Dennis

Here are my Top 5; 1. Provenance Merlot 2000 2. Hanna Cab Bismark Ranch 1999 3. Montes Alpha Syrah 4. Raymond Cab Reserve 2000 5. Montes Alpha Cab 2001 Nonorable Mention: St Francis Cab Reserve Nuns Canyon 2001 IO Santa Barbara County Syrah+ 2001 Kaiken Ultra 2003 The Laughing Magpie Shriaz 2004

I don't know what everyone else is doing, but I'm making room for the March shipment and here's what I'm looking forward to; Montes Syrah & Sauvingnon Blanc, Hanna Cab, Raymond Estate Cab, Kaiken Ultra, & Omaka SB. I'm stocked with Italian wines for now, but I'm out of good Cab's/Merlots/Syrahs. I'd also like to hear what everone else views as their favorite CS purchase to date. I know if I had to pick just one, it would be the Provenance Melot. Who knows, maybe we can come up with the top 10 if anyone is interested...at least before the weather gets nice and we're spending more time outdoors again.

Dennis, you are comparing two completely different systems. State controlled vs privatized. Every state has there own set of laws with regard to alcoholic beverages. You'd be surprised how it varies. I guess the bottom line is what do you value more when $5 is at stake? For me, my time is the most valuable thing (I can't really put a price on it to save a few bucks). Second after you pay for gas to and from Del it's a wash no? ← I usually make the trip once a year right before Thanksgiving and spend about $500, so gas money ($6.00) and the time are not a concern. Plus I enjoy seeing what's available...which is usually a lot more than what we have here. And not only the wines, but they also have a much better beer selection than my local beer distributors. I always pick up at least a 1/2 case of the Tomassi Rafael Valpolicella since you can't buy it in PA. Once my shopping is done there, I head for the Italian Market to pick up fresh ingredients for a pasta dinner. All said, it's usually a lot of fun (I consider searching for wine anywhere as fun since you never know what treasure you'll find) and that night's dinner is always excellent. BTW...I use to make this trip several times a year before Newman introduced the CS program.

Speaking about "Buying Power", or how to abuse it... I noticed that Total Wine in DE is selling the Coppola Cabernet for $10.99 (normally $13.49) while it's on sale here this month for $15.99 (normally $18.99)! How do they do it?

Seeking advice...My wife & I are spending a week in CA this summer and will divide the time between SF & Sonoma. I've been to SF & NAPA before but not Sonoma. So far, we're looking at Santa Rosa, Healdburg, & Geyserville. I'd welcome any suggestions based on your 1st hand experiences. Thanks

Has anyone tried the Nozzole Chianti Classico Riserva La Forra 2001 ($15.99)? I checked the pricing on-line and it's selling between $35 & $50. And Robert Parker rated the 2001 vintage a 94! Looks like another great deal by the former Chairman.

You're right. Here's the response that I got from WHL... Dennis, Thanks for the email. The Chairman’s Cabernet and Merlot were specially blended by and for Chairman Jonathon Newman of Pennsylvania. These 2005 vintage wines are from a separate wine lot and not exactly representative of our branded Whitehall Lane black label wines: Napa Valley Merlot, Napa Valley Cabernet and Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon. The Chairman’s Merlot and Cabernet are very young 2005 wines. They experienced an abbreviated barrel-aging regime of only about 10 months. This youthful wine is a delightful blend in its own right and stands alone as a wine well made by the cellar team and with the influence of The Chairman. Thanks, Tony ___________________________ Tony Leonardini Retail Sales Manager Whitehall Lane Winery 1563 St. Helena Hwy. S St. Helena CA 94574 707.963.9454 ext.29 tony@whitehalllane.com

I thought the article in the Inquirer last week took a few cheap shots at the Chairman. One suggested that we were getting CS wines at low prices because they were not good enough enough to be sold at their regular price and the other mentioned the Whitehall Lane purchase. First I'd like to say that I believe the Chairman may not have had a choice on the label for the Whitehall Lane purchase. It reminds me of the deal he made with Joseph Phelps a few years ago when we were able to get the Insignia for about $55 a bottle...but it could not be advertised or displayed. You had to ask for it. So it makes sense to me that Whitehall Lane did not want to sell the wine at such a big discount when they are selling it for so much more to everyone else. As for being a "Dumping Ground" for all of the wonderful wines that I've been enjoying the last few years, all I can say is keep the Dump Trucks coming our way. Like most people, I buy a bottle and if I like it, then I buy a case. Also, the article about Newman in the Business Section of todays Inquirer was excellent. And as the writer suggested, I hope Newman can bust the LCB apart and start his own Wine & Spirit business in our state.

Picked up a bottle of the Arrowood Archer Syrah based on your suggestion for dinner tonight...I agree it is very good. I'm leaving for Atlanta in the morning, but will pick up a 1/2 case when I return. I also picked up some more of the Masi Campofiorin and this time it came with a $1.00 instant rebate which brought the price down $2.00 below the sale price in Delaware.

I picked up a few bottles of the Masi Campofiorin that's on sale for $12.99 this month. This is a good price for a great wine that goes well alone or with any red meats. It doesn't go on sale often so now is a good time to pick some up if you like the "Ripasso" style Valpolicella's. I've heard some people refer to it as a "poor man's Amarone", but I actually prefer it to the few Amarones that I've tasted.

I purcahsed a bottle of the Grand Archer about 2 weeka ago at the Jenkintown store. Right now, I'm looking forward to the Raymond Estates Cab coming out in November. It was a CS back about 3 years ago and did not disappoint. In fact, I was in NAPA awhile after it was on sale here in or stores for about $12.99 and it was selling for $23.00 at their vineyard. I hope some of you were able to pick up a few bottles of the Renzo Masi (Chianti Reserva) while it was in stock...I checked again this weekend and it is gone! We won't see it again for another year unless we're willing to pay the extra $1.50 per bottle for the SLO purchase.

BTW, I went to the store in Jenkintown this afternoon and they were already out of the Renzo Masi w/i a few days. Marco Polo bought all 50 cases for their restaurant.

Here's a Heads-up to everyone who enjoys Chianti. A new shipment from Renzo Masi, Chianti Reserva 2003, is starting to show up at the local stores, as usual it's primarily out west but there are a few stores in Philly as well as the Burbs that already have some on the shelves. It's a Reserva and the price is only $9.49 so it will not last long. I've been buying this religiously for the last 10 years and have never been disappointed. Here's the review from Wine Spectator... Renzo Masi Chianti Riserva 2003 Plenty of good simple fruit, with blackberry and light toasty oak character. Round and fruity. Drink now. 9,000 cases made. –JS Score: 86 | Price: $15 Country: Italy Region: Tuscany Issue: Oct 31, 2006 Get it by the case because it won't last long and it will be at least another year before it's available again (except by SLO).

Speaking of Whisky, there are 2 great deals right now on Scotch...Bowmore Legend (Islay) and Auchentoshan (Lowland). They're both single malts, the Bowmore is peaty and the Auchentoshan is triple distilled and smooth like an Irish whiskey. They're normally $22/ea but right now they have coupons w/them that get you a $5 instant rebate. I picked up several of them so I would have extras for the Holidays to give as gifts. My wife & I tried the Whitehall Lane Cab Friday night with a Rib-eye and although we both liked it very much, we agreed that at that price it wasn't worth stocking up on...especially when you comapre it to the Kaiken Ultra and Grant Burge that are on sale now.

I had the Robert Mondavi '96 Cab last night and was disappointed...It had a great nose but the color was already turning brown and other than some tast of pepper, I wasn't getting much else out of it. I preferred the 2003 Ultra Kaiken. I bought a bottle of the Grant Burge to try this weekend and hope it is as good as the bottle that I had in Doylestown about 3 years ago...that was great but I couldn't find any at the state stores here of over in Delaware at Total Wine.

