Most men would feel a bit pressured facing the task of serving the “right” wines to pick if hosting your father-in-law’s 80th Birthday dinner. You want them to be…

1. Appropriate
2. Food Friendly
3. Memorable

Then add to that task that your father-in-law owns one of the most important wine stores in America….Eash….I had my work cut out for me last night!

Don Zacharia is a GREAT family man, and any chance he can get (Be it his Birthday or not) to pull his kids & grandkids around him for extended periods of quality time together….he is going to do it. Thus Friday night began a weekend long celebration of Don’s 80th birthday.

I felt for a large group of this magnitude that it only made sense to go MAGNUM all the way through……

Nice little line up of magnums for DZ's Birthday

Drum roll please……………………………………

So, here was the line up (Remember, all out of magnum)

1. Pierre Peters Cuvee Speciale ‘Le Chetillons’ 2000
- Oppulent and racy at the same time….Was great
2. Chablis Montee de Tonnerre Fevre 2008
- Although young, showed great balance
3. Musigny Vieilles Vignes Comte Georges de Vogue 2000
- Wine of the night!! Long and classy in the glass.
4. Barolo Brunate Marcarini 1996
- Thought this would be ready but this MONSTER still needs more time. I will bury my remaining magnums deep in the cellar.

As is the case with the Zacharia family functions, there was very little talk of the wines being served…more laughter and fun…but fear not, all wine selections were greatly appreciated.

It will be interesting to see what other wines come out over this historic birthday weekend. All-in-all I was very happy with my selections from last night.

I hope everybody is having a great holiday weekend.

All my best,

Andrew

Sometimes when you see an offer that appears to good to be true….it typically is!!

But, as I am in a SUPER agrresive mood today and anxious to make room in my warehouse I am BOMBING out an in-stock Brunello that has a release price of $70/bottle and a review of:

“There’s a pretty, buoyant or balsamic quality to this fresh Brunello that helps delivers its fruit and spice aromas in a direct and immediate manner. That clean approach gives the wine a determined and lasting impression in the mouth. Drink it with game meats or steak – 90 Points.” Wine Enthusiast 10/10

In past offers we have tied wines together or requested that you order minimum quantities to get the deal…Today, NO STRINGS ATTACHED!! Order as little or as much as you want between today and Saturday and you will get it for only $20/Bottle!!!!!!!

To find out the wine please e-mail me at andrewsangle@zachys.com

ACT FAST because I have every intention of this wine being gone within 24 hours.

All my best,

Andrew

Sassacaia "King" of Italy

Big, Bigger & Smallest From One Of The “Kings” Of Italy!!

Good morning,

A few weeks ago we did our initial re-sell offer on one of the “Kings” of Tuscany…2008 Sassicaia…and we received an OVERWHELMING response to the deal!!

But, no futures offer on SASSICAIA would not be complete without giving people the chance to own this Italian cellar treasure in the “Odd-size” formats.

2008 Sassicaia

Who wouldn’t want one of the “Bigs” for a party or future celebration? Even better a “missile” (375ML) to see how truly magnificent this red is and how it evolves over time without having to break into your stash of 750mls!

The “Odd-Size” formats are VERY LIMITED and typically are 100% pre-committed before the wines even arrive to us in late July.

Our advice to you is to scan the list and quickly go to www.zachys.com , give us a call or e-mail us at cs@zachys.com if you want to add these special formats to your Italian collection.

We look forward to hearing from you.

All my best

Andrew

Some categories of wine are easier to polish off a bottle than others.

Barolo Sori Ginestra Conterno Fantino 2006

BAROLO is not what you would call an “everyday” wine…but unless you drink it how will you know how the wine is ageing and the perfect window of drinkability?

This wine – This Format – This Vintage – This Producer is the PERFECT way to go….

Barolo Sori Ginestra Conterno Fantino 2006 (375ML)

“The estate’s 2006 Barolo Sori Ginestra is massive and intense. Layers of aromatic nuance and complexity are backed up with powerful, dense fruit. Today the wine is quite understandably painfully young, and patience is required for the tannins to soften, but this is a highly promising Barolo. With time in the glass, the signature notes of menthol, spices, pine and minerals gain focus and clarity, giving a hint of what is in store for the future. Anticipated maturity: 2016-2031…95” WA 03/10
Intrigued? Like to learn more? Possibly like to have a few of these “missiles” in your cellar? E-mail us at andrewsangle@zachys.com for special pre-arrival pricing.

