russell’s grandfather and inspiration he describes as “a rancher, logger, swapper, banker, philanthropist, a teller of tales. . .” Russell’s core brand of four wines comprises barely 2,000 cases and they sell out quickly. Perhaps for that reason, he has launched a new line called R.F.P., consisting of three wines totaling less than 1,000 cases. This month, we bring you his new Rhone blend of 42% vigonier, 33% marsanne and 25% roussanne, aged in mostly neutral French oak.

Winery Tasting Notes: “Scents of grilled ripe peach, paper whites, nutmeg and white pepper open to a spring-fresh palate of Asian pear, clementine and lemongrass with a crisp acid-driven finish. Enjoy now or cellar up to 3 years.”

$10.99 (retail) Wine Club pricing reflected in receipt

Gary’s Notes: Bodegas Atalaya is part of the Gil Family Estates in partnership with Oro Wines Group in Spain, and if that sounds as complicated as European economics, well, it is. Fortunately, this wine is a no-brainer. . .it is a solid wine that you can enjoy any time because it fabulous with food or by itself and it costs less than a six pack of Coronas.

A blend of 70% garnacha (grenache) and 30% monastrell, this wine was fermented in stainless steel tanks and then aged for just four months in French oak barrels. That is one clue to its low price, but this wine is a pure extraction 30-year-old vines in a limestone vineyard at 2,600 feet in the province of Albacete in the southwestern corner of the country. It is the antithesis of Lodi and we think you are going to love it.

The winery says Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate rated this wine 89 points, but my search could not confirm this. . .so you decide. Besides, wineries always tell the truth, right?

Winery Tasting Notes: “Deep red cherry in color. Elegant, fresh and complex nose that highlights ripe fruit and floral notes. Nice and fresh on the palate, well balanced with sweet but still young tannins, a delicious mouthful sensation that lingers on the very long and smooth finish.”

$32 (retail) Wine Club pricing reflected in receipt

Gary’s Notes: Herman Story Wines is owned by a vastly independent fellow who describes himself as “I am Russell P. From, winemaker and sole employee” whose wines are “mad, schlepped, peddled and drunk with friends by me.”

Herman Story is Russell’s grandfather and inspiration he describes as “a rancher, logger, swapper, banker, philanthropist, a teller of tales. . .” Russell’s core brand of four wines comprises barely 2,000 cases and they sell out quickly. Perhaps for that reason, he has launched a new line called R.F.P., consisting of three wines totaling less than 1,000 cases. This month, we bring you his new Rhone blend of 42% vigonier, 33% marsanne and 25% roussanne, aged in mostly neutral French oak.

Winery Tasting Notes: “Scents of grilled ripe peach, paper whites, nutmeg and white pepper open to a spring-fresh palate of Asian pear, clementine and lemongrass with a crisp acid-driven finish. Enjoy now or cellar up to 3 years.”

$59.99 (retail) Wine Club pricing reflected in receipt

Gary’s Notes: Back in the day when we were just dialing in our process for rolling out winemaker dinners, we were incredibly lucky to get David Long of David Arthur in Napa Valley to come to Auburn. The wine was fabulous, the dinner incredible and the party didn’t want to end. That all came flooding back for me when I joined Drew and a group of his friends for our Totally Tomatoes prix-fixe in the Wine Mine and we opened two bottles of David Arthur’s 2009 Meritaggio, a red blend.

By coincidence I had ordered Chef Alexander’s incredible pasta dish as my main course, and the Meritaggio was an absolute killer pairing. No kidding, it stopped me cold with the first sip. Quite simply an elegant explosion of flavors if that is even possible. Just thinking about it I want more—right now—even though it is barely 9 a.m. as I write this.

You gotta love the name. . .”Meritaggio”. . .an absolute Italian rip off of the high-falutin’ “Meritage” moniker used by some American red blends. This wine is comprised of all-Napa Valley fruit: 60% cabernet sauvignon from three blocks, 18% sangiovese, 9% cabernet franc and 5% petite verdot aged for 22 months on 60% new French oak. . . .add it up, and that’s how you get to $55 per bottle.

Winery Tasting Notes: “A dark ruby red color with a light magenta hue offers aromas of dark cherry, baked strawberries, rhubarb and hints of violet and lavender followed by milk chocolate and roasted coffee beans. The entry has a silky and chewy palate texture with flavors of fruit cake and blueberries. The finish has sweet tannins and carries a long finish with flavors of black currant jam and red licorice.”