Hey I love Boz Scaggs as much as the next guy, but line dancing? This doesn't make for a pretty picture at all but I'm sure you had some wine induced fun nonetheless ← Hey, I almost forgot...we also Indian Leg Wresteled before the line dancing episode!

My wife and I host a large (8 to 12 guests) dinner party for her family at this time every year. So we try to change things up as much as possible to keep it fun & exciting. Around January of this year I bought a 3 Liter bottle of the Byron 2000 Pinot Noir - Santa Maria Valley (the vintage was rated 91). But the main reason for buying it was... I thought it would be cool to see the expression on everyones face when they saw the huge bottle of wine for dinner. When I went to get it from the room where I was storing it, I noticed that the wax on top was cracked and some wine was starting to leak... You can imagine what was going through my mind at that moment. I opened it in the kitchen and poured a small glass and much to my surprise, it was excellent...great nose, color, & taste. And of course my guests loved it and they all had to have their picture taken with it. So if anyone else out there is holding onto one of these "big boys" for a special occasion, you may want to check it for leaks. BTW, the party was a lot of fun and everyone was line dancing to Boz Scaggs by 2:00AM.

I didn't know it at first either. Seems the Kaiken is the vin de table end of the Montes line, which includes the very fine Montes Alpha. Clearly the winemaker knows what they're doing, so I'm happy to drink skillfully made wine at a bargain price. ← Evidently it was Montes first endeavor into Argentina...and based on the plain & Ultra wines that I tasted, it was a huge success. The regular and Ultra are both Malbecs which I'm not that familiar with but I thought they reminded me of some CA Cabs. They also make a Kaiken Ultra Cab but I'm not sure if we're getting any of them. I know the ones that I bought in Jenkintown we're are all Malbecs.

I've tried a few of the new CS wines over the past few weeks... Estancia, Penfolds, Rosemunt, Kaiken Ultra, William Hill, & Friends Zinfandel. Out of all of them the Kaiken and Friends were by far the best deals. That doesn't mean that the others were bad (I enjoyed all of them), but I just felt that the last 2 were the ones that were case worthy.

Brought a botlte of the Modus to Pif recently, turns out it was pretty badly corked. Does anyone know the PLCB's policy about this? Can one get at least a partial refund? Unfortunately I forgot to bring the bottle with us when we left, but it'd be good to know for future reference. I guess I'll have to start bringing a backup bottle, in case this should happen. I have to say I'm a big fan of the screw tops. Nearly pulled a muscle last night trying to remove a synthetic cork. ← ← The state store is very good regarding returns. If you have your receipt they'll refund or replace the bottle. If you don't have a receipt, they'll replace it for you. At least that's what I've experiencde at the Jenkintown store.

Brought a botlte of the Modus to Pif recently, turns out it was pretty badly corked. Does anyone know the PLCB's policy about this? Can one get at least a partial refund? Unfortunately I forgot to bring the bottle with us when we left, but it'd be good to know for future reference. I guess I'll have to start bringing a backup bottle, in case this should happen. I have to say I'm a big fan of the screw tops. Nearly pulled a muscle last night trying to remove a synthetic cork. ←

I've been following the link for quite awhile but this is my first post, so bear with me. I had the Nozzle Chianti Classico ($15.99) last Saturday and enjoyed it very much with the fresh pasta (Tartula's) and bread (Sarcone's) that I picked up at the Italian Market earlier in the day along with a nice assortment of meats & cheeses. I also finally had the bottle of Modus that I bought awhile back which was even better, but unfortunately, long gone. Now, I'm looking forward to the Australian Shiraz wines that are due in over the next couple of months. In particular the Grant Burge. In closing, I have to say that the Provenance Merlot that was on sale a few years ago is still my favorite CS to date.