2012 A to Z Pinot Gris, Oregon (Mike)
Reg. Price: $16.99
Mills Club Price: $15.29
Case Price: $13.59
From the winemaker, “The 2012 A to Z Pinot Gris has intense aromatics of lime blossom, nectarine, tangerine, melon, wet stone and guava that build into aromatics of nutmeg, Bing cherries and kiwi. The palate is concentrated, ripe and succulent with wonderful lush fruit and mineral notes. The concentration is framed by ripe acidity that gives lift to the wine as it moves to the mid-palate. The flavors on the mid-palate echo the aromas with a deeper not of honey. The wine moves seamlessly into a finish that goes on for some time before finishing crisply. The lasting impression of the wine is great purity and intensity balanced by wonderful juiciness and succulence.”
2012 Domaine Sigalas Asirtiko/Athiri, Santorini, Greece (Mary)
Reg. Price: $22.99
Mills Club Price: $20.69
Case Price: $18.39
This crisp white blend of 75% Asirtiko and 25% Athiri grapes native to Santorini is delightful. Perfect dry white to enjoy with appetizers, fish, or white meat dishes.
2012 Donati “Sisters Forever” Unoaked Chardonnay, Central Coast, California (Pat)
Reg. Price: $15.99
Mills Club Price: $14.39
Case Price: $12.79
**During October, National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Donati Family Vineyards donates proceeds of sales of this wine to breast cancer research.
This unoaked Chardonnay with some Pinot Blanc blended in is full of pure tropical and citrus fruit flavors. Very refreshing as an aperatif or pairs great with all kinds of dishes, including ones with some spice.
2012 Rinaldi “Bug Juice” Moscato d’Asti, Italy (Amy)
Reg. Price: $17.99
Mills Club Price: $16.19
Case Price: $14.39
If there’s a quintessential “fun wine” this is certainly the sparkling low- alcohol Bug Juice. I jokingly refer to this as a breakfast wine but is remarkably fresh and lively wine. The aromatics are stunning with a lively sweetness that goes well with Thai and Indian food as well as seafood.
2012 Bodegas Volver Tarima Monastrell, Alicante, Spain (Robert)
Reg. Price: $10.00
Mills Club Price: $9.00
Case Price: $8.00
Try this 100% Monastrell (known as Mourvedre in France) wine with roasted meats or chorizo sausage. The 2011 vintage received a 91 point rating from Robert Parker and we feel this vintage is comparable in quality. Wonderful rich aroma, fruit forward, berry filled taste, medium bodied with a long finish.
2012 Bodegas Borsao Tres Picos Garnacha, Campo de Borja, Spain (Mary)
Reg. Price: $19.99
Mills Club Price: $17.99
Case Price: $15.99
This full-bodied Garnacha is dark red in the glass, velvety smooth on the palate, and full of dark red fruit flavors. Absolutely one of my favorite Spanish reds.
This Sunday’s Wine Tasting (1-5 pm): October Staff Picks, Part II
2012 Midsummer Cellars GMRV white blend, Napa, California (Robert)
2012 Alvarez de Toledo Godello, Bierzo, Spain (Jen & Jerry)
Reg. Price: $10.99
Mills Club Price: $9.89
Case Price: $8.79
This is an elegant dry white wine made 100% from the Godello grape. Lots of fruit but also very pleasant mineral notes. Great to be paired with salads, chicken dishes and pasta. If you typically like Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc you should really try this Godello-and at this price point you can’t go wrong!
2012 Crow Vineyard Barbera Rose, Kent County, Maryland (Amy)
Reg. Price: $21.99
Mills Club Price: $19.79
Case Price: $17.59
2013 Gold Medal Winner Governer’s Cup Best in the Class Rose Wines
It was love at first site with this Barbera Rose. Compare any Cotes De Provence Rose with this marvelous wine from Maryland and you’ll be amazed. The 2011 Rose has a bright briar and bluerry attack with soft mouth feeling tannins. Their rose has well balanced oak that is well intergrated and accentuates the strawberry fruit components of this Barbera.
