Cellar Selections Jan 16th-23rd

Weekly Cellar Selections
Spanish Wines

Wine Tasting this Thursday, January 17th from 5 to 6:30p.m. $5 per person. Oddly enough last Wine Tasting was a success & we even had a Tornado threaten to ruin our night! Just shows you what dedicated customers we have, they come rain, shine or snow??? This week we have Leigh Monroe of Pinnacle Imports pouring Spanish wines from our current Cellar Selection. Our feature Menu items this week are Shrimp & Grits, Chicken Salad & Potato Salad from Mudtown Eat & Drink in Cahaba Heights. *To see more information on Mudtown Eat & Drink scroll down to the end of the newsletter* Hope to see you all here!

2006 Morgadío Legado Del Conde Albariño, Rías Baixas

Reg. $18.99 now $16.99

With a beautiful, bright lemony robe and a fresh, rich nose that carries the scent of spring flowers, mimosa, and the waft of a sea breeze, this Albariño makes a grand statement and an even grander entry. Dry, pure, and hauntingly scented, this friendly Albariño offers up plenty of minerality and a mouth full of light clean fruit to balance its long, crisp finish. Albariño is a singular varietal with a unique character: it is both ethereal and intense and Morgadío captures the essence of this grape variety in their 2006 Legado Del Conde. This is a classic Albariño – a truly dry white wine and a Spanish classic. In fact, this Albariño is an Old World treasure and a wine of breed and noble bearing. A perfect pair to sautéed scallops, grilled snapper, crabmeat salad, and most everything else that once inhabited the sea. We suggest that you try this wine with Cheese, especially well made Mahon, one of Spain's most delectable cheeses. Mahon in stock now for $7.99! -90 Points Wine Advocate, February 2007

2006 Can Feixes “Blanc Selecció”, Penedès

Reg. $18.99 now $16.99

This wine possesses an amplifying nose, comprised of the scents of pure mineral, gravel, citrus, and wild flowers. Long and textured in the mouth, the Blanc Selecció caresses the palate with luxuriant fruit and spice – without a hint of sweetness. Moreover, the wine ends with a dry, embracing finish that needs to be experienced to be described, as this wine is neither simple nor ordinary. Although beautifully right now, this wine will undoubtedly evolve for several more years in bottle. Very versatile wine to pair with food, in fact, most fish and poultry will be right at home with this wine. Interestingly, the only drawback to serving this wine seems to be its ability to disappear in a hurry, so if you open a bottle before a meal you will want to have another bottle on hand!

2005 Castillo de Monséran Garnacha, Cariñena, Spain

Reg. $11.99 now $9.99

Let the warmth of the sun-baked fruit slowly fill your soul as you taste this wine. The rich ripe fruit is complemented by intriguing aromas of sweet tobacco and spice. It's ample and mouthfilling on the palate with chewy tannins and just the right acidity to give vitality to the finale. A wine with this much character can only come from a region with a lot of soul and Castillo de Monseran is no exception. Its roots are firmly implanted in the proud region of Aragón. Paired perfectly our new cheese from Spain, Idiazabal $10.99!

2006 Bodegas Olivares Altos de la Hoya, Monastrell “Ungrafted Old Vine”, Jumilla

Reg. $15.99 now $13.99
This ungrafted old vine Monastrell (92%) is deep ruby red in color, with ripe, powerful scents of blackberry, cassis and candied plum, with a bit of Garnacha (8%) in the blend seeming to brighten the darker fruit character. Fat and lush, with deep, sweet blackcurrant and blackberry flavors and no rough edges it finishes dense, fresh and long, with a repeating blackberry note. This has the concentration and sappy texture of a much more expensive wine. Perfect with our Murcia al Vino $8.99!

*If you forgot or want to refresh yourself about the cheeses we just got in last week go to: http://www.thewinecellar.info/New_Cheeses.htm I picked these cheese especially for the wines from this weeks Cellar Selections!

*Have kids? Need a College fund? Just set up one for Granger using a friend of mine, Richard Mason with Morgan Keegan, for $50 big ol’ bucks a month. Email me if you would like his number, he is easy to work with & super nice.

What is Mudtown Eat & Drink? We’re LOCAL! If you’re looking for a local eating establishment to support, we’re it. Our latest advertising campaign claims an amazing menu. We think it is. More importantly, the guests who dine with us for lunch and dinner seven days a week tell us so. We’re proud and grateful of the praise. Judging by the response to a new menu rollout in early June, we continue to be on the right track of making people and their tastebuds happy.
Even though we named a restaurant after dirt, the food is fantastic, fresh and fun. The beverages are cold and unique. The atmosphere is inviting and comforting. As you walk in to Mudtown, you will feel the prevailing friendly spirit, smell the enticing aromas from the kitchen and anticipate a quality dining experience served by people who genuinely appreciate you stopping by.
Coming soon to Mudtown Eat & Drink, Meals-to-go! If you love their menu & need office meetings, bridal parties or anything else catered Mudtown is an established Catering service as well. Visit http://www.mudtownalabama.com/catering.pdf for details!

Mudtown Eat & Drink

3144 Green Valley RoadVestavia Hills, AL 35243

(205) 967-3300 store

http://www.mudtownalabama.com/




THE WINE CELLAR

970 Highway 31 · Vestavia Hills · Alabama · 35216

205·979·2151 phone 205·979·2149 fax Subscribe: vwinecellar@bellsouth.net

Store Hours: Monday thru Friday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday 10a.m. to 4p.m.

We are located 2 ½ miles north of I-65 on Highway 31 in the Vestavia Hills City Center (Publix Shopping Center)

http://www.thewinecellar.info/ www.myspace.com/wine_seller http://thewineknow.blogspot.com/

Just in!

NEW! Spanish Cheeses

Mahon $7.99 Ref. $8.99

Mahon is produced on the Mediterranean island of Menorca in the Balearics. Although it is a small island, Menorca produces enough cheese to make Mahon Spain 's second most popular cheese next to Manchego. A 100% cow's milk cheese, Mahon comes in large squares of about six pounds. Ripened in underground caves for at least 60 days, Mahon has a bold, magnificent flavor that could never be called mild. The yellowish-orange rind conceals a soft, slightly salty and decidedly spicy interior. This unique cheese is a must try for any cheese lover and an absolute necessity for the true connoisseur.
Murcia al Vino $8.99 Reg. $9.99

Similar to the Spanish wine cheese, Drunken Goat, this wine-bathed cheese is made from pasteurized goat's milk in Murcia region of Spain . This region has a rich variety of grasses, shrubs, and wild herbs on which the goats graze to give the cheese a distinctive taste and aroma. The unique feature of Murcia al Vino is that it is washed in red wine during ripening. The wine deeply tints the cheese, giving the rind its characteristic burgundy color and imparting a strong floral bouquet. Murcia al Vino is a real gem. It not only has a bold, delicious flavor, it has the intoxicating aroma of a good bottle of wine.

Idiazabal $10.99 Reg. $11.99

This handmade, unpasteurized sheep's milk cheese comes from the Spanish Pyrenees. Idiazabal is naturally smoked with a hard but edible orange-brown rind. In the old days, Basque shepherds lived in small mountain huts and had no space to store and age their cheeses other than inside their stone chimneys. As it turned out, people enjoyed the smoky flavor that the cheese acquired from aging inside the chimneys, and Idiazabal spread throughout Spain . Today, Idiazabal is produced in more modern facilities, but the process is still all-natural. The cheese is as delicious as ever, and the quality is more consistent. We love its perfumy bouquet and rich, buttery flavor and enthusiastically recommend Idiazabal as one of Spain 's greatest cheeses.