PAUL HOBBS IMPORTS Spring 2014 Newsletter

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1 PAUL HOBBS IMPORTS Spring 2014 Newsletter In 2014, Paul Hobbs winemaking trail leads us to France and the US launch of Crocus, Paul s first French wine. Produced in partnership with Bertrand-Gabriel Vigouroux, whose family has over 150 years of experience with malbec in Cahors, Crocus is the perfect marriage of tradition and innovation. In this Spring Offering we introduce four first-ever releases, seven new vintage wines and we make available to you the best of our portfolio to stock up your cellar for the summer. Let s take a look... Chateau Haute Serre, one of the three Cahors estates where Crocus originates. Vineyard first planted in the 1500 s

2 Brief introduction to French malbec Pre-phylloxera (1865), Bordeaux had vast tracts planted to malbec. The Bordelaise abandoned the variety after the epidemic due to its lackadaisical fruit-setting characteristics and modest yields. Upstream from La Gironde however, following the Lot river a little over 100 miles to the East-South-East, lays Cahors, with a winegrowing tradition dating back to Roman Empire times. And where malbec has remained entrenched. With generations of savoir-faire and naturally dry-farmed, Cahors malbec shows a very intimate relation with its terroir and expresses itself in elegant depth and layers. Haute Serre vineyard, Cahors, France with its red clay soils and calcareous rocks

3 Crocus malbec, Cahors Paul s French partner s family started a négociant company 1861 in Cahors. Later, the third generation grew deeper roots, buying land and replanting several historic sites in Cahors, championing malbec in its return from the ravages of the phylloxera epidemic. (see page 9 ) Bertrand-Gabriel Vigouroux traveled to Mendoza in 2008 to see the progress of malbec there, and a fellow Frenchman referred him to Paul Hobbs. Bertrand invited Paul to Cahors to discuss a partnership and they decided to start a relationship through consulting work. Two years later the first vintage of Crocus was produced. Crocus blends Cahors terroir and French savoir-faire with innovation and pioneering work spearheaded by Paul in redefining Malbec de Cahors. Crocus comes from a single malbec clone grown on three historic Vigouroux family properties on distinct terraces of the Lot River Valley: Haute-Serre vineyard sits at a windy 500 feet above the valley floor. Fruit from this rocky site dominated by clay and limestone displays red berries, elegant tannins, finesse and great length. Leret-Monpezat, on the middle terraces of the valley slope, contributes sublime floral notes and firm tannins. Mercuès lays closest to the Lot River. This densely planted vineyard on heavier soils, with greater exposure to moisture, adds dark fruit notes, sucrosity, and volume to the blend.

4 New wines Argentina Continuing with the introductions, from France we head to Mendoza, to bring to you the inaugural release of Cocodrilo, Viña Cobos new blend. The name may be familiar to some Viña Cobos fans as it was the original name for Felino Cabernet. The very limited production of Cobos Volturno, the winery s top wine, left the winemaking partners yearning for another outlet for their assemblage skills, where art meets viticulture and cellar-craft. The 2012 Cocodrilo, a cabernet sauvignon-dominated blend, is our second featured new wine this Spring. Pérez Cruz winery, Maipo-Andes, Chile

5 New Wines Chile Crossing the Andes to Chile, Pérez Cruz releases for the first time in the US Pircas de Liguai Cabernet Sauvignon and the Limited Edition Cabernet Franc. Pircas are the stone walls that line the Liguai estate blocks - an elegant way to utilize the abundance of big rocks removed from the vineyard rows. Sourced from the best cabernet sauvignon blocks in the property, this is the flagship varietal wine for Pérez Cruz. The Limited Edition Cabernet Franc joins our growing offering of cabernet francs from Pulenta, Riglos and Stratus. We are excited to see this variety finally garnering the respect and enthusiasm it deserves.

6 New vintage wines in this Offering We are proud to release to our mail list members seven new-vintage wines Bramare Malbec Valle de Uco the darker side of malbec: blue/black fruits, dense, elegant palate and the concentration you ve come to expect from our wines 2011 Finca 8 Malbec - the 2011 is impressive and concentrated, with vivid huckleberry, layered over plums and violets. Quintessential La Consulta (Valle de Uco) Pérez Cruz Chaski our only 100% Petit Verdot shows the powerful seductive notes of the varietal in a perfumed, very feminine example Pérez Cruz Quelen bewitching. Winemaker German Lyon calls this is a reverse Bordeaux blend, where the lesser varietals in Bordeaux take stage center. Petit verdot, carménère and cot Pérez Cruz Liguai Liguai, the fortune teller in the Mapungdun language of the local native tribe. A blend of cabernet sauvignon, carménère and syrah, deeply intertwined with the Maipo Andes terroir Riglos Gran Malbec an awaited release from the Las Divas Vineyard. The 2012 is powerful and quite young. One to lay down for a few months and/or decant for a few hours Riglos Gran Cabernet Sauvignon mountain Cab, taken to 4,000 feet elevation, with the fragrances of the high desert, great concentration and minerality. One to lay down for a few months and/or decant for a few hours.

7 Stock Your Cellar With more wines from everywhere in the world available to you than ever before, what could go wrong? Statistics. A normal distribution bell curve proposes that the vast majority of the wines available will be average. Life is too short to drink average wines. You want to be selective. Paul Hobbs Imports, by design, helps you with this. Our wines are already vetted by Paul and our team to ensure every single one of them will over-deliver at their price point. With this in mind, we open our portfolio of current releases in this Offering for you to make some easy picks for your cellar. See the list on the next page.

8 STOCK YOUR CELLAR Viña Cobos - Mendoza, Argentina Bramare Appellation Series 2011 Bramare Cabernet Sauvignon, Luján de Cuyo $ Bramare Malbec, Luján de Cuyo $45 Bramare Vineyard Designate 2011 Bramare Cabernet Sauvignon, Marchiori Vineyard * $ Bramare Malbec, Rebón Vineyard * $ Bramare Malbec, Marchiori Vineyard * $95 Cobos 2010 Cobos Malbec, Marchiori Vineyard * $ Cobos Malbec, Marchiori Vineyard - Signed 1.5L Magnum $ Cobos Volturno, Marchiori Vineyard * $230 * Six-bottle orders of this wine ship with a custom wood box Per bottle Stratus Vineyards - VQA Niagara - Lakeshore - Canada 2009 Stratus White (Sém, Sauv Blanc, Chard, Viog, Gewürtz) $ Stratus Red (Cab Franc, Cab Sauv, Syrah, Petit Verdot) $ Stratus Cabernet Franc $ Stratus Riesling Icewine (375ml) $70 Bodega Riglos - Tupungato, Mendoza - Argentina 2011 Riglos Gran Cabernet Franc $ Riglos Gran Corte $50 Pulenta Estate - Alto Agrelo, Mendoza - Argentina 2011 Pulenta Gran Pinot Noir $ Pulenta Gran Cabernet Franc $ Pulenta Gran Malbec $40 NV Pulenta Tardío Late Harvest Cabernet Franc $40 Finca 8 - La Consulta, Mendoza - Argentina 2009 Finca 8 Reserva Malbec $45

9 Each of our offerings affords us the opportunity to reconnect with you and introduce our fans to our latest endeavors following Paul Hobbs lead. Have questions or comments? Please us or call us at ext 17. Saludos, Paul Hobbs Imports