This small 385 case production of Chardonnay is made with the "old Wente clone" Chardonnay clone and is sourced from vineyards located 1800 ft above sea level. The soil there is rocky and shallow and produces a wine of amazing texture and complexity. Helen Turley actually used to make this wine for her now famous Marcassin label.

On the nose I get amazingly delicious aromas of caramel, baked apple, buttered cinnamon-toast, nectarine, and lemon blossom. It's definitely a California-style wine with it big, audacious, and buttery characteristics.

On the palate the wine explodes with rich layers of caramel apple, butter, ribbon candy, and mineral. The acidity holds the wine in check and cleans it all up on the finish, where it displays very nice toasted oak and baked apple flavors.

It's wonderful to taste a wine made with the "old Wente Clone" A new friend of mine named George has been drinking wine for 40+ years and says it's one of the best Chardonnay clones out there. I agree.....thx George.   92 points

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Here's another dynamite red Burgundy from what is becoming one of my favorite producers, Gerard Raphet. The following is the information given on the importers website:

"This outstanding older-vine blend is always one of our favorites from Raphet; not only does it sum up everything we love about this often-overlooked yet outstanding Cote de Nuits village but also it has proven again and again a treasure for the cellar—there have been many times where this “village” wine has outshone many a grand cru.  The pleasure parallels between 2009 and 1990 are very evident here; the depth of this wine is just phenomenal.  Blackberry syrup and chocolate dust, crushed cumin seeds and licorice seduce on the nose; the mouth is sweet, long and stunningly pure, with beautiful tannins and length.  One to treasure; just three barrels selected." - North Berkley Imports

On the nose I get beautiful aromas of coco powder, bing cherry, raspberry syrup, cumin, cinnamon toast, mineral, and wet soil. It's an intoxicating aroma profile that unfolds in the glass with grace and complex elegance. It has a perfume that is filling my whole office full of fruit and spice notes!

On the palate I get flavors of red raspberry, bing cherry, mineral, strawberry rhubarb, and spice. It's a wine with superb acidity, that cut through the palate and delivers a core of pure red fruit. This wine displays the essence of the varietal with a transparency that exhibits the beautiful fruit flavors and the essence of the soil were the vines are rooted. 93 points

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Wines of Chile is an organization committed to promoting the quality and image of Chilean wine throughout the world. It has offices in Santiago, London, and New York, as well as representatives in Canada, Ireland, and Denmark, and also works closely with ProChile to develop and offer promotional and educational programs in Asia, Latin America and Europe. Wines of Chile’s 76 member wineries belong to Vinos de Chile and represent 85% of Chile’s bottled wine exports.

2010 Emiliana Natura Carmenere - Colchagua Valley

Nose: black currant, eucalyptus, scorched earth, and hints of dried herb

Flavors: black fruit, coffee grind, soil, dried herb, mineral

Notes: simple, dry tannin, black fruit, good steak wine

Score: 86 points

2008 Casa Silva Los Lingues Carmenere Gran Reserva - Colchagua Valley

Nose: brambly fruit, eucalyptus leaf, hint of soil and mineral

Flavors: blackberry, licorice, spice, eucalyptus

Notes: smooth texture, nice long finish, fruit driven

Score: 88 points

2008 Santa Rita Medalla Real Carmenere - Colchagua Valley

Nose: red licorice rope, raspberry, vanilla, anise, noticeable oak spice

Flavors: Cassis, licorice, coco, cedar

Notes: round texture, long finish, big tannin, dry

Score: 90 Points

2008 Montes Alpha Carmenere - Colchagua Valley

Nose: dried herb, black currant, vanilla, cedar, spice

Flavors: voluptuous red and black fruit, cherry, black berry, cola, cedar-spice

Notes: nice fruit character, good balance fruit-to-wood, very approachable style

Score: 89 points

2009 Carmen Carmenere Gran Reserva - Apalta Valley

Nose: beautiful black berry, cassis, eucalyptus, chocolate truffle, and hints of anise

Flavors: ripe cassis, blackberry jam, dark chocolate, cedar

Notes: rich, luxurious texture, jammy, firm tannin on finish, great expression of Carmenere

Score: 91 points

2009 Santa Carolina Reserva de Familia Carmenere - Rapel Valley

Nose: boysenberry, raspberry dark chocolate sticks, chambord, black fruit preserves

Flavors: deliciously ripe blackberry, blackberry pie filling, chocolate, 

Notes: ripe tannin, beautiful fruit, very refined, amazing stuff!

Score: 93+ Points

2009 Concho y Toro Marques de Casa Concha Carmenere - Rapel Valley

Nose: black currant, dried herb, sage, black licorice, vanilla, cedar

Flavors: spicy black currant, ripe cassis, chalky and dry tannin, graphite, soil

Notes: dry, chunky tannin, aggressive on the palate, needs bottle age, well made though

Score: 87+ Points

2007 Haras de Pirque Cabernet/Carmenere - Maipo Valley

Nose: dried sage, sulfur, black currant, cedar box, mineral, scorched earth

Flavors: big and bold black currant, cassis, dark chocolate

Notes: firm and dry tannin, good fruit, strange aromatics, 

Score: 85 points

New York, NY — October 10, 2011 — Wines That Rock, innovators of rock inspired wines, announced today the launch of the Grateful Dead “Steal Your Face Red Blend” to join the brand’s four established rock ‘n’ roll varietals; Rolling Stones “Forty Licks Merlot,” “Woodstock Chardonnay,” The Police “Synchronicity Red Blend” and Pink Floyd’s “The Dark Side of the Moon Cabernet Sauvignon.” Wines That Rock began releasing the labels in 2009 and a portion of the proceeds from every bottle sold are donated to the T.J. Martell Foundation.

