Wine Club
A gift for yourself, A Special Someone, Or Both…
Each month, these selections are sure to bring a smile to both the aficionado and novice.
Why? Because nobody is more qualified than the Wise Buyers at Hi-Time Wine Cellars who have been scouring the globe to seek out wine treasures for more than 50 years.
No long-term commitment: Simply choose the program and let us know when you want to stop and we'll take care of the rest. We'll send an announcement to the gift recipient along with background information and tantalizing tasting notes on each wine.
Gold Selection Plan 1 - 29.95
2 Bottles of Red Wine (tax & shipping not included)
Thacher 2021 Serious play
Grape Varietal: 40% Counoise, 21% Cinsault, 21% Carignan, 18% Syrah
Origin: Paso Robles California
Serious Play is perfectly named as this is indeed a serious and seriously well-made wine-- but the joie de vivre is evident in the glass: approachable, rollicking, balanced and beautiful. The nose is filled with bright fruit (blueberry, plum, mixed berries) as more savory elements provide a solid base: scents of old forest floor, mineral, light spice, candle wax, citrus. The palate showcases bright red and dark fruits (cherry, raspberry, baked plum) with appropriate savory elements: pepper spice, clove, earth. Bright acidity and balanced tannins keep the wine on an even keel and the finish reiterates the fruit in a lenghty flourish.
Pair with burgers and bbq, marinara-sauced pastas, sausage pizza, summer!
Winemaker Tasting Notes - "Maraschino cherries, red plum, and a touch of black pepper entice you on the nose. The impressive palate combines red and black fruits with a dusting of cinnamon and clove. This wine would be excellent a homemade marinana, spaghetti and meatballs. Cellar through 2032."
Traditionally in the Southern Rhone region in France, Counoise is mostly used as a blending grape variety. It produces medium/lightly colored wines with medium high acidity making it the perfect wine to balance richer, more lush typical grapes varieties like Grenache and Syrah.
Umano Saperavi Mukuzani
Grape Varietal: 100% Saperavi
Origin: Kakheti region, Georgia
Umano Mukuzani (made of the Saperavi grape), is an intense medium to full-bodied wine, offering juicy blackberries intermixed with red fruits, spice, and peppery, herbal notes. Beautifully balanced, it has grippy yet ripe tannins with plenty to love in this well-made effort. Aged 30% in oak barrels for 12 months and 70% in stainless steel tanks. Drink over the coming 4-5 years. Drink 2025-2029. Mukuzani is a protected designation of origin (PDO) micro-zone within Kakheti, Georgia.
Saperavi is one of my favorite grape variety in the world, it produces wines that are affordable, and able to age gracefully for years.
It can vary from medium bodied, fresh and gently chewy to ripe, hedonistically fruity and fairly structured and tannic.
Gold Selection Plan 2 - 29.95
1 Bottle of Red Wine and 1 bottle of White Wine (tax & shipping not included)
Thacher 2021 Serious play
Grape Varietal: 40% Counoise, 21% Cinsault, 21% Carignan, 18% Syrah
Origin: Paso Robles California
Serious Play is perfectly named as this is indeed a serious and seriously well-made wine-- but the joie de vivre is evident in the glass: approachable, rollicking, balanced and beautiful. The nose is filled with bright fruit (blueberry, plum, mixed berries) as more savory elements provide a solid base: scents of old forest floor, mineral, light spice, candle wax, citrus. The palate showcases bright red and dark fruits (cherry, raspberry, baked plum) with appropriate savory elements: pepper spice, clove, earth. Bright acidity and balanced tannins keep the wine on an even keel and the finish reiterates the fruit in a lenghty flourish.
Pair with burgers and bbq, marinara-sauced pastas, sausage pizza, summer!
Winemaker Tasting Notes - "Maraschino cherries, red plum, and a touch of black pepper entice you on the nose. The impressive palate combines red and black fruits with a dusting of cinnamon and clove. This wine would be excellent a homemade marinana, spaghetti and meatballs. Cellar through 2032."
Traditionally in the Southern Rhone region in France, Counoise is mostly used as a blending grape variety. It produces medium/lightly colored wines with medium high acidity making it the perfect wine to balance richer, more lush typical grapes varieties like Grenache and Syrah.
Thaya 2023 Muller Thurgau
Grape Varietal: 100% Muller Thurgau
Origin: South Moravian region of the Czechia
Winery Notes: "The wine has a greenish color. The aroma is typical of this variety. The tones of pomelo and blood orange dominate. The fruity notes are complemented by spiciness and minerality. The taste corresponds to the aroma and has a long persistence."
Muller Thurgau is also called Rivaner, it was known to be a cross between Riesling and Sylvaner but recent genetic studies showed that it is a cross between Riesling and Madeleine Royale.
This grape variety is able to produce great quality wines in a cold climate since it ripens very early. It was so popular in the 1970’s that it became the most planted vine in Germany. Today’s wines made out Muller Thurgau are a lot more interesting than those produced in the 1970’s, since the yields are much lower. Then the wines were diluted and low acidity, modern producers vinify Muller Thurgau with great tension, fruitiness and sense of location.