All my best,

Andrew

It’s hard for me to believe that 7 years has passed since I first tasted the newest wine to be released from the Tenuta San Guido Estate (Makers of SASSICAIA) – Le Difese. Sassicaia has been a perennial powerhouse and a standard to which many other Tuscan estates strive to achieve. So when first learning of this “new wine” I was a bit cynic, but could not have been more wrong as this blend of 70% Cabernet/30% Sangiovese has been delighting Zachys clients for the last 5 years.

Oprah's Last SHow

Last night I was dragged in front of the TV to take part in the watching of “OPRAH’S Final Show”….I gotta admit, it was PRETTY IMPRESSIVE!! Before I was allowed to sit down and the show could start I was sent to get us each a glass of wine. On the top shelf of the wine fridge was the newest release of the Le Difese (2009)….to which I blurted out, “This should be a perfect glass to toast Oprah’s farewell dear!”

Honestly, I could not have been more correct. Served at cellar temperature this wine was SINGING last night with my wife Jen stating it was exceptionally “smooth & easy and I would easily give this a 8.5/9 out of 10”. I would have to agree with her here.

The first few vintages of this wine it seemed like a bit of an “extra” wine for the estate and a way for them to utilize young-vine Sangiovese & Cabernet. Clearly these vines have the proper age now as the 2009 shows a tremendous sweet intensity to the mid-palate all the while having deliciously round and supple tannins which give the wine a seamless finish.

Grabing the bottle Le Difese from the wine cooler

The “glass of wine” quickly turned into a finished bottle as the 2009 Le Difese is simply DEE-LISH. (And “No” it was not influenced by the emotion of the show!)

I can tell you that one of the first things I am going to do today is tell Brian Mullaney to arrange to have a case of this shipped to my house for this Summer as it is JUST THAT GOOD….And I suggest you do the same.

This vintage is different than others in the fact that our allocation is HALF of what it has been in previous vintages, so I fear this wine will be gone by the Fall. More reason for you to bypass buying it by the bottle and jump all over my six pack special below. (To take advantage of this special and unique pricing e-mail into our Customer Service department at cs@zachys.com)

I gotta admit, this wine was a GREAT finish to my day yesterday and I would have to agree with winemaker Sebastiano Rosa that this is his best Le Difese to date.

Grab it while it lasts!!

All my best,

Andrew

Le Difese Tenuta San Guido 2009 {#345727}             Release Price           $34.99/Bottle   Current Sale Price      $29.99/Bottle

Le Difese is a blend of 70% cabernet Sauvignon and 30% Sangiovese…aged for 12 months in French and American oak barriques and refined for 3 months in bottle before release to the market. As with the Guidalberto, Sebastiano Rosa has made great strides with this wine and the 2009 is one of the best ever for this wine.

Sebastiano’s aim here is to produce a wine of accessibility and youthful pleasure, in contrast to the more structured and long-lived style of Sassicaia. Also of course, more affordable!

“Grown Into Its Own Six Pack Special”                 $150/Six Pack (That’s only $25/Bottle!!)

On this grey Sunday morning I am taking the time to review all old customer e-mails to see if there are any unresolved issues hanging out there that I need to follow-up on.

How does the expression go? - ”You can’t please all the people all the time”

How true it is. But when I get an e-mail from a client that they are “unsatisfied” (No matter how sarcastic it mat have been)….I want to do all I can to go the extra mile.

In this case the “unsatisfied” remark came from a client who was a bit tired of seeing all my Italian offers and wanted to see some BUBBLES. Certainly a valid request being that we are a short week away from Memorial Day Weekend and the start of Summer. Not to mention moving up ceremonies, graduations and Summer weddings. A lot of good reasons to start popping the tops on some good Champers.

