Rosé-o-Rama

Summer's here baby. Pink wine is in too, at least at my humble abode. We love rosé wines especially the French examples. Don't let that color fool you. These examples are not the sweet, cheap wines from... er, California. You won't find Sutter Home on these labels. These are cool and sophisticated wines, crisp and aromatically interesting. Captivating. Hip even. Serve one as an aperitif at your next dinner party with some lively local goat cheese (we like Missouri's Goatsbeard Farm) or even with your main course of whole grilled fish (please remember Bob's Seafood on Delmar... Best Fish in town). You'll impress your friends with your worldly knowledge and good taste...

2008 Chateau Guiot Rosé
On Sale $9.99
"We love this darkly-colored rosé from the Costieres de Nimes. This underrated region continues to produces some amazing wine bargains. This is an aromatic, bold, dry rosé that really jumps from the glass. It's richly scented and complex and offers gobs of ripe fruit on the palate with a silky, refreshing finish. Delish."
-John Nash, The Wine Merchant, Ltd.

2008 Grande Cassagne Costieres de Nimes Rosé
On Sale $9.99
"Here's a perennial favorite at The Merch. Grande Cassagne's rosé seems to always offer a combination of complexity and refreshment. It's damn tasty in this vintage and is just bursting with fresh fruit both in the nose and on the palate. Try it. You'll like it."
-John Nash, The Wine Merchant, Ltd.

2008 Domaine St. Eugenie Corbieres Rosé
On Sale $10.99
"This is another knockout, dry rosé from Kacher. This one's produced from Cinsault and Syrah grapes and offers a bright, pink color. The nose is all red fruits with a tasty combo of ripe cherry and wild strawberry notes. On the palate is where this wine really shines with a seemingly perfect combination of silky, ripe fruit, mineral tones and refreshing, natural acidity. This is a winner and a steal at ten bucks or so..."
-John Nash, The Wine Merchant, Ltd.

2008 Fontsainte Corbieres Rosé
On Sale $12.99
"This is a tasty, snappy, dry rosé from importer Kermit Lynch. The color pops and the nose of the wine does too. It's oh-so-fresh on the palate with a finish that you'll love. We're tasting this wine on Friday of this week. Stop by and check it out before you grab a few bottles for your personal stash."
-John Nash, The Wine Merchant, Ltd.

New American Pinot Noirs

We have some exciting, new American Pinot Noirs for you this week. We continue to be dazzled with the wines from Oregon's Willamette Valley and California's Sonoma Coast. These cool climate wine regions are producing some exciting wines. These are in stock...

2007 Wallace Brook Pinot Noir
On Sale $17.99
"This delicious Pinot Noir comes from hillside vineyards in the northern end of Oregon's Willamette Valley. This new vintage of Wallace Brook shows a complex nose of black cherry and ripe plum. The round, supple mouthfeel is complemented by soft tannins and a balanced finish. Pair it up with grilled lamb, oven-roasted salmon, soft-ripened cheeses, etc."
-John Nash, The Wine Merchant, Ltd.

2007 Red Car Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast Trolley Series
On Sale $45.99
"Focused on a core of black cherry and blackberry fruit that's medium- to full-bodied, complex and spicy. Smooth-textured, with a long finish. Drink now through 2014. 733 cases made."
-Rated 94/100 The Wine Spectator

2005 Argyle Pinot Noir "Nuthouse"
On Sale $49.99
"The Nuthouse cuvee is released a year behind the other Pinots. The 2005 Pinot Noir Nuthouse is one of the major successes of a challenging vintage. It has a slightly aged appearance and is exhibiting an alluring perfume of spice, red fruits, and blueberry. On the mid-palate it has a wide band of fruit atypical for 2005. It has the structure of the vintage so it may well evolve for 4-5 years and drink well through 2020. It is a home run for the vintage."
-Rated 94/100 The Wine Advocate

2007 Red Car Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast "Heaven & Earth

On Sale $59.99
"Delivers a tight, focused beam of rich, pure, concentrated black- berry and wild berry fruit that's full-bodied, complex and expan- sive on the finish, where this keeps unlocking doors of subtle flavors. Drink now through 2014. 292 cases made."
-Rated 97/100 The Wine Spectator

Thursday Wine Tasting
New World Wines: Joe Ancona and Vineyard Brands
The Wine Merchant, Ltd.
20 South Hanley Road in Clayton
Thursday, July 9
6:00 PM until 7:30 PM
Please call 314.863.6282 for more information.
Join us this Thursday night as we welcome back an old friend of the Merch Joe Ancona from importer Vineyard Brands. This company has a strong portfolio of quality wines from all over the globe and Joe will be pouring wines from New Zealand, South Africa, and South America and we'll have them on sale too. Here are the wines for Thursday...

