VVW News Holiday Extra

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1 VVW News Holiday Extra Holiday Champagne Sale 15 PERCENT OFF On all purchases of three or more bottles All bubbly in stock eligible - available through 12/31/15 ARTISAN CHAMPAGNES - EXCLUSIVELY This is our sixth year since we ve gone exclusively with artisan producers for Champagne. With the best of the artisans, you get the best of everything high quality, distinctiveness, and value. Why drink mass-produced products when you can enjoy better Champagnes at better prices, crafted by talented artisans? Among our smallscale grower-producers, Ruelle-Patois makes just 4,000 cases a year, Marc Hebrart 8,800 cases, Jean Lallement merely 1,700 cases, and Vilmart 9,000 cases. A far cry from the millions of cases Veuve Clicquot churns out. We ve been ruthless in our selections this season, requiring both superb quality and fair pricing. We have 39 Champagnes available this year, from 19 different producers, along with 9 sparkling wines and 3 sparkling ciders. Virtually all of them will be open at our tasting bar sometime during November and December. New this year and of special note are Domaine Collet s sparkling Chablis, a sensational bargain in Moutard s Grande Cuvée, and a Krug-like multi-vintage bottling from Eric Rodez. Among the new vintage bottlings Ruelle-Pertois 2007 and Paul Bara s 2006 offer spectacular value, and Vilmart s 2010 Grand Cellier d Or, Pierre Gimonnet s 2008 Millésime de Collection, and Marc Hebrart s 2008 Rive Gauche Rive Droite will blow your mind. Artisan Champagne Sampler This six bottle sampler is the Champagne buy of the season, and a great way to enjoy the holidays. All six are crafted in small batches by their proprietors. Each has a distinctive and individualistic style, reflecting the terroir of its origin and the artistic sensibility of its maker. Each delivers thrilling quality, and together they present an interesting diversity of styles. They are yours for under $37.00 a bottle. Champagne Grande Reserve (Veuve Fourny); Champagne Bouzy Grand Cru (Paul Bara) Champagne Cuvée de Reserve (Ruelle-Pertois); Champagne Les Sept Crus (Agrapart) Champagne Grande Cuvée (Moutard); Champagne Le Mesnil Grand Cru (Moncuit) 20 Percent Off Regular Pricing - $ ($221.50/6 bottles = $36.92/bottle) THE EFFECT OF GOOD CHAMPAGNE It was midwinter, in leafless Sussex. I was with an old friend who had suffered. His life had, over the previous four months, undergone dislocating reverses that ended everything for which he had worked with ceaseless energy over the previous twenty-five years. His circumstances, never more than modest, had begun to flirt with squalor. In his mid-fifties now, this usually good-humoured stoic seemed defeated. We talked amid the metaphorical ruins for an hour or two. He barely smiled. I think, I said, as midday passed, we should drink some Champagne. He looked at me, pulling on his handrolled cigarette. He loved good wine, but he had particular reasons for loving good Champagne above all good wines. I had, in my car, a bottle of Mumm de Cramant. It was a cold day, and the Champagne had acquired a light chill. We lodged the bottle in his fridge s freezer compartment for a few final chilling minutes while I cleaned the glasses, breaking one in the process. I poured. The wine gleamed greenly, topped with enticing snow. It was our first drink of the day. The Cramant smelled fresh: sweet apples. It tasted green yet round, vivid, surging. We carried on talking, we ate some saucisson, chorizo, bread, avocado. The Champagne grew finer and finer. We were hypnotized by its seeming contradictions: its crispness, its edginess, its sappiness... and yet its roundness and fullness, too. Would any other wine have served us as well? Perhaps; yet this Champagne memory will abide while all the others the dull receptions, the tedious parties, the routine markers for the stations of the year have long faded. My friend s spirits were raised: we laughed and smiled; his eyes gleamed again. I detain you with this story only because it illustrates an essential truth of Champagne: that this is, more than most, a wine of general appeal rather than particular excellence. My friend and I drank Mumm de Cramant, but it could have been any other good Champagne; the point was that it was good Champagne. No other wine carries the same weight of symbolical significance; no other wine was in quite the same position to lift the spirits, almost outrageously, at such a moment. Its taste, of course, makes it suitable for drinking at any time; meals are never obligatory, as they would be for a fine bottle of Hermitage or Madiran. It is an occasion as much as a wine. - Andrew Jefford, The New France

