Champagne Time!

We have a great selection of Sparkling wines for the New Year including great values in Spanish Cava, Italian Prosecco, Italian Moscato di Asti.  Plus, we have all the big names like Domain Chandon, Perrier Jouet, Moet and Chandon, Jordan "J", Freixenet, Segura Viudas, Aria.  We also have a great selection of Grower Champagnes, Rose Champagnes, half bottles and magnums.

Here are some of them....

Piper Sonoma Brut...$13.99
Scharffenberger Brut...$15.99
Schramsberg Blanc de Blanc...$28.99
Schramsberg Brut Rose...$34.99
2003 Dom Perignon Vintage Champagne....$139.99
NV Krug Rose....$275 (1 bottle left)

Just in time for New Year's Eve!

2002 Dom Ruinart Blanc de Blancs Champagne...$129.99 net
I had very high expectations for the 2002 Brut Blanc de Blancs Dom Ruinart and was not disappointed. Actually, that is an understatement. The 2002 is a flat-out great Dom Ruinart. It is as compelling as any Champagne I have ever tasted from the estate. Layers of sweet, perfumed fruit emerge with no end in this subtle, sexy Dom Ruinart. The 2002 vintage generally yielded big wines, and of course, a significant amount of the Chardonnay for Dom Ruinart comes from the Montagne de Reims, where the wines are richer and broader, yet those are truly mere details. The 2002 convinces for its superb overall balance and sheer personality. It possesses striking depth and an endless, eternal finish. I imagine the 2002 will enjoy a wide drinking window that will stretch out several decades. Truth is, its pretty special even today. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2032.
Rated 96/100 The Wine Advocate

2000 Krug Brut Vintage Champagne ...$259.99
The Krug vintage 2000 Brut smells strikingly redolent of sea breeze, kelp, and piles of oyster and mussel shells, allied to lemon oil and toasted hazelnuts. On the palate, the aforementioned elements serve for compulsive salivation, while a lusciously juicy amalgam of lime, grapefruit and apple tinged with piquancy of their pips buoys the salty wave of mineral matter into a profoundly protracted finish that bursts with brightness and at the same time reveals mouthwateringly savory crab shell reduction and a hitherto largely hidden dark side of smoky Latakia tobacco, dark-roasted coffee, and toasted grains. Expect this to merit following for 12-15 years.
Rated 95/100 The Wine Advocate
Rated 95/100 The Wine Spectator

NV Pierre Boniface Brut de Savoie Les Rocailles....$19.99

The non-vintage Les Rocailles Brut de Savoie is a low alcohol (7-9%) blend of 60% Jacquere, 20% Chardonnay and 20% Altesse. (Put it in a blind tasting and see if anyone can guess its composition.) Aromas of apple skins, spring flowers, lemon zest and a delicate hint of pear emerge from this wonderfully effervescent, dry, crisp,light-bodied, featherweight style of wine.
Rated 91/100 Robert Parker, The Wine Advocate

The responses has been phenomenal for these new $20 sparklers.....

Jean Louis Denois Brut Chardonnay....$19.99

"Denois’s non-vintage Chardonnay Brut Blanc de Blancs. Legally, this “traditional method” wine is merely a vin mousseux, yet it is in fact a tribute to the terroir of Limoux (whose sparkling wine appellation must be based on the local Blanquette de Limoux a.k.a. Mauzac grape, for which Denois evidently has little respect). It will be hard to find a more delicious and interesting sparkling wine for the price. Ripe apricot, grapefruit, blueberries, and lily in the nose lead to an intensely pit-fruited palate that – despite a mere five grams of residual sugar – suggests a hint of sweetness on account of its sheer ripeness. Yet, there are suggestions of saline, chalky minerality here as well, a fine mousse, and a refined finish. This will be easy to guzzle but not to forget. Bravo Denois!" -- The Wine Advocate

Jean Louis Denois Brut Classique....$19.99

This is an unusual blend of 30% Chardonnay, 30% Carignan, 20% Syrah, 20% Macabeu, 

combines the complexity and richenss of red grapes with the elegance of the white grapes.  The second fermentation takes place in the bottle and the wine spends a minimum of 12 months on the lees before disgorgement.

