Category: New Arrivals

Our barrel of Herradura tequila has arrived! Fortunately for you, the actual tequila is in numbered bottles with our personal imprint subtly added to the label, so you don’t have to buy the whole barrel to give it a try. After a journey of six thousand miles – four thousand to travel to and from Mexico to select this barrel of Herradura Reposado, and the two thousand the barrel traveled on its own – you’d think the journey might be over. Well, nothing could be further from the truth. If you’ve been following our little story about how fine drink is a journey, you know that Joe (the owner) and his sidekick Steve (aka “Señor Gracias”) made a trip to Amatitán, Mexico, to personally select a specially-aged barrel of Herradura’s amazing Reposado. But that’s just the beginning of the journey. The next part of the journey is YOURS. First, a little journey to one of the outlets that have this amazing tequila in stock. Then the journey of enjoying it with your friends. And this is just the first of many journeys we’ll be taking. As promised, we launched HandSelectedSprits.com in May to record the trips we’ll be taking around the world to find the best wines and spirits, and when possible, bring them home to you. So this barrel is really just the beginning. Stop by and select your own numbered bottle. They’re going faster than we expected! And stay tuned for news of future trips. Joe already made a trip to ten California vineyards last month, and we’ll be visiting Woodford Reserve Distillery in Versaille Kentucky this summer. Join us on the journeys!

There has always been a lot of fuss about wine labels. More recently it has tended to be about how pretty or clever they are, and historically, many (mostly in America) have found the labels of Spanish, Italian , and French wines frustrating, primarily because they haven’t taken the time to bone up on why and how they’re labeled. This is the only concession that Olé Imports has made in the making and marketing of their line of exceptional terroir-driven wines. The bottles are attractively and functionally labeled on the front, with concise plain-English information on the back. But obviously what’s important here is what’s INSIDE the bottle, and these are honest, quality Spanish wines, not Spanish wines made to appeal to a particular palate. This may sound a little snobbish in a way, but Olé’s Patrick Mata explains the very practical reasons behind their insistence on staying true to the grapes and their origin in this Wine Curmudgeon piece, adding “Why don’t wine buyers want more for their dollar?” We couldn’t agree more about that last bit, which is why we’re excited to have gotten a great price on these wines, which we’re passing on to you. So if you’re already a Spanish wine lover, you know what great ratings Olé wines are getting and will appreciate the value here. And if you’re just beginning to discover your inevitable love of Spanish wine, these are some very solid, truly Spanish wines with some very approachable prices. And labels. Plenty of notes below.

Wine terminology is a funny thing. We all probably know someone who seems more obsessed with their knowledge of wine than actually enjoying  it (we touched on this with humor way back in 2002). And although there was a time when there were really only two types of wine lovers – effete snobs with arcane vocabulary, and everyone else – we’ve come a long way. These days some of the most knowledgeable wine lovers you’ll meet will eschew pretentious jargon in favor of comfortably and accurately describing their experience. This is nowhere more evident than here at Main Party, when Joey (the owner) is sampling a new wine. As he was recently when Suzie Northway of Michigan’s Imperial Beverage brought along Birte Steinfatt, a representative from Guelbenzu, the Spanish winemaker. As they began presenting the wines, Joey hurled around terms like “jammy” and “barnyard” and “juice”. And perhaps a few expletives expressing his enthusiastic response, which I won’t repeat here. Although Birte – who happens to be German – probably speaks better English than anyone else in the room, I think I detected a subtle look of befuddlement on her face at the term “barnyard”. No matter; in the end everyone found a common language – these wines speak for themselves. And we’re going to let Guelbenzu speak for their wines, below. With one added note. Joey was thankful that they brought along a bottle of the 2000 EVO, pointing out that it showed quite a bit better than the 2006 we’ll have in the store. Which of course suggests that if the 2006 is as exceptional as it is now, you can probably cellar it for an even more delightful treat in a couple of years. Notes below.

I must confess to being less-than-fully qualified to speak with any authority about this recent arrival in the store. Few wines routinely are described as “sublime” or “the best (not one of the best, but the best)” of their kind. But so it is with Chateau d’Yquem. If you are fortunate enough to have tried this legendary Sauternes, or if this is on your “I swear on my soul I am going to taste this someday” list, you probably know more about the wine than I do, and I have little of interest to tell you, except that we have several bottles on hand if you’d like to stop by and ponder or purchase them. But if you’re not familiar with this remarkable wine, here is a little background. First of all, it is definitely of note that Chateau d’Yquem is the ONLY Sauternes that is classified as a Premier Cru Supérieur. Just one of many acknowledgments of its exceptional and unique qualities. The estate has been home to a vineyard since 1711 when it came under the full ownership of Léon de Sauvage d’Yquem, but what is it that otherwise makes this chateau so special? Primarily, it is the area’s delightful susceptibility to Noble Rot , which requires unique alternating wet and dry periods prior to harvest. This results in raisin-like berries that are then literally picked individually, resulting in a much smaller yield – about one glass of wine per vine. It is said there simply are no “bad” years of Chateau d’Yquem, only less divine ones. The wine is renowned for its incredible balance, concentration and complexity, and perhaps more importantly, its longevity. The good years may not show their best qualities for over a decade, revealing ever more subtle overtones over time. If properly cellared, they will keep well for over a century. As an example of this longevity, Michael Broadbent was lucky enough to sample – in tastings decades apart – d’Yquem vintages that were themselves nearly a century apart, and still give accolades like (referring to the 1921) “A colossus. Perhaps the most staggeringly rich Yquem of all time, certainly since the towering 1847“. Not many wines can lay claim both to being around for over a century and be the best of their kind, year after year, decade after decade. Clearly, a bottle of Château d’Yquem is a great investment, if not a joy to look forward to. If you’re interested in a purchase, contact us for pricing. Our single bottle price will be competitive with any other US retailers, and if you’re interested in three or more bottles, we can talk.