2 2 20 Percent Off Half-Case Specials available through 12/31/15 - while supplies last Champagne Grande Cuvée (Moutard Pere & Fils) Moutard is new to us this year, and it is quite a find. A family-owned producer with roots in the area going back to the mid-1600s, they are located in the Cote des Bars district of Champagne, which is closer to Chablis than it is to Reims, and shares with Chablis its Kimmeridgian limestone terroir. Moutard s Grand Cuvée, their primary bottling, is pure Pinot Noir. And you ll know it right away, with its rich, almost lusty aroma and texture. It displays the fine balance Champagne is famous for, before tailing off in a clean, precise finish. It is easily the best buy in Champagne this year. Pale yellow with a faint onion skin tinge. Peach, tangerine, white flowers and a hint of honey on the perfumed nose. Silky and open-knit, offering juicy orchard and pit fruit flavors braced by juicy acidity and touch of chalky minerality. In a round, generous style, finishing with good cling and a repeating honey note. (89/100) Champagne Grande Cuvée (Moutard Pere & Fils) $36.00 HOLIDAY HALF-CASE SPECIAL 20 Percent Off $ ($173.00/6 bottles = $28.83/bottle) Champagne Blanc de Blancs (Ruelle-Pertois) Ruelle-Pertois is a very small family-owned producer in Moussy, just outside Epernay. They own 15 acres of vineyards, mostly Grand Crus in Cramant, Chouilly and Oiry, and produce a grand total of 4000 cases a year. Their current Blanc de Blancs release is mostly 2009 juice, and spent five and a half years on its lees before disgorgement. A beautiful Champagne in a classic style, it is a tremendous value. Light yellow. Musky smoke- and mineral-accented aromas of orange, pear skin, honeydew and white flowers. Shows very good energy and focus on the palate, offering vibrant citrus and orchard fruit flavors and a touch of toastiness. Closes on a bright, minerally note, with very good focus and floral persistence. (91/100) Champagne Blanc de Blancs Cuvée de Reserve (Ruelle-Pertois) $42.50 HOLIDAY HALF-CASE SPECIAL 20 Percent Off $ ($204.00/6 bottles = $34.00/bottle) Champagne Le Mesnil Grand Cru (Pierre Moncuit) Nicole Moncuit is the matriarch and guiding hand of this small family-owned estate in Le Mesnil, the great Grand Cru village in the Côte des Blancs that produces the greatest Chardonnay in all of Champagne. Moncuit s non-vintage Champagne is superb. It is intricate, pure and seductive at the same time it is powerful, voluptuous and attention-grabbing. A sensational, easy-to-love Champagne that has it all, including an attractive price. A complex, strikingly elegant and airy nose features notes of baked broad, yeast, pear, green apple and lovely spice notes. The refined character continues onto the absolutely delicious flavors that possess a moderately exuberant mousse before terminating in a dry, crisp and slightly austere finish that is clean, refreshing and persistent. (93/100) - Allen Meadows, Burghound.com Champagne Le Mesnil Grand Cru (Pierre Moncuit) $48.00 HOLIDAY HALF-CASE SPECIAL 20 Percent Off $ ($230.00/6 bottles = $38.33/bottle) Champagne Bouzy Grand Cru (Paul Bara) Paul Bara is a living legend in Champagne. He took over the firm as a teenager sixty years ago and remembers every vintage in perfect detail. He belongs to the sixth generation to run the company since it was founded in Many major Champagne houses have approached Bara over the years to try to buy the thirty exceptional locations he controls in the village. Only the first pressing is used, the wines are aged for at least four years in the cold cellar, and the yield is maintained at the lowest possible level. Despite the traditional methods, Bara s wines have a very elegant fruitiness, which is unique in Bouzy. - Richard Juhlin, 4000 Champagnes This is the 31st consecutive holiday season we have featured Paul Bara s superb Bouzy Champagne. Today there are many more excellent artisan Champagnes available than there were in 1985, but Bara s is still among the very best. Primarily Pinot Noir, tender and forceful at the same time, it is classic artisanal Champagne. Champagne Bouzy Grand Cru (Paul Bara) $55.00 HOLIDAY HALF-CASE SPECIAL 20 Percent Off $ ($264.00/6 bottles = $44.00/bottle)

