2010-08-26

Spanish Armada

 

Pedro Llanas to visit Cloverleaf this Saturday!

Bodegas de Borsao winemaker

Bottle signings, food, BIG wine discounts!

Cloverleaf Oktoberfest Sept. 17^th—Reserve spots now

Concannon 1.5 Liters SOLD OUT—100 cases ordered

 

Hey folks, as we gear up for autumn and the bevy of upcoming new red wine vintages, we have a special guest coming to the store this Saturday, August 28^th, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Pedro Llanas, “winemaker, marketer, and jack of all trades” at the very popular Bodegas de Borsao in Spain, will be here to meet and greet all of you. Pedro will sign bottles, talk wine, and offer some big discounts on several Borsao wines—including some very special and limited edition wines not currently available in the United States. Borsao has received raves from wine critic Robert Parker, who cites the winery for delivering “overachieving” wines at tremendous value. So come on over to downtown Royal Oak this Saturday, visit the excellent Farm Market which is exploding with fresh produce and wildflowers, and stop by Cloverleaf for what should be a fun, informative afternoon. Wines featured Saturday will include the following (at these vastly reduced prices, with no further Loyalty discounts applicable):

 

2008 Borgia (86 pts “Best Buy” Wine Advocate)

$5.99

 

2008 Monte Oton (87 pts “Best Buy” Wine Advocate)

$6.75

 

2008 Borsao (88 pts “Best Buy” Wine Advocate)

$6.75

 

2007 Borsao Crianza (91pts “Highly Recommended” Wine Advocate)

$11.99

 

2008 Tres Picos  (91pts)

$13.49

 

2007 Alto Moncayo (94 pts; this wine has been SOLD OUT for 3+ months and was sent in just for the event –very limited)

$38.99

 

2006 Aquilon (96pts “The Flagship of the Winery”)

$134.99 

 

 

*Special Notice: We are now accepting pre-orders for the 2007 Joseph Phelps Insignia, which has been getting 97-100 point ratings. For more information call us at 248.357.0400.

 

 

2005 Concannon Petite Sirah

$9.99/ 1.5 L Magnum (no further discounts)

 

All Gone! But wait, there’s more….

 

Sometimes, even if it sounds too good to be true, it is still true! This has been the case with the special sale on 2005 Concannon Petite Sirah we announced last week. We hung up our shingle and you came out for this good stuff—45 cases gone in less than 72 hours. One customer bought two cases, came back and bought five more, then came back and bought another five for her friends. Foul, foul! you might cry…but hey, she made the effort. The bad news is we had to turn several people away—but the good news is we are getting more! If all goes well, we should have another hefty shipment sometime this Friday, August 27^th. If you are coming in specifically for the Concannon, you might want to call ahead to make sure it has arrived: 248.357.0400.

 

For more on this amazing deal, we’ll reprint last week’s write-up:

 

First off, to clear up any misconceptions about what a “Magnum” is, it is a 1.5 liter bottling—or exactly twice the size of a regular bottle of wine. Which means at $9.99 a Magnum you are essentially getting two normal-sized bottles of wine for $5 apiece! Yeah. And the thing is, this stuff is pretty damn good. Longtime customers may remember the legendary 2001 Concannon Petite Sirah we had several years ago at a price much higher than this—and it sold more than 700 cases from Cloverleaf, our all-time best-selling single vintage by far.

 

Is this vintage as good as that one? No. We’d be lying if we said it was, and that violates a core principle. But it is pretty damn good. And for $9.99 a magnum it is jump-up-and-down, drop-everything-and-run-to-Cloverleaf good. “This is a real solid glass of wine,” said Cloverleaf’s Tom Natoci. “It’s a classic California Petite Sirah, with lots of dark, dark fruit like blueberry and blackberry. And because it’s a 2005 some of the youthful tannins have softened to create a real smooth wine that is ready to drink right now. Concannon has always been a quality winemaker. This is the winery that really led the charge to introduce Petite Sirah to the Central Coast of California.”