2008 Los Cardos Malbec (Argentina) On Sale $7.99
2007 Neil Ellis Left Bank Red (South Africa) On Sale $10.99
2008 Cono Sur Chardonnay (Chile) On Sale $10.99
2008 Villa Maria Sauvignon Blanc (New Zealand) On Sale $11.99
2007 Boekenhoutskloof "Chocolate Block" (South Africa) On Sale $35.99

Cheese Corner

Parmigiano-Reggiano $12.99/Pound

Cut and Wrapped Fresh to Your Order!
"The King of Cheese at the lowest price in town! We'll gladly cut and wrap it fresh from the wheel in any amount that you desire. Don't buy that pre-grated stuff that's peddled for convenience, grate it yourself fresh from the wedge. You'll see the difference as pre-grated Parm will dry out and lose its character quickly. Freshly grated always tastes better. Parmigiano-Reggiano is also a great snacking cheese. Try a nibble with some Dolcetto d'Alba, crusty bread and Cerignolo olives from Italy and you'll see what we mean. Parmigiano-Reggiano is one of our favorite wine tasting cheeses because it doesn't coat your palate and interfere with the flavors of the wine. Serve it with lush, white wines, juicy reds or your favorite Champagne. Stop by for a FREE sample too."
-John Nash, The Wine Merchant, Ltd.

Holiday Hours

Open Saturday, July 4th

Holiday Weekend Hours
We''re open for business this holiday weekend including Saturday, July 4th. We carry thousands of wines, a great selection of liquors and liqueurs along with hundreds of fine ales, beers lagers at competitive prices. We've got soft drinks, club soda, tonic water and other mixers too and don't forget our Award-Winning Cheese Department. It's one stop shopping and service with a smile thanks to our Award-Winning Staff. We're here for you...

Monday through Friday
9:00 AM until 8:00 PM
Saturday, July 4 (Independence Day)
9:00 AM until 6:00 PM
Sunday, July 5
11:00 AM until 5:00 PM

New Burgundy Arrivals!

Kacher Burgundies

Rare Wines from the Top Importer
We feel priviledged to represent the delicious and rare Burgundy wines from Robert Kacher Selections. These selections from Bobby are special and come from within each winery's range of production. Bobby focuses on the best barrels that each producer has to offer from established vineyards and mature vines. He insists on natural bottling (almost always unfiltered) and temperature controlled shipping which protects the integrity and condition of each bottle. The following wines just arrived via refrigerated truck. We don't mess around either and demand temperature-controlled shipping to protect our wines from damage from temperature extremes. Quantities are very limited. If you are passionate about Burgundy or love Pinot Noir then you should grab some of the following Robert Kacher Selection Burgundies...

Wine Critic Robert Parker on Robert Kacher's Burgundies
"Robert Kacher Burgundy offerings are unequaled in quality by any other importer."
-Robert Parker, The Wine Advocate

Domaine Joblot
Jean Marc Joblot produces some incredible wines from the village of Givry. This small hamlet is located in Burgundy's Cote Chalonnaise subregion which lies directly below the Cote d'Or. Joblot's wines are richly-colored with ripe, layered fruit that shows complexity that is usually found in the more expensive wines from the Cote d'Or. These are excellent bargains too. Think about the ever-increasing-prices of Pinot Noir from California's Russian River Valley, Sonoma Coast and the Willamette Valley in Oregon. These are classic wines from one of Burgundy's top winemakers.

Wine Critic Robert Parker on Domaine Joblot
"If tasted blind, these amazing wines might be taken for top grand crus from the Cote d'Or. Move quickly as they will not languish on retailers' shelves!"
-Robert Parker, The Wine Advocate

2007 Domaine Joblot Givry 1er Cru "Clos de la Servoisine"
On Sale $49.99
"A deft application of oak highlights very floral and citrus blossom aromas that complement well the textured, precise and gorgeously intense middle weight flavors that possess fine length and much better than average depth. ...there is a purity of expression present that makes this a pleasure to drink"
-Rated 89-92/100 Allen Meadows, Burghound.com

2007 Joblot Givry 1er Cru "Clos des Cellier aux Moines"
On Sale $49.99
"A slightly more deeply pitched nose combines both red and blue pinot fruit and this radiates purity on the more reserved and primary flavors that also display more of a mineral component on the more firmly structured, serious and youthfully austere finish. I give this a slight edge as there is a bit more underlying material and depth."