3 ARTISAN CHAMPAGNES Regular 15% Off AGRAPART Avize Price Price Champagne Les Sept Crus (Agrapart)... $ $ PAUL BARA Bouzy Champagne Bouzy Grand Cru (Paul Bara)... $ $ Champagne Bouzy Grand Cru (Paul Bara) ml.. $ $ Rosé Champagne Bouzy Grand Cru (Paul Bara)... $ $ Rosé Champagne Bouzy Grand Cru (Paul Bara)...375ml.. $ $ Champagne Bouzy Grand Cru (Paul Bara)... $ $ Champagne Comtesse Marie de France (Paul Bara)... $ $ HENRI BILLIOT Ambonnay 100% Grand Cru, particularly satisfying Pinot Noir here. Fresh, bracing red grape Champagnes with long, swollen mid-palate flavors. Just 5 hectares in size, so availabilities are scarce! Champagne Ambonnay Grand Cru (Billiot)... $ $ Champagne Ambonnay Grand Cru (Billiot)...MAGNUMS.. $ $ percent 2012 and 25 percent each of 2011 and The wine has energy, buoyancy, saltiness and almost bracing acidity, and the finish is like strawberries and toast. The best edition of this wine in many years. Guy Charlemagne le mesnil 2009 Champagne Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs (Guy Charlemagne)... $ $ Veuve Fourny Vertus For a relatively unknown house, I found the quality here to be eye-popping and the prices reasonable as well. - Allen Meadows, Burghound.com Champagne Grande Reserve (Veuve Fourny)...$ $ Champagne Grande Reserve (Veuve Fourny)...375ml..$ $ Champagne Grande Reserve (Veuve Fourny)... MAGNUMS..$ $ Champagne Blanc de Blancs (Veuve Fourny)...$ $ Pale gold. Fresh pear, lemongrass, white flowers and chalky minerals on the intensely perfumed nose, with a leesy element adding depth. Juicy, sharply focused citrus and orchard fruit flavors are fleshed out by suggestions of melon and honey and pick up a floral quality with air. Packs a solid punch but comes off as lithe, finishing with excellent cut and length and lingering stoniness. (93/100) Pierre Gimonnet cuis 2008 Champagne Oenophile Extra Brut (Pierre Gimonnet)... $ $ True to its vintage, this is racy and vibrant, thriving on its vivid energy and tension. There s plenty of depth here, and a ripe richness of fruit, yet it still feels youthfully aggressive at the moment. ( ) 2008 Champagne Millesime de Collection Special Club (Pierre Gimonnet)$ $ I was almost afraid to taste this! But eventually I had to, and I observed, as calmly as I could, my mind being blown. An apogee of precision, mineral, balsam and oolong, graphite and pepper, dandelion greens and that s before the fruits and flowers are accounted for, or the elegant texture, or the remarkable endless finish. A classic in the making. Simply great Champagne don t miss it. (++(+)) 2006 Champagne Spécial Club (Pierre Gimonnet)... $ $ This is silky and refined, combining its rich ripeness with a sophisticated texture and a complex depth of flavor. Its ripe notes of green pear, guava, lime and quince are held in vivid tension by a racy spine of acidity, allowing the aromas to expand on the finish with a graceful, elegant poise, while the underlying minerality infuses everything in its chalky presence. This is a thrilling wine, and while it s difficult to keep your hands off of it now, it will only get better with time. ( ( )) Henriet-Bazin villers-marmeny 2006 Champagne Grand Cru (Henriet-Bazin)... $ $

4 Geoffroy Cumieres 2008 Champagne Empreinte (Geoffroy)... $ $ One of this year s sleepers: try not to miss it. 79 percent Pinot Noir, 15 percent Pinot Meunier, 6 percent Chardonnay. The wine is stylish, classy, beautiful, combining the floral 2008, so wispy and lithe, with the red fruits and darker tertiaries of Cumières Pinot Noir, and it will improve on the cork; all the hickory crusty smokiness of this terroir into a real demi-glace of vinosity. (+(+)) Marc Hébrart Mareuil-Sur-Aÿ 2010 Champagne Spécial Club (Marc Hébrart)... $ $ Champagne Spécial Club (Marc Hébrart)...MAGNUMS.. $ $ Made of 55 percent pinot noir and 45 percent chardonnay, this blends the grands crus of Aÿ, Oiry and Chouilly with a significant proportion of wine from Mareuil-sur-Aÿ. Hébrart notes that this