Some great deals and buying opportunities have come through the doors here at Vino in the last week, including a fabulous, don't-miss-it Barbera d'Alba, a classic Rhone red and a few other deliciously satisfying items of interest for your thirsty minds to consider!

And if you need options, you can mix or match any twelve bottles and take 10% off the per bottle price. Put together 18 or more bottles and take 15% off the price. Just respond with an e-mail or call the store at 503-235-8545 and we'll confirm your order and let you know when your wines will be ready for pickup or shipment. All wines are offered subject to prior sale and availability and the irregular rhythms and loathsome self-interest of our wholesalers. But, in any case, for drinking now or sticking in the cellar, check out these gems:

Crazy for Cameron

2007 Cameron "Arley's Leap" Pinot Noir
$34.95 btl/$335.00 case

2008 Cameron "Dundee Hills" Chardonnay
$19.95 btl/$198.00 case

Just out are these sublimely delicious wines from John Paul at Cameron. If anyone can be called on top of their game, it is JP. One of my two favorite Oregon producers, he never seems to disappoint. Based on your reactions to his '07 "Arley's Leap" during our pinot tasting last Friday, you all concur. From 20-year-old vines, this has everything you could ask for. When was the last time you saw me pimping Oregon chardonnay? Years, maybe? But if ever an Oregon chard deserved my respect, it is the uber-rich and creamy 2008 Cameron "Dundee Hills" Chardonnay. Beautifully ripe fruit, with JP's usual judicious use of oak to enhance, not overpower. Both these wines are as good as it gets from Oregon!

Ravishing Rhone

2007 Robert Arnoux Vacqueyras "Jean-Marie Arnoux"
$17.95 btl/$178.00 case

You've read my raves about the 2007 vintage in southern France's Rhone Valley. For once a vintage seems to be living up to, if not exceeding, the hyperbole. These are maybe the best Rhone reds I've experienced top-to-bottom. The latest and greatest to come along and grab my palate and give it a big, wet mouthful of pleasure is this Vacqueyras from Robert Arnoux. I love it and could go on and on, but I'll let Robert Parker's Wine Advocate do it for me: "The 2007 Vacqueyras Arnoux is superb! Its blend is somewhat different, with the Grenache dominating (70%), but 25% Syrah and 5% Mourvedre, all from 50-year or older vines included. This stunning wine exhibits a dense purple color along with abundant quantities of blackberry fruit, pepper, bouquet garni, spice box and meaty notes. Full-bodied and opulent, it is a superior Vacqueyras from a great vintage. This 2007 merits serious attention. 91-93 points!" Obviously delicious to indulge in now, I can tell you it is only going to get better!

Vox Populi

2006 Chono Carmenere Reserva "Elqui Valley"
$13.95 btl/$138.00 case
The people spoke loud and clear last Saturday, confirming what I suspected, which is this incredibly luscious 100% Carmenere from Chile's small Chono winery is something special. I've loved everything I've had from Chono, and this is perhaps...oh, heck, it is the best Carmenere I have ever tasted. From high altitude vineyards in the Elqui Valley (the most northerly vineyards in Chile). Bursting with dense blackberry, cherry, cocoa, smoke and light vanilla flavors, this is simply too easy to enjoy. Pretty much everyone who was trying it Saturday was raving. More interesting and enjoyable than 97% of the sea of the Chilean cabs, merlots and syrahs that come washing up on our shores this is one of those wines that completely over-delivers for the price!

2007 Rancho Zabaco Zinfandel "Dry Creek Valley"
$19.95 btl/$198.00 case
Cali's Dry Creek Valley is the Holy Land for zinfandel is America. When zin lovers prostrate themselves for evening prayers, they point toward the vineyards just west of Healdsburg. If you need to know why, then take one taste of this beautifully made zin from Zabaco. All I should really need to say is when I took a bottle home my rep dropped off I was loving it. Jammy raspberry and black pepper with lusciously rich fruit that coats your palate and lingers on an amazingly lengthy finish. Clocking in at 14.9% alcohol, this is not hot in the least, which owes a ton to the quality of the 2007 vintage for Cali zin. But an even bigger endorsement comes from my wife, who is, to say the least, not a zinfandel fan. So when I gave her a taste and got a "Hey, that's really good!" well, that was pretty much a 95-point Spectator score! So if you want to experience immense pleasure, and have a wine that is begging you to braise a pot of lamb shanks, then grab a few bottles of this!

