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)
GUILLAUME GONNET 2023 COTES DU RHONE LE REVEUR
Grape Varietal: 80% Grenache, 20% Syrah
Origin: Cotes du Rhone, Rhone Valley South of France
This is truly a bountiful time for wines from the Southern Rhone. With a string of outstanding vintages and fantastic pricing, times have never been better to enjoy these delicious wines. This 80-20 blend of Grenache and Syrah crafted by Guillaume Gonnet is a perfect case in point. The quality of the fruit and the depth of flavor really stood out when we tasted this at the store.
WINE SPECTATOR 90 POINTS - "This is an exuberant, full-bodied Côtes du Rhône, with warm black plum and melted black licorice spiked with juniper and black pepper. Offers juicy deliciousness, with no rough edges, on an open-knit frame. There's a burst of freshness and herbs on the bright finish. Grenache and Syrah."
Telmo Rodriguez 2023 Dehesa Gago Toro
Grape Varietal: 100% Tempranillo
Origin: D.O.P. Terrerazo, Valencia region, Spain
JAMES SUCKLING 91 POINTS - "Ripe fruit but it remains fresh, with figs, red fruit compote and some dried brambly fruit and potpourri. Fine-grained on the palate, with a medium to full body, dusty tannins and a composed finish."
Native yeasts, fermentation and aging for 6 months in stainless steel tanks.
WINERY NOTES - Dehesa Gago is named after a Spanish breed of bull that is elegant, a fitting description to this juicy unoaked red filled with lush blueberry and cassis notes.
Toro is known to produce extremely intense, full, and compact wines. Telmo Rodriguez’s take on this region is a fresher and more elegant style. He is one of the ambassadors of abandoning industrial and modern techniques to produce more terroir and artisan wine from abandoned vineyards.
Gold Selection Plan 2 - 29.95
1 Bottle of Red Wine and 1 bottle of White Wine (tax & shipping not included)
GUILLAUME GONNET 2023 COTES DU RHONE LE REVEUR
Grape Varietal: 80% Grenache, 20% Syrah
Origin: Cotes du Rhone, Rhone Valley South of France
This is truly a bountiful time for wines from the Southern Rhone. With a string of outstanding vintages and fantastic pricing, times have never been better to enjoy these delicious wines. This 80-20 blend of Grenache and Syrah crafted by Guillaume Gonnet is a perfect case in point. The quality of the fruit and the depth of flavor really stood out when we tasted this at the store.
WINE SPECTATOR 90 POINTS - "This is an exuberant, full-bodied Côtes du Rhône, with warm black plum and melted black licorice spiked with juniper and black pepper. Offers juicy deliciousness, with no rough edges, on an open-knit frame. There's a burst of freshness and herbs on the bright finish. Grenache and Syrah."
Miguel Torres 2023 Reserva Especial Chardonnay
Grape Varietal: 100% Chardonnay
Origin: Limari, Chile
Chardonnay is one of the greatest white grape varieties in the world, with a range of styles for a range of palates. The vivacious Cordillera del Los Andes Chardonnay from Chile is a brilliant example of where palates overlap! It shows a tension between tasty, ripe-fruit fleshiness and firm, broad-structured core, which provides liveliness and a sense of flow to the wine. Wood-fired fish, smoked salmon, lobster, and baked/tempura rolls from your favorite sushi bar are just some of the great food partners for this gem!
The Cordillera del Los Andes Chardonnay comes from one of the most exciting places for white wines in Chile: The Limarí river valley in the northern, semi-arid Coquimbo region. Home to a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, the character of this oasis valley is marked by mountains and ocean. The dramatic Andes to the East supply cold, dry air and meltwater; and the Pacific Ocean - just about 7 miles to the West of the vineyards - supplies cool, moist air and fog, offering relief from the drying summer sun.
The wine has the mid-weight feel, and the apple, ripe citrus and floral notes you might find in French Chardonnay; but the sunnier climate shows itself with a touch more concentration and tropical hints like fresh pineapple & lychee. There's an appetizing, well-meshed toasty & nutty accent to the fruit from fermenting and aging in mostly older French oak barrels. It also gives the wine a creamier edge that counters the core of brightness and savory, mineral sensations that are signatures of the wine's home. This is serious quality for the price!
Cordillera de Los Andes is a line of wines from the Miguel Torres family winery, the Chilean outpost of the prolific Familia Torres in Spain! Each wine comes from a distinctive valley and grape variety that represents it best.
Platinum Selection 1 - 49.95
San Pedro 2022 Sideral
Grape Varietal: 100% Syrah
Origin: Valle del Cachapoal, Chile
This is a seriously good and seriously made wine from the high altitudes near Chile’s Andes Mountains in a designated region known as the Valle del Cachapoal Andes. This blend of 71% Cabernet Sauvignon, 21% Syrah, 5% Petit Verdot, 2% Carmenere and 1% Cabernet Franc is an ageworthy wine that drinks big and beautifully bold now and will certainly mellow and deepen with a few decades in the cellar. Keep those grills a-blazing with this one! Steaks, chops, bison burgers, sausage pizza, you name it-- great for big football games, too!