was one of the most difficult vintages he s seen, due to the wet weather: We had to triage very seriously, he says. In order to make a wine like this, we had to drop 30 percent of our fruit on the ground. His Spécial Club is an impressive wine by any standards, feeling vividly fragrant and intense in presence without needing a great deal of body or weight. Its sleek red-fruit flavors are long and delicately nuanced, already hinting at great complexity, and they expand on the finish with grace and finesse. (++(+)) 2009 Champagne Spécial Club (Marc Hébrart)...MAGNUMS.. $ $ Champagne Rive Gauche - Rive Droite Grand Cru (Marc Hébrart).. $ $ Hébrart s Spécial Club is intended to be the estate s prestige cuvée, yet the Rive Gauche-Rive Droite has arguably become the top wine of the cellar this isn t to take anything away from the former wine, it s just that with the Rive Gauche-Rive Droite, Hébrart has shown a masterly ability to bring out the complexity and expression of a wine by fermentation in wood. The wine s quality begins, of course, in the vineyards: half of this blend is pinot noir from Aÿ, from prime vineyards on the Mareuil side of the village, while the other half is old-vine chardonnay from Les Justices in Oiry and Montaigu in Chouilly. While it s still youthful, marked by the structure and vivacity of the 2008 vintage, this is already exceptionally detailed and complete, exploding in a kaleidoscope of flavor on the palate. It s resonant, demanding and intense without being the least bit weighty, and its flavors feel densely knit, as if their resolution were translated into an unusually high DPI. It s a thrilling wine, and while it will take many years to reach its full potential, it will be fascinating to follow its journey. (+++) Jean Lallement Verzenay These are extremely terroir-driven wines, keenly expressing the northern Montagne de Reims in their poignant minerality and sleek shape, and they possess a sense of refinement and finesse that sets them apart from many other growers in this area. As the production is miniscule (1,700 cases total), Lallement s wines can be difficult to procure, but they are well worth a special search. Champagne Verzenay Grand Cru - Reserve (Jean Lallement)... $ $ Champagne Verzenay Grand Cru (Jean Lallement)... $ $ Lancelot-pienne Cramant Champagne Cramant Grand Cru (Lancelot-Pienne)...arrives early Dec...$ $ J. LasSalle Chigny-Les-Roses 2006 Champagne Blanc de Blancs (J. Lassalle)... $ $ Bright yellow. Mineral-accented Meyer lemon, quince and jasmine scents give way to deeper nectarine and melon with air. Offers zesty citrus pith and Anjou pear flavors, along with suggestions of brioche, anise and iodine. Becomes more minerally and spicy with air, showing excellent clarity and back-end lift. Silky and stony on the floral finish, which hangs on with excellent tenacity. (93/100) - Josh Raynolds, VinousMedia.com 2006 Champagne Special Club (J. Lassalle)... $ $ (60% Chardonnay and 40% Pinot Noir): Pale gold. Potent citrus fruit and pear skin aromas are complicated by honeysuckle, cherry pit and buttered toast. Rich yet lively on the palate, offering juicy orchard and pit fruit flavors and a refreshingly bitter jolt of orange pith. Shows excellent clarity, drive and tension on the finish, which leaves suave floral and smoky mineral notes behind. (93/100)

5 Jacquesson Dizy What is most admirable about Jacquesson today is that it was already a highly respected Champagne house, widely considered to be one of the greatest in the region, and yet in the belief that they could do even better, the Chiquet brothers decided to radically revamp their entire production, not an insubstantial risk. Beginning with the 2000 vintage, they discontinued their non-vintage Perfection Brut, reinterpreting it as the Cuvée No. 728, as it represented the 728th blend created in the history of the house. Every subsequent year, a new, numbered cuvée is released: 729, 730, 731 and so forth. The idea of these numbered cuvées is to emphasize the character of the base vintage, blending it with a small percentage of reserve wines for completeness and harmony yet allowing the vintage character to set the tone for the wine each year. This is in a sense antithetical to the traditional concept of a non-vintage champagne, which is blended to create a