Vilafonte Series C is Mmmmmm....

I'm a lover of fine cabernets, merlots, cab franc and petit verdot. What I love in particular about Bordeaux-style blends are how wine makers can magically mastermind the blending of wines. Vilafonte Series C is one of them. When you take the lush region of Simon-Paarl, blend it together with the finest grapes in the region and add in a little hand-selective grape action, and the magic wand of Zelma Long coupled with viticulturist husband Peter Freese you get 45 barrels of a wine so powerful, its intensity is surely to be enjoyed by the special loved one. Mixing it up and bringing it to Valentine's as your husband's love gift is sure to give you one heck of love filled gift!

Guidalberto...An Iron Fist in a Velvet Glove.

Nestled within the hills of Tuscany, just outside the town of Bolgheri and 5 miles inland from the coast is the pristine vineyards of Tenuta San Guido. The vineyards are comprised of orchards and a stud farm for thoroughbred horses. The vineyard first started with what is widely considered to be the first "Super Tuscan" Sassicaia in the 1940's. Wine was produced entirely for family drinking and hospitality purposes by Marchese Nicolò Incisa Della Rocchetta and his family who have inhabited this land for hundreds of years. Years later, his wines would become widely recognized against top Bordeaux wines at various international wine competitions. As the vineyards grew in popularity, the family expanded the production to include a small plot of land which is abuts the Sassicaia vineyards. Mario Incisa Della Rocchetta would use this land to launch the first new wine since Sassicaia in 1968. The wine would be called Guidalberto Della Gherardesca, named after a local viticulturist in the 1800's. This wine has a unique characteristic among Super Tuscan wines in that even in it's youth, its very approachable. This wine has developed a complexity and chewy texture structure that can only be described as exquisite. The grapes (45% Merlot, 45% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Sangiovese/ 60% Cabernet S. and 40% Merlot from vintage 2006 ) produce a full body wine with the right curves which gave me a warm, reminded feeling. The best way to describe this wine is - an iron fist in a velvet glove.

So do you really need to ask why we chose to pair this knock out baby with this incredible art piece that graced the cover of Playboy Magazine in August of 1976? The answer to this is simple, imagination sparks creation. Hef and Mario have a lot in common.

Playboy WIne Review: 2006 Groom Barossa Valley Shiraz Barrel Selection

Another great find for the Playboy Wine Collection came when I found a friend of a friend of Daryl Groom. Daryl Groom is to Australian Shiraz as Nobu Matsuhisa is to sushi. Reading about Daryl told me that where you find good wine, you'll find a fine winemaker. From 1984 to 1990 Daryl was responsible for the production of Australia's darling Pensfold Grange. Australia has the fantastic climate for growing grapes requiring a bit of tanning. His Barossa Valley Shiraz this year got an impressive series of scores from wine writers. When I found this out, I felt like the kid who opened a tin box to uncover an Honus Wagner card. Luckily I had managed to get Daryl to help us with a solid representation Australian Shiraz. Upon releasing his barrel selection to the wine that received 91 pts, by Wine Spectator, and 96 by James Halliday, I was blown away by what seems to be a wine prodigy who continuously makes great wines. And for those of you who don't yet know, he's got a new winery coming called Foggy Bridge. Stay tuned!

Playboy Wine Review - Cirsion

There are great wines, and then there are phenominal wines. Phenominal wines are not of typical nature, nor do they maintain the conventional brand names that ring like a cliche in a stuffy country club. They come from farmers with tough hands. Those who collectively choose the best plot of land, where they intend to grow their life's acheivement. To honor the strict nature of the pursuit of perfection, they even harvest the wines and cherry pick grapes to ensure perfection in every single bottle. They barrel taste wines often to ensure the balance of the wines. Take for example the RODA Cirsion, a small production high altitude tempranillo. Unlike most vineyards with limitless valley terrain, this farmer pulls from up to 100 year old vines, from vineyards that have super low yields thus higher concentrations of organic nutrients that they have a very unique expression. Its like a wine I have never had before, thick and juicy, but uniquely structured to have a delicate texture. It feels as almost as if it is its own unique grape. While its not something I would normally have with dinner, its certainly a wine I'd love to share with someone special.

