Out Pops the Red Bat Phone

Today we have a fabulous, even stellar red wine for your drinking pleasure. We have long enjoyed today's wine, so much so that vintage after vintage, it just seems to keep getting better and better.

So, let's get the bad news out of the way. We were dismayed to discover today's wine is no longer available from the wholesaler. It is sadly sold out until the next vintage arrives on a container from France later this spring or early summer. When we were informed of this snafu we behaved like any self-respecting wine merchant would do -- we stamped our feet, pulled a face and felt both sad and angry at the same time. Why didn't we move on this earlier?!? How did we let this one slip through our fingers?

Fortunately, our pity party didn't last too long and we decided to pull out the stops on this one.

So out pops the red bat phone.

We sent out a distress signal and a colleague of ours in the wine industry who has one of the most feared and respected jobs on the East Coast responded. This person has so much influence he was able to materialize a handful of cases for us out of thin air. Well, not really. A high end restaurant in Boston had a handful of cases reserved only for them and he scooped them up with the wave of his hand and sent them to us as a favor (*grin*).

So, mission accomplished. At least for a little while. Perhaps a week or two, maybe more. We'll just have to see. For now though, please allow none other than Mr. Robert Parker tell you about this stunning and velvety wine before it's all long, long gone.

Chateau Puech Haut Le Prestige Rouge 2011

"A sensational offering from proprietor Gerard Bru, the 2011 Prestige is the estate's least expensive wine. Readers may remember the fabulous review the 2010 Prestige received, and the 2011 is just as special. With Bru's top Reserve wine selling for nearly $100 a bottle, the Prestige cuvee is an outstanding value. Interestingly, Bru has had three of the greatest winemaking consultants on Planet Earth working for him, first Michel Rolland, followed by Claude Gros and now Philippe Cambie.

A blend of 60-75-year-old vine Grenache (55%) and 40-year old Syrah (45%), all grown on limestone soils dominated by the famous large rocks (galets roules) also found in parts of Chateauneuf du Pape. The wine is aged in concrete tanks prior to being bottled unfiltered. Some of the vineyards are farmed organically and others biodynamically.

The wine exhibits a tremendous perfume of sweet raspberries, spring flowers, forest floor, truffles and lavender as well as a beautiful texture, a full-bodied mouthfeel, stunning velvety tannins and purity, and a long finish. This is the 'real deal.' Drink it over the next 4-6 years." (Robert Parker, Wine Advocate)

Wine Advocate: 91 points

* 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

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