I was wrong. The Burgundy-shaped bottle for the number five wine was not for a Pinot Noir or Chardonnay, but for another Rhone, the 2005 Vieux Telegraphe Le Crau. I find it fairly amazing and intriguing that no Chards or Pinots will make the top ten. Unless the WS pulls a graphical switch, the remaining bottles all appear to be of the Bordeaux variety.

Expect at least two more 2005 Bordeaux, a Napa Cab, and who knows what else? Maybe a super-Tuscan.

Right now, wines ten through five have been revealed, and they are:

10. 2007 Seghesio Sonoma County Zinfandel
9. 2007 Mollydooker Carnival of Love Shiraz
8. 2005 Chateau de Beaucastel Chateauneuf-du-Pape
7. 2005 Chateau Pontet-Canet Pauillac
6. 2004 Pio Cesare Barolo
5. 2005 Domaine du Vieux Telegraphe Chateauneuf-du-Pape Le Crau

It’s that time…the week when the Spectator reveals its Top Ten from their Top 100 WOTY issue. Looks like decent sized production is a factor, with the 2007 Seghesio Sonoma County Zinfandel ranked at #10 (68,000 cases made, $24/bottle, 93 points) and the 2007 Mollydooker Carnival of Love Shiraz taking the #9 position (2,596 cases made, $90/bottle, 95 points).

We actually got an allocation of the Carnival of Love this year and decided not to take it, since $90 just seemed over the edge of fair. Oh well, I suppose now it wouldn’t have been an issue unloading it, but you live and learn.

On a more important note, so far there are no winners in the guessing game, with no participants having chosen either Seghesio or Mollydooker in their entries to the d547 contest.

Last week we experimented with an incentive…order a certain dollar amount, and get a bonus bottle with your order. We started off with a bang (or maybe a shake) with some wines from Mollydooker. It was a great success — all the Gigglepot Cab is gone, though nobody really went for the sparkling Shiraz — so we’re going to make this a semi-regular thing. We’ve also decided to call this our “Bonus Bottle” program.

Here’s our offer for Bonus Bottle number two. We’re moving closer to home this week, with the 2005 Jack William “The King” Cabernet Sauvignon from the Alexander Valley. When we first carried this, it retailed for $37 a bottle and we felt it was a steal even then. We far prefer this wine to Silver Oak and Jordan, two Alexander Valley perennials that are more about hype and brand name than integrity of the juice.

A couple of weeks ago, we got the last cases available from our distributor and were able to lower the price to $27 as the vintage was being closed out. So the wine went from a great value to an even greater one. And you can make it an even better deal — in fact, a veritable steal.

Make a purchase of $85 or more, and use the code “king” during check-out to get a bonus bottle of this fantastic Cabernet with your order. In fact, the way our coupon codes work out, you’ll also be saving a penny off the total. Limited quantity of bonus bottles available. When the supply runs out, the code will stop working. So go get yourself some wine and a bonus bottle now!

We’re down to the last of our ‘06 Mollydookers, a few stray bottles of the Gigglepot Cab and the Goosebumps Sparkling Shiraz; in an effort to clear our shelves (and boost sales, let’s face it) we’vee decided to run a little promotion: orders of $100 or more will qualify for either a free bottle of either of these wines, your choice.

Only six available (4 Cab, 2 Shiraz). Just use coupon code “gigglepot” during checkout if you want the Cabernet, or “goosebumps” if you prefer the Sparkler. Both wines are valued at $50. Once we’ve run out of bottles, the codes will no longer work. Happy shopping!