Page 7 - Our Table to Your's

Wine: 2009 Capiaux Pinot Noir Garys' Vineyard
Region: California
Sokolin Price: $42.99/btl
Rating: 94 RP

The cover story of the most recent edition of Wine Spectator features 2009 California Pinot Noir. We all remember how impressive the 2007 vintage was for Cali Pinot Noir & for Cabernet too, so it's exciting to have another fantastic vintage. Wine Spectator's James Laube praises the 2009 Cali Pinot Noirs..."There is no such thing as a perfect vintage. But 2009 comes close to nirvana for California Pinot Noir. Without a doubt, 2009 ranks alongside 2007 as the best vintage this decade. But in terms of the number of great wines, '09 is head and shoulders above any other vintage in California Pinot Noir history." - James Laube (Wine Spectator, "Approaching Perfection"). According to the article, 55% of the 2009 Pinot Noirs tasted & reviewed were

As the weather turns cooler and the leaves begin to fall, red wine season is upon us once again. We delight in this time of year when we can pull a bottle of wine from our cellar and enjoy drinking it next to a roaring fireplace. A few days ago, we did just that. We had the great pleasure of experiencing a bottle of 1972 Heitz Cabernet Sauvignon Martha's Vineyard over a dinner of slow roasted filet mignon surrounded by potatoes and carrots. We are real lovers of old back-vintage Cali, particularly Mondavi and Heitz. Even being in the wine business, it's not every day that we get to experience these special bottles. They are quite the treat.

The irony was that we tried this bottle at almost the same time NY Times wine writer, Eric Asimov, authored an article about the longevity of back-vintage Cali wines and posed the question as to whether new California wines will stand the test of time like their older counterparts. Something he said, struck a chord with us. "Personally,

Last Friday evening, we attended the New York Wine Experience held at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square, hosted by Wine Spectator. This event is a huge deal in the wine business and is held only once every other year. It's a night when over 250 of the world's top producers gather to showcase their wines that the world knows and loves. In fact, in order for a winery or chateaux to participate, it is requested that the representatives pour a wine rated at least 90 points or higher by Wine Spectator and that the winemaker or owner be present to pour his/her wines. For attendees, this means they have the rare and special opportunity to meet the celebrities of the wine business. And yes, we spotted and chatted with a few of them, including Angelo Gaja, Tim Mondavi, Kathleen Heitz and many others.

It's hard to describe an event so incredible and mind-blowing as this one. You walk down the aisles in awe as the names just jump out at you...Mouton, Margaux, Lafite, Cheval Blanc,

Wine: 2009 Domaine Les Grands Bois Cote du Rhone Villages Rasteau Cuvee Marc
Region: Rhone
Sokolin Price: $19.99/btl
Rating: 93 RPWA

The latest edition of Robert Parker's Wine Advocate came out last week, and it came with much praise for 2009 Rhones. Robert Parker has a love for Rhone wines, and many of Parker's highest scoring wines come from the Rhone. The 2007 vintage was one of the best to come out of the region with quite a few wines receiving 100 point scores. And the 2009 vintage produced another round of incredible wines from the Rhone. Production levels in 2009 were lower than they were in 2007. 

We've recently tried several 2009s from the Southern Rhone, including bottles of Cote du Rhones from multiple producers. In our next series, we will be getting into the 2009 Chateauneuf du Papes.

A few nights ago over a dinner of homemade spaghetti and meatballs, we opened a bottle

Wine: 2006 San Filippo Brunello di Montalcino le Lucere
Region: Tuscany
Sokolin Price: $59.99
Rating: 95 JS

2006 was one of history's best vintages for Brunellos. James Suckling has called this vintage "...THE greatest modern vintage for Sangiovese..." After tasting many bottles of 2006 Brunello from different producers over the past few months, we'd agree with that statement.

The 2006 Brunellos are absolutely incredible! Brunello producers created magic with this vintage. The one common trait we've recognized amongst all of the '06 Brunellos we've tasted is their unbelievably long finish. With a price range averaging from under $45 through $100, they also represent some of the best values in Tuscany.

Last night, we opened a bottle of the high-scoring 2006 San Filippo Brunello di Montalcino le Lucere (95 points JS) over a dinner of slow roasted pulled pork and fingerling potatoes.

