Bargain Wines at ABA

Join me for an 8 person dinner of Bargain wines with one white wine and four red wines. We will be dining at group favorite, ABA Turkish. Most of these wines came from WA state marketers Garagiste and Full Pull. One came from Last Bottle. A few of these were Mystery wines, where I got a basic description of the wine, but the producer was unknown to me until the bottle arrived. Should be fun!

The cost for this event is $19, and is for the wine only.

PLUS a reminder of our usual rules:

You will also have to pay the cost of your food (plus 33% for tax and tip). Please order at least two courses (i.e. a main dish and either appetizer or dessert) for your dinner. There are very few restaurants that allow us to bring our own wine for a low corkage fee. We must be good guests to encourage the restaurant to continue to be generous to us.

Please read and understand the group's cancellation policy. If you take spot, then cancel, and no one else takes the spot, you will not receive a refund or credit. No refunds or credits will be given for no-shows or late cancellations (unless someone else takes your spot). All cancellations are subject to a $5 service fee.

Here is a link to the menu....
ABA TURKISH RESTAURANT MENU

NOTE: Meetup has started charging a "Partner Fee" that is above and in addition to the listed price of the event. It comes to approximately $3 more for each RSVP. You will see this charge when you complete your rsvp and pay for the event. MEETUP+ members are exempt from this charge.

Please use public transportation - NO DRINKING AND DRIVING!

The Wines (notes will be distributed at the dinner):
2021 Domaine Glantenay Bourgogne-Aligoté ($21) - I love Aligote and think it is one of the bargains of the wine world. NOTE: I bought 4 bottles of this and have already had 2, and I found some big time bottle variation between those first 2 bottles. So what will we find with this one? From the importer, "From a .2 hectare parcel of 45+ year old vines in the En Juillet lieu dit. They make roughly 125 cases of this in a good year, but just 50 cases in 2021! This is downright classical in its sense of body and cut, a refreshingly mineral and white floral example that screams Bourguignon.

2024 Adam Lee Pinot Noir Phone Booth ($21) - From CA's Santa Lucia Highlands and a Last Bottle purchase. I can't find the original sales pitch, but here is Vinous' 93 point review for the 2023 version. "The 2023 Pinot Noir (Santa Lucia Highlands) is a rich, expressive wine that shows all the hallmarks of a long growing season in its concentration and complexity. Dark, slightly salty fruit meets heightening tones of chapparal herbs and stony minerals. This is impeccably balanced and totally approachable. (Drink between 2025-2035)

2017 Reynvaan Family Vineyards Syrah The Unnamed Series ($23) - Reynvaan stopped making this cuvee after the 2019 vintage. It comes from WA state's Walla Walla district. From the importer, "The 2017 “Unnamed” Syrah is an anomaly (unlike any other vintage of the wine) and folks have always wondered if this one specific vintage of “Unnamed” was pretty much the same wine (or a slightly junior version) as the actual Reynvaan “In the Hills” or “Foothills in the Sun” or “Contender” or some combination of their estate Syrah parcels (all trade in the $60-90 range)? We have no idea, but our intuition is a resounding “yes”.

2019 W. T. Vintners Syrah Les Collines Vineyard ($25) - Also from Walla Walla. A one bottle purchase of a Mystery wine from Full Pull. Oddly enough I also bought a Mystery wine from a different vintner, and a different grape, but the same vineyard, from Garagiste the same week! CT 92.3, Owen Bargreen 93 points, "The 2019 Syrah Les Collines Vineyard is sourced from a hilltop location that has become one of the great sites for Syrah, and underwent 100% whole-cluster fermentation. It shows off really a good aromatic range, offering garrigue, violets, wet stone, beef drippings and suggestions of blood orange zest. The palate has a refined mouthfeel and quite literally bursts with mouthwatering acidity and flavor. Kirsch and dark currants combine with shades of iodine, fresh sage and copious minerals on the palate. (Drink between 2021-2031)"

2020 Basina Tribidrag ($25) - A Croatian wine and Tribidrag is the Croation term for Zinfandel. At 13% alcohol is less alcohol than almost any US Zin. It is more elegant. Think of a Pinot Noir influenced Zinfandel. I've had 2 bottles and really enjoyed them.