Great Last-Minute Gifts for the Wine Lover!

Dear Friend,

Large, 1.5 L format bottles of wine are one of my favorite gifts to give. They are definite conversation starters, they come in beautiful, big bottles and the two featured wines today also come in their own individual wood box! Even better, they are on sale for over 50% off this week! Also called a Magnum, this is considered the best size bottle of wine to age. The smaller the bottle, the quicker it will age and conversely the larger the bottle the slower it will mature. Both wines, Bastide Saint Dominique Chateauneuf-du-Pape and Mastrojanni Brunello di Montalcino are delicious to drink right now but will certainly age well for another 10 plus years in this format.

La Bastide Saint Dominique was originally a 16th century chapel before being purchased in 1976 by Gerard and Marie-Claude Bonnet, who then turned it into the successful wine estate it is today. Located in the heart of Provence, almost all of their vineyards are in the northeastern sector of Châteauneuf-du-Pape. The Bonnets' children, Eric and Veronique, now run the family estate. Organically certified in 2014, the Bonnet family carefully farms its 65 acres of vineyards.

Today, we are featuring one of the Bonnet's top estate-grown Chateauneuf’s, "Les Hesperides” 2015. Most wines in Chateauneuf-du-Pape are mostly Grenache, Hesperides however is made with an unusually high amount of Mourvèdre, a deep, dark red grape known for its power, longevity and "garrigue" notes. This small production red is made from a tiny two-acre vineyard that was planted in 1950. Les Hesperides is the name of the lieu-dit, or small place, where the vineyard is located. A great wine to enjoy with a leg of lamb on New Year’s!

The Mastrojanni estate is located in Castelnuovo dell’Abate, in the southeastern corner of Montalcino. It was established in 1975 but since the purchase of the estate by the famous Illy Cafe family in 2008, quality has skyrocketed. Managing Director Andrea Machetti knows this land better than anyone in the area and he believes in minimal intervention, letting the Sangiovese speak for itself.

The vines here grow in soils rich in gravel, clay and limestone with the inactive Mount Amiata in the distance. They believe this large structure helps protect the vineyards from large storms and hail by drawing the storms close to it. Machetti is a firm believer in the practice of biodynamics in the vineyard. While 2014 is not considered a top vintage, Mastrojanni made one of the top 2014 Brunelli. They chose not to bottle their more expensive offerings, Loreto or Schiena d'Asino, and put all the juice from these special places in their regular Brunello. This wine would be outstanding on Christmas with a rib roast.

If you are interested in today’s featured wines, please reply to this email, call your nearest location, or follow this link to order. Curbside pickup or delivery is available. We have a limited amount of both of these special bottlings, please let us know if you are interested as they should sell out quickly!

Sincerely,

Alek Leontie

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