 

So, why the Magnum bottling? “Actually most winemakers and real prominent wine critics seem to agree that wines age better in larger bottlings,” Tom explained. “The larger the bottle, the more slowly and gracefully the wine evolves. The biggest problem with large-bottle ageing in 3 liter bottles is that the corks are also larger and tend to leak or go bad. But a Magnum uses the same sized cork as a regular bottle, so we’re good there.”

 

*Note: All of the Concannon we have at Cloverleaf has the words “Limited Release” on the label, to make it distinct from some bottlings of the same vintage (which you may or may not see around town) that do not carry that label. This is the real deal.

 

 

Reserve space now for Cloverleaf’s Oktoberfest Wine and Beer Tasting

 

Come join us on Friday, September 17^th for our celebration of Autumn at the St. Clair Edison Building above Cloverleaf. This is a chance to taste several limited release Octoberfest beers that are just coming out, as well as a variety of new wines we’ll be featuring for upcoming football weekends and the Holiday season. As usual, there will be plenty of food, enlightening conversation, and good cheer, so make your reservations now by calling the store at 248.357.0400. Tickets $40/person covers all beer and wine tastings plus plenty of food so that you will not need to budget a dinner out for the evening. A portion of the proceeds from the event will benefit local kids’ charities.

 

--The Guys at Cloverleaf

 

2010-08-19

Magnum Opus

 

1.5 L Concannon Petite Sirah

$9.99/bottle! $59.94/case!

Save the date: Sept. 17 Oktoberfest!

 

*We are now accepting pre-orders for the 2007 Joseph Phelps Insignia, which has been getting 97-100 point ratings. For more information call us at 248.357.0400.

 

A Magnum is just way bigger!

2005 Concannon Petite Sirah

$9.99/ 1.5 L Magnum (no further discounts)

 

First off, to clear up any misconceptions about what a “Magnum” is, it is a 1.5 liter bottling—or exactly twice the size of a regular bottle of wine. Which means at $9.99 a Magnum you are essentially getting two normal-sized bottles of wine for $5 apiece! Yeah. And the thing is, this stuff is pretty damn good. Longtime customers may remember the legendary 2001 Concannon Petite Sirah we had several years ago at a price much higher than this—and it sold more than 700 cases from Cloverleaf, our all-time best-selling single vintage by far.

 

Is this vintage as good as that one? No. We’d be lying if we said it was, and that violates a core principle. But it is pretty damn good. And for $9.99 a magnum it is jump-up-and-down, drop-everything-and-run-to-Cloverleaf good. “This is a real solid glass of wine,” said Cloverleaf’s Tom Natoci. “It’s a classic California Petite Sirah, with lots of dark, dark fruit like blueberry and blackberry. And because it’s a 2005 some of the youthful tannins have softened to create a real smooth wine that is ready to drink right now. Concannon has always been a quality winemaker. This is the winery that really led the charge to introduce Petite Sirah to the Central Coast of California.”

 

So, why the Magnum bottling? “Actually most winemakers and real prominent wine critics seem to agree that wines age better in larger bottlings,” Tom explained. “The larger the bottle, the more slowly and gracefully the wine evolves. The biggest problem with large-bottle ageing in 3 liter bottles is that the corks are also larger and tend to leak or go bad. But a Magnum uses the same sized cork as a regular bottle, so we’re good there.”

 

*Note: All of the Concannon we have at Cloverleaf has the words “Limited Release” on the label, to make it distinct from some bottlings of the same vintage (which you may or may not see around town) that do not carry that label. This is the real deal.

 

 

Reserve space now for Cloverleaf’s Oktoberfest Wine and Beer Tasting

 

Come join us on Friday, September 17^th for our celebration of Autumn at the St. Clair Edison Building above Cloverleaf. This is a chance to taste several limited release Octoberfest beers that are just coming out, as well as a variety of new wines we’ll be featuring for upcoming football weekends and the Holiday season. As usual, there will be plenty of food, enlightening conversation, and good cheer, so make your reservations now by calling the store at 248.357.0400. Tickets $40/person covers all beer and wine tastings plus plenty of food so that you will not need to budget a dinner out for the evening. A portion of the proceeds from the event will benefit local kids’ charities.