The nose is deep and lustrous-- the star of the show here are the ripe fruits-- loads of cherry, blueberry, black cherry, blackberry… maybe a bit of plum. The fruits are joined by notes of midnight garden, violets, touches of mountain stream minerality and spice, graphite, cacao and light herbals. Lots going on! But, the mixed scents blend harmoniously and the wine smells wonderful.
In the mouth, the fruit still has the top billing as the mixed red and blue berries are uplifted by solid tannins and medium acidity. This is big wine! But it is balanced. The secondary flavors showcase tastes of earth, mineral, hillside brush, spice, truffle and chocolate nibs. The cherry and black cherry notes in the foreground (top billing!) are more pronounced on the medium-length finish. We were blown away by the absolute quality of this wine for the sub-$20 price. So much going on, and in the right way!
This would be an interested one to stock up on and cellar-- don’t get me wrong-- it’s amazing now-- but, tasting the evolution in the glass could be a fascinating study (for science and oenology, of course!) and probably very delicious, as well.
VINOUS 93 POINTS - "The 2022 Sideral is a blend of 71% Cabernet Sauvignon, 21% Syrah, 5% Petit Verdot, 2% Carménère and 1% Cabernet Franc, sourced from the Totihue Vineyard in the Cachapoal Andes. Fifty-five percent of the wine underwent barrel aging, while the remainder aged in foudres and amphorae. This garnet red wine reveals notes of currant and boldo, with a deep garrigue-like layer. Dry, juicy and finely structured due to its reactive tannins, it offers a lingering finish with a mild and savory character. The 2022 vintage showcases the most compact mouthfeel yet for this cuvée." Jaoquin Hildalgo
Il poggione 2022 Rosso di Montalcino
Grape Varietal: 100% Sangiovese
Origin: Tuscany, Italy
Il Poggione is one of the few Montalcino wineries that can claim commercial winemaking history going back to the late 1800s (Clemente Santi and his grandson Ferruccio Biondi have claim on being the originals). Today, it lives on as one of the largest quality Brunello producers.
This Rosso is a sort of "junior Brunello," sourced from younger vines, and aged for a year in French oak to polish the roughest edges.
"A dark, deep red, the 2022 Rosso di Montalcino smolders up with a blend of grilled herbs, dusty earth, incense and rose. It's cool-toned and lifted in feel, with soft textures and ripe violet-laced red berry fruits. This finishes staining and long with a youthfully chewy sensation and framing tannins. Sweet lavender and cocoa notes gradually taper off. " - Eric Guido, VINOUS MEDIA
Classic pairings are pasta with meat sauce, roasted, grilled meats and moderately-aged cow milk cheeses (e.g. anything like cheddar).
WINERY NOTES - "The story of Tenuta Il Poggione began at the end of the 19th century. It tells of Lavinio Franceschi, a landowner from Scandicci, on the hills that rise above Florence. Franceschi was so fascinated by the tales told by a shepherd moving his sheep to their summer pasture on the slopes of the Maremma between Montalcino and Sant’Angelo that he went to survey the place, caring nothing for the distance and dangers that commonly beset travellers in those days. He found his visit so interesting and the scenery so majestic that he decided to buy land there."
Platinum Selection 2 - 49.95
1 Bottle of Red Wine and 1 Bottle of White Wine (tax & shipping not included)
San Pedro 2022 Sideral
Grape Varietal: 100% Syrah
Origin: Valle del Cachapoal, Chile
This is a seriously good and seriously made wine from the high altitudes near Chile’s Andes Mountains in a designated region known as the Valle del Cachapoal Andes. This blend of 71% Cabernet Sauvignon, 21% Syrah, 5% Petit Verdot, 2% Carmenere and 1% Cabernet Franc is an ageworthy wine that drinks big and beautifully bold now and will certainly mellow and deepen with a few decades in the cellar. Keep those grills a-blazing with this one! Steaks, chops, bison burgers, sausage pizza, you name it-- great for big football games, too!
The nose is deep and lustrous-- the star of the show here are the ripe fruits-- loads of cherry, blueberry, black cherry, blackberry… maybe a bit of plum. The fruits are joined by notes of midnight garden, violets, touches of mountain stream minerality and spice, graphite, cacao and light herbals. Lots going on! But, the mixed scents blend harmoniously and the wine smells wonderful.
In the mouth, the fruit still has the top billing as the mixed red and blue berries are uplifted by solid tannins and medium acidity. This is big wine! But it is balanced. The secondary flavors showcase tastes of earth, mineral, hillside brush, spice, truffle and chocolate nibs. The cherry and black cherry notes in the foreground (top billing!) are more pronounced on the medium-length finish. We were blown away by the absolute quality of this wine for the sub-$20 price. So much going on, and in the right way!
This would be an interested one to stock up on and cellar-- don’t get me wrong-- it’s amazing now-- but, tasting the evolution in the glass could be a fascinating study (for science and oenology, of course!) and probably very delicious, as well.
