Wine of the Week: 2009 Burgo Viejo Rioja ($9.99)

The 2009 Burgo Viejo Rioja ($9.99) is one of our favorite young Riojas we have yet to taste this year -in stock now at the K&L near you and available online at KLWines.com!

We love Rioja. The wines are so versatile: they are generally sufficiently fruit forward to drink upon release, often times structured and serious enough to age, and amongst the most food friendly reds around. But the unoaked wines are not without merit as well. Especially for summer drinking, where fresh fruit expression often trumps oak derived nuances.

Based in the Rioja Baja town of Alfaro, Burgo Viejo consists of six families pooling together their vineyards and resources to produce very good wine. In the 2009 Burgo Viejo Rioja, Tempranillo forms the backbone, bolstered by Garnacha and Mazuelo (Carignane). This wine is all red macerated cherries, with excellent purity, texture and character, no doubt due in part to the malolactic fermentation and ageing taking place the old fashioned way, in concrete vats. This is undoubtedly one of my favorite young Riojas I have yet to taste this year. (Joe Manekin, K&L Spanish wine buyer, 8/22/2011) 

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Wine of the Week: 2006 Jo Pithon "La Croix Picot" Savennieres ($14.99)

This stunning Savennieres has been cellared in a temperture controlled warehouse and is drinking at its peak. Available for $14.99 at K&L while supplies last! We were thrilled to get ahold of the last of the 2006 Jo Pithon "Les Bergères" Anjou Blanc  earlier this year, which disappeared like hotcakes once word spread of the dissolution of the Jo Pithon label.* So, when some 06 Savennieres became available (one of the last wines he produced), we grabbed all we could! This stunning Chenin will not stay in stock for very long, though...

"Savennieres is traditionally the longest lived expression of dry Chenin Blanc in the Loire Valley of France. Jo Pithon was forced out of his property by some unscrupulous double dealings with his business partners and the 2006 "La Croix Picot" Savennieres ($14.99; previously $34) was one of the last wines he produced. Full of honeycomb, spice and apple skin notes, this stunning 100% Chenin Blanc has a medium to full bodied texture with vibrant underlying acidity. It has been cellared in a temperature-controlled warehouse and is drinking at its peak." -Keith Mabry, K&L Staff Member (08/18/2011)

*NOTE: Jo Pithon continues to make great wines in a partnership with his son-in-law under the Pithon-Paille label.

Wine of the Week: 1994 Corbin Michotte, St-Emilion ($39.99)

Wanna drink like Clyde? The 1994 Corbin Michotte, St-Emilion ($39.99) is a delicious, "old school" Pomerol, aged to perfection for your enjoyment tonight.

Yes, K&L founder Clyde Beffa loves Right Bank wines.  He has a soft spot for what he calls the "old school" style of these Merlot-based wines - rustic, earthy bottlings from the less hyped vintages -with at least a decade or two of bottle age, of course.  While it might not be the bomb that critics like Robert Parker appreciate, the 1994 Corbin Michotte ($39.99;  $54 elsewhere) will surely appeal to those looking for balanced, mature Bordeux to drink tonight.  This wine is "sweet and lush, ripe and forward [with] tons of blackberry fruit," notes Clyde. "This is not Parker's style because it is a bit older school and not garagiste. I think it's a fabulous value for mature Right Bank wine. This Chateau always flies under the radar."

This obscure wine from the border near Pomerol will surprise you with its overall quality and gentle charm. This is soft and lush for the vintage and has a mineral component that tastes more of Pomerol iron than St-Emilion limestone. Plush, elegant and gentle, this tastes of cedar, plum, dusty cherry and mineral. A high quality well aged Bordeaux at this price is a rare find. -Steve Bearden, K&L Staff Member 8/9/2011