The Moueix family has dominated Pomerol with their ultimate achievement, Chateau Petrus, for decades. Dominus Estate is the Napa property founded by Christian Moueix. With a long history of winemaking in France, Moueix came to the States and studied winemaking at the University of California, Davis. While there, he was attracted by the opportunity to make a wine that was 100% Napa in terroir, but with the spirit and style of a great Bordeaux.

 

The source for the wine is the historic Napanook Vineyard, one of the oldest vineyards in the Napa Valley. Napanook was planted with four Bordeaux grape varieties, 70% Cabernet Sauvignon and the remainder with Cabernet Franc, Merlot, and Petit-Verdot. The 2005 consists of 92% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Cabernet Franc, and 3% Petit Verdot. No Merlot was used in the blend that year.

 

Robert Parker gave the wine an incredible 96 points and said "The 2005 Dominus has come of age, and is one of the strongest efforts they've made. It is possibly the best Dominus since the 2001, and perhaps even the 1997 or 1991. A beautiful, sweet nose of roasted coffee interwoven with kirsch, black currant, cedar, and spice box emerges from this deep ruby/purple-colored wine. The wine has fabulous intensity, a layered, opulent, full-bodied mouthfeel, well-integrated acidity, and a stunningly long finish. The layering of this wine as it builds incrementally on the palate is something to behold. An outstanding, sexy, ageworthy Dominus, it will benefit from 2-3 years of cellaring, and last for at least 25 or 30 years. When I am tasting at Dominus, they always present a wine opened the day before and decanted, and one just opened, and the extended aeration version always seems to be the better example of the wine, so plenty of decanting seems to be in order."

 

You heard the man - put your order in, lay a bottle down for a few years, then get out your decanter to enjoy this Napa gem. Enter your request for this wine by clicking on the link below. We will be getting a very limited shipment of the 2005 Dominus in a week or so, and will have to allocate it among those who submit requests.

 

DOMINUS 2005, Napa $139.97 (regular$149.95)

Oceanique is a wonderful seafood-focused restaurant in Evanston, incredibly creative, yet without the pretension you'll find in many high-end downtown restaurants. On top of that, they have a terrific if admittedly pricey wine list and love showing off their food by pairing it with just the right wine: on the last Wednesday of every month, Oceanique prepares a special fixed-price wine dinner featuring a handful of wines, usually from the same producer or region, around a theme. We've been to a couple; the next one, 5/28, will feature music by Miles Davis - contact Oceanique for reservations. These are wonderful events, but the restaurant is a great place to visit any night: We just ate there with friends last weekend and had two terrific half bottles (another perk of their list - lots of little options), a single vineyard Sancerre from Lucien Crochet and a wonderful Gigondas from Domaine Les Pallieres. The Sancerre, Sauvignon Blanc from the village of the same name in the Loire Valley, was light and almost steely with an incredible mineral tang that was well-suited to the first courses (these ranged from calamari to oysters to roasted beets, all served with delicate maiche salads in various formats). Crochet is seen as the benchmark for what good Sancerre should be and while Schaefer's doesn't have that exact single vineyard bottle, we do have his baseline and another single vineyard - both great options to accompany a wonderful meal. The Gigondas was anything but light: this Rhône red was huge, full of smokey flavors and spice. From the area just northeast of Chateauneuf-du-Pape, this wine is primarily Grenache and can age well for years. It paired beautifully with the venison and overpowered the salmon in Pinot Noir sauce but we'd been warned that would happen, and it was so tasty, who cared? Even better, Schaefer's does have this exact label and vintage - yum! And during the course of our meal, we asked ourselves the question we always ask at Oceanique: Now, why don't we come here more often? Highly Recommended. (Ben and Barbara Rooks)

 

The 2007 vintage of Mandolin Pinot Noir has just arrived, and it's better than ever. This fruity and easy-drinking Pinot was developed by Brent Shortridge and Philip Zorn. Mandolin has the luxury of drawing on top vineyard sources in some of California's best growing regions, yielding balanced wines with bright fruit and a long finish. In fact, it is this characteristic that led to the name, the mandolin, heralded for its brilliant tone and power, was their inspiration. The winemaking style leans toward an emphasis on balance and expressive fruit flavors, rather than sweetness or excessive oak, and the result is an accessible, flavorful wine with broad appeal. The Mandolin Pinot Noir 2007 features bright cherry and raspberry fruit with hints of spice, leather and cedar. The grapes come from Monterey County, south of San Francisco and one of the most fertile growing regions in California. This wine will complement a wide array of foods, including grilled fish, lamb and aged cheeses, and at this price, you should buy it by the case.

 

MANDOLIN PINOT NOIR 2007, Monterey $15.97 (regular $19.95)

Tuaca is a lightly sweet, thick, amber Italian liqueur based on fine, cask-aged Italian brandy. It possesses a rich, fruit-like flavor of vanilla and citrus. Tuaca comes from Livorno in Tuscany and is derived by Tuscan brothers-in-law Geatano Tuoni and Giorgio Canepa from a 500 year old secret recipe from Renaissance Italy. The recipe purportedly dates to the 1500's; one story is that the liqueur was created for Lorenzo de' Medici. Americans first discovered this treat during World War II, and came home looking for its unique taste. It has been marketed in the United States since the late 1950s. While it's great on its own as an after dinner drink, I like it in more modern cocktails - see what you think.

 

TUACA LIQUEUR, Tuscany $25.97 (regular $29.95)

 

Tuacacolada

Tuaca-Ginger-Lime

A few seats still remain for our next Third Thursday Wine Class, May 15. This one's been in the works for six months and we're very excited about it. Our VIP is the multi-talented Fabian Yukich, National Wineries Manager for New Zealand's Villa Maria winery. We're going to get a chance to compare Kiwi Sauvignon Blanc with a ringer from another country, as well as a Pinot Noir match up. There'll be plenty of other Villa Maria wines, and a great chance to talk to the man who knows. (OK, so we're going a little off our monthly variety theme with this one, but it'll be worth it!)

 

5/15 THU - 6:30 p.m., $20 for CAP members, non-CAP $25. Call today or email us to make sure we reserve a seat for you.

Looking for a rockin' way to end your weekend? Join us on May 18, when we will host a benefit for Women In Need Growing Stronger (WINGS). Kick Bricks, a local band with rock, hip-hop, and soul flair will offer up their sounds from 2 pm until 5 pm at Schaefer's Warehouse (4101 Old Orchard Rd.) giving you just enough time to party and get ready for your work week! In addition to having a great time, guests will also have the opportunity to purchase items for women and children at the Skokie House, a WINGS transitional home which assists victims of domestic violence.

 

To learn more about the WINGS program, go online to www.wingsprogram.com. Kick Bricks has performed at a number of venues and events to enthusiastic audiences all over the city of Chicago. The band is currently working on its debut release "State of Mind" which should be completed sometime in 2008. To learn more or to hear Kick Bricks visit www.myspace.com/kbjunction.

 

5/18 SUN - 2:00-5:00, Advance Tickets are $25 and may be purchased by contacting WINGS administrative offices at (847) 908-0910, or by contacting Gene Schaefer Flynn at (847) 673-5711.

Stop by for our FREE Saturday Tasting, 11:00-5:00, when we'll be enjoying the spring weather with May flowers and special spring snacks.

 

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That's all for this week. If we may be of any further service, please stop by our store at 9965 Gross Point Road in Skokie (for directions, click here), visit our website at http://www.schaefers.com, give us a call at 847-677-WINE (9463), 800-833-WINE (9463), or click here to contact us.