2021 Wine

Organic/Bio From deep Southern Italy comes this delicious, gutsy, but still nicely fresh take on Primitivo, the Italian cousin to Zinfandel. There’s plenty of dark black plum and blackberry preserve fruit at the core with... Read More

Organic/Bio From Anna Espelt's granite-soiled Catalunya vineyard surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea on three sides, this is Garnacha with layers and a satisfyingly chunky feel. The dark red fruit and fresh herb/garrigue complexity... Read More

Organic/Bio In the past, Passiflora was the Antiquum Farm wine that made Willamette Valley Pinot Noir fans scratch their heads and mutter, Wait - what? There’s some of that in the 2021 edition, but just a touch more restrained,... Read More

Organic/Bio As Wine Advocate says in the 97 point rave, The 2021 Chardonnay Casteel is complex and alluring, offering dynamic aromas and flavors as it unfurls with oxygen over several days. The nose offers lemon peel and panna... Read More

Lower ABV Master of Wine Andreas Kubach and his partners tend their 300 small parcels of old-vines in the Basque highlands of Rioja Alavesa with a simple goal: to capture the character of the region, villages in the region, and... Read More

You'd expect Toro Tempranillo to be dark, super-ripe, and full of chewy tannins, but here Toro has been tamed a bit! Plenty of rich fruit that stays fresh and an easy, silky, texture that flows nicely. As Wine Enthusiast says,... Read More

Lower ABV Juan Antonio Ponce completely fractures any expectations you have for wine made from Bobal (often a dark, dusky, earthy, grape) from Manchuela (blisteringly hot). This is from 40-60 year-old vines, made with 100% whole... Read More

Bouchaine releases its Chardonnays late so they have a chance to really flower in bottle. Like here, where the oak has integrated with the rich pear fruit and acids come up to keep things fresh and highly drinkable. As Suckling... Read More

In this very short harvest, there's a little more oak influence to Sylvain's village Puligny (not more new wood, but more second and third use barrels that needed to be kept full!). It just makes this lovely Chardonnay... Read More

From the masters of Alto Adige’s traditional “Terlaner” blend – Pinot Bianco, Chardonnay and a little Sauvignon Blanc – this is one of Italy’s benchmark whites. It’s from the co-op’s... Read More

A juicy, fruit-filled, fun red for parties, sipping, cookouts, whatever. It's from Alentejo,Portugal,and blends Aragonez (35%), Trincadeira (20%), Alicante Bouschet (20%), Syrah (15%) and Castelão, all fermented and... Read More

West of Montalcino, Monteccuco balances inland Tuscany warmth with altitudes of more than 1,000 feet. That balance of sunny ripeness with freshness shows nicely here in this blend of 70% Sangiovese, 15% Ciliegiolo and 15% Montepulciano... Read More

Saint-Chinian is a fascinating slice of the Languedoc, perched at the southern end of the Massif Central overlooking the plains sloping down to the sea. The loose limestone/schist soils tend to give a mineral spine to the sun-splashed... Read More

Organic/Bio A big wine at a very big (or small depending on how you look at it) savings price! Like the Montfaucon winery, these vines grow just across the Rhone River from Chateauneuf du Pape. The surface of the vineyards look... Read More

Organic/Bio This 100% Malbec from Mendoza is always a lush, plush, value and never more so than in 2021. Balancing the natural richness of high-altitude Malbec with modern winemaking techniques that emphasize terroir and freshness,... Read More

Antonio Galloni's 95 point review in Vinous is accurate enough for where this beauty was when he tasted it last summer: The 2021s were brought in from late September to early October, a pretty classic time frame by today's... Read More

A big, bold, super-rich, Cab that's very fun to drink. As Wine Advocate says in the 92 point review, The Crane Assembly's 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Disciples is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from an unnamed vineyard in Saint Helena... Read More

If ever there was a perfect marriage between a winemaker’s desire and what a site has to give, it happens here between Costanzo and Caldwell Vyd. It’s a stunning site, perched on the rim of Coombsville looking north... Read More

From anywhere in Napa Valley between Napa and Calistoga, head west and up the Mayacamas mountains. Crest the peak and look down over the red-to-purple volcanic rocks and soil towards Sonoma. See those vines at 2,200 feet down... Read More

Napa Cabernet grown to full ripeness and flavor but slowly enough and in a cool enough site to retain vivacity, purity and style. Then turned into Cabernet by an Italian-American winemaker who combines our USA preference for generous... Read More

A terrific Chardonnay with just the right balance of creaminess of texture, fresh fruit and golden butter caramel spice. Fine with food, fine solo - really, just very fine! As Jeb Dunnuck says in the 92 point review, Dierberg... Read More

Organic/Bio Lower ABV It's not surprising that this racy Gamay comes from a former bicycle racer, Vincent Canard. After retiring from racing in 2015, Vincent joined his father, Marc, to take the old family domaine in Beaujolais... Read More

Organic/Bio Decanter called Ferme Saint-Martin a “hidden gem,” and that applies to Beaumes des Venise reds in general. In the hills above the more famous Muscat vines, the soils and climate read like a cross between... Read More

Lower ABV As Burghound says, “If you're unfamiliar with the Thibert wines you owe it to yourself to try one of two examples as the best are excellent.” Here’s the place to start with a wine that draws on... Read More

Organic/Bio Lower ABV We have two vintages of this wine and you NEED them both! From ungrafted vines on red slate with super high acidity (9.3 g/l) balanced by 64 g/l RS. As Wine Advocate says in the 94+ point review, it “opens... Read More