Domaine Lecheneaut

Rare Gems
The Lecheneaut brothers make small quantities of sublime, sumptuous, red Burgundies. Their cellar is tiny and crammed with just a few barrels of each wine from their vineyard holdings. The majority of their time is spent in these vineyard and the wines are produced and bottled with minimal handling reflecting the terroir of each vineyard site. The wines have character and soul. Great juice from one of the most underrated producers in Burgundy.

Wine Critic Robert Parker on Domaine Lecheneaut
"I cannot claim to have discovered the wines of Philippe and Vincent Lecheneaut, but they are certainly among the stars of Nuits. St.-Georges. Domaine Lecheneaut is making far greater wines than some of that village's more illustrious and renowned negociants and growers."
-Robert Parker, The Wine Advocate

"...these wines are worth making every effort to locate."
-The Wine Advocate

2006 Lecheneaut Morey St.-Denis
On Sale $49.99
"...rich, full and ripe flavors that are supple, generous and possess good volume on the, again, slightly dry finish that in this case, looks as though it will definitely round out with air."
-Allen Meadows, Burghound.com

2006 Lecheneaut Nuits St.-Georges
On Sale $49.99
"Somewhat surprisingly for a villages Nuits, this is remarkably aromatically refined and high-toned with fresh, intense and punchy flavors that possess excellent precision and a subtle but attractive touch of minerality on the slightly rustic finish. Lechéneaut does a fine job with their villages wines and this is one more corroboration."
-Allen Meadows, Burghound.com

2006 Lecheneaut Vosne Romanée
On Sale $49.99
"A highly complex and expressive nose features both red and blue fruit aromas plus violet and anise hints that are subtly present on the stylish and graceful flavors that possess slightly better phenolic ripeness, all wrapped in a firm, persistent, mouth coating and dusty finish. A lovely villages."
-Allen Meadows, Burghound.com

2006 Lecheneaut Nuits St. Georges "Les Damodes"
On Sale $69.99
"...quite pretty with a ripe mélange of dark berry fruit, earth, spice, underbrush and a hint of animale that is also picked up on the solidly balanced, intense and full-bodied flavors that really coat the mouth with dry extract on the firm finish that displays well integrated if dusty tannins. There is good depth and length here."
-Rated 90/100 Allen Meadows, Burghound.com

2006 Lecheneaut Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru "Les Pruliers"
On Sale $79.99
"Not surprisingly, here there is more aromatic depth with a spicy mix of both red and earthy dark berry fruit aromas that complement perfectly the rich, full and well-balanced flavors that possess good mid-palate fat and fine finishing concentration plus even better depth. This is lovely and understated."
-Rated 91/100 Allen Meadows, Burghound.com

New Rosés

Perfect Wines for Summer
Wine importer Bobby Kacher really has it down when it comes to rosé. Yeah, were talking about the pink stuff. This is different than your garden variety white zinfandel. Seriously folks. Kacher's rosé selections come from select vineyards and are made by cutting-edge winemakers. Kacher has them pick several weeks earlier than they normally would which gives the wines more natural, balancing acidity and a seemingly perfect balance. We just received a shipment from Bobby of the freshly bottled 2008 vintage. We love them, you will too.

2008 Chateau Guiot Rosé
On Sale $8.99
"We love this darkly-colored rosé from the Costieres de Nimes. This underrated region continues to produces some amazing wine bargains. This is an aromatic, bold, dry rosé that really jumps from the glass. It's richly scented and complex and offers gobs of ripe fruit on the palate with a silky, refreshing finish. Delish."
-John Nash, The Wine Merchant, Ltd.

2008 Domaine St. Eugenie Corbieres Rosé
On Sale $9.99
"This is another knockout, dry rosé from Kacher. This one's produced from Cinsault and Syrah grapes and offers a bright, pink color. The nose is all red fruits with a tasty combo of ripe cherry and wild strawberry notes. On the palate is where this wine really shines with a seemingly perfect combination of silky, ripe fruit, mineral tones and refreshing, natural acidity. This is a winner and a steal at ten bucks."
-John Nash, The Wine Merchant, Ltd.

2008 Grande Cassagne Costieres de Nimes Rosé
On Sale $10.99
"Here's a perennial favorite at The Merch. Grande Cassagne's rosé seems to always offer a combination of complexity and refreshment. It's damn tasty in this vintage and is just bursting with fresh fruit both in the nose and on the palate. Try it. You'll like it."
-John Nash, The Wine Merchant, Ltd.