20908 Roscoe Blvd • Canoga Park CA 91304 Hours: Mon - Sat • 9AM - 6PM

Phone: (818) 341-1234 • Fax: (818) 341-9232 Outside California: (800) 4-FINE-WINE

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Save 20% on Au Bon Climat and Qupe Futures

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We are pleased to continue our special Central Coast 2001 Futures program with our offering of the extraordinary 2001 vintage wines from three extremely special wineries - Au Bon Climat, Qupe and Vita-Nova. This program gives everyone a chance to save up to 20% off of the normal list prices of the wines upon release, as well as the opportunity to acquire some of the rarest of their wines. This is Part 1 of our planned offerings. Part 2 will be in your mailbox in March with the addition of Hitching Post and Margerum wines. Information about allocations and ordering is at the end of this message. Special Note: We are able to offer the Qupe Hillside Estate 2001 Syrah in larger format bottles: magnums, double magnums and jeroboams. See the ordering information below.

Jim Clendenen, proprietor and winemaker at Au Bon Climat, proclaims that the 2001 vintage in the Central Coast was "the best vintage in the history of the winery and...the best vintage I have ever worked!" This would include his 20+ years in the Santa Maria area, as well as several vintages in Burgundy. High praise, indeed, from a master.

Central Coast 2001 "Futures"

The Duke tasting team recently made the annual "futures" visit to the Au Bon Climat/Qupe winery in Santa Maria to taste the 2001 wines still in barrels. We were quite impressed! Following is a synopsis of our impressions and tasting notes.

Au Bon Climat

Au Bon Climat 2001 Hildegard - August 2003 Release
Price $35.00; Futures Price $27.99

A fresh, well-balanced blend of 55% Pinot Beurot (Gris), 40% Pinot Blanc and 5% Aligoté, this is Jim Clendenen's best estimate of the original ninth-century Corton-Charlemagne wine. It is straw-gold in color with a fruity nose of violets and perfume, a soft, creamy, buttery mouth-feel and a medium-long finish. A great food wine.

Au Bon Climat 2001 Chardonnay, Sanford & Benedict - August 2003 Release
Price $25.00; Futures Price $19.99

This designation was not made in 2000, so we welcome it back with this newly styled 2001 edition, which is delicious even at this young age. The wine exhibits straw-gold color, a rich nose showing some oak, forward fruit flavors that are far from lean, good acidity and a long finish. Priced at 30% below the 1999 vintage!

Au Bon Climat 2001 Chardonnay, Mt. Carmel - August 2003 Release
Price $35.00; Futures Price $27.99

Grapes for this appealing, well-structured wine came from a cool vineyard area in the Santa Ynez Valley north of the Sanford & Benedict Vineyard. In the glass, the wine reveals wonderful oak and fruit aromas and a body rich with glycerin balanced by creamy malolactic flavors and good acid. Jim is very high on this vineyard (see Pinot Noir notes).

Au Bon Climat 2001 Chardonnay, Nuits Blanches au Bouge - August 2003 Release
Price $35.00; Futures Price $27.99

What a wine! Jim's 100% Estate Chardonnay is from primarily Dijon clones grown on his Le Bon Climat Vineyard and the K Block of the Bien Nacido Vineyard. Long "legs" coat the glass while the full, rich, fruity nose of this beauty offers big hints of oak. The richness continues with full fruit flavors of great structure and balance.

Au Bon Climat 2001 Pinot Noir, La Bauge au Dessus - April 2003 Release
Price $30.00; Futures Price $23.99

This blockbuster Pinot Noir offers great extraction and concentration. It is medium-to-dark red in color, has the classic Pinot Noir nose of raspberries and herbs, spicy tastes on the palate with hints of cloves, a moderate acid/tannin structure and a solid finish. It's the best La Bauge ever . . . try it, you'll love it!

Au Bon Climat 2001 Pinot Noir, Sanford & Benedict - August 2003 Release
Price $35.00; Futures Price $27.99

Jim feels that this is his best Sanford & Benedict Pinot Noir in several years. The smokiness in the nose does not mask the fruitiness that follows through in the earthy, cherry, spicy flavors. It has great depth, great length and great aging potential.

Au Bon Climat 2001 Pinot Noir, Talley Vineyard "Rosemary's" - August 2003 Release
Price $50.00; Futures Price $44.99

Always popular and always limited (less than 100 cases this vintage), this rich, full wine exhibits raspberries and sweet oak in the nose, ripe fruit flavors complemented by creamy, round, balanced oak and acid with a long, fruity finish. (Because of limited production, Rosemary's must be limited to 6 bottles at this offering)

Au Bon Climat 2001 Pinot Noir, Mt. Carmel - August 2003 Release
Price $50.00; Futures Price $44.99

"Monumental!" says Mr. Clendenen. Darker purple than the other ABC Pinot Noirs, this wine boasts a big, full nose with hints of sweet fruit, spice and oak. Its concentrated varietal fruit flavors burst on the palate, with oak taking a back seat to the fruitiness. It is huge but supple and shows superb balance. At this point in time, it is showing the best of all the 2001 Pinot Noirs.

