Page 6 - Our Table to Your's

Nothing evokes thoughts of summer more than the beach, and of course, dinners with friends, picnics, late-night celebrations and weddings. And we can't think of an event without champagne since champagne is the drink poured on all important celebratory occasions.

Since we have two very close friends tying the knot this summer, we were tasked with selecting the right champagne for their toast. After sampling several options, below are three of our top choices that we've determined are the greatest selections for the price.

And on another note, if you will be attending a wedding or two this summer as a guest, a bottle of champagne also makes a wonderful and classy gift for the newlyweds. We have some recommendations for that too.

For Your Champagne Toast:
NV Laurent Perrier Brut Champagne - 90 points RP - $33.95 / btl
This champagne provides a lot of bang for

Wine: 2004 Domaine de Chevalier Blanc
Region: Bordeaux
Sokolin Price: $125/btl
Rating: 94 PR

Wine: 2008 Henri Boillot Puligny Montrachet Clos Mouchere
Region: Burgundy
Sokolin Price: $79.99/btl
Rating: 94 BH

Summer = white wine season, and a few days ago at a restaurant, we opened up two very special bottles of white wine with a few employees - one a Bordeaux blanc & the other a white Burgundy. What a treat these two bottles were! The Bordeaux blanc was a 94 point (RP) bottle of 2004 Domaine de Chevalier Blanc, and the white Burgundy was also a 94 point (BH) bottle of 2006 Henri Boillot Chassagne Montrachet Clos Mouchere. It's not every day that you get to experience wines of this caliber.

Both of these wines were stellar! It's interesting and fun to evaluate how totally different the two were, which

Wine: 2006 Casanova di Neri Brunello di Montalcino
Region: Tuscany
Sokolin Price: $39.99/btl
Rating: 93 RP

Over the long holiday weekend, we had the opportunity to sample a 2006 Tuscan wine - the Casanova di Neri Brunello di Montalcino. We knew this wine was going to be rocking before we even tried it. James Suckling has raved about the 2006 Brunellos over and over. "...The 2006 vintage for Brunello di Montalcino is the new benchmark for this famous Tuscan appellation and the Sangiovese grape. I can't think of a better expression of Tuscan wines than the best 2006 Brunello di Montalcinos...Brunello makers agree 2006 is their best effort...I think 2006 is THE greatest modern vintage for Sangiovese, and many of the 2006s are setting a new quality standard for Brunello producers..." - James Suckling on 2006 Brunellos.

Now if that doesn't convince you that the '06 Brunellos are SUPER, we're not

Wine: 2007 Flora Springs Trilogy
Region: California
Sokolin Price: $44.99/btl
Rating: 93 RP

Have you recently tried Napa Valley's version of a Bordeaux blend? If not, we have an awesome recommendation for you! A handful of Napa Valley producers are well known for their "Meritage wines" as their version of the Bordeaux blend is often called. In terms of red wines, the grapes that go into the blend are a combination of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and/or Malbec. In California, for a producer to label its wine as a specific varietal, the bottle has to include at least 75% of the stated varietal. A while back, some producers wished for more flexibility in their blend, and started to deviate from the varietal labeling and began experimenting with blending techniques, as is done in Bordeaux.

Founded in 1978, the Flora Springs Estate, located in the heart of Napa Valley

Wine: 2009 Faiveley Nuits St. Georges les Porets St. Georges
Region: Burgundy
Sokolin Price: $69.99/btl
Rating: 92-94 BH

Over and over, the 2009 Burgundy vintage is being proclaimed by many prominent wine critics as an outstanding one. Maybe fate had its hand in producing such a remarkable '09 vintage - Wine Spectator noted that "the vintages on the 'nines' have produced some memorable harvests - like 1999, 1989, 1969, 1959 & 1949..." And our clients have been scooping up the '09s by the case load! With the last really great Red Burgundy vintage produced in 2005, Burgundy lovers are ready and anxious for the '09 vintage! Some of the 2009s have just arrived, so the waiting game is over.

