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We are getting in the spirit!
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Greetings,
Whether you embrace the holidays, or ignore them, we are the wine shop for you. Today I have a selection of mostly southern Rhone wines that are remarkable values that could be used for your holiday events, or not, simply enjoy them with your nightly dinner. Of course, we are also stocked with a great selection of Grower Champagne, Barolo and other wines that make great gifts. So, sit back and relax, with our help you do not have to worry about what you are drinking or gifting this month.
Michael
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Five Killer Wines from Thomas Calder Selections
Many of our customers have learned over the years that there are certain names that,
 when seen on a wine label, denote a level of quality they can trust. Kermit Lynch is the god father, but others deserve the same respect; Neal Rosenthal, Louis - Dressner, Peter Weygandt are all names that we take notice of when we see them on a wine label. Less well known, and smaller, than any of these is a man whose wines have not as consistently been available in the Seattle market, Thomas Calder. Thankfully the distribution situation see
ms to be getting better and today I have 5 wines from the Calder portfolio that deserve your attention. Each wine is an awesome value and to a person we are all very excited about them.
2015 Domaine Pierre Guindon Coteaux D'Ancenis (Gamay)
$10.99 Soul Wine Society Price $9.35
This is the only wine we brought in not from the Rhone Valley. Instead it hails from the western edge of the Loire, just east of Nantes. Here the gamay grape produces a light, refreshing red redolent of fresh strawberry. It's the kind of wine you would be ecstatic to find in a French bistro because it is perfect for washing down just about any bistro meal and, at 12% alcohol, it's very easy to "digest".
2015 Charles Helfenbein LA Syrah -Collines Rhodaniennes, Rhone  Valley
$14.99 Soul Wine Society Price $12.75
With every 2015 wine from the Rhone we taste it becomes clear that this is a vintage to watch. We sold, and loved, the 2014 but this vintage rises way above. There is both concentration and freshness of fruit, a rare combination in any wine much less a $15 bottle. If you are one of the many that bought previous vintages of this wine, you do not want to miss this one!
 2015 Roucas Toumba Vacqueyras 'Le Grand Terre - Vacqueyras, Rhone Valley
$21.99 Soul Wine Society Price $18.70
Thi
s is a Calder selection that we sold some years back and boy, are we glad it is back in
Seattle, and at a lower price. Of the three best known villages in the southern Rhone, Chateauneuf du Pape, Gigondas and Vacqueyras, it is the least well known, and often the most affordable. Still, even by Vacqueyras standards this is a bargain. It's a blend of 60% Grenache. 20% syrah and 20% mourvedre that shows incredible concentration with volumes of dark, plum like fruit that shows the characteristic freshness of the vintage. While admittedly young it would be hard not to open this on a cold winter night but a few years in the bottle will bring great reward.
2015 Jean Royer Le Petit Roy - Rhone Valley, France 
$15.99 Soul Wine Society Price $13.60
This is a grenache, syrah, mourvedre blend that serves as a great introduction to Royer's Chateauneuf du Pape. Once again, the 2015 vintage has given us a wine that is even better than past vintages we have sold, a wine that manages to have both power and subtlety, showing loads of spicy red fruited Grenache with the syrah and mourvedre add just a touch of structure. A recent bottle paired beautifully with spicy grilled meat and it will work equally well with dishes redolent of tomato and eggplant, roast duck and hearty cheeses.
 2014 Domaine Jean Royer Chateauneuf du Pape
$34.99 Soul Wine Society Price $29.75
Remember when Chateauneuf was affordable? Well, it is throwback time because here we have a delicious grenache based Chateauneuf that is priced like 10 years ago. There is a bit of yin/yang to this wine in that the color is an easy to see through dusky red yet in the mouth there is quite a bit of concentration and power wrapped in what seems like a ready to drink structure. Production is surprisingly small at about 350 cases.
As I said earlier, all of us at the shop are excited about these wines and, to get you excited as well, we are pouring the Roucas Tomba Vacqueyras, Jean Royer Chateauneuf du Pape and Helfenbein LA Syrah at our tasting bar tomorrow from 3-6. I hope you can join us, snow, rain or shine!
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Two Gift Ideas
2006 Paolo Scavino Barolo Carobric
$90.00 Soul Wine Society Price $76.50
Just in time for Holiday giving we have received a small amount of this ten-year-old wine from directly from Paolo Scavino. 2006 was an excellent vintage in Barolo that is its prime drinking window of 2016-2026. In 2010 Antonio Galloni said:
"The 2006 Barolo Carobric is a deep, sensual beauty endowed with gorgeous purity in its layers of dark red fruits, smoke and tobacco. Deceptively medium in body, the wine caresses the palate all the way through to the firm, sturdy finish. The wine's balance, depth and overall sense of harmony are remarkable. Carobric is a blend of several vineyards, mostly Rocche di Castiglione, with a touch of Bric del Fiasc and Cannubi."
So, if you have a Barolo lover in your life, or, if you are a Barolo lover and want something special to drink, this is a wine for you.
 2014 Joseph Drouhin Puligny Montrachet - Burgundy France
$62.99 Soul Wine Society Price $53.55
Giving someone a bottle of Drouhin Puligny Montrachet is one of the nicest things you can do for someone you like. You know the wine will be meticulously made and show the subtlety and style that is the hallmark of Drouhin's wines; that the wine will drink beautifully now, but age oh so gracefully and that it will show the classic terroir form whence it came. Your white wine lover will thank you.
As always, thanks for reading. Because you shop with us we know that you want to support local businesses AND interact with human beings, But, if you have friends that like to click bring them to the Market and show them what real shopping is like.
Michael, Jason, Maureen, Jeremy and Andy
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