Au Bon Climat 2001 Pinot Noir, Isabelle - August 2003 Release
Price $50.00; Futures Price $44.99

Full of spice and richness, this eighth vintage named for Jim & Morgan Clendenen's daughter is a crowd-pleaser. It is produced from Jim's best barrels of Pinot Noir from the best vineyard sources. Oak and fruit aromas pervade the rich, full nose with concentrated fruit flavoring this wine of complex structure and excellent balance. Top that off with a big finish and you can't beat this truly enticing beauty. (Because of limited production, Isabelle must be limited to 6 bottles at this offering)

Au Bon Climat 2001 Pinot Noir, Knox Alexander - August 2003 Release
Price $45.00; Futures Price $35.99

This namesake of the Clendenens' son is another 100% Estate wine made from the best Bien Nacido vines. The wine is rich and robust with medium-dark color, raspberries on the nose, big body with good fruit flavors and a strong finish. Very tasty!!

Barham Mendelsohn

Barham Mendelsohn 2001 Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley - August 2003 Release
Price $50.00; Futures Price $39.99

(Yes, we know it isn't Au Bon Climat and it isn't Central Coast, but the winemaker is Jim Clendenen and the wine is too doggone good not to include it.) The superb Barham Mendelsohn Vineyard is located in the Sonoma County area known for its outstanding Pinot Noirs. The 2000 vintage was a hit at our "Super Seminar" in December. The sweet, jammy 2001 wine has a rich, full nose with notes of sweet oak, spice and fruit flavors, good acidity, superb balance and an excellent finish. Great on its own and will definitely enhance any meal.

Vita-Nova

Vita-Nova 2001 Sangiovese - August 2003 Release
Price $18.00; Futures Price $13.99

A big, rich, powerful, world-class wine produced from the best grapes of the Stolpman Vineyard in Santa Ynez. The nose exudes ripe, black fruit. The fruit flavors are concentrated and balanced by good acid, tannins and 100% new oak. It's one of the finest California Sangioveses we've ever tasted and a steal at this price!

Qupe

Qupe 2001 Chardonnay, Bien Nacido Reserve Block 11 - April 2003 Release
Price $25.00; Futures Price $19.99

Produced by proprietor Bob Lindquist, this big, full-flavored wine features the hillside grapes across from the winery planted exclusively for Qupe. It was aged in 100% new François Frères oak barrels and went through 100% malolactic fermentation. A slight smokiness in the nose leads to good glycerin in the glass and deep fruit flavors in the mouth balanced with good oak and acid. It is powerful and rich and a true bargain at $19.99!

Qupe 2001 Syrah, Bien Nacido - April 2003 Release
Price $25.00; Futures Price $19.99

A dark, intense wine with typically varietal black pepper and fruit in the nose and on the palate, plus the solid acid and good tannic structure necessary to balance the flavors. Finishes with panache!

Qupe 2001 Syrah, Bien Nacido Hillside Estate - August 2003 Release
Price $40.00; Futures Price $31.99

The biggest of them all, this powerful wine is deep and dark with chocolatey overtones in the nose and everything you'd expect a Qupe wine to be in structure - dense, spicy fruit flavors with excellent tannin balance and great length. A superior wine to age.


Special offering of 2001 Bien Nacido Hillside Estate Syrah

Size	List Price	Futures Price
Magnum (1.5 Ltr)	$80.00	$64.00
Double Magnum (3 Ltr)	$175.00	$140.00
Jeroboam (5 Ltr)	$285.00	$228.00

Qupe 2001 Syrah, 20th Anniversary Harvest - August 2003 Release
Price $50.00; Futures Price $39.99

Think "power" when you think of this wine. It was produced from the X Block of the Bien Nacido Vineyard, which is the oldest, original Syrah block, and shows the great depth of character befitting the celebration of Bob's 20th Qupe Harvest. Deep purple color and a sweet fruit and black pepper nose are followed by big fruit, firm tannin, complex structure and a big finish.ORDERING INSTRUCTIONS:

Minimum 3 Bottle Order for Each Wine

100% Deposit Required - April/August 2003 Releases

To place your order, please stop by the store or call us at 1-800-341-1234
or, if you are outside California, at 1-800-4-FINE-WINE





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Just Call (818) 341-1234 or outside California (800) 4-FINE-WINE
Store Hours: Monday-Saturday 9AM - 6PM Pacific Time

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