Since most Burgundian producers make extremely tiny quantities, the supply of many of the region's wines is very, very limited. When we taste the wines of this region, we are always reminded what a special

Wine: 2007 Marcarini Barolo Brunate
Region: Piedmont
Sokolin Price: $46.99/btl
Rating: 94 RP

Last week, we brought your attention to 2009 Red Burgundies. Right now in the wine business, what's just as hot as '09 Red Burgs are 2007 Barolos. This region is receiving quite the coverage from industry experts. Robert Parker has really praised this Barolo vintage! "The 2007 Barolo are some of the most viscerally thrilling young wines I have ever tasted. The 2007s are similar to the 2004s, but with more substance. The wines are radiant, intensely perfumed and totally seductive, yet not at all heavy, in a style that offers the textural richness of a warm vintage with the aromatics of a cool year. In 2006 and 2007, readers will find the finest back to back Barolo vintages since 1989 and 1990?" Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

And so, we decided to share a bottle of 2007 Marcarini Barolo Brunate over a simple,

Wine: 2008 Sassicaia
Region: Tuscany
Sokolin Price: $169/btl
Rating: 97 JS

Ever since James Suckling released his score on the 2008 Sassicaia in June, we have been waiting to try this wine! This Sassicaia scored big - 97 points from Suckling with a rave review matching its score.

James Suckling said, "this is the best young Sassicaia in years. It's the new 1988, which was great, and sometimes better than the legendary 1985." While Burgundy wines always seem to be great in years ending in nine, all forces of nature come together to create magic for Sassicaia in years ending in eight. James Suckling pointed out that the owner of Sassicaia said that his wine is always great in years ending in eight...1958, 1968, 1978, 1988, 1998 & now, 2008. That's incredible when you think about it.

We

Every time we open a bottle of Bordeaux from the Pauillac region, we feel like we are transported directly there. And again, we had that same experience last evening when we opened up a bottle of 1996 Grand Puy Lacoste with grilled Angus sirloin burgers and homemade French fries. Pauillac is the region that is home to three of the five first growth Bordeaux, including Lafite, Latour & Mouton. Upon first sip of the '96 Grand Puy Lacoste, what we tasted was ALL Pauillac - smoke, graphite, lead, saddle leather and subtle dark fruit. It's exactly what you'd expect a Pauillac wine to taste like.

A few months ago, we set aside a few bottles of the 1996 Grand Puy Lacoste for our own personal collection, but sadly, we are now completely SOLD OUT of this wine! At a tasting in DC, Robert Parker's Hedonist Gazette rated the 1996 Grand Puy Lacoste higher than the 1996 Mouton. The Grand Puy Lacoste represented an insane deal at $135/bottle with a score of 96+ points RP-HG versus the

Wine: 2002 Louis Jadot Chevalier Montrachet
Region: Burgundy
Sokolin Price: $299/btl
Rating: 95 points - our score

As summer is winding down, & cool weather is moving in, we find ourselves trying to taste & enjoy as many white wines as possible. Last evening, with our out of town guests in from Westchester, we pulled a bottle of Grand Cru White Burgundy from our cellar - a bottle of 2002 Louis Jadot Chevalier Montrachet. Grand Cru = the crème de le crème. These guests, in particular, know & appreciate great wine, so we wanted to serve a wine that we knew would make an impression. When entertaining, we all want to please our guests and make them feel comfortable, so gauging and understanding their palates is very important to us.

After deciding that we wanted to start off the night with a White Burgundy, we chose the 2002 Louis Jadot Chevalier Montrachet because we know that 2002 was an outstanding

Wine: 2009 Saint Prefert Chateauneuf du Pape Collecion Charles Giraud
Region: Rhone, France
Sokolin Price: $64.99/btl
Rating: 92-94 RP

When we had our first sip of the spectacular and mind-numbing 2007 Southern Rhone wines upon release, we were extremely impressed. Not only was there power and massive fruit, but a sense of balance and elegance that was not overbearing. So time rolls on, and we look forward, as we always do in the wine business, and hope for stellar repeats. Next, came the 2008 vintage, which in our opinion was rather average and seemed to be on target with a vintage score of only 86 points based on the Wine Advocate's vintage chart. 

Then enters the 2009 vintage, and we hear amazing things coming from the Southern Rhone. So we rummage through the inventory and find a wine that we tasted and loved in 2007 and found their new 2009 release, the Domaine Saint Prefert Chateauneuf