Please note that availability and price may change at any time.

2009 Elk Cove
Pinot Noir
Willamette Valley
Regular $27.99 TWS $21.99
Juicy and forward, Elk Cove’s largest production Pinot is sourced from younger vines (8 – 36 years of age) and features admirable purity and balance. Strawberry and red currant aromas dominate the nose and palate of this vivacious, freshly styled wine which should provide solid drinking over the next 2 – 3 years. Moderate acidity serves to frame the 2009’s juicy, clean finish.

2009 Belle Pente
Pinot Noir
Willamette Valley
Regular $24.99 TWS $19.99
Some may remember the 2008 bottling of this wine as we were big fans of its exuberant ripe fruit and sold it as such. The 2009 is reminiscent of the 2008 in terms of weight and polish and possesses a richness in the mid palate which is quite attractive. Sourced from both the Dundee Hills and Yamhill-Carlton districts of Willamette Valley, this wine represents outstanding value.

2009 St. Innocent
Pinot Noir
Temperance Hill
Regular $34.99 TWS $27.99
Mark Vlossak fashions some of our favorite Pinot Noirs from Oregon, and the 2009 Temperance Hill is a great example of his distinct style. A bright expressive nose of cherry, pine and a hint of earth leads to a silky, elegant palate of very pretty red fruit.

2009 Domaine Drouhin
Pinot Noir
Willamette Valley
Regular $44.99 TWS $35.99
As always, in 2009 the Drouhin house has produced another very classy, pure Pinot Noir with ripe strawberry aromas and flavors. A spicy and floral palate features a richness of texture and long, pleasing finish. For drinking now and over the next 5 years.

We have a truly unhealthy obsession with Cru Beaujolais around here and Dressner Selections has an incredible stable of producers from the region – all of whom are quite unique and quality minded.

2009 JP Brun
Roussanne
Regular $22.99
TWS $17.99
Roussanne is rarely seen this far north (with the exception of Savoie) and the resulting wine from Brun is very unusual. Restrained aromatically, the sense of harmony present reminds me more of a high quality Macon than an oily luxury Cotes-du-Rhone Blanc.

2010 JP Brun
Beaujolais Rouge “L’Ancien”
Regular $17.99
TWS $13.99
This wine is a great illustration of what the 2010 vintage in Beaujolais offers – outstanding balance, structure and crispness of fruit.

2010 Michel Tete
Julienas
Regular $22.99
TWS $17.99
Quite full bodied, this is a serious style of Beaujolais. Big, sappy red fruit and a firm texture characterize this marvelous Julienas.

2009 Desvignes
Morgon “La Voute St Vincent”
Regular $19.99
TWS $15.99
Regal and juicy at the same time, this late release 2009 offers plush fruit and a round mouth feel. Drinkable today and over the next 1 – 3 years.

2009 G Descombes
Morgon Vieilles Vignes
Regular $29.99
TWS $23.99
This is a monster of a wine and should age for 5-7 years most easily. Concentrated, yet equally beautifully balanced, we only received a few cases so I would recommend grabbing some now before I drink it all.

We have just received over 200 assorted cases from acclaimed importer Louis/Dressner and have included a few highlights below. For those interested in a complete list of in stock items from Dressner please feel free to email me directly at:
istalfort@the-wine-source.com.

2010 Pepiere
Muscadet “Clos Briods”
Regular $17.99
TWS $13.99
These are ideal oyster wines, with the Luneau-Papin offering a striking mineral streak and the Pepiere featuring roundness and additional texture. 2010 seems to have more apparent acidity than 2009 and it graces these two offerings with welcome freshness and vivacity.

2010 Cazin
Cheverny Blanc
Regular $15.99
TWS $11.99
As the price of our longtime favorite, Salvard Cheverny, has slowly crept up, we have found that Cazin’s Cheverny represents a wonderful alternative. Bright and full of stony notes, this Sauvignon Blanc is easy to like. We also have a small amount of Cazin’s unusual Cour Cheverny (2009 @ $12.99 sale price) which is produced from the rare Romorantin varietal. Rich and complex, this is an exotic wine well worth exploring.

2010 D’Oupia
Heretiques Rouge
Regular $9.99
TWS $7.99

2009 D’Oupia
Minervois Rouge
Regular $12.99
TWS $9.99
The Heretiques is the new release and the Minervois Rouge a second shipment of the outstanding 2009 vintage. These are wines for those who enjoy equal portions of earth and fruit in their wines and offer terrific value.

2009 G Thevenet
Vire-Clesse Roally
Regular $24.99
TWS $19.99
Awesome Chardonnay from the Macon, the 2009 Vire-Clesse from Thevenet features bold notes of tropical fruit and honey.

2009 Eric Texier
Cotes-du-Rhone Rouge
Regular $16.99
TWS $12.99
This small negociant fashions a host of interesting bottlings from both the Northern and Southern Rhone. The 2009 Cotes-du-Rhone offers a fleshly texture and loads of ripe red fruit. This is one of the more balanced 2009 Cotes-du-Rhones I have tasted.

2010 Baudry
Chinon Les Granges
Regular $17.99
TWS $13.99

2009 Baudry
Chinon Domaine
Regular $22.99
TWS $17.99

2009 Baudry
Chinon Grezeaux
Regular $27.99
TWS $21.99

2009 Baudry
Clos Guillot
Regular $29.99
TWS $23.99
One of the finest producers of Cabernet Franc, we are excited to have a number of Baudry’s excellent 2009 single vineyard bottlins as well as the surprising supple and accessible 2010 Granges bottling.

The 2010 vintage has yielded a crop of most unusual and intriguing Rieslings from the famous zones of Germany. The wines are blessed with enormous concentration, complete ripeness and outrageously prevalent acids. While this could have been a recipe for disjointed, aggressively heavy wines, the best producers have created wines of tremendous pleasure and ageworthiness. Often the term “plate-staining” is employed when describing wine, however, I do not think there is a more appropriate time to use this phrase than when attempting to comment on the 2010 dry Rieslings of Germany. At first many of the Trocken’s seem almost too much, with searing acid and loads of citrus character, but with time they settle and reveal extraordinary depth and complexity. The Kabinett’s offer generous fruit and vivacity which allows them to remain refreshing and bright, never overplaying their residual sugar. The Spatlese level wines are perhaps the biggest winners of this vintage as they are able to reveal an intense minerality alongside rich textures and pleasing balance. The Auslese wines are silly (in a good way). I have never tasted anything like them. Sweet, focused, nectar that they are, do not mistake these for ephemeral wines. I would guess that the best examples should age effortlessly for 30 – 40 years – no joke. In sum, this is a vintage for those who admire structure and complexity in their Riesling’s but also a vintage where a certain amount of patience will reward the consumer with a whole other level of complexity and joy.

We have very limited quantities of a number of fine estates so please email your questions to Ian Stalfort