Randy Dunn makes timeless, nearly ageless, benchmark Howell Mountain Cabernet. Here he's showing off his skill and style in a more open, ready to love now, way. It's 77% Cabernet Sauvignon and 23% Cabernet Franc done in... Read More

This 15 acre vineyard was planted in 2001 and purchased by Joe and Pat Campbell in 2009 where they built a home – and a clay tennis court. The east-facing Pommard and Dijon 115 vines give a terrific blend of rich red fruit... Read More

Organic/Bio Here’s a bold, fruit-filled, Portugues red blend from 100% organic grapes on granite/schist and made all in concrete to let the fruit and minerality really sing out. Dark black berry and plum fruit flows across... Read More

Organic/Bio Lower ABV Jerome Seguin's 0.7 acre plot of Chambolle Musigny vines are just above the village chapel, an unfortunately prime location for the damage from 2021's April frosts. But the 40-50 year-old vines then... Read More

Dolcetto is Piemonte’s lunchtime and afternoon red – the kind of wine you enjoy with friends and casual food when the wine’s job is to quench your thirst and make everyone smile a bit. This is that, a rich and... Read More

Organic/Bio At the very top of San Lorenzo, at 750 meters elevation, almost too high to be “Etna Rosso,” Russo farms a 0.7HA plot of vines planted in the early 1940s. Originally they were trained on traditional albarello... Read More

One of the more impressively delicious California Chardonnays we've had recently, showing how putting perfectly ripe, low-yield, fruit into barrel (28% new) can yield a wine that's creamy, deep, mineral and not really... Read More

A small production, single plot, Pinot with real elegance and spice. As Vinous says in the 92 point write-up, Picked in a parcel within the Kräutergarten with higher active lime content and less topsoil. It was fermented... Read More

Expanding from their fine Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, Icario created this super-Tuscan blend of 60% Sangiovese plus Cabernet and Merlot, all done in French oak. It's rich and deep with layers of blackberry, blackcurrant,... Read More

The vines Jim Maresh planted on their own roots back in 1970 is today arguably the best, and certainly one of the most important, vineyards in the Dundee Hills. Jim’s grandson uses almost all the fruit for his Arterberry... Read More

Ken’s signature wine and, arguably, Willamette Valley’s signature vineyard. Wine Advocate has suggested that Shea is the Willamette Valley’s one potential “superstar” vineyard and Ken makes the benchmark... Read More

Organic/Bio An English guy ends up in the heart of Chile’s wine country, talks himself into planting Rhone Valley grapes when everyone else is growing Cabernet, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc, and then teaches himself winemaking... Read More

Lower ABV Age has a powerful influence on wine. Here there’s a bit of bottle age and a lot of vine-age from 90 year-old Albarino growing in sandy granite soils near the Atlantic. There’s a richness to the stone fruit... Read More

Always a darker, richer, Pinot than you'd expect from Chassagne, the touch of extra freshness from 2021's cooler growing season makes this even harder to resist than usual. Black and red cherry fruit serve as the wine's... Read More

Organic/Bio Lower ABV Morgeot’s relatively heavy, warmer, soils helped mitigate 2021’s April frost damage and then drive lovely ripening in a cool, crisp, year. This opens with very pure, lifted, scents of crisp pear,... Read More

Organic/Bio Lower ABV Perched above the 1er Crus, this bowl-shaped sited was clobbered in the 2021 frosts. The tiny crop remaining gave beautiful Chassagne, with intense citrus and green orchard fruit, a double handful of crushed... Read More

With around 3,000 cases made, this is Pascal Maillard’s signature wine. It comes from five plots in the village, all farmed with great care and minimal intervention (although they will use commercial sprays when absolutely... Read More

Organic/Bio Only from Etna do you get this captivating combination of smoky volcanic rock and crunchy-ripe strawberry/sweet cherry fruit with mouthcoating tannins that give shape and elevate the flavors without drying you out... Read More

Organic/Bio As the double 97 point and one 98 point review suggest, this is one of the legendary Mayacamas Cabs. From the top of Mount Veeder, it marries terrific ripeness with true mountain vibrancy and structure and a finish... Read More

The origin story of Ruche is muddled, but it may have evolved in France’s Haute-Savoie before finding it’s real home in Italy’s Piemonte region but was more likely born in Monferato of a crossing of Croatina... Read More

Luc Morlet still consults at Peter Michael while making his own wine that sits right up there with Peter Michael in terms of quality and depth. This is a stunner, perfectly balancing richness of texture with bold fruit and deep... Read More

A beautiful Cabernet Franc that melds New World fruit with subtle varietal character of green herbs/tobacco and some juicy bite. Wine Enthusiast describes it well in their 93 point review: I confess that the Rosa Mystica was my... Read More

We like Wine Spectator's description so much, we're going to use it here: Rich and bold up front, offering plenty of honeysuckle and spice notes. A drizzle of wildflower honey and a toast detail complement flavors of apricot... Read More

Organic/Bio Barbaresco's Serraboella vineyard – along with Montestefano – produces very “Barolo-like” wines, and here Paitin captures that power and tames it with a layer of finesses. From certified... Read More

Organic/Bio This is from a tiny, tiny, plot of vines Andrea Franchetti planted in the Passochianche contrada around 3,000 feet done in large oak. Maybe “Puligny Montrachet meets the Santa Cruz Mountains” suggests the... Read More