2008 Playboy Collector Series Wines and Scores!

Its one month into the Playboy Collector's Series and we've got some great news! All wines are to be released by Mid December, in time for the Holidays. Since the release date in Late September, we've received word that the 2006 Sette Ponti Oreno, the 5th wine of the 2008 Playboy Collector's Series, was awarded the prestigious title of #16 inside the Wine Spectator Top 100 Wines of 2008!

Here is a list of the wines by month and the awards associated:

1. 2005 Janzen Napa Valley Cabernet, 92 pts by Wine Enthusiast
2. 2005 Gargiulo Money Road Cabernet Sauvignon, Top 20 New Wineries by Wines and Spirits Magazine.
3. 2003 St. Supery Dollarhide Cabernet Sauvignon, Gold Medal Taster's Guild International Wine Competition
4. 2003 Schug Heritage Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, 92 pts. Wine Enthusiast
5. 2006 Sette Ponti Oreno, 96 pts Wine Spectator, #15 Top 100 Wines of 2008
6. 2005 Vilafonte Series C, not yet scored, previous vintages yield 90-91 Pts by Wine Spectator
7. 2006 San Guido Guidalberto by Sassicaia, 92 pts by Wine Spectator
8. 2004 Nadia Santa Barbara Red Wine, not yet scored.
9. 2005 Bodegas RODA Cirsion, 93 pts Wine Spectator
10. 2006 Groom Barossa Valley Shiraz, Winemaker's Barrel Selection, 90+ pts by Wine Spectator
11. 2001 Tom Eddy Cabernet Sauvignon, not yet scored, consistent 90-91 by Wine Spectator
12. 2005 Robert Craig Mt. Veeder Cabernet Sauvingon, not yet scored, consistently 90-94 pts by Wine Advocate, Robert Parker

Based on our last tasting of Playboy Wines, and the success of our article on Wine Spectator, Luxist Magazine, and a few others, we feel very fortunate to be working with such prestigious and talented wine makers. We'll be keeping you updated on the 2008 Playboy Wine Collection. FYI, we will be shipping the first waves of product to our retailer partners in Chicago, Las Vegas, and New York for mid-December delivery.

Full Bodied Wines: As Posted by Urban Daddy Chicago

October 08, 2008
Dear Hef: We understand times are tough. The magazine has seen better days, and now Kendra, one of your girlfriends, announced she was leaving. Worse, we passed by the grotto the other day. It was empty but for one small orgy. Here—cheer up. Have a glass of wine. It's actually one of your own. It's from the new Playboy High-End Collector's Series. You were sleeping through the last boardroom meeting about this stuff, so we'll give you a quick refresher. This isn't the kind of mass-market vino that you'll find other celebrities hawking (cough, Ditka). The twelve wines in the series are culled from highly allocated selections from boutique wineries in California, Oregon and—because occasionally your palate needs a break from places next door—also Spain, Italy, Australia and beyond.Plus, each of the wines is adorned with an iconic bunny from the Playboy archives who best represents the character of the wine. As you would expect, most are full-bodied, well-structured and, more often than not, luscious.The bottles are available individually, but we're going to sign you up for the entire twelve-month plan.We know how you like a good subscription.

Forever in your debt, UrbanDaddy Chicago (post here)

Wine Spectator: Playboy Bunnies Wrap Themselves Around Wine Bottles

Posted: Wednesday, October 08, 2008 on Wine Spectator Online (here)

Wine collectors might have a reason to rethink their cellar organization system. Regions and vintages could take a backseat to racking bottles by month—January through December—because Playboy Enterprises is dipping its toes into the wine market. Following the success of their 2006 collaboration with Marilyn Wines, the company has recently announced its new wine of the month club, offering well-respected labels such as Miss February 1962 and Miss July 1964. Each bottle will have a different photo label featuring a Playboy cover from the 1960s and 70s, arguably the magazine's classiest decades. And oh, right, the wine! Playmates for this project include Schug, Janzen and St. Supery, and apparently the wine in each bottle is meant to reflect the qualities of the specific cover model (though we find it hard to imagine writing a tasting note using the terms blond, blue-eyed and busty). Now, if they only offered a wine collection that used text from vintage issues of Playboy as labels, because everyone knows the real reason to subscribe to the magazine is for the articles.