VINOUS 93 POINTS - "The 2022 Sideral is a blend of 71% Cabernet Sauvignon, 21% Syrah, 5% Petit Verdot, 2% Carménère and 1% Cabernet Franc, sourced from the Totihue Vineyard in the Cachapoal Andes. Fifty-five percent of the wine underwent barrel aging, while the remainder aged in foudres and amphorae. This garnet red wine reveals notes of currant and boldo, with a deep garrigue-like layer. Dry, juicy and finely structured due to its reactive tannins, it offers a lingering finish with a mild and savory character. The 2022 vintage showcases the most compact mouthfeel yet for this cuvée." Jaoquin Hildalgo
El Enemigo 2023 Chardonnay
Grape Varietal: 100% Chardonnay
Origin: Mendoza, Argentina
JAMES SUCKLING 96 POINTS - "Salty and spicy, with aromas of ginger, cardamom, lemons and sea salt. The palate is medium- to full-bodied, sharp and pungent, with a precise, saline character. Rich, focused and delicious. From grapes grown in Gualtallary. Fermented and aged in French oak, of which 35% was new."
It shouldn't be too surprising that the wine is this good, as El Enemigo has the pedigree: it's a collaboration between Adriana Catena and Alejandro Vigil, chief winemaker for Argentinian powerhouse Catena Zapata. The winery was named to represent their irreverence for the status quo ("the enemy"), and their Chardonnay certainly lives up to that, as it's made in a style that breaks from the norm for New World whites!
In a unique twist for most Chardonnays, El Enemigo's is aged almost completely under a "veil" of yeast that serves as a barrier between the wine and air, a common technique in the Jura region of France. This form of aging contributes to the savory and softened fruit aspects that rein in the piercing, freshly-fruited profile of Chardonnay grown in the intense sunlight of the high-altitude Gualtallary region of Mendoza, Argentina.
All White Selection - No more than $49.95
2 Bottles of White Wine (tax & shipping not included)
El Enemigo 2023 Chardonnay
Grape Varietal: 100% Chardonnay
Origin: Mendoza, Argentina
JAMES SUCKLING 96 POINTS - "Salty and spicy, with aromas of ginger, cardamom, lemons and sea salt. The palate is medium- to full-bodied, sharp and pungent, with a precise, saline character. Rich, focused and delicious. From grapes grown in Gualtallary. Fermented and aged in French oak, of which 35% was new."
It shouldn't be too surprising that the wine is this good, as El Enemigo has the pedigree: it's a collaboration between Adriana Catena and Alejandro Vigil, chief winemaker for Argentinian powerhouse Catena Zapata. The winery was named to represent their irreverence for the status quo ("the enemy"), and their Chardonnay certainly lives up to that, as it's made in a style that breaks from the norm for New World whites!
In a unique twist for most Chardonnays, El Enemigo's is aged almost completely under a "veil" of yeast that serves as a barrier between the wine and air, a common technique in the Jura region of France. This form of aging contributes to the savory and softened fruit aspects that rein in the piercing, freshly-fruited profile of Chardonnay grown in the intense sunlight of the high-altitude Gualtallary region of Mendoza, Argentina.
Mentor Winery 2024 Assyrtiko
Grape Varietal: 100% Assyrtiko
Origin: PGI Pangeon, Greece
ORGANIC
Color: Bright lemon color with green highlights.
Nose: Complex aromatic palette where mineral aromatic elements coexist with the aromas of citrus fruits (citrus and lime) and spring white flowers.
Palate: Rich, full-bodied with lively acidity, interspersed with aromas of citrus fruits and herbs with intense mineral elements. A fine wine with a long, persistent aftertaste.
This wine is produced by George Vourvoukeli a famous winemaker in Greece.
Champagne Selection - No more than $49.95
1 Bottle of Champagne (tax & shipping not included)
Louise Brison 2018 Brut Nature A l’Aube de la cote des Bars
Grape Varietal: 50% Chardonnay, 50% Pinot Noir
Origin: Noe-les-Mallets, Cote des bar
Totaling 70% of the estate’s bottled production, the frankly named “A l’Aube de la Côte des Bar” consists of 50% Pinot Noir and 50% Chardonnay—roughly the same proportion to which the vineyards are planted—from this zone’s soils of Kimmeridgian marl.
Grapes are destemmed, fermented spontaneously in steel, and aged for nine months in used barrels averaging seven years of age with no malolactic fermentation; the wine then spends a minimum of five years on its lees, with secondary fermentation induced with organic beet sugar, and it is disgorged with no dosage.
Recent decades have seen an explosion of grower-bottled Champagnes from the Aube, although as elsewhere in the region these still comprise a strong minority. With its noble Kimmeridgian soils, the Aube-particularly in its primary viticultural zone of the Cote des Bar-can produce wines of striking mineral clarity and power. That vinosity, which a young generation of growers in the Marne now seeks to capture in their wines, comes naturally to the Aube, and while their frankness may run counter to the more frou-frou sensibilities perpetuated by the big names up north, Aube wines are manna for those who prize individuality and sense of place.