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The wine shop I run doesn’t have much of a mark up, but the new Wineberry boxes I just started stocking, are almost shockingly inexpensive. When it was packaged in individual bottles, the Moulin de la Roquille red Bordeaux had to be priced at roughly $17 for us to make our money back on it, but when you stop having to pay for heavy glass bottles and shipping for heavy glass bottles, you get a ridiculous deal.

A box of Moulin de la Roquille is FOUR BOTTLES OF WINE! Four bottles of Roquille would have cost $68 (4×17=68), but because of savings on packing and shipping, these same four bottles put into a box cost only $39.99. A formerly $17 “weekend-only” wine becomes a $10/Tuesday night/drink however much you like wine.

The best part is that, since it’s vacuum-sealed, it stays fresh up to two months after opening.

I love that now everyone gets to drink top-notch French wine any time they like. This is very much how the wine world should work!

Bordeaux, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Old World, T.B. Ackerson Wines | No Comments

Click here to get some “employee training” and watch while Cole helps Whitney get up to speed with some entry-level Bordeaux. Wine tasted: Barons de Rothschild-Lafite Reserve Speciale

Bordeaux, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cheap Drinks, Merlot, New World, Old World, T.B. Ackerson Wines, Wine Reviews, Wine Videos | No Comments

Bourgueil (boor-goy…. yes, you read it right; there is no relationship between the letters in a French word and its pronunciation)… Bourgueil is a place in northwestern France that makes wine using only the Cabernet Franc grape.

Cabernet Franc is a highly disliked grape throughout most of the United States… very few wineries grow it here, very few people buy it, and even fewer people actually like it. Cabernet Franc tastes like bell peppers, wild black and red berries, and very often a handful of dirt.

In fact, as I sit/sip right now, I think the bottle of Cabernet Franc I have open in front of me is the only open bottle of Cabernet Franc in the city of New York.

So consider this post a dare: try a Cabernet Franc (100% ONLY), and see how you feel about it.

My favorite flavors in Cabernet Franc (especially in Bourgueil and Chinon) are grasshopper heads, damp topsoil, hairy red berries, or even just a bit of beef blood. Yes, Cabernet Franc (in a very good way) can and will mess with your mind.

Cabernet Franc, France, Old World, Wine Reviews | No Comments

Molasses, wet wood, baked cherries, strawberries covered in brown sugar, moist clay, brown moss, living rosemary, and dried star anise on the nose.

Thank you (click me to see opener/wine)!

The palate could be describe as having the line of a sleeping heart beat… it would make an impact and then quiet itself… create another impact and the quiet itself… and continue like this for quite some time. Learning to describe wine in a seismographic fashion was a fun step for me.

Grand Cru Clos St. Denis is kind of a big deal for me to open so I thought I should use it as a good excuse to christen my new wine opener (see picture)!

Clos. St. Denis is a Grand Cru vineyard smooshed between Chambertin and Musigny in the far north of Burgundy. Many people describe it as a combination of the two, but to do that is to miss out on the brown, spice rack sort of scent that impales both the palate and nose with sharp cinnamon sticks dipped in saffron, freshly scorched top soil, and wilting flower petals.

Days like this make me love life.

Thanks again for the corkscrew, I hope to be able to use it and to know you until long after I should have died (the wine will keep us alive!).

ps. Here’s a quick video tasting on your favorite wine in the shop, Fabrice Gasnier’s Chinon!

Cabernet Franc, France, Old World, Pinot Noir, Wine Reviews | No Comments

Bordeaux Blend

Ugh… another new vintage of a wine I fell in love with three vintages ago. Imagine falling in love with a man and then, only six months into your relationship, being forced to date the youngest of his three brothers… Falling in love with a wine and then realizing you got the last of your favorite vintage is not often pretty. 

With the Mulderbosch, I fell in love with the 2003. It was thick, earthy, chocolate-driven wine stew. Now, suddenly the distributor is shipping the 2005, and I’m supposed to drink up its juicy red currants and roasted green bell pepper flavors AND pay more?!

Well, if I’m having food with it, I will. The lighter consistency of the wine went perfectly with white meat (seared pork chops stuffed with red onions and minced garlic… and a side of butternut squash and peas in a fennel and clove butter). The Petit Verdot and Malbec in this classic full Bordeaux blend added a bit of shoe polish and rotten cherry. I kind of like it. 

It’s not the same wine it was in the 2003 vintage though. Wine grows and ages, and every year it’s different… so WHEN YOU FIND SOMETHING YOU LIKE… you should BUY A BUNCH OF IT! I wish I had done that with the 2003 of this great South African wine even though the 2005 is pretty freaking fantastic, itself.

Bordeaux, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, T.B. Ackerson Wines, Wine Reviews | No Comments