Boise Coop Wine Shop

Two Best Buys

• March 27, 2008

Here are top quality wines offered at a reduced price: an outstanding Pinot Noir from Burgundy and an equally fine Sauvigon Blanc from California’s Russian River Valley. Both are drinking beautifully now, but it’s time to make way for new vintages. Regularly priced at $28 each, they are now on sale for just $21.99.

2005 Halleck Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc, Little Sister

Located near the town of Sebastapol in Sonoma County, an area once best known for its Gravenstein apples, orchards have given way to vineyards and Halleck planted theirs back in 1993. The balance of sun and fog, along with excellent soil and diligent vineyard management have given Halleck great success. Best know for their Pinot Noir, their 2001 Tandem won the “Pinot Noir Shootout” in 2002. This wine proves they are equally adept at crafting white wines. A delicious take on the variety, it offers both a mineral element like a nice Graves and the lightly herbal steeliness of a fine Sancere. There’s an impression of sweetness up front from the rich fruit (peach, melon and apple with tropical notes) that plays against crisp citrus in a wine that finishes bone dry. Definitely one of the top Sauvignon Blancs from California.

2005 Michel Magnien Bourgogne

Michel Magnien owns 27 acres of grand cru, premier cru and village parcels from Gevrey-Chambertin south to Chambolle-Musigny. Until 1992 he sold most of his grapes to negociants, but in 1994 he baegan to vinify his entire crop. That’s about when son Frédéric came on board. Today he’s the domaine’s winemaker, while Michel works in the fields, pruning mercilessly to maintain low yields. Frédéric calls his father “the finest vineyard worker I have,” and those low yields result in the richly concentrated wines that are the hallmark of the Magnien estate. This simple Bourgonge is anything but. Aged in the year-old barrels that previously held some of Magnien’s finest crus, the thirty year old vines provide fruit that is full, rich and abundantly spicy. Dark red fruits color both the nose and the palate, and a year after its release this wine has opened up nicely.