Sunday, February 07, 2010

2005 Daou Cab, 2006 Chateau St Jean Robert Young Chardonnay, 2007 Petaluma Riesling

CellarThief.com: February 8th from CellarThief on Vimeo.

Great wine deals for February 8th.

3 great wine deals, including 2005 Daou Cabernet, 2006 Chateau St. Jean Robert Young Chardonnay and 2007 Petaluma Riesling.

Thursday, February 04, 2010

2007 Mt. Beautiful Pinot Noir

2007 Mt. Beautiful Pinot Noir from CellarThief on Vimeo.

A great wine deal on a Pinot Noir from Mt. Beautiful in New Zealand.

Tuesday, February 02, 2010

2006 Long Shadows Saggi

2006 Long Shadows Saagi from CellarThief on Vimeo.

A great wine crafted by Italy's best winemakers and Washington's best wine grapes.

Another great wine deal from Long Shadows in Washington.

Tuesday, February 02, 2010

2005 Chateau Gree Laroque

2005 Chateau Gree Laroque from CellarThief on Vimeo.

A great bordeaux at a great wine deal.

Another great wine deal from a great, small Bordeaux producer.

Sunday, January 31, 2010

2007 McIntyre Chardonnay

2007 McIntyre Chardonnay from CellarThief on Vimeo.

More wine education and great wines from McIntyre Vineyards.

Great Wine Deals from McIntyre Vineyards in California's Central Coast.

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

2005 Dry Creek Mariner Meritage

2005 Dry Creek Mariner Meritage from CellarThief on Vimeo.

Great wine deal on the 2005 Dry Creek Mariner.

Friday, January 22, 2010

2007 Novelty Hill Chardonnay

2007 Novelty Hill Chardonnay from CellarThief on Vimeo.

A great wine from Washington.

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Today's Featured Wine #3: 2006 Fetish Playmates Shiraz

Great Wine Profile

We don't mess around with swill at CellarThief...nope, only great wines at stellar prices. Here is another great find from the cellar...

2006 Fetish Winery Playmates Shiraz

We've got a fetish (don't tell anybody - it'll be our little secret) - it's those dang wines from Fetish Winery - they are bold and delicious without being out of balance. This wine is like having blackberry jam with only the natural sugars giving it the oomph. It's got a long life ahead but is already ready for prime time.

Fetish Winery: 2006 Playmates Shiraz

Wine Spectator - 91 points
"Smooth, ripe and decadent. Not a big wine, but distinctive and focused on its smoky blackberry, cherry and charred meat flavors. It all lasts nicely against fine tannins. Shiraz, Mataro and Grenache. Drink now through 2016."

Fetish Winery: Owner

Rolf Binder

Fetish Winery: Region

Barossa Valley, Australia (Australia: Wine)

Fetish Winery: Background

Celebrity winemaker...Check. Incredible fruit from the Barossa Valley...Check. Stunning wine packaging that'll make you proud to pop it out for any event big or small...Check. Fetish was founded by Celeb wine stud Rolf Binder with the aim of crafting dynamite wines that are a product of spending a lot of time in the vineyard. Each wine Binder makes is down right delicious with tons of character without sacrificing balance.

One to stock up on - your palate will be thankful you did!!

Fetish Winery: Wines Made

Fetish makes a small collection of delicious vino including a great Shiraz/Grenache Blend and an impossible-not-to-like Moscato

Fetish Winery: Food Pairing

With great balance, this wine can hold up to a lot of different foods so long as you don't have a craving for Twinkies:

• Cheese: Sheep Milk Cheeses (Here Sheepy, Sheepy, Sheepy), British Farmhouse Cheddar
• Meat: BBQ Ribs, Smoked Turkey, Venison
• Pasta: Salmon or Seared Tuna (Put away the can opener - talking about the real deal here)
• Other Suggestions: Paella and anything that goes Quack Quack

Fetish Winery: Wine Style.

This wine is "Rich & Jammy!"

Mouth-coating wines that you can just as easily cut with a fork as you can sip through a straw, these wines aim to please and will wow any crowd.

The BBQ is rollin', the ribs are a-blazin' and the good times are happenin'. These wines can be cut with a fork and, though aren't usually sweet, fill your mouth with ripe raspberries like it's the heat of the summer. These will please all types of folks - even the wine uber-geek in all of us

Wine Washington. Washington Wine. Washington Syrah. Great wine from Washington.

