Old friends and new arrivals… We were unable to acquire El Coto Crianza 2013 for awhile, a customer favorite, and now that we have it back in stock we think it might be nice to reintroduce it to our Palate friends old and new – and their dads, of course – at our free tasting this Friday. And this being summer, and chilled wines a must, we’ll also be opening our new Wally Sauvignon Blanc from the Loire Valley in France. Depending on what you’re eating, either could be a perfect match for your Father’s Day meal – and they’re both very affordable, especially with our 10% Tasting Hours discount!

Wally Loire Valley 2015 Sauvignon Blanc

Producer: Wally
Category: Still White Wine
Grape: Sauvingnon Blanc
Geography: Loire Valley, France
Appellation: Vin de Pays du Val de Loire

Sauvignon Blanc is a white-wine grape from western France, now successfully grown in emerging and established wine regions all over the world. However, the grape is more readily associated with the Loire Valley, especially for its pivotal role in Sancerre and Pouilly-Fume.

The Loire Valley is a key wine region in western France. It follows the course of the Loire river on its long journey through the heart of France, from the inland hills of Auvergne to the plains on the French Atlantic coast near Nantes (Muscadet country).

El Coto Criana 2013 Rioja
Producer: El Coto
Category: Still Red Wine
Grape: Tempranillo
Geography: Rioja, Spain
Appellation: Rioj

The 2013 vintage of El Coto’s entry level Crianza is a blockbuster! This 100% Tempranillo shows layers of fresh raspberries, cherry, cedar and spice typical of a classically styled Rioja. This is all wrapped up in a vanilla and leather laiden package that is medium in body and sports a long, soft finish. Always a good value, and for 2013, a spectacular value!

El Coto de Rioja, located in Oyón, was founded in 1970 by a group of winemakers committed to creating a new type of Rioja. Its first bottling was released in 1975. Today, El Coto is the leading brand in Spain and among the top-selling Spanish wines in Europe. Five-hundred hectares of estate vineyards are located in La Rioja Alta’s village of Cenicero, near the east bank of the Najerilla River, a tributary of the Ebro. Facing northwest, vineyard soils are mostly ferric clay, sand and limestone, which contribute structure, power and elegant minerality, respectively, to the wines. The recently incorporated Los Almendros estate, shared with Barón de Ley, adds an additional 300 hectares of vineyards to the impressive estate holdings. Additional grapes are sourced from 2,000 hectares in Rioja Alavesa. Here, limestone, clay and stony soils make aromatic, expressive wines with great finesse. With the exception of “Coto Real” Reserva and “Coto de Imaz” Gran Reserva, all reds are aged in new American oak barrels, the classic Rioja marriage of wine and wood. Their seductive cigar box, spice and herbal aromas and silky red fruit flavors are the essence of fine traditional Rioja.