Spaghetti Red Table Wine, California (Mike)
Reg. Price: $10.00
Mills Club Price: $9.00
Case Price: $8.00
A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Zinfandel and Petite Sirah, this is a delicious dry red table wine that goes great with spaghetti! Nuff said!
2012 Charles Smith Boom Boom Syrah, Washington State (Jen and Jerry)
Reg. Price: $21.99
Mills Club Price: $19.79
Case Price: $17.59
We have shared this explosive dry red with many friends who’ve loved it. Great rich cherry flavors with some earthiness, very smooth. Try with roast lamb!
2009 Las Rocas Spanish Red Blend, Calatayud, Spain (Pat)
Reg. Price: $14.99
Mills Club Price: $13.49
Case Price: $11.99
Great new blend of Garnacha, Tempranillo and Syrah from one of my favorite producers, Las Rocas. Enjoy this full-flavored dry red with all kinds of fare from fish paella to poultry and meat dishes.
Friday, October 11 (3-5 pm): Penfolds Wine Tasting with Jimmy Spithill, Captain of America’s Cup Winning Oracle Team
Meet Jimmy Spithill from approximately 3:15-4:30 pm at the tasting. He will be signing purchased Penfolds wine bottles. The first 40 people to purchase two bottles or more of Penfolds wines will receive an Oracle Team USA floating keychain—the perfect America’s Cup Oracle souvenir, especially for boaters!
The Wines:
1.2011 Penfolds Koonunga Hill Chardonnay
Reg. Price: $11.99/Mills Club: $10.79/ Case Price: $9.59
2. 2011 Penfolds Koonunga Hill Shiraz/Cabernet Sauvignon
Reg. Price: $11.99/Mills Club: $10.79/ Case Price: $9.59
3. 2010 Penfolds Bin 28 Kalimna Shiraz
Reg. Price: $34.99/Mills Club: $31.49/Case Price: $27.99
92 points, The Wine Advocate
“Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2010 Kalimna Bin 28 Shiraz presents lovely, expressive blueberry, black raspberry and black cherries notes highlighted by violets, toast, cinnamon stick and touch of mulberries. Full-bodied and rich, the concentrated fruit is framed by medium levels of rounded tannins, crisp acid and a long, classically-styled finish. Approachable now, it will drink to 2020+.”
4. 2010 Penfolds Bin 389
Reg. Price: $71.99/Mills Club: $64.79/Case Price: $57.59
From the winery: “Penfolds Bin 389 is often referred to as ‘Baby Grange’, in part because components of the wine are matured in the same barrels that held the previous vintage of Grange.”
92 points, The Wine Advocate
“Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2010 Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz displays pure cassis and black cherry cordial aromas underlying notes of aniseed, violets, pepper and chocolate. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is voluptuous and wonderfully balanced between vibrant acid and a medium level of fine tannins. It finishes long and spicy and shows ageing potential. Drink it from 2014 to 2022+.”
91 points, Wine Spectator
Decanter World Wine Award Gold Medal, Red Blend (Sept.2013)
5. 2011 Penfolds Bin 8, a blend of 62% Cabernet Sauvignon and 38% Shiraz Reg. Price: $24.99/Mills Club: $22.49/Case Price: $19.99
We will travel “south of Rome” to Campania, Puglia, and Sicily to taste some new additions to our Italian section that are exceptional values. Come discover the wonderful world of wines from indigenous Italian grape varietals from Catarratto on the white side to Aglianico on the red side!
White Wines:
2012 Picco del Sole Falanghina, Beneventano, Campania
Reg. Price: $11.99/Mills Club: $10.79/ Case Price: $9.59
2012 Castellucci Miano Catarratto “Miano”, Sicily
From a fairly new winery, this wine made from 100% organically grown Catarratto, a white wine grape indigenous to Sicily, is our new favorite Italian white wine. This wine has delicious stone fruit flavors and good acidity to accompany a variety of food or to serve as an aperitif.