Wine: 2006 Pian dell'Orino Brunello di Montalcino
Region: Tuscany
Sokolin Price: $89
Rating: 97 RP

Happy New Year! Last year brought about many top regional releases from 2009 California Pinot Noirs to 2007 Barolos and 2009 Northern Rhones. But, the one release that really stands out in our mind is the 2006 Brunellos. From top to bottom, these wines are truly amazing. 2006 was one of history's best vintages for Brunellos. James Suckling has called this vintage '...THE greatest modern vintage for Sangiovese...'

We can't get enough of the 2006 Brunellos! Over the last year, we've tasted through many, many bottles of 2006 Brunellos, and we've concluded that they are some of the best tasting wines from a price to points ratio standpoint. With scores in the 95-97 point range from James Suckling, and a price range averaging from under $45 through

Wine: 1990 Moet Chandon Dom Perignon
Region: Champagne
Sokolin Price: $289/btl
Rating: 96 RP

Wine: 1988 Sassicaia
Region: Tuscany
Sokolin Price: $449/btl
Rating: 97 WS

So on a cold and rainy winter evening last week, we happened to visit one of our favorite restaurants in Manhattan, the Union Square Café. We are always greeted with smiling faces and get a fabulous table upstairs with plenty of room for the wine we bring along. The staff is amazing, and the food is even better. 

After the proper amount of chilling for our legendary 1990 Moet Chandon Dom Perignon in the ice bucket, we popped the cork and let the evening begin. The DP had an amazing bouquet of fresh garden flowers, toast and incredible hints of apples and pear. On the palate, the Champagne still had a crisp and bubbly dose of pure elegance

Last weekend, we had a few out of town guests in for the evening. Before they arrived, we carefully chose the wines from our cellar, which has to be one of the most exciting things, as many of you with cellars know first-hand. Choosing from a treasure trove of great wines is so much fun! And when our guests arrived, they were excited to see two bottles of back-vintage Cali on the counter ready to be consumed! Front and center was a bottle of 1987 Dominus and a bottle of 1990 Heitz Martha's Vineyard. We've been on a back-vintage Cali kick lately and thus, the pattern continued with these two Cali icons.

We started off with the 1987 Dominus served with a selection of imported cheeses. The 1987 Dominus was a great year for Dominus, and at 25 years old, it had quite a bit of life in it, but we'd probably say that it's in prime drinking mode. This high-scoring wine (96 points from Robert Parker) had

Robert Parker's scores for 2009 Bordeaux need no introduction. The release of his scores two weeks ago threw the wine world into one heck of a frenzy. Parker awarded an unprecedented number of 100 point scores in the 2009 vintage - 19 to be exact - 18 red and 1 white. Serious wine collectors and buyers scooped up these wines in the blink of an eye. This vintage was chased like the 2005 & 2000 vintages were. Buyers came out of the woodwork to purchase what Parker labeled as "...unquestionably the greatest Bordeaux vintage I have ever tasted..." And with such a powerful statement from arguably the world's most powerful critic, the 2009 Bordeaux campaign was beyond hot.

When we tasted many 2009 Bordeaux wines in bottle back in January at the New York UGC tasting, we thought these wines were sensational! After tasting these wines, we had a gut feeling Parker was going to give very high bottle scores to many of the 2009s. This vintage is beyond amazing. It offers superb freshness,

With a very mild winter and Spring's early arrival, we are thinking about summertime white wine and rosé earlier than we usually do. We've been busy tasting through a lot of wines and carefully selecting the best ones for our clients, so that their summers can even be more enjoyable.

One rosé in particular that we consider a summertime staple at Sokolin is the popular Chateau D'esclans Whispering Angel from Provence. Year after year, this is one of our best-selling rosés that is always a must-own item of the summer. Our customers buy this wine by the caseload every spring and summer.

The former winemaker of Mouton Rothschild entered the world of rosé at Chateau D'esclans, and their rosés are fabulous! One sip, and you'll taste the top quality of their wines.

The new 2011 Whispering Angel Rosé just arrived - and in time for all of the warm weather festivities, Easter and Passover. We opened a bottle last evening