2008 Pappas Wine Company Pinot Gris "Willamette Valley"
$13.95 btl/$138.00 case
Will wonders never cease? Two Oregon white wines in one E-Spec offering! But there is no way I could leave out the '08 Pappas Pinot Gris. The second label of Oregon's Boedecker cellars, the Pappas wine offers incredible bang for your buck. This delish PG is all stainless fermented, as it should be, and streaks across your palate with apple, fig, orange zest and spicy floral flavors. Backed with zippy acidity, this would be an excellent white for your upcoming holiday dinners. It reminds me of those northern Italian grigios I love so much, with slightly more weight and texture. You absolutely can't do better for the money in Oregon pinot gris!

Big Deals

2007 Chateau Virgile Costieres de Nimes
$10.95 btl/$109.00 case
You may remember the 2006 vintage that I pimped last year. It was one of my favorite bargain Rhone reds of the year. The 2007 is now here, and it may be pushing the bar even higher. Rather than my usual rave, here's some verbiage from Parker's Wine Advocate that I wholeheartedly endorse: "Serge and Thierry Baret have rendered a mind-boggling value with the gravel-grown, tank-rendered blend of Syrah with Grenache and a bit of Mourvedre that is their 2007 Costieres de Nimes. Peony and rowan, sage and citrus oil mingle with ripe cherry and cassis on the nose. A juicy, polished palate of fruit pit, cocoa powder, salt- and herb-tinged cherries leads to a long, subtle finish, made more memorable by stony underlying notes and hints of floral perfume. Lay in enough of this to enjoy it for at least the next 2-3 years. 91 points!" Yeah, it is that good. The bad news is we only have 15 to 20 cases to play with. It will go first come, first served. This is a spectacular buy!

2007 Tenuta Olim Bauda Barbera d'Asti
$14.95 btl/$148.00 case
I took a bottle of this robust Piedmontese red on vacation with me and loved it! With a big pot of spaghetti and meatballs (from this fabulous recipe if you need one) it was divine. I didn't realize our own Matt Kramer had jumped on this as well, and since Parker got his above, here's some MK love: "Barbera is never better than when it comes from the Piedmont region of northwest Italy. The many producers in the Barbera d'Asti zone have come to the fore. Tenuta Olim Bauda is just such an example. 'La Villa' 2007 Bauda's so-called 'basic' barbera, which is understating the matter considerably. What's basic for them is flat-out terrific for many others. This lovely barbera sees no oak and needs none. This is classic, mouthwatering barbera that really delivers the goods. It's dense, crisp and supple with plum, black cherry and strawberry flavors delivered with almost digital delineation. Serve this with grilled lamb, sausages or a juicy pork chop and you'll understand in a single sip why barbera is so popular. The price is equally delicious: $14.95 a bottle."

2007 Foxglove Zinfandel "Paso Robles"
$14.95 btl/$148.00 case
No mater how big, jammy, and delicious you like your wines, this beauty from Foxglove will hit all of your pleasure centers at a pretty amazing price. Here's some more Parker praise from his Wine Advocate: "An absolutely spectacular bargain from the very high-quality Varner Winery in the Santa Cruz Mountains. The outstanding 2007 zinfandel is another winner and phenomenal bargain. This is classic zinfandel with loads of berry fruit, pepper, earth, and roasted Provencal herbs. The wine is pure, full-bodied, ripe, with not a hard edge to be found. Drink it over the next two to three years. 90 points!"

2008 Foxglove Chardonnay
$14.95 btl/$148.00 case
Even though it's only available in very limited quantities, I had to share it with you. Here's some Robert Parker rave for this sensual delight: "The sensational 2008 Foxglove Chardonnay is a fabulous cuvée. Loads of tropical fruit, honeysuckle and orange blossom notes fill the olfactory sense, as does the luscious medium-bodied texture on the palate. The wine is buttressed by crisp, underlying acidity, and the result is a fresh, naked expression of Chardonnay that is top flight. 91 points!"

Back and Better Than Ever

2008 Patricia Green Cellars Pinot Noir "Dollar Bills Only"
$16.95 btl/$168.00 case

Patty Green has just released her new 2008 DBO Pinot and not to over hype, and I don't say this lightly, but this may be the best release yet of her bargain bottling. I admit to be a bit disappointed by the 2007 DBO, and when Jeffrey Wilson, who works for Patty, came in with the new '08 he admitted that the '07 wasn't quite what it should have been. But he also said "Just wait'll you try this." So I did, and I was knocked out. This is what I want from Patty...pure, pretty, strawberry and plum infused pinot. Classic Oregon noir, spicy, complex, velvety smooth, young but very drinkable with promise for the future. Patty is absolutely back in true form, and for the money I can't think of anything that comes close. Remember how good the 2004 and 2005 DBOs were? This is right up there with them! The 2008 vintage is going to be absurdly good for a lot of Oregon producers, and this is a fabulous preview!