Platinum Selection 1 - 49.95
Fattoria Le Pupille 2024 Morellino di Scansano
Grape Varietal: 90% Sangiovese, 10% Ciliegiolo, Alicante
Origin: Morellino di Scansano, Tuscany, Italy
Fresh, bright and delicious describe this Italian beauty which arrives just in time for summer! This is an authentically-styled red from Scansano in the coastal Tuscan region of Maremma. After opening up with time in the glass, it shows subtle floral and fruit-driven aromas like violet and dark cherry. On the palate, it's medium-bodied and dry, with lots of dark Amarena cherry and hazelnut, along with hints of orange and fresh herbs. There's a cherry/almond skin character to the ripely-fruited finish, with medium tannin and fresh acidity.
The Scansano area is known for reds like this one, based on the local type of Sangiovese called Morellino ("the little dark one"). This bottling involves the more traditional partners Ciliegiolo ("cherry-like") and a local type of Spain's Garnacha that's been there for centuries, which they call Alicante. There's no oak influence in this wine, just stainless steel for 6 months, so all the character is from the grapes alone.
Fattoria Le Pupille is an important estate for the Maremma that has always promoted higher quality winemaking for the little region they love. At the helm is Elisabetta Geppetti, who re-founded the estate in the 1980s, and served as leader of the regional association of wineries. She's currently joined by her eldest daughter (and future proprietor), Clara, along with enologist Luca D'Attoma who is behind Tuscan greats DueMani, Tua Rita, and previously, Le Macchiole.
JAMES SUCKLING 93 POINTS - "Light and delicate, with crunchy fruit and flint, cranberry and raspberry aromas and flavors. Light-bodied and spicy at the end. Crunchy, crisp and bright. A joy to drink everyday. Drink now."
WINE ADVOCATE 92 POINTS - "The Fattoria le Pupille 2024 Morellino di Scansano is led by Sangiovese with small percentages of Alicante and Ciliegiolo that bring extra brightness and energy. In Maremma, complex soils of volcanic deposits layered with ancient marine sediments define the character of the region, and for this wine, the Sangiovese is planted on sandstone soils that enhance elegance and aromatic lift, while other parcels feature pietra serena, red clays and limestone matched carefully to the appropriate variety. The bouquet offers redcurrant, myrtle and fragrant herbal notes of fresh rosemary and thyme, evoking the herb garden that lines the walkway to the estate’s newly inaugurated tasting room and visitor center. This wine offers phenomenal value."
Cairanne 2020 Alary Jean de Verde
Grape Varietal: 95% Grenache noir, 5% Carignan
Origin: Cairanne, Southern Rhone, France
Organically Farmed
DECANTER 93 POINTS - "Deep, succulent and unctuous, with a touch of Carignan adding a little texture and structure. Gently warming alcohol on the finish, and the fine tannins coat the lips. Very long for what can be a light vintage, this is powerful, flowing, ripe but fresh. Less alcohol than a typical vintage of this cuvée and better balanced for it."
2020 was an impressive vintage for Southern Rhone. The produced were very concentrated and intense, some a little bit too much. Domaine Alary managed to keep the fruit intensity and the ripeness on check. Even though the wine shows 15% of alcohol it does not feel like it.
Platinum Selection 2 - 49.95
1 Bottle of Red Wine and 1 Bottle of White Wine (tax & shipping not included)
Fattoria Le Pupille 2024 Morellino di Scansano
Grape Varietal: 90% Sangiovese, 10% Ciliegiolo, Alicante
Origin: Morellino di Scansano, Tuscany, Italy
Fresh, bright and delicious describe this Italian beauty which arrives just in time for summer! This is an authentically-styled red from Scansano in the coastal Tuscan region of Maremma. After opening up with time in the glass, it shows subtle floral and fruit-driven aromas like violet and dark cherry. On the palate, it's medium-bodied and dry, with lots of dark Amarena cherry and hazelnut, along with hints of orange and fresh herbs. There's a cherry/almond skin character to the ripely-fruited finish, with medium tannin and fresh acidity.
The Scansano area is known for reds like this one, based on the local type of Sangiovese called Morellino ("the little dark one"). This bottling involves the more traditional partners Ciliegiolo ("cherry-like") and a local type of Spain's Garnacha that's been there for centuries, which they call Alicante. There's no oak influence in this wine, just stainless steel for 6 months, so all the character is from the grapes alone.
Fattoria Le Pupille is an important estate for the Maremma that has always promoted higher quality winemaking for the little region they love. At the helm is Elisabetta Geppetti, who re-founded the estate in the 1980s, and served as leader of the regional association of wineries. She's currently joined by her eldest daughter (and future proprietor), Clara, along with enologist Luca D'Attoma who is behind Tuscan greats DueMani, Tua Rita, and previously, Le Macchiole.
JAMES SUCKLING 93 POINTS - "Light and delicate, with crunchy fruit and flint, cranberry and raspberry aromas and flavors. Light-bodied and spicy at the end. Crunchy, crisp and bright. A joy to drink everyday. Drink now."