Roederer Brut Premier NV....$39.99

Firm and finely meshed, with hints of passion fruit and pineapple mixing with poached apple, almond pastry and fleur de sel. Mouthwatering and lightly smoky on the lingering, refined finish.
Rated 91/100 Wine Spectator

Roederer Anderson Valley Brut NV....$16.99
Focused and vibrant, with aromas of creamy apple, cinnamon and hazelnut leading to complex, layered flavors of lemon custard, mineral and almond. The finish lingers."
Rated 91/100 Wine Spectator

Nicolas Feuillatte Brut Reserve NV....$26.99

Flavors of poached pear, kumquat, white raspberry, biscuit, ginger and licorice mix in this lively, open-knit version. Features a modest, lightly smoky finish.
Rated 91/100 Wine Spectator

Mumm Napa Brut....$13.99 net

Assembled from dozens of individual lots, this sumptuous brut is an example of the art of blending. Based on Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, it's really as delicous and refined a sparkling wine as you could want for dirnking now. Shows lush citrus, strawberry, honey, melon, fig and spice flavors that are wrapped into a smooth, silky bubbling mouthfeel.
Rated 92/100 Wine Enthusiast

Perrier Jouet Nuit Blanche....$69.99

44% Pinot Noir:, 39% Pinot Meunier, 17% Chardonnay

A brand new Champagne from Perrier Jouet, just released about 2 weeks ago at its worldwide premier in New York.   Right now it appears to only in New York and St. Louis at this point.

#1 under $40 Champagne in the New York Times!

Joel Falmet Champagne Tradition....$39.99 
In a tasting of 20 Champagnes, priced under $40 each, the wine panel was pleasantly surprised by the elegance that we found among our favorites--chosen #1-- JOËL FALMET Brut Tradition NV.   The Falmet Brut Tradition was our top-rated wine. We found it full of lively energy, with complex flavors of flowers, minerals, citrus and herbs, and with more finesse than you generally find in Champagnes dominated by the pinot noir grape." - New York Times


New Grower Champagne
Legas & Haas Blanc de Blancs - Grand Cru....$49.99

Total Production 1600 cases
Tasting Notes: The Legras & Haas Blanc de Blancs is a wine with a laser-like focus. In the glass the bubbles are very fine and persistent. Crisp citrus fruit and minerality lead to hints of white stone fruit and brioche notes. This is a lively, festive Champagne. While it is perfect as an aperitif, it is also a great match for fish or poultry (especially when prepared in a rich cream sauce). This is truly a wine that deserves to be called Grand Cru.

2006 Dubl Greco Sparkling...$45.99

From Feudi di San Gregorio and Anselme Selosse

This is the only sparkling wine Anselme Selosse makes outside of his own at Jacques Selosse in Champagne!!  Rare and amazing!

Why are we excited about this release?

Have you heard of Jacques Selosse Champagne?

Well, they are very rare, highly rated and hard to get Champagne.  We only get a few bottles a year of his stuff because the demand is so high.    His Champagnes sell for $200 + per bottle.

     "Every decade or so, a winemaker comes along who, through the force of his ideas, and the brilliance of his work, has the power to change the course of wine history.  Anselme Selosse is such an individual—and the man most responsible for the revolution that’s changing Champagne for the better.  Since taking over Champagne Jacques Selosse in 1980, Anselme has used the uncompromising brilliance of his wines—as well as no small amount of charisma—to challenge Champagne’s old defintions for excellence. If ten or twenty years from now, small, quality-driven growers have finally taken their share of the power—and the big hou

ses have fully embraced the ideas of low yields, chemical-free vineyards and terroir-based wines—Anselme will deserve much of the credit." - importer for Jacques Selosse Champagne

and the STL favorite Champagne....
Veuve Clicquot Brut "Yellow Label"....$42.99 net

Here is the label -- need we say more---