consistent style of wine from year to year. We don t want to make a consistent blend every year, says Jean-Hervé Chiquet. We want to make the best possible blend every year. Jacquesson s wines are complex and richly textured, demonstrating a substantial depth of fruit that s amplified by vinification in large wooden casks and highlighted by their unusually low dosages. At the same time, these wines show a keenly fine texture and harmonious elegance. The 700-series is proving to consistently be one of the best non-vintage bruts on the market. Champagne Cuvée 737 Extra Brut (Jacquesson)... $ $ The varietal composition of Jacquesson s non-vintage blend changes significantly according to the conditions of the base year: Cuvée 737, based on 2009, is made up of 43 percent chardonnay, 30 percent meunier and 27 percent pinot noir, with reserve wines accounting for 30 percent of the total. It certainly reflects its base year in its round, generous depth, feeling spicy and rich on the palate. Its flavors are notably opulent, showing creamy notes of stone fruits, apple and exotic citrus accented by hints of honey and vanilla, yet they re firmly anchored by fresh acidity, feeling focused, lively and dry. The extra brut dosage of 3.5 g/l also helps to keep this wine firmly tethered, giving it length and shape. ( ( )) Champagne Cuvée 738 Extra Brut (Jacquesson)... $ $ Based on the 2010 harvest, with 33 percent of reserve wines, this blend contains 61 percentage chardonnay, 21 percent pinot meunier and 18 percent pinot noir. It contrasts a rich body and ample depth of flavor with a racy spine of acidity, its tense structure accentuated by its low dosage of 2.5 g/l. Chardonnay is clearly apparent in both flavor and texture, imparting a lovely sense of finesse, and the balance on the palate is terrific. While it s showing well now, it s still very youthful in character, so don t be afraid to leave this in the cellar for a while. ( ( )) Jean Milan Oger 2009 Champagne Symphorine (Jean Milan)... $ $ This shows 2009 at its best; ripe, scallop and brioche, a markedly generous version of a normally cool Champagne. It s from four parcels in Oger: Zailleux, Beaudures, Barbettes and Chênets. This is actually better than Milan s single-vineyard Terres de Noël, which is why I m waiting for the next vintage of Terres de Noël! (+) PIERRE MONCUIT LE MESNIL The Moncuit family has been growing vines in Le Mesnil-sur-Oger since the late 19 th century. The estate owns 15 hectares spread over 20 different parcels. Nicole Moncuit always makes each wine from a single vintage, without any reserve wine, in order to preserve typicity and terroir, she says. These are precise, deliberate wines, feeling reserved and slightly stern without being overly austere. I find the wines to be cleanly harmonious, expressive and fine, with a pronounced chalkiness and a tightly focused, linear character that s classic for Le Mesnil. Champagne Le Mesnil Grand Cru (Pierre Moncuit)... $ $ Champagne Le Mesnil Grand Cru (Pierre Moncuit)...MAGNUMS.. $ $ Rosé Champagne Grand Cru (Pierre Moncuit)... $ $ Champagne Nicole Moncuit (Pierre Moncuit)...arrives early Dec...$ $ Moutard Buxeuil Champagne Grande Cuvée (Moutard)... $ $ Rosé Champagne Rosé de Cuvaison (Moutard)...$ $

6 6 Eric Rodez Ambonnay Éric Rodez is the eighth generation of his family to grow vines in Champagne. He has been making wine at his family s estate in Ambonnay since Prior to taking over, he worked both in Champagne and elsewhere, including a three-year stint in Burgundy that he says permitted me to encounter another logic, one that was more artisanal in spirit and closer to the land. While Rodez places a great deal of emphasis on work in the vineyards, it s most likely his work in the cellar that sets him apart from many other grower estates. His time in Burgundy taught him how to work with oak barrels, and once back home in Champagne, working in the cellars at Krug taught him how to apply this knowledge to champagne. Today, 80 percent of his vinification is in wood, which he says changes the texture of a wine, giving it another dimension. Éric Rodez s champagnes feel crafted in the best sense of the word: they display a vinous intensity that obviously comes from quality work in the vineyards, yet they also demonstrate a sophisticated complexity