WINE ADVOCATE 92 POINTS - "The Fattoria le Pupille 2024 Morellino di Scansano is led by Sangiovese with small percentages of Alicante and Ciliegiolo that bring extra brightness and energy. In Maremma, complex soils of volcanic deposits layered with ancient marine sediments define the character of the region, and for this wine, the Sangiovese is planted on sandstone soils that enhance elegance and aromatic lift, while other parcels feature pietra serena, red clays and limestone matched carefully to the appropriate variety. The bouquet offers redcurrant, myrtle and fragrant herbal notes of fresh rosemary and thyme, evoking the herb garden that lines the walkway to the estate’s newly inaugurated tasting room and visitor center. This wine offers phenomenal value."
Fritz Haag 2024 Riesling Kabinett Braunberger
Grape Varietal: 100% Riesling
Origin: Mosel, Germany
Organically Farmed
ANTONIO GALLONI VINOUS 95 POINTS - "The 2024 Riesling Brauneberger Juffer Kabinett still carries quite some reduction but the palate already started the party. It is stony tautness and immense citrus juiciness entwined, wonderfully rippling, dynamic and energetic, yet without hurry. Gorgeous lightness makes this feel effortless, tender, exquisite. The 2024 is a quintessential Kabinett of exceptional ease and freshness." (Off-dry)
JAMES SUCKLING 91 POINTS - "Crisp and juicy with a feather-light body, this is a very delicate expression of the famous Juffer site. So much fresh apple and pear character, also some herbal intensity. Very crisp green apple finish. From organically grown grapes with Fair Choice certification. Drink or hold. Screw cap."
All White Selection - No more than $49.95
2 Bottles of White Wine (tax & shipping not included)
Fritz Haag 2024 Riesling Kabinett Braunberger
Grape Varietal: 100% Riesling
Origin: Mosel, Germany
Organically Farmed
ANTONIO GALLONI VINOUS 95 POINTS - "The 2024 Riesling Brauneberger Juffer Kabinett still carries quite some reduction but the palate already started the party. It is stony tautness and immense citrus juiciness entwined, wonderfully rippling, dynamic and energetic, yet without hurry. Gorgeous lightness makes this feel effortless, tender, exquisite. The 2024 is a quintessential Kabinett of exceptional ease and freshness." (Off-dry)
JAMES SUCKLING 91 POINTS - "Crisp and juicy with a feather-light body, this is a very delicate expression of the famous Juffer site. So much fresh apple and pear character, also some herbal intensity. Very crisp green apple finish. From organically grown grapes with Fair Choice certification. Drink or hold. Screw cap."
Catena 2024 White Clay
Grape Varietal: 60% Semillon and 40% Chenin Blanc
Origin: Luján de Cuyo, Argentina
"Family vintners for over 100 years, the Catenas are recognized for their pioneering role in high-altitude viticulture in Argentina. Luján de Cuyo Appellation is known for its clay-rich soils and cool nights. Deeply aromatic with expressive citrus and peach with a rich and mineral finish. Pairs well with vegetables, pasta and grilled white meats. This blend of Semillon and Chenin Blanc is Argentina's century-old traditional white wine."
JAMES SUCKLING 94 POINTS – "This shows golden fruit, white flowers and chamomile on the nose. The palate is medium- to full-bodied, crunchy and textured, with a chewy yet pleasant mouthfeel and persistent freshness. Incisive and enjoyable. A blend of semillon and chenin blanc. Drink now."
Jacobo García Andrade, Senior Editor
Champagne Selection - No more than $49.95
1 Bottle of Champagne (tax & shipping not included)
Ployez-Jacquemart Brut extra quality
Grape Varietal: 33% Pinot Noir, 33% Meunier, 34% Chardonnay
Origin: Mostly from Mailly and Ludes
WINERY NOTES: Extra-Quality Brut has an elegant mousse and a beautiful golden colour. The
nose is ripe and tends towards honeyed notes. The palate is rich and reveals a good length. The Extra-Quality Brut has a very good balance and freshness, with a very clean nose and mouth, it is a perfect champagne to accompany
aperitifs and cocktails.
WINE SPECTATOR 93 POINTS-"A graceful Champagne, with a fine, raw silk–like mousse carrying well-meshed flavors of poached quince and pear, Marcona almond, oyster shell and white blossoms. Fresh and focused, with savory hints of mineral and herbs on the finish. Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier. Disgorged October 2024. Drink now through 2035. 3,000 cases made, 2,083 cases imported."
WINE ADVOCATE 90 POINTS-"The latest release of Ployez-Jacquemart's emblematic NV Extra Quality Brut was disgorged with around five grams per liter dosage after three years on the lees. Mingling aromas of orange oil and fresh peach with hints of brioche and smoke, it's medium to full-bodied, fleshy and enveloping, with a tightly wound core, racy acids and a dry, chalky finish. It will show even better after an additional year or two on cork. Drink through 2030."