Mills Fine Wine & Spirits

For those of you who have not received our e-mails about this amazing tasting, here’s the story!

Olivier Leflaive was offering special prices to restaurants in New York City. I found out about this earlier this week while I was in NYC for a special series of French Wine tastings.  So now MILLS is the ONLY retailer in the region able to offer special pricing on Leflaive, arguably one of the top 5 producers of white Burgundy.

On Sunday (November 8)  we will actually be opening as many of these wines as we can get the rep to bring with her.  This will undoubtedly be the most important White Burgundy tasting this year in the Mid-Atlantic states.   We are asking people to simply call in for reservations.  There is no charge for this tasting, we just have a limited amount of space for the crowd we expect.

Ben Wiser will be making a special pate he claims will knock us all for a loop.  We hope you like, black pepper, cognac and liver.

Peter

Peter Burgundy, cognac, Mills, olivier leflaive, pate, Tasting, white burgundy, Wine

When I think of Domaine de la Solitude – literally Domain of Solitude – I imagine a sinister and dark forest –skeletal branches groaning in the autumn wind, casting eerie shadows on the cold ground. It sounds like the title of a particularly gloomy goth girl’s online diary or the latest Black Sabbath clone.

However, this rainy Halloween at Mills, we opened up the 2007 Domaine de la Solitude Cotes du Rhone and their celebrated Chateauneuf du Papes, and nothing could be farther from cold forests and melancholy. These wines are warm and rich and nothing short of pleasurable.

Robert Parker had just lauded the 2007 Chateauneuf du Papes with a 93 Points saying – “The 2007 is the finest traditional Chateauneuf since the glorious 1967. Its dense ruby/purple color is followed by a sensational perfume of kirsch, cassis liqueur, plums, licorice, roasted herbs, and meat juices…” (Don’t let those meat juices scare off any vegetarians among us, this rich full-bodied wine will delight and stun with your veggie tagine or your Thanksgiving tofurky.) The Chateauneuf is bright and vibrant, but with a serious core of earthy fruit and the most delicate tannic grip in the finish. This is like a crisp Halloween night – dark and mysterious, laced with joy.

The Cotes du Rhone was given 88 points from Parker and is a great example of the ripeness and purity of the 2007 vintage. It would be easy to cast off this little beauty as simply the Chateuneuf’s “younger sibling”, but in actuality, it holds up on its own nicely. Light and luscious and totally open and friendly. Cotes du Rhones are traditionally fun and flexible food wines, but are usually relegated to hearty and rustic fare. This perfumed gem cries out for a challenge – teriyaki beef, tandoori chicken, pad thai would all benefit.

Olivia Bombart of Voila Collection poured the wines for our customers, and she absolutely knocked us out with a “dark horse” wine – Domaine Armand Cotes du Rhone “la Comb d’Antide” 2007 – a blend of Carignan and Grenache – it lacks the usual peppery bite of Syrah. This is voluminous and ethereal stuff – aromas of dark berries, earth, smoke and spice leap from the glass. It’s ripe and round in your mouth and finishes with a minty and woodsy finish. TWELVE DOLLARS! Seriously, regular price $14.99 and we’re selling it for $11.99 – at that price, it will not last…

Let the pumpkin pie cool on the counter, find that Chicken with 40 cloves of garlic recipe on the internet, put on Black Sabbath’s 1971 magnum opus Master of Reality (featuring the song “Solitude” – second to last tune on side two), leave the bowl of candy on the porch, and enjoy the Solitude…

Happy Halloween From the Mills Team!

Ben, Uncategorized 2007, Chateauneuf du Papes, Cotes du Rhone, Domaine Armand, Domaine de la Solitude, Rhone

Today is one of those great days where you want to pretend it’s still summer. There are people rowing on the water and I’m even seeing some short sleeves as people walk by.

Summer drinks are almost out of season, but not quite. I’d still love to sit out on the lawn with a bottle of beer waiting for the grill to warm up. But, I think I’m also a bit more likely to enjoy brisk weather than many.

Instead of the grill tonight, we’re trying a gluten free pizza recipe that should be excellent. A perfect sort of night to start with a good red wine.  After that, I think that it’s going to be some kind of cocktail while we sit down and talk about Kant.  Yes, it’s that kind of night.

Robert

Here are Cheryl’s notes on the Women and Wine Tuesday Tasting.

Wow! We’re tasting these malbecs and they are delicious! The Felino malbec from Argentina is big and has opened up beautifully over the past hour. Big ripe fruit and lingering finish. The Montes from Chile is also good, a bit more tannic with more tart fruit. The Cuvee Maurin from Cahors is the lightest of these malbecs.

Cheryl cahors, chile, felino, malbec, maurin, montes, Tasting, Wine

I’m working on our next email to go out and it’s my birthday. We’re offering what will be an outstanding wine from Australia (Penfolds’ 2005 Grange) and some really cool California and French wines. I’m working to integrate our emails with our website’s shopping cart system so that you can buy more easily.

Robert australia, california, email, internet, Wine

Ladies, We know it’s a rainy, dreary
Tuesday but it’s the perfect kind of
day to swing by and try some some
of our lucious wine choices for today!

Cheryl Mills, Tasting, Wine