Saturday, December 12, 2009

Today's Featured Wine #1: 2004 Au Bon Climat Hildegard

Great Wine Profile

We feature each great wine sold on CellarThief in our blog to be able to give more information on that wine and tell the unique story of each wonderful winery we work with. 

2004 Au Bon Climat Hildegard

The 2004 Au Bon Climat Hildegard is a great wine from a top producer known for making classically styled wines that also live a bit on the edge.  This bottle is bursting with yumminess, satisfies the crazy side in all of us and is right in its prime to slurp down with some holiday cheer.  We chose to feature this wine for its unique character from the interesting blend of Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc and Aligote. 

Au Bon Climat: Hidegard Rating

Rober Parker - 90 points
One of my favorite Clendenen wines year in and year out is his blend of Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc, and Aligote called Hildegard. The 2004 possesses honeysuckle, roasted hazelnut, orange rind, and lemon oil characteristics offered in a soulful, medium-bodied, richly fruity style. Satisfying both intellectually and hedonistically, it should drink well for 2-3 years.

Au Bon Climat: Owner

Jim Clendenen, a graduate of the University of California at Santa Barbara who caught the wine bug and decided to dedicate his life to the vine rather than attending law school.  Clendenen is known as one of the most talented winemakers around and carries with him a bit of wine industry celebrity status. 

Au Bon Climat: Region

Santa Barbara County, California (Wine California)

Au Bon Climat: Background

Jim Clendenen graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara, with ambitions to head to Law School. It was during his "junior year abroad" in 1974, while turning 21 in France, that he discovered "life beyond tacos". After graduation, a one month stay in both Burgundy and Champagne convinced him to ditch a career in law to focus on wine.

The winery, whose name is French for "a well exposed vineyard", was founded in 1982 and has built a worldwide reputation for great wines that are innovative and classic at the same time. Clendenen's most famous wines are his Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays, but he also has a reputation for crafting interesting and unique wines from a variety of less-than-common varietals. Wine & Spirits Magazine has named Clendenen "Winemaker of the Year" and Robert Parker has twice named Au Bon Climat one of the top wineries in the world.

Au Bon Climat Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs are highly sought after and tough to come by in the best vintages. 

Au Bon Climat: Wines Made

Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Zinfandel, Pinot Blanc and more. 

Au Bon Climat: Food Pairing

The 2004 Au Bon Climat Hildegard should be paired with balanced foods that have flavor but aren't too rich.  Some ideas for pairings include:

• Cheese - Rich and Goooooeeeeyyyy Brie
• Seafood - Smoked Fish
• Pasta - Mushroom Ravioli
• Other - Thai Food; Pizza and a terribly dumb movie that you can only get away with watching on a Friday night

Au Bon Climat Hildegard : Wine Style.

This wine is considered "Rich & Tasty"!
Hello you juicy, yummy, over-ripe pineapples and bananas you. These wines are usually made in oak, have richer flavors while still having good fruit and are definitely crowd pleasers (whoop! whoop!) So, cork one of these , get some big ol' sippin' glasses out and let it roll!

Wine California. 

Friday, December 11, 2009

What We're About

"What are we about?"...It's a tough question really but one that you get asked every day in different ways:

• What do you do for a living? (translation: what are you about?)
• What kind of drink do you want with that? (translation: what are you about?)
• Do you wear boxers or briefs? (translation: what are you about?)
• Are you one of those people who has a pet porcupine that lives in your guest room and keeps you up all night with his loud music and frolicking? (translation: what are you about?)

So, simply stated...here is what CellarThief is about: We are about wine - good (usually way beyond good...even down-right, out-of-this-world delicious) wine at that. Yep, we are wine lovers who love a good story, a good life and a good bit of juice.

• We are about access - we don't think you should have to give up one meal per day to be able to drink great wines. So, we work hard to find you wines that aren't going to cause your bank to call you to up your over-draft protection.
• We also think that enjoying wine shouldn't be mixed with annoying descriptions and up-ticked noses (especially hairy ones). We are about having fun- we drink wine because we want to and it's fun and it makes life a bit better. We think you are probably the same way so we want to make sure you have fun being our friend and customer.
• We're about technology - we love technology because we think you can do really cool things that you can't do without it.
• We are about you- we want you to be happy and enjoy great wines and feel we care about you (we do you know).
• We are about doing good - we are excited that we can do our own little something to make a difference. We hope you are as proud to shop with us as we are to be able to make the world a bit better place.

Thanks for being part of CellarThief - we love having you as our friend.