This Week's Tasting
Selected Wines, Big Discounts
February 4, 2026
Exciting Chance to Pick Up Something Great!
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This Week Wednesday, February 4, 2026 Selected Wines, Big Discounts Exciting Chance to Pick Up Something Great In-Store, 5 - 6:30pm
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Great discounts on
A white favorite value
Three different takes on Pinot Noir
A Provencal red
Not your usual Napa
and a Twenty-Year-Old Port
White
2022 Domaine Michel Bedu Cuvee Silex Les Valiens Le Canard
Sancerre vigneron Michel Bedu made a boo-boo. He blended into his Sancerre some wine from a parcel just outside the permitted Sancerre area. The French labeling powers came down on him like a ton of briques. and forced him to remove from his Sancerre vats and sell as Vin ordinaire an amount equal to the production of the infamous plot.
Enter the canard, the French word for duck, but in it'rary circles, the term for a false belief. Was it a bit of ironic humor that M. Bedu decided to tell us that this was a falsely labeled vin ordinaire, but in reality, finer?
A year ago, this was our customers’ favorite Sauvignon Blanc. Its importer recently got more from Bedu for a restaurant that found themselves unable to take it, so they offered us a discount. It has softened since we first had it but still has Sancerre character. We recommend it to drink this winter and spring, not longer.
It is a much lighter expression of Sancerre with lemon over a grace note of flint. Inexpensive enough as aperitif, but also good partner for shell- and white-fleshed fish.
Aroma: lightly pretty firm, clean, lightly herbal, deep, fresh; Mouth: clean a touch of flint a sweet rich touch with a low underlying fleshy and soft; Very Good was 418.99 now $16.99; Case, $14.99
Red
Pinot Noir ,Three Styles of Quality
Herbal and Bright
2021 Villa Maria Pinot Noir Taylor's Pass Vineyard
From a warmer site in New Zealand's Marlborough region, this single-vineyard pinot is much riper and fuller than most of its regional peers. It is young and wants some breathing or decanting, but given either, it is full fleshed and savory with good body and depth, great at our price.
Color: medium dark, fresh; Aroma: fresh pretty, very dark black raspberry; Mouth: juicy plummy full dense a touch of sweetness, deep fruit, nice acidity, clean; Very Good Plus Was $45, Now $29.95; Case, $25.95
Impeccably Pure
2020 Alphonse Mellot Sancerre La Moussiere Rouge
Sancerre is one of the trendiest whites these days. Although its pinot noir red is valued and more expensive in France, few in this country know it exists. Mellot's importer had a hard time selling it and offered us a greatly reduced price. This fine producer's 2020 has a clean lifted line over dark pinot fruit, seamless and pure in the pleasure it gives. It is the most elegantly poised Pinot that we have tasted at anywhere near our price. It will be at my house, and I can’t recommend too strongly for yours.
Color: very dark black red; Aroma: very sweet very dense, rich very dense; Mouth: sweet dense with utterly pure ripe cherry fruit, impeccable balance, fine tannins, rather full; Excellent Was $56, Now $35; Case, $29.95
Rich, Complex and Layered
2018 U. S. Grant Pinot Noir Union Vineyard Santa Cruz Mountains
I tasted this with Michael Terrien, formerly of Hanzell. They do everything natural and right, spontaneous long slow fermentation in concrete, low sulfur, two years aging in barrel. Originally planted in 1863, the vineyard was replanted in 2004. The result: thick and layered and complex with wood and mineral notes that fill the mouth and pleasure the palette. It is savory, heady and complex and will stand up to the richest foods you serve. Give it some air to drink now but it should age beautifully for ten years or more.
Aroma: Bright intense incisive, fresh, tight clean, very rich, rather herbal, Massive, less evolved, rather rich, full, fast, fine acid, impeccable balance, lightest wood note; Mouth: Clean poised younger fine acid tannin, Impeccable balance and poise, light tannin, rather firm; Excellent – Outstanding Was $115 Now $79; Case of Six, $68
2022 Mas de Gourgonnier Les Baux de Provence
In the higher cooler Alpilles of northern Provence this is a tasty blend of grenache, cabernet sauvignon, syrah, mourvèdre, Carignan, that is smooth and softly spicy. We don’t have much at this price, If it sells out before the tasting, we will open some of the slightly more expensive version with no added sulfur.
Color: very dark heady and rich, very intense, full; Aroma: very dark heady and rich, very intense, full, plummy and rich very full; Mouth: bright and full, sweet acid, rounded higher toned, with good dark fruit under, fine acid earthy finish, long; Very Good Plus was $22.99 Now $19.99; Case, $16.99 limited
2019 Bootleg Napa Red
A different sort of red from Napa Valley, it has the solidity and depth that you expect from Napa, but it comes from different grapes; about half Petite Syrah 40% or so Merlot and just a little bit of the two cabernets. It has a light note of spicy acidity in the nose which adds lift to its wood-inflected satisfying richness that is smooth and mature. fFr hearty winter foods. Very Good Plus Was $45, now $29.99, case $24.99
Port
Smith- Woodhouse 20-Year-Old Tawny
Just before last week’s port tasting we were offered this at s a huge discount that we could not turn down It was just as good as the famous producer’s version that we were going to feature at $72. We had been selling this at $65 but found we could sell it at even lower than that case. It ranks with the best 20-year Tawnies at a price none of them can match. If you are not one of the many people who purchased it at last week's tasting, you’ll have another chance.
Aroma: Light clean firm full very structured. Mouth: Light rounder sweeter fruit clean very intense sweet lightly full rich Very Good- Excellent Our discounted price was $65, Now $54, case $48
Len Rothenberg
Mix any twelve of these at their case discounts
At the tasting, get any bottles at their discounted case prices.
Order by phone at 617.367.8605, or reserve here: order@federalwine.com
Please pass this on to any friends who are wine enthusiasts!
- Len Rothenberg
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