Owen Roe: New Releases

Heather Clark, who reps the Owen Roe wines in town, came by yesterday with the following four new releases and, true to form, they do not disappoint. I could go into my usual David O'Reilly rant..."commitment," "integrity," "vision," "passion," etc., but you've heard it all. The deal is it still applies, and once again I can only stand mouth agape when I taste through his wines. With much respect, here's the latest and greatest from Mr. O'Reilly.

2008 Owen Roe Sinister Hand
$23.95 btl/$235.00 case

A bloody luscious blend of Grenache, syrah and Mourvedre, this is a ripe, jam-packed red from low-yield vineyards in Washington's Horse Heaven Hills. Unctuous, long and way too satisfying, this young buck has much promise for the future. I recently had a bottle of the 2004 SH and it was drinking beautifully, so I know the future is bright for the current vintage of "The Hand"!

2007 Owen Roe Yakima Valley Red
$40.95 btl/$208.00 6-pack/ $390.00 case

Unquestionably one of the best vintages for Washington reds in a long time, the 2007s have been blowing me away. Then along comes this awesome Cab Franc (43%), Cab Sauv (33%), Merlot (24%) blend, and it becomes even more apparent. This is the best bottling of the always stellar Yakima Valley Red I've tasted. Super-rich, with tiers of big, bold fruit that slather your palate with goodness. Cherry, cocoa, cassis and an intriguing smokiness roll out of your glass. A long, long finish that sat on my palate for about 90 seconds or more with perfectly balancing tannins and acidity, this is truly something special. One of the few Washington reds at this price that is absolutely worth the money, if not a bargain at this price. Pull this red from some boutique Cali producer and you'd be looking at $100+ a bottle.

2008 Owen Roe Syrah "Lady Rosa"
$43.95 btl/$224.00 6-pack/$415.00 case

The 2007, in the usual Wine Spectator method, received 93 points and went into out-of-control demand after it was already sold out. So pre-demand is high for the new '08 Lady Rosa, and it seems to me to be a virtual clone of the 2007. Peppery raspberry/blackberry flavors, incredibly lush and full, a hedonistic fruit bomb that is pretty wild right now and needs a year or two to show its full, delicious potential.

2008 Owen Roe Pinot Noir "The Kilmore"
$43.95 btl/$224.00 6-pack/$390.00 case

The marquee wine from Owen Roe's pinot noir stable, this is a uniquely delicious pinot noir. Darkly colored, richly textured and elegantly satisfying, if you or anyone you know thought they didn't like pinot noir, then I challenge you to pour a glass of this and see if it doesn't turn your palate inside out! Did I mention the greatness of the 2008 Oregon vintage?

Drinking the World

A few choice selections from some of my favorite producers. All will only satisfy!

2007 Les Deux Rives Corbieres Rouge
$9.95 btl/$99.00 case

To put it mildly, I adored the 2006 vintage that completely grabbed my palate and gave it a big French kiss. My case of '06 is still sitting in the basement. Now its younger sibling has just come wandering into my life, and I'm conflicted. Is it disloyal to love two wines from the same family? Or should I just embrace them and let them share my affection. That's my problem, not yours. What you need to know is that a wine like this at this incredible price is why I love doing what I do. First off you all know I love the wines from the south of France. The Corbieres region which sits baking ion the Mediterranean sun in southwest France has always produced reds that over-deliver for the dollar. Now in a truly classic vintage like 2007, I am seeing wines like I've never tasted. A blend of Syrah, grenache, carignan and mourvedre, this has tons of fruit and loads of character. A classic red that immediately takes my palate to a sun drenched café in the village of St.-Laurent-de-la-Cabrerisse with a bowl of steaming cassoulet beckoning to me. The Les Deux Rives name refers to the two banks of the Canal du Midi that run through this region, and if ever a red was evocative of the place where it comes from this is it. A true steal at this price, this is something you absolutely need to stock up on. I know I am!

2005 Rondan Rioja
$13.95 btl/$138.00 case

When I first carried this wine in the 2001 vintage I called it the finest value in Rioja. With the new 2005 vintage in store (and wowing everyone at our recent Friday Spanish tasting), I have to say again that this is the finest value in Rioja in town. 100% tempranillo, with that tell-tale earthy, ripe, dark fruit flavor with hints of spice and leather and wonderful feel and texture. Like the Corbieres above, this just screams "terroir" or whatever the heck the Spanish call it. A bargain at this price and a perfect wine for your dinner tables. Cool weather is coming, and this is what you need to be drinking!

