Spotlight
Cooper & Thief
Red Wine
Lodi, California
2014
Producer Notes
Cooper & Thief is a dark and jammy red wine blend loaded with bourbon-inspired flavors and aromas. Crafted by Cellarmaster Jeff Kasavan, our wine is aged for three months in bourbon barrels, which gives way to soft, velvety tannins with a subtle heat. The combined result is a rich flavor, with a long, lingering finish.
Varietal Composition: 38% Merlot. 37% Syrah. 11% Zinfandel. 7% Petite Sirah. 4% Cabernet Sauvignon. 3% Other Red Blenders
Alcohol: 17%
WineChump Notes
This is a very heady wine. Dark as ink, great legs, huge mouth feel, edging on sweet but then backing away. It is the best of the bourbon-barrel aged wines we've tasted. There are three others on the market as of this writing, two Cabernet based and one Zinfandel. This is the only Merlot/Syrah/Zin based bourbon-barrel aged that we've found, and if we find no other we'll be quite happy with this one.
Average Price: $19.99
Featured White
Paul Cluver
Featured White
Paul Cluver Chardonnay
Elgin, South Africa
2009
This wine was 100% wild fermented in a selection of French oak barrels. (40% new, the rest 2 3 and 4 fill.) Lees stirring and barrel rolling was implemented, but to a much lesser degree than previous years. The wine remained on the lees for a total of nine months without any Sulphur addition. Limited malolactic fermentation occurred (less than 15%), all without inoculation. After tasting and blending trials, the wine was assembled from the best barrels, stabilised and prepared for bottling.
Average Price: $16.99
Featured Red
Featured Red
Tait "The Ball Buster"
Barossa Valley
2009
TAIT created “The Ball Buster” to fill a niche market in the USA for a Barossa Valley Shiraz based wine. The focus was on getting a quality wine in the bottle for that particular price point.
Sitting down with our neighbors, a thesaurus and the wine in our glasses, we brainstormed many ideas for the wine and back label. We laughed how the wine industry can ‘bust your balls’ and cause blood, sweat and tears. So, with our ideas in mind, the discussions with our US importer and our US agent’s brilliant word-play ability, ‘The Ball Buster’ was created.
Average Price: $24