2012-02-02

Bring your “A” Game!!

 

Super Bowl deserves Super drinks!

It’s really all about the Party

Wine Club’s first tasting a hit!

 

It’s hard to believe it’s Super Bowl weekend when the golf courses are full and kids are out on the sidewalk playing ball without a jacket, but neither massive solar flares nor the Arctic Oscillation can stop the Premier Sporting Event in the World. Truth be told, as sportsmen we find the Super Bowl to be almost cartoonish in its self-importance, an example of American hype and indulgence that cannot possibly live up to its own lofty standards. It’s just a football game, after all. Most people don’t care, or can even stay up late enough to see, who wins.

 

Let’s face it, for most of us, it’s about the Super Bowl Party. It’s about gathering with family and friends we haven’t seen since the Holidays (this time, with just the ones we actually like). It’s about something to DO, fergodsakes, in February, a month so bad they stopped giving it days when they got to 28. It’s about the TV commercials. It’s about good food. And of course, good drink.

 

This is where we come in, naturally. As we move toward the start of our annual Mid-Winter Sale, which begins in a couple of weeks, we are well-stocked and ready to suggest wine pairings for whatever you are serving. And with more than 600 craft beer labels we encourage you to enjoy the Big Game with a delicious and distinctive IPA, porter, Amber Ale, or stout, rather than the usual Swiller, Buttwipers, or Ultra-Crap that is so often chugged in massive quantities at these things.

 

So come on in this weekend and stock up. Let’s do this thing in style. It’s the last game of the season! There will not be another meaningful football game played anywhere in the universe until late August at least. We are open all weekend, including 12 to 5 on Sunday.

 

Prediction: Patriots by 2 in a mild upset.

 

Cloverleaf Wine Club’s first wine tasting a rousing success

 

Last week more than a dozen members of The Pour, Cloverleaf’s new monthly wine club, gathered at a nearby home to select two new wines for the February selections. Gnoshing on beautiful cured meats, cheeses, bread, and even some fantastic little pulled pork-and-slaw sandwiches whipped up by Tom, members took their job very seriously (while having a lot of fun, of course). In all we sampled about 8 wines, each one explained to us by our friends from Veritas Distributors. Finally, two were chosen for The Pour and will be available for member pick-up this weekend.

 

The way the club works is that on the first Saturday of each month we choose two wines with an eye for quality, value, and applicability to the season of the year. These wines are deep-discounted and exclusive to members of the club (initially; if the wine really catches on we reserve the right to put it on our shelf after the club members have had their chance). Members pick up their special two-bottle wine tote beginning the first Saturday of each month. Here are the terms of club membership:

 

·         Two wines deep-discounted at $34.95/month (actual value approx. $45)

• Our top-of-the-line Grand Cru discount (15% off) on any further wine purchases made on the day of pickup
• Regular tastings to choose wines for future Club issuances
• Opt out at any time

 

--The Guys at Cloverleaf

 

2012-01-26

The Heaven that was 2007

 

Last drops of a great Rhone vintage

We have lots of 4 great bottlings…

…but supplies will dwindle quickly!

 

 

“Guys. Wow!!!! Domaine des Amadieu Beauregard Cairanne: Vive la France! We would love to have a full case of it, if available, please!!! We are ruined for life and will never be able to drink just plain old wine again. It’s not a big deal if it can’t be here before Christmas, but it will be a huge deal if can’t get any more of it.”

-Phil, a customer from South Carolina (transplant)

 

“Throughout the southern Rhône, 2007 is the greatest vintage I have tasted in my thirty years working in that region. In a future issue, my enthusiastic notes about Gigondas, Vacqueyras, and the other Côtes du Rhônes will be published. Nearly every producer has attained largely unprecedented levels of quality. Moreover, the vintage is remarkably consistent from top to bottom.”

-Robert Parker, founder and owner, Wine Advocate, Issue 179

 

Folks, we’re going to keep beating the drum for the great 2007 southern Rhones until they’re gone! Fact is, they ARE gone in a lot of places. But we have now upgraded our status from STOCKED UP to HOARDING. We wisely procured a palate or two of several excellent ’07 Rhones, and as the above testimonials attest, it was a wise move that should pay off handsomely for those of you who heed the urge to get in here and get some before it’s gone!

 

The Côtes du Rhône is the main appellation encompassing a number of smaller appellations (such as Chateaneuf du Pape, Gigondas, Vacqueyras, and several others) in the southern Rhone valley in southeast France. Each appellation is classified by the types of grapes that go in and at what percentages, as well as the yields (fewer grapes per hectare means more concentrated fruit), etc. Cairanne is not technically its own appellation, but the wines we are featuring all come from the region in and around the town of Cairanne (except of course the Domaine Faverot, which is a Luberon).