Reg. Price: $19.99/Mills Club $17.99/Case Price: $15.99
Red Wines:
2011 Picco del Sole Aglianico, Beneventano, Campania
Reg. Price: $11.99/Mills Club: $10.79/Case Price: $9.59
2010 Masseria Li Veli Primonero, Salento, Puglia
A deep, dark red blend of 85% Negroamaro and 15% Primitivo that has nice dark fruit flavors and some black pepper notes.
Reg. Price: $13.99/Mills Club: $12.59/Case Price: $11.19
2010 Duca Carlo Guarini Primitivo “Vigne Vecchie,” Puglia
Reg. Price: $22.99/Mills Club: $20.69/Case Price: $18.39
LIST OF SATURDAY TASTING WINES
White Wines
Red Wines
Dante Robino migrated to Mendoza, Argentina, in 1920 after selling his vineyards on Italy. Ninety-three years later his Mendoza vineyards continue to produce excellent wines like this medium-bodied Bonarda red with rich red fruit flavors and also a soft finesse–if you never tasted an Argentine Bonarda wine, this Dante Robino is the one to try! While the Bonarda grape is native to the Piedmont region of Italy (very little is still grown there), the grape migrated to Argentina where it is now the second most widely planted red wine grape after Malbec.
Taste the staff favorites for the month of November!
Sparkling:
NV Gerard Bertrand “Code Rouge” Cremant de Limoux, France (Robert)
An excellent brut Blanc de Blancs packaged in a cool red-tinted bottle from Limoux, the birthplace of sparkling wine. Serve with sushi, seafood, butternut squash soup, cream based dishes.
Regularly: $26.99
Mills Club: $24.29
Case Price: $21.59
White Wines:
2012 Meyer-Fonne Vielle Vignes Pinot Blanc, Alsace, France (Mary)
“I love this dry Alsace white from 100% old vine Pinot Blanc, a grape native to France, any time of the year but especially with Thanksgiving appetizers and turkey. This medium-bodied wine with a mix of pear, apricot, and apple flavors and some minerality is so versatile for food pairings. The French often pair this one with pork, ham, chicken, and fish dishes.”
Regularly: $19.99
Mills Club: $17.99
Case Price: $15.99
2012 Picco Del Sole Falanghina, Italy (Amy)
A delicious dry white wine from Italy. Pair with roasted tomato soup and crusty bread, or poached chicken atop a salad of greens, dried cranberries, cheese and balsamic vinegrate.
Regular Price: $11.99
Mills Club: $10.79
Case Price: $9.59
Red Wines:
2011 Fairview Pinotage, South Africa (Mary)
“Pinotage is a South African grape developed in the early 1900s by crossing Pinot Noir with Cinsault. This Fairview is one of my favorite Pinotages with a great balance of dark fruit and spice that lingers on the finish. It is a great red wine to discover this time of the year as it pairs well with both white and red meat dishes.” Regular Price: $15.99
Mills Club: $14.39
Case Price: $12.79
2011 Line 39 Petite Sirah, Central Coast, California (Amy)
This wine is an incredible value from our $10 wine program. Lots of delicious ripe red and black fruits, smooth finish and nice body. Great everyday dinner wine!
Regular Price: $10.00
Mills Club: $9.00
Case Price: $8.00
2010 Bogle Phantom, California (Jen & Jerry)
Seasonally appropriate with its brooding, dark label, but the contents delight with full fruit flavor and a lovely but not overwhelming level of spiciness. A blend of 51% Zinfandel, 47% Petite Sirah, 2% Mourvedre, consider this a great pairing with your roast beef, stews or steak, or as the perfect gift to bring when you are a guest to autumn dinner.
Regular Price: $25.99
Mills Club: $23.39
Case Price: $20.79