Grateful Dead Productions and Rhino Entertainment have partnered with Wines That Rock to create the “Steal Your Face Red Blend.” Wines That Rock is a partnership between legendary rock business managers RZO and award-winning winemakers Mendocino Wine Co., to capture the quality and spirit of rock ‘n’ roll mythology in its portfolio of great tasting wines, iconic album art for labels, earth friendly production and great consumer value.

Wines That Rock are crafted from the hands and vision of Mendocino Wine Co. winemaker Mark Beaman, whose talent and passions are quality, sustainability and pure rock ‘n’ roll. The process for making “Steal Your Face” began by listening and discovering the vibe and intricacies of the band during their legendary multi-night performance at San Francisco’s Winterland Ballroom in 1974.

“To capture the essence of the live energy for Grateful Dead’s ‘Steal Your Face,’ we chose to meld several varietals into one,” said Beaman. “Just as the band members would segue through various musical styles, this wine’s far reaching flavors melt seamlessly from one to the next. In honor of the Grateful Dead’s famous improvisational concerts that have brought joy to so many, this wine celebrates diversity and freedom of experimentation.”

Wines That Rock takes its respect for music very seriously, with founders that have been at the forefront of bringing rock ‘n’ roll to millions of fans for decades. Co-founders Ron Roy and Howard Jackowitz originally partnered with RZO and David Bowie in 1997 to create UltraStar Entertainment, the world’s largest online fan club company pioneering fan club ticketing and online artist communities. UltraStar’s clients range from the New York Yankees to AC/DC, Madonna and The Who.

“As Wines That Rock continues to grow its portfolio of well-priced, award-winning wines and expanding retail distribution throughout North America and Europe, we felt it was only appropriate to introduce a varietal that represents one of the most important moments in our music history and celebrate one of that era’s most influential bands,” said Roy. “Grateful Dead encompass so much of what the 60’s and 70’s meant to our culture through music, and were truly the first band to establish a worldwide sense of community through their live shows – they were really all about the experience. With Grateful Dead, we have found the perfect partner.”

"We love the idea of using the Grateful Dead’s music to guide the winemaking process,” said Mark Pinkus, GM of Grateful Dead Properties at Rhino Entertainment. “Wines That Rock’s passion for the band really shows in how hard they worked to reflect the mood and essence of the recordings.”

The Grateful Dead “Steal Your Face Red Blend” made its official public debut October 6th, 2011 and is currently available for order at www.winesthatrock.com and at more than 1,500 retail locations worldwide.

Available directly from its website, Wines That Rock offers variety packs of all current varietals and a collectors T-Shirt ($69), as well as three-bottle packs ($49). Wines That Rock will offer the Grateful Dead “Steal Your Face Red Blend” in three, six and 12-bottle packs at around $16.99 per bottle. Individual bottles are competitively priced at your local retailer.

For more information, please visit www.winesthatrock.com.

For more information on consumer products and brand licensing opportunities with Grateful Dead Properties, please contact Sara Nemerov at sara.nemerov@wmg.com

This wine is essentially an extension of grand cru Charmes, “Champs Chenys” and many of winemaker Gerard Raphet’s vines in “Champs Chenys” are pushing 110 years old. Thus the expression "Vielles Vignes" on the label, which of course translates to "old vines". The 2009 vintage in Burgundy is one of exceptional quality and the more I taste from this vintage, the more I realize how classic it really is. The wines are deeply complex, rich and structured, and perfectly balanced.

2009 Gérard Raphet Gevrey-Chambertin Champs Chenys has a nose that expresses beautiful aromas of red raspberry, red currant, cranberry, tamarind, mineral, and a hint of smoke.

On the palate the wine shows lovely flavors of red raspberries and cream, white pepper, crushed stone and mineral, and a touch of baking spice. The acidity is perfectly in balance with the fruit and tannin structure of the wine, making for an impeccably seamless effort that glides gracefully across the palate.

This wine is drinking really amazing right now, but I feel that with at least five more years in bottle it will improve dramatically. The wine needs time to develop secondary layers of complexity and depth. 92 points

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The 2008 Clos du Mont-Olivet Chateauneuf-du-Pape Cuvee Unique is very special because winemaker Thierry Sabon decided not to make his top blend, “Cuvee du Papet.” Instead, a large percentage of that great, limited old-vine fruit found its way into the “Cuvee Unique” blend. It's composed of 70% Grenache, 20% Mourvèdre and 10% Syrah.

On the nose I get the most intoxicating and complex aromas of stewed black cherry, plum, ground cayenne pepper, Kalamata olive, earth, savory chocolate, and game-like meat nuances.

On the palate the wine exhibits the same intense complexity and is superbly thought provoking. Flavors of stewed cherry, roasted gamebird, plum, earth/mineral/chalk, rust-blood, Kalamata olive, and white pepper.

This wine is quite honestly the most complex and thought provoking Chateauneuf-du-Pape I have ever tasted in my wine career. In my humble opinion it's the most perfect example of the region I can think of, and is incredibly balanced, deeply complex, mind-blowingly thought provoking, and just flat out delicious. 100 points

Yes, one hundred people.

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