 

“The southern Rhone valley produces great, distinctive wine because of the warm, arid growing conditions in the region,” says Cloverleaf’s Tom Natoci. “The grapes that do best there are Grenache and Syrah, which produce very full-bodied, flavorful wines with earthy, herbal tones. They are also low-tannic wines, which means they can be consumed right after release, as opposed to excellent Bordeaux or Cabernet Sauvignons which require some ageing to tame the tannins down.”

 

The reasons 2007 yielded such a fine vintage in the southern Rhone are probably as varied as they are mysterious—grape vines are temperamental plants and every inch of rainfall, every hailstorm, every drought, every gust of the Mistral can affect the taste and quality of the wine that eventually is made. In the article quoted above, Robert Parker illustrates this point when talking about the ’07 growing conditions in the region:

 

“In terms of climate, it was a cooler than normal vintage, and Châteauneuf du Pape experienced a severe drought between late spring and the end of September. This, plus the three weeks of Mistral, and the lack of any heat spells concentrated the grapes to extraordinary levels, and also provided the remarkable aromatic profiles and stunning freshness and vibrancy found in the 2007s.”

 

Don’t miss out on this possibly once-in-a-lifetime vintage! Come on in and try some before you buy!

 

2007 Domaine des Amadieu Le Haut de Beauregard Cairanne

Reg. price: $25

Sale price: $20.99 (no further discounts)

 

2007 Domaine des Amadieu Cuvée des Garrigues Cairanne

$17 (all discounts apply)

 

2007 Domaine des Amadieu Cuvée Vielle Vignes Cairanne

$16 (all discounts apply)

 

2007 Domaine Faverot Luberon Cuvée de Général

$24 (all discounts apply)

 

Also still selling…

 

2009 Bodegas la Milagrosa Milcampos Vinas Viejas

Sale price: $12.99 (no further discounts)

Tasting note from Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate: “92 points. The dense purple 2009 Milcampos Vinas Viejas was sourced from older vines and aged for 10 months in new American and Hungarian oak. Brooding black fruits, lavender, cinnamon, clove, soy, and pepper inform the nose of this powerful effort. It delivers greater density than the Milcampos bottling and will evolve for 2-3 years. Drink this lengthy effort from 2013 to 2021.”

 

2009 Kermit Lynch Côtes du Rhône

Reg. price: $16

Sale price: $12.49 (no further discounts)

Tom Natoci’s tasting note: “Straight out of the bottle it shows fantastic black cherry fruit mixed with the classic spicy black pepper notes, sweet Provencal herbs, and the mineral notes found in rich, black dirt. The finish is long and smooth, with rich cherry and sweet spices. This wine drinks so well now that decanting is not required. Based on tastings of past cellared vintages, however, this vintage should age and evolve for at least another five years.”

 

--The Guys at Cloverleaf

 

2012-01-12

And...here we go again!

 

The first great bargain of 2012

Another great ’09 Côtes du Rhône

Recalls last year’s Garrigue and Andezon

 

Way, way back in 2003, in our little strip mall shop front on Northwestern highway in Southfield, the 2001 Kermit Lynch Côtes du Rhône became a minor Cloverleaf legend. From that humble location, which had all the architectural charm of an East German dental office (albeit, with free parking!), we sold more than 350 cases of this delicious classic southern Rhone wine. Always a good wine no matter the vintage, Kermit Lynch Côtes du Rhône was never better than in 2001—until now.

 

As we have been harping, there were two excellent vintages in the south of France in the last decade, both 2007 and 2009. 2007 was genuinely legendary, but unfortunately much of that vintage has already been snapped up. Not quite so legendary, but still awfully damn good, 2009 made a pretty good stab at the title. And much of the 2009 southern France vintage is now available or coming to market soon. You may recall that in the latter part of 2011, we were able to feature two excellent Côtes du Rhônes from 2009. Both Domaine d’Andezon and Domaine de la Garrigue (which sold out 80 cases in less than a week), were tremendous wines at spectacular values. Both had many, many repeat customers who were near suicidal when they returned for more and were told it was all gone (okay, just checking to see if you were paying attention).

 

We see similar storm clouds forming here. We do have access to more than 80 cases this time, but not much more. And it doesn’t matter, anyhow. At 12.49 a bottle (no further discounts) this wine gets us up and rolling into 2012 in great style. Carpe Diem!

 

2009 Kermit Lynch Côtes du Rhône

Reg. price: $16

Sale price: $12.49 (no further discounts)

Tom Natoci’s tasting note: “Straight out of the bottle it shows fantastic black cherry fruit mixed with the classic spicy black pepper notes, sweet Provencal herbs, and the mineral notes found in rich, black dirt. The finish is long and smooth, with rich cherry and sweet spices. This wine drinks so well now that decanting is not required. Based on tastings of past cellared vintages, however, this vintage should age and evolve for at least another five years.”

 

--The Guys at Cloverleaf