Cheers! from the Duke of Bourbon  The Duke's staff must have stored up some good karma in a previous life or something, because occasionally we get really lucky. Last Tuesday, Doug Margerum came in the store (that's not the lucky part) with some of his incredible wines, including the fantastic 2003 Syrah, Alondra de los Prados for us to sample (the lucky part!!). After twenty-plus years of lurking as a wine retailer and restaurateur, Doug burst onto the winemaking scene last year with wines that received great critical acclaim and became sought-after treasures overnight. We were privileged, nay honored, to offer futures on his wines last year and no less honored to be able to do so again this year. Most small producers weigh their grapes, but Doug's production is so small that he greets the grapes by name as they come into the winery. (We've told you a million times that we never exaggerate.) Keep that idea of only small amounts of wine being available as you read about them in the paragraphs to follow.
Margerum 2003 M5, - August 2004 Release Price $25.00; Futures Price $19.99 M5 is a blend of Syrah, Grenache, Mourvedre, Cinsault and Counoise and very reminiscent of a great Chateauneuf-du-Pape. To quote Doug: "A complex, elegant expression of wine that is from a thought - an amalgamation of memories of Rhone wines I've tasted and loved the past thirty years." James Laube of the Wine Spectator has already awarded M5 92-94 points as a barrel sample and called it "dark, rich and complex, with a tasty chocolate-covered cherry flavor, lots of blackberry and wild berry fruit that's ripe and focused, and a long, persistent aftertaste that echoes wild berry and boysenberry fruit." Margerum 2003 Syrah, Great Oaks Ranch - August 2004 Release Price $30.00 Futures Price $24.00 Made from the highest portions of the vineyard, this wine is reflective of its place. It is massive - dark, inky, rich and spiced up without being over-the-top - so dark that it literally stains the glass. Dark and intense, the flavors are incredible. Did we mention that it is dark, as in possessing depth and richness? Margerum 2003 Syrah, Alondra de los Prados - August 2004 Release Price $40.00 Futures Price $34.00 6-pack $192.00 ($32.00 per bottle) This is the entire production of only 100 cases from a one-acre vineyard impeccably hand-farmed by Tom Krig. The nose features high-toned aromatics of wild berry and blackberry fruit. The wine is crammed with bright, rich, zesty blackberry and strawberry fruit flavors with a finish that is elegant "and intellectual." Doug calls it "my top wine" and refers to it as "my monopole." The Wine Spectator called it "full-bodied and deftly balanced" as they awarded it 92-94 points on their 100-point scale. This wine is very special and will be virtually impossible to obtain, except on futures. Buy a 6-pack and save. Margerum 2003 Syrah, Vogelzang - August 2004 Release Price $40.00 Futures Price $34.00 6-pack $192.00 ($32.00 per bottle) This is the most intense and dark wine that Margerum makes. The warm-location vineyard in Happy Canyon is farmed to a very low yield of less than two tons per acre. The grapes are cold-soaked and cold-fermented over a two-month period. The fruit flavors on the palate are rich and linger into the long, elegant finish. This is a wine of huge proportions. Again, buy a 6-pack and save. Those of you lucky enough to live in the Los Angeles area will be able to sample the Margerum wines at our next event on May 26, 2004. Details will be out very soon, so save the date!
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If you missed our Central Coast Futures Offering, Part I, it is repeated below, minus the tasting notes. Don't forget to check out Jim Clendenen's Au Bon Climat 2001 Pinot Noir, Larmes de Grappe as well as his new Clendenen Family Vineyards 2001 Chardonnay. Click here, get lucky and go directly to the tasting notes. Au Bon Climat 2002 Pinot Noir, 20th Harvest Selection, Larmes de Grappe - August 2004 Release Price $150.00; Futures Price $119.99 Clendenen Family Vineyards 2001 Chardonnay, Le Bon Climat - August 2004 Release (Listed in our original offering as Au Bon Climat, Jim later decided the wine was special enough to bottle under his new Clendenen Family Vineyards label.) Price $50.00; Futures Price $39.99 Au Bon Climat 2002 Hildegard - August 2004 Release Price $35.00; Futures Price $27.99 Au Bon Climat 2002 Chardonnay, Sanford & Benedict - August 2004 Release Price $25.00; Futures Price $19.99 Au Bon Climat 2002 Chardonnay, Mt. Carmel - August 2004 Release Price $35.00; Futures Price $27.99 Au Bon Climat 2002 Chardonnay, Talley - August 2004 Release Price $25.00; Futures Price $19.99 Au Bon Climat 2002 Chardonnay, Nuits Blanches au Bouge - August 2004 Release Price $35.00; Futures Price $27.99 Au Bon Climat 2002 Pinot Noir, Sanford & Benedict - August 2004 Release Price $35.00; Futures Price $27.99 Au Bon Climat 2002 Pinot Noir, Talley Rincon - August 2004 Release Price $40.00; Futures Price $35.99 Au Bon Climat 2002 Pinot Noir, Mt. Carmel - August 2004 Release Price $50.00; Futures Price $39.99 Au Bon Climat 2002 Pinot Noir, Isabelle Morgan - August 2004 Release Price $50.00; Futures Price $44.99 Au Bon Climat 2002 Pinot Noir, Knox Alexander - August 2004 Release Price $45.00; Futures Price $35.99 Qupe 2002 Syrah, Bien Nacido Hillside Estate - August 2004 Release Price $40.00; Futures Price $31.99 Foxen 2002 Pinot Noir, Sea Smoke Vineyard - June 2004 Release Price $60.00; Futures Price $48.00 6-Pack $270.00 ($45.00 per Bottle) Foxen 2002 Syrah, Williamson-Dore Vineyard - June 2004 Release Price $35.00; Futures Price $28.00 6-Pack $159.00 ($26.50 per bottle) Here's another chance to go to the tasting notes. Don't put it off. Call the Duke today and order your supply of these great values! Think of fine wine! Think of the Duke!  
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Frank Ostini of Hitching Post Winery joined us at our event in March. He and his partner, Gray Hartley, have been making fine Pinot Noirs for many years and have now added a Syrah to their repertoire. We tasted these wines that night and, to make the understatement of the month, were duly impressed, and rightly so. If you weren't there with us, read on for the details. If you were, read on and refresh your memory.