Here at The Reverse Wine Snob, we're always on the look out for the best places to buy and discover new wines and wine clubs are a super convenient option. The problem is choosing between the myriad club options out there. As such we've been endeavoring to share our favorites as of late. Today we're featuring the Global Discovery Club from Global Wine Cellars
What sets Global Wine Cellars apart is that they hand select the wines they offer from all over the world and even direct import many of the wines themselves. This not only allows them to offer a unique selection but also helps to lower prices. None of their wine comes from large distributors and most of their wines will only be available through them.
The Global Discovery Club includes 6 boutique wines (4 reds and 2 whites) every 3 months and costs $90 per shipment which works out to just $15 per bottle. You can even receive a full refund if you don’t like a wine. They also use temperature controlled trucks for shipment so there are no worries about cooked or frozen bottles. Even better, readers of The Reverse Wine Snob get 50% off their first shipment (that's a savings of $45!) with the code GLOBALWINE50.This takes the per bottle price down to just $7.50 a bottle!
One of the frustrating things about many wine clubs is that if you receive a wine you absolutely love, there's no way to buy more of it. Global Wine Cellars solves this problem by selling all the wine from their club shipments in their store and giving wine club members a 10% discount so they can stock up on past favorites. Also important this time of year is that all of their wine club options are available as a gift.
Each wine shipment also includes a great brochure with full tasting notes and info on each wine. They even highlight food pairing options for each wine in different categories (fast, healthy, gourmet, etc.). These are real world meals too, not some of those crazy ultra gourmet (and ultra time consuming) dishes so many wineries like to call out on their label. We're talking about things like sauteed chicken breast with vegetables, fettuccine shrimp alfredo, beef tacos, burgers and chicken salad.
Below are my thoughts on the first shipment from the Global Discovery Club which is currently the same shipment that new subscribers will receive.
First is the 2012 Mercer Estates Riesling from Yakima Valley, Columbia Valley, Washington. This wine sells for $15 in the Global Wine Cellars store.
The wine opens with lots of tangerine and honeysuckle, lemon, a little green apple and a hint of mint. This pleasant aroma turns into a lightly fizzy, off-dry wine when tasting with juicy citrus, lots more tangerine and a little melon. It ends tangy, sweet and long with lots of lingering honey and lots and lots of grapefruit. A great example of a moderately sweet Washington Riesling.
Next is the 2013 Albamar Chardonnay. This example comes from Casablanca Valley, Chile and retails for $12 in the Global Wine Cellars store.
The wine begins with a pleasant aroma of peach, pear, melon, tropical fruit and a little nectarine. Tasting reveals a light and crisp unoaked Chardonnay full of tart citrus and tropical fruit flavors. It also has good acidity. The tropical fruit comes to the front on the long finish. A great example of a Chardonnay that lets the fruit take center stage.
I'm not the biggest fan of Beaujolais (especially Beaujolais Nouveau,) but when the wine is made from 50 year old vines like the 2011 Henry Fessy Beaujolais-Villages, that's a completely different story. This one retails for $13 in the Global Wine Cellars store.
The wine opens with aromas of smoky black cherry plus other ripe red fruit. The light to medium-bodied wine tastes quite good with lots of fresh red fruit, a little bit of spice and the continuation of those smoky notes from the nose. This one also has very good acidity. It ends dry and long with more fresh red fruit flavors. This would make a simply fabulous burger wine.
Next is the 2010 Chateau Haut-Peyrillat Medoc a 50/50 blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot from Bordeaux, France that is aged in concrete (which is becoming much more popular than you might think). It retails for $17 in the Global Wine Cellars store.
This wine opens with pleasant aromas of blackberry, plum, spice and a hint of a green note. Tasting reveals similar flavors to the nose with added earthy and tobacco notes. Soft tannins lead into the long, dry, almost dusty finish where a hint of that green note from the nose returns. Excellent.
Next is the 2011 Las Nencias Reserve Blend from Valle de Uco, Mendoza, Argentina. This wine is a blend of 56% Malbec, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Bonarda, 6% Cabernet Franc and 4% Syrah and spends 8-12 months in French oak. It retails for $20 in the Global Wine Cellars store.
The Las Nencias needs a bit of air to open up but then reveals an enticing aroma of blackberry, plum, violets, spice and a little cedar. Tasting the wine reveals rich and silky fruit loaded with plenty of oaky spice. It ends dry and dusty with a long finish of dark fruit, tobacco and chocolate. This would make a great steak wine.
And last but certainly not least is the 2011 Chatom Vineyards Touriga Nacional from Calaveras County, Sierra Foothills, California. Yes that's right this is a single varietal wine made from Touriga Nacional that is not from Portugal, which is quite unusual and hard to find. It retails for $20 in the Global Wine Cellars store.
The wine opens with a very spicy, very strong Port-like aroma of vanilla, dark berries, plum, dried herbs, violets and a bit of leather. Yum! Tasting this fun to drink wine shows lots of rich, spicy blackberry and plum fruit with bountiful vanilla notes. It ends with a very long and dry finish of dark fruit, spice and oak. What a treat!
Check out the Global Discovery Club from Global Wine Cellars and get 50% off with code "GLOBALWINE50"!
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