You're Not Going to Believe These Wines

This is one serious smoking RED HOT alert.

We don't take this statement lightly, nor are we prone to exaggeration. All we do is provide info without the hype. Just pure, honest, personal opinions with a healthy dose of enthusiasm and a solid base of professional knowledge.

So, seriously, stop what you're doing and READ THIS NOW.

You're not going to believe your eyes in a moment, but it's true. You don't need new glasses. You just need to get in your car right now and scoop up the wines in this email before they disappear. Strong talk, but in a few seconds you'll see why.

It isn't our fault these wines were released in the summer when things are crazy busy, but we want you to benefit from being a wine insider on our email list before hoards of tourists wander in and accidentally discover some of the greatest values in wine this store has EVER seen.

A brief background and then we're off to the races.

We tasted the four wines in this email many months ago at a private tasting in Boston with Eric Solomon of European Cellars, and a handful of his producers straight from the wineries. We quite literally stopped in our tracks when we arrived at the Lafage table, absolutely dumbfounded. We did this without knowing these wines would later receive accolades which would rock the wine world.

We've known Jean Marc Lafage for many years and we've always supported his delicious wines. This time was different. His wines were haunting. We couldn't stop thinking about what we tasted for weeks. And, as many of you know, we evaluate and sample an enormous amount of wine every single week of the year. We've been hounding our rep to find out when the containers were going to arrive from France. Week after week, day after day, all we could ask was When? When? When?!?

The time is now.

Kevin and Leslie with winemaker Jean Marc Lafage

Lafage Tessellae Old Vines 2011

"The least expensive offering is the 2011 Tessellae Old Vines Cotes du Roussillon, an intriguing blend of 40% Syrah, 40% Grenache, 15% Mourvedre and 5% Grenache Gris, a rare white grape. It was aged 12 months in concrete tanks prior to being bottled unfiltered.

It boasts an expansive, intense, complex bouquet of garrigue, strawberries and black cherries intermixed with a hint of spring flowers, a velvety texture and a voluptuous mouthfeel. It made me write in my tasting notes that it was a “$12 Cote Rotie of the south,” although $12 Cote Roties went out of existence about 50 years ago. This beautiful, soft, round, seductive red should drink well for 4-5 years. Jean-Marc Lafage and importer Eric Solomon fashioned these special cuvees, which are only available through European Cellars in the United States." (Robert Parker, Wine Advocate)

Wine Advocate: 93 points

$13.99/bottle or $134.30/12 pack case ($11.19/bottle) or just $11.19/bottle in a mixed case of wine.

A 93 point wine for just over $11/bottle? This may be the deal of the century. It's certainly one of the best values we have EVER seen in our store, and that's saying something.

Sorry to say, we were only allocated 20 cases of this limited release wine. There just isn't a whole lot of it to go around.  If we don't sell out of this in a week we're just not doing our job.

This is delicious, outrageous, gorgeous decadence.

It's the more feminine of the three reds and it's definitely very much to our liking. So much so, we have to tell you something. Jump on it now. This is practically a ridiculous offer. This wine should be twice it's price. Buy it before we cave into our temptation and take it all home. We're not kidding. It did come up in our discussions.

Lafage Bastide Miraflors 2011

"There are 3,000 cases of the naked, virginal, unoaked 2011 Bastide Miraflors Vieilles Vignes made from 70% Syrah and 30% Grenache aged in concrete. The difficult economic situation in the Languedoc-Roussillon corridor is being exploited to the maximum by importer Eric Solomon.

The fact that wines such as this can be purchased is unbelievable.

Largely an artisanal wine, it is brilliantly pure with a stunning nose of spring flowers, blackberries, cassis and earth. It is almost incomprehensible that something of this quality, complexity and richness can be purchased for $25 to $50. The 3,000 cases should be gobbled up as quickly as they hit retailers’ shelves. I am honored to share my excitement about this amazing wine with readers." (Robert Parker, Wine Advocate)

Wine Advocate: 93 points

$14.99/bottle or $143.90/12 pack case ($11.99/bottle) or just $11.99/bottle in a mixed case of wine.

Yes, this is a really lovely wine and even "unbelievable" as Robert Parker stated above.

Smooth, silky and round in all the right places. We recommend laying some cases down for early Autumn weather, but we don't think anybody will be able to wait that long. Again, a soaring score from Parker, and under $12 after discount. We strongly suggest you stock up on this beauty. It has that wow factor we love.

Chateau Saint-Roch Kerbuccio 2011

You had better be sitting down for this one. We live for fine little moments in our day like this.

Purchased by Jean Marc Lafage, Chateau Saint Roch is located in the Maury area of the Agly Valley, which is 15 miles from Perpignan and the Mediterranean sea. Maury, previously restricted to producing fortified wines, has been granted the ability to make dry wines since the 2011 vintage.

"The backside of this region is Corbieres, but this opaque purple-colored 2011 Kerbuccio would blow away just about any Corbieres. A wine of great intensity, it offers up copious floral, blackberry and blueberry fruit intermixed with hints of charcoal, scorched earth and wet rocks. Dense and full-bodied with tremendous richness and supple tannins, this beauty should drink well for 5-7 years, possibly longer.

One of the top wine values I have ever tasted is from one of the newest appellations in France, Maury Sec. Maury produces abundant sweet wines (largely from Grenache), but this is a totally dry red made from 40% Syrah, 30% Mourvedre and 30% Grenache aged in concrete tanks for 8 months, and bottled unfiltered. It comes from the black schist soils of this appellation." (Robert Parker, Wine Advocate)

Wine Advocate: 95 points

$19.99/bottle or $191.90/12 pack case ($15.99/bottle) or just $15.99/bottle in a mixed case of wine.

A 95 point wine reviewed by Robert Parker himself for under $16?!? We probably don't need to say any more than this. Yet, we will. This is for fans of bigger, darker and more robust wines like amarone and port. After all, this does originate from a region which is used to making fortified wines. At 95 points you can blow the socks off of just about any other wine at this price. Only 10 cases were allocated to us. Snooze and you lose on this big boy.

And now for a little pink beauty presented in a very alluring package.

Lafage Miraflors Rosé 2012

"The early-bottled, gorgeous 2012 Miraflors Rosé is a blend of 70% Mourvedre and 30% Grenache Gris that was aged on its lees for four months prior to bottling. Its beautiful color is accompanied by scents of framboise, earth and strawberries presented in a medium-bodied, surprisingly substantial format. Think of it as a Bandol-styled rosé offered at a much more realistic price point. Drink it over the next year." (Robert Parker, Wine Advocate)

Wine Advocate: 90 points

$16.99/bottle or $163.10/12 pack case ($13.59/bottle) or just $13.59/bottle in a mixed case of wine. We also have this visually stunning package with a glass enclosure in 1.5 liter magnum bottles. A summer dinner on the deck with company and one of these magnums? Yes, please. That's an impression we definitely want to make.

Phew. Time to go home and luxuriate in these beauties while they last.

* Wine & Spirit Education Trust Certified *

Town Center Wine & Spirits Cape Cod's Most Trusted Wine Merchant

Location 4550 State Highway North Eastham, MA 02651 (Next to the Royal Thai Restaurant in the Town Center Plaza) Tel: 508 255 3660 Fax: 508 255 6736

Summer Hours Mon-Fri: 9 a.m. to 10 p.m Fri-Sat: 9 am to 11 pm Sunday: 12 to 8 p.m.   We're open year round. Closed only on Memorial Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas.