Fall is my favorite time of year. After five months of oppressive Texas heat, temperatures finally begin to wane and the colors start to change. I eat and drink seasonally, so after an entire summer of thirst quenching white and rosé wine, I am chomping at the bit for heartier fare and big, structured red wines.

Fall also brings our biggest wine sale of the year, so what better way to kick off our new interactive wine forum than featuring a few selections from the sale!

The sale is highlighted by the celebrated arrival of 2005 Bordeaux. This vintage has received some very lofty praise from the looming wine press. This praise is not without merit. Indeed, this is the finest young vintage that I have tasted from top to bottom. With high expectations, high praise and high scores, also brings high prices. This is the most expensive vintage in Bordeaux history. In today’s market, wine savvy customers are becoming increasingly aware of quality and the relationship between quality and price. With that in mind, here are some superb offerings that won't require a second mortgage to acquire.

A votre santé

Lance Storer

Chateau Marjosse Blanc 2005:
The little gem hails from the Entré-Deux-Mers, a large and oft maligned area in Bordeaux that lies between the rivers Dordogne and Garonne. Much of the wine produced here is light, under ripe and insipid juice better left across the pond as a simple bistro quaff. Fortunately for us, a few visionary winemakers have seen the potential of this gorgeous region to produce quality wine at a fair price. Such is the case with Chateau Marjosse under the direction of Pierre Lurton (director of Chateaux Cheval Blanc and d'Yquem).

The 2005 blanc is a blend of 55% Sauvignon Blanc, 40% Semillon and 5% Muscadelle. It boasts fresh white and exotic fruit aromas with underlying white flowers and citrus notes. Throughout the mid-palate, the wine remains fresh, lively and balanced and shows very good persistence in the finish. Chateau Marjosse represents our greatest value in dry white Bordeaux.
Everyday: $14.99   On sale now: $12.99

Chateau La Prade 2005:
The Thienpont family is responsible for a few of Saint-Emilion and Pomerols most acclaimed wines. Names like Pavie-Macquin, Vieux Chateau Certan and Le Pin can send shivers up the spine for even the most discerning Bordeaux aficionado. In 1946, the Thienpont tribe began leading the charge in the lesser known appellation of the Cotes de Francs with the acquisition of Chateau Puygueraud. In 2000, they added La Prade and just a few years later, they turn out this 2005 vintage, which can easily go head to head with many of its Saint-Emilion neighbors.

This beauty is driven by Merlot and crams a LOT of black and red fruit into the bottle for a very modest price. The tannins are velvety smooth and the finish goes well over a minute. Back the truck up for this one folks! 
Everyday: $27.99   On sale now: $23.99

Chateau Les Grands Chênes 2005:
Bernard Magrez is best well known for bringing us the highly sought after Chateau Pape-Clement, however, his involvement at Chateau Les Grands Chênes has brought the property to the forefront of the Cru Bourgeois Medoc quality spectrum. Every effort is utilized to provide ripe, high quality juice at a fair price, including green harvesting, hand picking and sorting, destemming, gravity flow into small temperature controlled vats, manual punch downs and aging in new French oak barrels for 18 months.

The result is a highly stylish offering showing off rich, chocolate tinged black fruit aromas and flavors, framed by a firm structure and sweet, ripe tannins. This is a lot of wine for the fare. Robert M. Parker Jr. shares our enthusiasm for the wine, giving it 91 points and a "sleeper of the vintage" moniker.
Everyday: $29.99   On sale now: $25.99