| Hey Free Rangers, First, thanks for the significant response to the Kings County Distillery cellar finds sale! We’ve left that one live for one more week, for those of you who missed out, and/or those who want to go back for a double dip. As always, we’re happy to hold any of your purchases until you get back to town, if you’d like to take advantage of these lowest ever prices and seriously rare releases, while they last: Kings County Distillery cellar finds sale! Y’all know that a review of just about anything is just one person’s opinion in one moment, right? Rolling Stone didn’t give that record (or film) five stars, some random human person did. And they were probably high. And if it wasn’t Jon Landau or Dave Marsh, your likelihood of an accurate account (whatever that is) is not granted. I’ve used this example repeatedly for years, but what kind of an asshole enters the Louvre, stands beneath the profound magnificence that is The Victory of Samothrace, shrugs, says, “92 points”, and moves on? Rating wine on a numerical scale is particularly absurd, especially when most professional reviewers’ rating scales that go to 100 seem to start at 88. Besides Stephen Tanzer and Josh Raynolds, I can’t think of a professional reviewer whose words and numbers I trust implicitly. These guys are just so non-alarmist and linearly consistent in their perception and description that I can usually get an idea of what a given wine would be like in the mouth without actually putting some of the same juice on my own palate. Though I once almost came to blows with Josh Raynolds at a private tasting dinner over the very concept of a 100 point rating system for wine. But we ended up bonding rather shortly thereafter over some older wines by Chris Camarda, under his Andrew Will label (particularly the Sorella 2001, which may very well outlive us all), and a handful of other similar loves. It’s hard to stay mad at somebody who loves all of your favorite bands as much as you do. Also, he’s a super nice guy when not being directly antagonized (sorry about that, Josh!). But we’re all just making stuff up, some of us have just tasted more things. Frame of reference often gets passed off as intelligence. Just keep tasting new things, and thinking about the palate experience, and your opinion on the matter is as valid as anyone’s. It gets even more complicated once you’ve tasted thousands of wines, but have also tasted the same wine many times, and then you realize just how arbitrary your own perception is. The same bottle of wine, from the same case, can show shocking differently based temperature, barometric pressure, biodynamic calendar, food pairing, mood, personal headspace, and a thousand other external factors that one would never think about until you’re actually in that moment. It’s certainly not an experiment that many will actually attempt, but one of these days, think about buying three or four bottles of the same wine- preferably one you’ve tasted, enjoyed, and remember- and taste each one a day or two apart. Take note of as many external factors as you can think of, and then make notes on how the juice tastes to you at that moment. And then if you really want to blow your mind, read Howard Bloom’s Reality is a Shared Hallucination, after which you’ll likely be questioning everything. Wait, what were we talking about? So, we’ve got so many new younger folks coming into the neighborhood and into our shop who seem particularly interested in the best of our least expensive bottles, we’re going to feature some of those here and now. Luckily for you, quality per dollar is kind of our whole thing here, and the further down the shelf you go, the lower cost the bottles are, and the more things we tasted to find something of that quality. So check out of discounted Best of the Bottom Shelf 6-pack and 12-pack. These packs represent stunning value and perfect housewarming gifts and/or the perfect party starter! Our Best of the Bottom Shelf 6-pack contains two reds, a whites, a pink, and two bubbles (one white, one pink): 1) Hand Work Tempranillo 2018 is a full liter of fresh, dry, lighter side of medium bodied red that is equally as comfortable at room temp as chilled from the fridge. 2) Cooperativa Copertino Rosso 2012 is a delicious medium bodied red showing nice maturity, good red fruit, and excellent balance. It is a stunning value for a properly aged bottle, even before the discount. 3) Gaujal de St Bon Picpoul de Pinet 2020 is a long time staple from the south of France, light, fresh, and clean. It’s tailor made for shellfish, but really goes with just about any summer fare. 4) Isle Saint Pierre Rosé is a dry medium bodied rosé from a tiny island in France that shows nice berry fruit, and just a hint of salinity. 