Champagne is a very price sensitive category where I will typically get a slew of phone calls from suppliers when we get very aggressive on price. So, today I have found a creative way around that.

In an effort to respond to my “unsatisfied” friend I have taken 34 of the top bubbles in the store and have marked them down today…with discounts up to 47% OFF I am sure to get a response! All you have to do to get a sneak peek at the list is e-mail in to andrewsangle@zachys.com and I can hit you with this SUNDAY SALE.

I thought this would be a good way to get the day started and help any people who have “Buy Some Bubbles” on their Summer Shopping List.

We look forward to hearing back from you.

Andrew

My thought for this morning was what I like to call my “oops purchase”.

Things definitely have a tendency to move too fast from day-to-day at the store and if I could exercise a bit of restraint, slow down and take a breath I think I would be doing myself a big favor. Sadly, my type A personality does not really allow for that thus, from time to time, I continue to make “oops purchases”.

A few weeks ago I got a call at my desk from one of my salespeople stating we needed to get more Barbera Donna Margherita Giovanni Rosso 2006 (A perfect BBQ wine) as it is one of our TOP selling Piedmont reds….BY FAR. Had I taken a second to do the research I would have seen that the newest vintage (2007) had already been brought into the store…..OOOOPS!

Now I own two vintages of this wine which can cause logistical problems for us.

The best way for me to clean up this mess is to simply “Cut Bait” and BLAST the 2006 out the door at a RIDICULOUS price.

I had a bottle last night with a piece of spinach/onion quiche and a salad….no problem finishing the bottle. It’s a red with good snap and verve that pairs super well with food.

We are cranking this wine out at 1/3 of what suggested retail is!! As will always be the case with this blog, we need you to write into andrewsangle@zachys.com to get the details on just how crazy the price is.

I gotta say, I am pretty happy we are finally waking up to a day with no rain this week and this offer is the perfect way to start the weekend.

I look forward to hearing back from you.

All my best,

Andrew

On Wednesday night we conducted our first ever “mega-Brunello” tasting in which 30+ estates hopped on a plane from Italy, sent samples of their 2006s and hooked up with host James Suckling at City Winery to do one of the most comprehensive Brunello tastings the city has ever seen.

What a Night!

Besides the fact that the heavens had opened up ALL day and it felt like the only way to get to Varick Street was via Noah’s Ark…the Italian wine enthusiasts came out in droves (525 people to be exact!!).

All I can say is that it was an overwhelming evening of great wine at which I felt a bit like the groom who never gets to eat any of the food at his own wedding!! I was continuously approached by customers asking me my favorites of the evening…to which I had no answers. So, in the last hour of the tasting I powered through as many of the wines as I could and here were some of my personal favorites from the tasting.

A Packed House!

2006 Brunellos

Argiano
Capanna
Caparzo ‘La Casa’
Celestino Pecci
Ciacci Piccolomini ‘Pianrosso’
Fanti
Frescobaldi ‘Castelgiocondo’
Fuligni
Il Paradiso di Frassina
Lisini
Pertimali
Mate
Nicale – Great drink for tonight!!!
Poggio Antico ’Altero’
Tassi ‘Franci’
Uccelliera
Vitanza ‘Tradizione’

Not to slight any of the other wines that were there but in the brief time I had to hop around at the end of the night this was what stood out to me.

Thanks again to all our clients and wine enthusiasts that attended…it was a truly memorable night.

We also have special post-tasting pricing running on all wines shown that night. (Including the two 100 point wines shown that night!) If you have not already and would like to see the special pricing send me a quick shout out to andrewsangle@zachys.com and I will be happy to get it out to you.

Stay tuned for more fun stuff coming up.

All my best,
Andrew

Andrew McMurray

Thus the inspiration for “Andrew’s Angle”. This will give me the opportunity to publish all my thoughts and promotional ideas in a lower profile forum. It will lend the opportunity for the people who really want to read what I am thinking and stay “ahead of the curve” with CRAZY deals to e-mail into the blog to find out about the other 9/10^th of the offers that can’t be put out there for one reason or another.

I am looking forward to launching this forum and STRONGLY encourage people to INTERACT and let me know what you are thinking.

All my best,
Andrew