It’s been a stellar week here at Graileys with many visits by winemakers and importers of some of our favorite  wines. Abreu Vineyards dropped in for a quick tasting to showcase their 2011’s followed by a favorite Bordeaux Super Second: Chateau Palmer. Palmer’s flight was sensational! We started with the wines from the younger vines, 2011 and 2012 Alter Ego and finished strong with Palmer’s 2005 and 1995. The ’05 was a baby but showed very well with overflowing flavors, power and velvety tannins; while the ’95 showed at a fantastic stage with every element from fruit, spice to earth and everything in between beautifully complimenting each other all in a seamless, silky coat that lead to a really lengthy finish. The overachiever was the 2012 Alter Ego! For the price, this “little” Palmer packs a solid punch of mouthcoating flavors that is worth well above its price!!

An under the radar Cabernet that blew us away, the 2012 Signorello Estate Padrone Proprietary Red is sexy, sexy! Explosive aromatics with a multidimensional palate. It’s not just about the ripe dark fruit that’s in the glass that seduced us, which this has plenty of, it’s how all of the flavors and structure interacted together along with the texture and the finish that makes up this gorgeous wine and the ’12 Padrone has it all! Keep an eye out for this rising star in our upcoming offers!

Jacques Selosse Initial Brut Champagne- Yes, yes and yes! A spectacular Champagne that always stuns whenever it makes an appearance. Beautiful white and yellow flowers, apricots, honey, ripe melon and sweet nuts, this Champagne was perfect.

As the days past, the stars continued to swing by Graileys and we are incredibly honored to have hosted the man, the myth, the legend: Domenico Clerico of Domenico Clerico (shrieks of excitement like a little girl!) Domenico Clerico and his winemaker Oscar Arrivabene were so generous and humble as they showcased their 2010 Barolo’s. The standout of the flight was two wines from the same Ginestre cru of Monforte but facing in different directions and with different soil compositions, one that faces east and of white clay- Ciabot Mentin and one that faces south with sandy soils- Pajana. The Pajana was my preferred Barolo, it was gripping and powerful, but it held an elegance that the Ciabot didn’t quite show. The Ciabot was the wild child from the two, broad shouldered, fleshy and ripe. Both are without a doubt, amazing bottles that belong in Italian wine lover’s collection.

We were honored to welcome another Super Second for a tasting as a representative of Montrose stopped by Graileys to taste us on a fantastic flight: Montrose 2003, 2005 and 2012 and 2012 La Dame de Montrose. Much like Palmer’s 2012 Alter Ego, the 2012 La Dame de Montrose outdoes its price! This is a great bottle of Bordeaux to pop and pour any day, any time and for any palate. It was rich, ripe and smooth to please the crowd with just enough chunky gravel, earth and spice to please those who always need a little more. The Montrose lineup also showed well and ’03 Montrose was utterly bombastic! I look forward to see how it evolves in time!

Lastly, we were fortunate to host David Smith, importer of Becky Wasserman Selection, as he poured a selection of Burgundies up and coming talents. The ’13 Hubert Lamy St. Aubin Premier Cru Clos de la Chateniere was a stunning Chardonnay with brilliant acidity and ripeness. The ’12 Benjamin Leroux Bourgogne Rouge and Volnay were explosive straight from the bottle and are perfect bottles for immediate drinking pleasure. Camille Giroud’s Savigny les Beaune Premier Cru Les Peuillets and Dominique Mugneret’s Premier Cru Aux Boudots’ was also quite stunning.