5) We’ve saved people thousands on their weddings with Domaine Collin Cremant de Limoux NV which is dry and crisp, and is a dead ringer for a proper Champagne at a fraction of the price. 6) As Italy can be a stickler for their rules and traditions, Jeio Prosecco Rosé is the very first official Prosecco Rosé. It’s bright and loaded with red berry fruit, but without a hint of sweetness. This Best of the Bottom Shelf 6-pack usually retails for $88, but is available here online only for $69 this week only! Our Best of the Bottom Shelf 12-pack includes the 6-pack above and these three additional wines and three spirits: 7) Bura Rukatac is a perennial favorite, and for those of you who don’t know is a delicious dry skin contact white, showing some orange color and a dry tannic finish. 8) Isle Saint Pierre Bouches du Rhone Blanc 2018 is the white counterpart to it’s pink friend in the 6-pack; fresh and clean, with just a hint of salinity, and one of our all-time favorite summer crushers. 9) Chateau Belregard-Figeac Bordeaux Rouge “Tellus Vinea” 2020 is a mouthfull of a name and of cleanly made old school Bordeaux blend of Cab and Merlot, medium+ bodied with a dry earthy finish, and possibly the best value per quality we’ve ever discovered from this venerated region. 10) We originally discovered the quality and value of Pueblo Viejo Tequilas as the blanco was the house tequila at Gran Electrica, where they were quite famous for the margaritas. Their Reposado is even smoother for it’s barrel aging and is an unparalleled bargain in the agave category. 11) Square One Vodka is organic, made from rye grain, and their flavors are clean and natural. Your pack may contain the natural, Basil, Bergamot, Cucumber, or Botanical, as we only have a couple of each left at the moment. All are great over ice or as the starter to any number of cocktails. 12) Stolen Rock & Rye is a ready-made cocktail take on the classic Old Fashioned. This one starts with Aged American Rye and is flavored with raw honey and orange peel. Pour over ice, garnish citrus peel and you’re good to go. This Best of the Bottom Shelf 12-pack usually retails for $217, but is available here online only for $159 this week only! And after pulling together our Best of the Bottom Shelf 6-pack and 12-pack(s), we thought it would be fun to counterbalance that with a Best of the Top shelf 6-pack, which contains some of my favorite bottles in the shop, at any price, including three red, two white, and one skin contact white: 1) Pierre Usseglio Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée de mon Aïeul 2001 is a fully mature classic Chateauneuf-du-Pape, is one of the top cuvées from a marquee producer, and at this point in its life is medium bodied, perfectly balanced, with a long dry earthy finish. 2) Cain Vineyard Five 2007 is quite possibly the most Bordeaux style wine made from bold classic Napa fruit. While these generally age well for decades, the 2007 was ripe and ready almost from release, and is now well into peak drinking, with it’s deep balance of lush red fruit and funky Bordelaise earth tones. 3) Paolo Bea Sagrantino Cerrete 2011 is the first vintage release of this highest end and most polished of Giampiera Bea’s magnificent line of reds. While the power and depth of Sagrantino is fully on display, this wine is at least as much about its elegance and length. Re: the pic below, yeah, bottle #774. It’s that rare. 4) Josko Gravner Bianco Breg 2010 is the gold standard that most of the natural winemakers in the world aspire to create, and this magical juice lives beneath what is still one of the coolest wine labels of all-time (which only really matters when the wine is also this good). This deep slightly tart, funky skin contact white is both a ponderous curio and a reasonable pairing with richer foods that require the counterpoint. 5) Rebholz Kastanienbusch GG 2015 is one of the finest dry Rieslings of which we are aware in the world, from a winemaker who works naturally, but creates crystalline chiseled mineral driven whites unlike any other on Earth. This is the top single vineyard GG bottling from an exceptional vintage, showing explosive acidity and a cavernous depth of minerality. 6) Robert Ampeau Meursault Perrieres 1997 comes from one of the deepest coldest caves in all of Europe, and as such these wines age impeccably slowly. This parcel which we received directly from the producer, might just be perfect Chardonnay, to go with its perfect Provence. This Best of the Top Shelf 6-pack usually retails for $846, but is available here online only for $579 this week only! (!) Click here for the hidden sale page (!) sale: retail: Best of the Bottom Shelf 6-pack: $69 $88 Best of the Bottom Shelf 12-pack: $159 $217 Best of the Top Shelf 6-pack: $579 $846 *** Online exclusive! *** *** This week only! *** Cheers, Jack Proprietor Free Range Wine & Spirits P.S. Free Range E-mail Archive |