and refinement that indicates a sure hand in the cellar. Rodez blends multiple vintage-quality wines together to create the Cuvée des Grands Vintages, selected only from the finest years. Vinified in barrel, the old wines are stored separately and blended each year before bottling. Champagne Cuvée des Grands Vintages Ambonnay Grand Cru (Rodez) $ $ This cuvée of the Grands Vintages is 70% Pinot Noir and 30% Chardonnay and is a blend of multiple vintages from first-press wine: 30% 2006, 17% 2005, 18% 2004, 14% 2002, 9% 2000, 7% 1999, and 4% It was blended and bottled in early 2007, spent eight years sur lie, and was disgorged early This is the closest Champagne on the market today to the old-school Krug Grande Cuvée bottlings of the 1990s, before Krug became a luxury brand in the LVMH stable and its prices became ridiculous. Forget Krug drink Rodez! Ruelle-Pertois Moussy Champagne Blanc de Blancs Cuvée de Reserve (Ruelle-Pertois)... $ $ Champagne Moussy Grand Cru (Ruelle-Pertois)... $ $ Light, bright yellow. Heady, complex aromas of ripe citrus and orchard fruits, with a suave floral element and a chalky mineral overtone. Taut and densely packed, offering vibrant lemon pith, tangerine and pear flavors and a late jolt of salty minerality. Closes with excellent clarity and length, along with lingering zesty mineral and citrus pith notes. (92/100) Vilmart rilly-la-montagne Wood-aged base wines give these Champagnes distinctly Burgundian flavors. Often described as the best grower in Champagne or the poor man s Krug. Vilmart s wines can offer a resonance and majesty unique among small estates. At best, wines are grandiose and resplendent. With sufficient bottle-age these can take you up and up into rare altitudes of complexity. Champagne Grand Cellier (Vilmart)... $ $ Rosé Champagne Rubis (Vilmart)... $ $ Champagne Grand Cellier d Or (Vilmart)... $ $ Oh man: yes yes yes! This takes the sinewy profile of 2010 and uses it to stir these flavors with steel; insanely vivid and incisive; whippy and tight but sexy and feline; like drinking Champagne with a lynx. Never had anything like this. (++) 2009 Champagne Grand Cellier d Or (Vilmart)... $ $ Rosé Champagne Grand Cellier Rubis (Vilmart)... $ $ A blend of 60 percent pinot noir and 40 percent chardonnay, this is vibrant and kinetic, its ripe, luscious notes of strawberry and raspberry underlined by brisk acidity. It feels succulent and inviting, its fragrance heady and full-bodied yet silky and precise at the same time. While it s delicious now, there s no reason it couldn t develop further with aging. ( ) 2008 Champagne Grand Cellier d Or (Vilmart)...MAGNUMS... $ $ This is a blend of 80 percent chardonnay and 20 percent pinot noir, all from 40- to 50-yearold vines in the Rilly vineyard of Les Blanches Voies. It shows both the richness and the racy acidity of the vintage, unfolding on the palate in a sleek, richly-textured fuselage of flavor. It feels harmonious and integrated, its acidity firmly present without being aggressive, and it finishes with long, finely-tuned aromas of golden fruit, brown spice and chalky minerality. This is a terrific edition of this cuvée, and it will only become more impressive with time. ( )

7 Sparkling Wines & Ciders Regular 15% Off Price Price Prosecco di Valdobbiadene (Adriano Adami)... $ $ Prosecco is the sparkling wine of Northern Italy's Veneto region, and the favorite wine of Venice. It is a lighter, fresher, more delicate drink than Champagne, with light apple and almond flavors. The Valdobbiadene district is the source of Veneto s finest Proseccos. Adriano Adami's Bosco di Gica is one of the best. At just 11 percent alcohol, it is light on the palate with a bone-dry finish. Rosé Prosecco (Ca Vittoria)... $ $ This one is really fun. It is just as elegant, dry, and low in alcohol (11.5%) as the Prosecco above, but its beautiful pink color and a hint of fresh berry fruit on the palate contribute a sense of playfulness and levity. A great choice for a holiday party. Langhe Spumante Brut (Deltetto)... $ $ Made from estate-grown Chardonnay and Pinot Noir in Piedmont s hilly Roero district, and on its lees for three years before disgorgement (more than twice the minimum for Champagne), Deltetto s Brut is a dead ringer for Champagne in its flavors, its balance, its refinement, and in the fineness and persistence of its mousse. If your budget precludes the expense of Champagne, you ll be hard-pressed to find a well-priced substitute with as much allure and class as this. Langhe Spumante Rosé (Deltetto)... $ $ We stock some superb rosé Champagnes, but this is as interesting than any of them. From just outside Alba in the heart of Piedmont s wine country, Deltetto s is 50 percent Nebbiolo and 50 percent Pinot Nero, four years on the yeast. Its finesse, balance, intricacy, and persistence are remarkable. Brut Sparkling Wine New Mexico (Gruet)... $ $ A clean and complex citrus infused nose does not have that excessively fruity nose that so many lower end Champagne and sparkling wines display. There is a subtle trace of yeast with crisp and bright flavors supported by a firm acid spine and moderate effervescence on the solidly long finish. This is delicious. - Allen Meadows, Burghound.com Rosé Sparkling Wine New Mexico (Gruet)... $ $ There is no question that this is a rosé as the fruit is both exuberant and clean with notes of raspberry and strawberry, but without annoying excess fruitiness. The flavors are clean, crisp, delicious and nicely dry with good vivacity, moderate effervescence and an equally clean and persistent finish. - Allen Meadows, Burghound.com Brut Sparkling Wine Anderson Valley (Roederer Estate)... $ $ Roederer Estate's Brut has the beautifully aromatic bouquet of fine Champagne. It has a luscious texture, without the acidic bite that mars most California sparklers. It is stylish and celebratory, with precisely focused flavors and impeccable balance. Crémant de Bourgogne (Terres Secretes)... $ $ Crémant de Bourgogne is Burgundy s version of Champagne. This one from Terres Secretes is 100 percent Pinot Noir. A very fine, persistent bead supports its refined fruit flavors. It is a subtle, quality wine at a steal of a price. It may not have the finesse and complexity of a well-selected Champagne, but it is better than many of the lessthan-stellar ones put out by the big houses. Crémant de Bourgogne Chablis (Gilles et Romain Collet)... $ $ Sidre Brut Tendre Sparkling Apple Cider (Bordelet)... $ $ This apple cider is very fresh, and like all of Bordelet s ciders, it tastes like you're biting into the fruit. There is just enough juiciness to round out the palate to make this a remarkable drink for aperitifs, or light meals. - Michael Sullivan, Importer Poiré L'Authentique Sparkling Pear Cider (Bordelet)... $ $ We could get out the wine terms for this, but tasting is believing. Very classy stuff with the texture and taste of ripe pears. - Michael Sullivan, Importer Poiré Granit Sparkling Pear Cider (Bordelet)... $ $ This is Bordelet s Grand Cru pear cider. The fruit source for this is a stand of 60 foot tall, 300 year old pear trees. It is never filtered in order to preserve flavor of these minuscule pears. - Michael Sullivan, Importer 7

8 HOLIDAY Bubbly SALE 15 PERCENT OFF on 3 or more bottles through 12/31/15!"#$%&'()$$&*)"( +,$,&-.$%)/0 -)"1 -)(.&)(%.2&') -0#*"%&3.,&456 Return Service Requested ARTISAN CHAMPAGNES: Agrapart Paul Bara Henri Billiot Guy Charlemagne Veuve Fourny Pierre Gimonnet Geoffroy Marc Hebrart Henriet-Bazin Jacquesson Jean Lallement Lancelot-Pienne J. Lassalle Jean Milan Pierre Moncuit Moutard Eric Rodez Ruelle-Pertois Vilmart & Cie SPARKLING WINES DIRECTIONS: From I Exit at Page Mill Road and head east on Page Mill into Palo Alto. Turn left (north) on El Camino Real. Turn right at the first traffic light on El Camino, which will be S. California Avenue. We will be on your right about halfway down the first block. From US Exit at Oregon Expressway, and head west on Oregon Expressway into Palo Alto. Turn right (north) on El Camino Real. Turn right at the first traffic light on El Camino, which will be S. California Avenue. We will be on your right about halfway down the first block. PARKING: Free parking along S. California Avenue, in the Palo Alto Public Parking Garage on Cambridge Avenue, and in the Palo Alto Public Parking Lot on Sherman Avenue. SPARKLING CIDERS ARTISAN CHAMPAGNE SAMPLER 6 bottles - 20% Off $ HOURS: Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 11 am - 7 pm 11 am - 7 pm 11 am - 7 pm 11 am - 8 pm 11 am - 7 pm VVW News 2015 Holiday Extra info@vinvinowine.com (650) FAX: (650)