Cheers! from the Duke of Bourbon  The Duke specializes in fine, rare wines but does not overlook the fact that we have to drink something whilst those fine wines come around. We taste carefully and really sharpen the pencil to find the best wines at the best possible prices to present to you, our loyal customer, as great values. Here are a couple of wines from the south of France that meet our strict criteria.Chateau Guiot, 2003 Numa This delicious Syrah, selected and imported by Robert Kacher, is the big brother of Mas de Guiot, which is always highly rated. Numa is named in tribute to the oldest son born in each generation of the Francois Cornut family, owner of Chateau Guiot. The Syrah vineyards on the property date back over 50 years. The winery is located in the Costieres de Nimes area adjacent to Chateauneuf-du-Pape. Numa is made from these vines and is selected with the utmost care. Well-known wine critic Stephen Tanzer loved this wine. He rated it at 90 points and noted: "Full ruby [color]. Aromas of blackberry, spice cake, licorice, violet and dark chocolate. Creamy-sweet but kept fresh by harmonious acidity. Dark berry flavors with notes of licorice, spice, pepper and menthol. Finishes with very good length. From 55-year-old syrah vines ." When we tasted the Numa, it reminded us of any world-class Syrah priced at up to $50.00 per bottle. It is powerful and concentrated and very rare - only 24 cases were allocated to the West Coast.The Duke has this beauty at $19.99 per bottle. Buy a 6-pack (or more) and save an additional 5%!
 Arrogant Frog 2003 Ribet RedAs you may guess from the light-hearted tone of our email offerings, we here at the Duke don't take ourselves too seriously. However, we do take our responsibility of finding good values for our customers very seriously. We are usually not partial to cutsey-poo names like Arrogant Frog and nearly passed on this wine without even tasting it. Boy, are we glad we took the chance! It sent us hopping and we are pleased to offer this sensational value to you. Ribet Red is a blended wine - 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 45% Merlot - from the Languedoc region. Although this is an easy-drinking wine, it is no lightweight, as it has good depth of fruit, a silky texture, and blackberry, plum and toffee flavors. It especially benefits from airing. This is a wine without much oak; after all, oak is expensive and this wine is inexpensive. But it did get enough wood to round out the palate. This is a very drinkable wine and you will be surprised at the reasonable price. Meant to retail for $9.00, we have it for just $6.99 per bottle . Better yet, buy a case for only $78.00 ($6.50 per bottle). We can't recall the source of this quote, but, "Arrogant Frog is a real prince! Kiss one tonight." Note for you purists: It is topped with a screw cap.Think of fine wine! Think of the Duke!  
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