 

 

August 28^th: Meet the winemakers from Bodegas de Borsao (Spain)

 

Mark your calendars for this exciting and FREE opportunity to meet the winemakers from Bodegas de Borsao in the Campo de Borja region of Spain. Many of you are familiar with the beautiful everyday wines Borsao and Borgia, which retail for about $8 at Cloverleaf and have been extremely popular. More recently the importer Jorge Ordonez has brought over the superb Alto Moncayo ($45), which Tom describes as a “big, bold, California-style wine that is better than many well-known $75 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignons.” So stop by Cloverleaf anytime between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. on Saturday, August 28^th for what should be an entertaining and informative afternoon.

 

--The Guys at Cloverleaf

2010-08-19

Magnum Opus

 

1.5 L Concannon Petite Sirah

$9.99/bottle! $59.94/case!

Save the date: Sept. 17 Oktoberfest!

 

*We are now accepting pre-orders for the 2007 Joseph Phelps Insignia, which has been getting 97-100 point ratings. For more information call us at 248.357.0400.

 

A Magnum is just way bigger!

2005 Concannon Petite Sirah

$9.99/ 1.5 L Magnum (no further discounts)

 

First off, to clear up any misconceptions about what a “Magnum” is, it is a 1.5 liter bottling—or exactly twice the size of a regular bottle of wine. Which means at $9.99 a Magnum you are essentially getting two normal-sized bottles of wine for $5 apiece! Yeah. And the thing is, this stuff is pretty damn good. Longtime customers may remember the legendary 2001 Concannon Petite Sirah we had several years ago at a price much higher than this—and it sold more than 700 cases from Cloverleaf, our all-time best-selling single vintage by far.

 

Is this vintage as good as that one? No. We’d be lying if we said it was, and that violates a core principle. But it is pretty damn good. And for $9.99 a magnum it is jump-up-and-down, drop-everything-and-run-to-Cloverleaf good. “This is a real solid glass of wine,” said Cloverleaf’s Tom Natoci. “It’s a classic California Petite Sirah, with lots of dark, dark fruit like blueberry and blackberry. And because it’s a 2005 some of the youthful tannins have softened to create a real smooth wine that is ready to drink right now. Concannon has always been a quality winemaker. This is the winery that really led the charge to introduce Petite Sirah to the Central Coast of California.”

 

So, why the Magnum bottling? “Actually most winemakers and real prominent wine critics seem to agree that wines age better in larger bottlings,” Tom explained. “The larger the bottle, the more slowly and gracefully the wine evolves. The biggest problem with large-bottle ageing in 3 liter bottles is that the corks are also larger and tend to leak or go bad. But a Magnum uses the same sized cork as a regular bottle, so we’re good there.”

 

*Note: All of the Concannon we have at Cloverleaf has the words “Limited Release” on the label, to make it distinct from some bottlings of the same vintage (which you may or may not see around town) that do not carry that label. This is the real deal.

 

 

Reserve space now for Cloverleaf’s Oktoberfest Wine and Beer Tasting

 

Come join us on Friday, September 17^th for our celebration of Autumn at the St. Clair Edison Building above Cloverleaf. This is a chance to taste several limited release Octoberfest beers that are just coming out, as well as a variety of new wines we’ll be featuring for upcoming football weekends and the Holiday season. As usual, there will be plenty of food, enlightening conversation, and good cheer, so make your reservations now by calling the store at 248.357.0400. Tickets $40/person covers all beer and wine tastings plus plenty of food so that you will not need to budget a dinner out for the evening. A portion of the proceeds from the event will benefit local kids’ charities.

 

 

August 28^th: Meet the winemakers from Bodegas de Borsao (Spain)

 

Mark your calendars for this exciting and FREE opportunity to meet the winemakers from Bodegas de Borsao in the Campo de Borja region of Spain. Many of you are familiar with the beautiful everyday wines Borsao and Borgia, which retail for about $8 at Cloverleaf and have been extremely popular. More recently the importer Jorge Ordonez has brought over the superb Alto Moncayo ($45), which Tom describes as a “big, bold, California-style wine that is better than many well-known $75 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignons.” So stop by Cloverleaf anytime between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. on Saturday, August 28^th for what should be an entertaining and informative afternoon.

 

--The Guys at Cloverleaf