2005 Rapet and Fils Pernand-Vergelesses
$32.95 btl/$168.00 6-pack/$315.00 case

Whenever I see another $30-plus Oregon pinot (with a few choice exceptions), I always want to pull something like this out and say to the winemakers "What possible motivation would I have to sell your wine for that price when I can offer this French Burgundy for less?" This pinot from the Cotes de Beaune region is a perfumed, strikingly rich and elegant pinot that is the reason people become Burgundy dorks. So complex, so satisfying, it just pleases on every level. Not cheap obviously, but for what it is and what it delivers out of the glass, I can honestly say that this is a great value.

2005 Vina el Huque "Alchemy"
$14.95 btl/$148.00 case

I knew this was a stellar Cab-Syrah-Carmenere-Cab Franc blend from Chile highly regarded winemaker Alphonse DeRose when I first tasted it about 3 weeks ago. Then when I had it open a couple of Saturday's and saw the unanimous crowd love it only confirmed this was something special. There aren't too many wines tat I open that everyone loves. This is one of them. Drinking wonderfully right now, and perfect for anything off the grill or for the coming fall braises!

2006 Dow "Vale do Bomfim' Douro
$11.95 btl/$119.00 case

From the same grapes that the Symington family uses in its world-beating Dow vintage port, this Douro Valley red really grabbed my attention. With its dark, ripe, intriguingly layered fruit that matches up beautifully with the integrated tannic backbone, this is simply way too easy to drink. One of those "an open bottle will be an empty bottle" reds that will gain you much love and respect from those fortunate to share in your largesse!

The Family Favorite

2007 E.A.R.L. Burle Cotes du Rhone
$11.95 btl/$119.00 case
You may have heard about the hype surrounding the 2007 vintage in France's Rhone Valley. In The Wine Advocate Robert parker called it the best vintage he has ever tasted. I'm always wary of buying into the hype, but from what I've been tasting of the early arriving '07 Cotes du Rhones, the press may be for real. They have almost all had incredible ripeness levels and rich flavors that you usually only see in the more expensive Gigondas and Vacqueyras. A case of a-rising-tide-lifting-all-boats, I suppose. And to be Burle specific, it is absolutely true. I've been carrying his wines since the 1999 vintage, and I can honestly say this 2007 is the best Cotes du Rhone from Burle I have ever tasted. It has the classic Burle complexity...blackberries, earth, coffee, bacon fat, black pepper....on the nose and palate, just more of it. Full-bodied, thickly textured, with a long, lush finish. This is a pretty stunning Cotes du Rhone that is only going to get better over the next two to four years, and to be able to drink this well for this little is what I would call a great buying opportunity.

Sip Sip Syrah!

2006 Chono Syrah "Elqui Valley"
$13.95 btl/$138.00 case
If you put this wine in a blind tasting of great southern French syrah, I can promise you I wouldn't be able to pick it out. This is easily one of the best South America syrahs I've experienced, with its pure dark cherry fruit, peppery spice, flower-blossom aroma and minerally complexity. It doesn't have that too ripe character or slavish amounts of new wood that mar so many American and Australian syrah/shiraz. Chili's Elqui Valley is the northern most growing area in the country, and the warm days and cool night here seem to work wonders with their syrah. This is hand harvested, organic syrah that is meticulously vinified by Alvaro Espinoza. I picked up the last vintage here at Vino and loved it, but when I tasted this new release I was totally smitten. Great juice from a very committed producer. That's what it's all about, right?

Doing His Thang

And the thing David O'Reilly does, as well or better than almost anyone in America, is to provide incredible drinking pleasure for an eminently reasonable price. His wine he makes under his Owen Roe label are the equal to anything made in America. Period! He makes incredible cabs, syrahs, pinot noirs and blends from his Washington and Oregon vineyard sources. For David, everything starts in the vineyards, and he has cut many ties to choice vineyards who wouldn't keep yields down and provide him the best fruit possible. I've known David for 12-plus years, and I've never met anyone who has more integrity, and this goes along with a sense of joy about what he does. As I've said before, if Owen Roe was in Napa Valley, these wines would cost three to four times as much.

And now he has another label he is introducing to provide affordable wine for all. Corvidae Wine Company is something he started before all this economic mess started. It was a way for him to use wine from his own and other vineyards that didn't go in to his upper-end bottlings and be able to sell it for an incredible price. He puts the same attention to detail into these reds as he does his other wines, and our wineglasses are all the happier for it. For the latest and greatest things you need to be drinking, I'm incredibly excited to be able to offer the following new releases from Corvidae!