Lower ABV At the northern end of the Beaujolais Crus and exposed to wind and sun, Julienas gives ripe Gamay with a sturdy structure and a bit less granite influence than, say, Morgon or Moulin-a-Vent. You'll taste 2022's... Read More
Lower ABV From the Oregon side of the Columbia River, across from Walla Walla in the famed Rocks AVA, this is simply as delicious as New World Cabernet Franc can possibly be. At least for those of us who want CF to be both juicy... Read More
100% Negromaro from the “heel” of Italy’s boot, this is a terrific all-around pizza, pasta and cookout red. Bursting with notes of black cherry and raspberry, cracked black pepper and a touch wildflower aromas... Read More
A classic Brunello, this is 100% Sangiovese Grosso - the larger-berried form of Sangiovese that made Brunello famous - all harvested by hand and double sorted to remove any imperfect fruit. After a warm fermentation to extract... Read More
Powerful, deep, and cellar-worthy, this 97% Cabernet, 2% Merlot, 1% Cab Franc is from one of Washington's most elite vineyards, the slopes of Red Mountain. Just 10 barrels were selected after aging 23 months in 90% new French... Read More
A classic Rioja blend of Tempranillo (mainly) with Graciano and Graciano picked freshly ripe and aged in cask. The red fruit and sweet spice are both attractive here, as is the layer of smoky complexity from the time in barrel.... Read More
Ripe fruit, around 40% whole clusters, and careful use of oak give a wine that almost feels better on the palate than it tastes - and it tastes GREAT! This is a terrific value.
Mendoza Malbec is often hidden under a layer of thick, chocolaty, oak. Here there’s no oak sheen, so the grape’s black fruit and wild herb character shines through. It’s black as night in color with herb and... Read More
The grape name, Grignolino, means “many seeds.” And since seeds = tannin potential, it’s a wine made with short skin contact and little extraction, creating sort of a Piemontese Pinot Noir-style wine that’s... Read More
A brilliant value in sophisticated, 100% Tempranillo Rioja, hand-harvested and aged in 3-4 months in new French oak casks. The wine comes from vines aged 20-25 years in the Montebuena vineyard in Labastida, Rioja. Bodegas y Viñedos... Read More
100% organic Sangiovese from the ancient red soils (dating from the Triassic period) on the plateau overlooking the winery and San Gimignano below. Elisabetta Fagiuoli makes around 700 magnums per year of this stunning wine and... Read More
Lower ABV A 75/25 blend of Mandilaria and Monemvasia, aged for 12 months in second use barriques (70/30, French and American) and just 12.9% alcohol. And despite the unfamiliar grapes and low abv, this tastes satisfyingly familiar... Read More
Organic/Bio Nebbiolo – the great black grape of Italy’s Piemonte – is more than one thing. Or, at least, makes more than one kind of wine. This is Nebbiolo at its prettiest, dressed up for Sunday but with a tiny... Read More
Blends 60% Zweigelt, 30% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, all fermented in oak tanks and then aged in French oak barrels. Always one of Austria's very finest red wines. The 2018 has just arrived in the USA and we've... Read More
The classic red blend of Vittoria, in southern Sicily, beefs up Frappato's ripe strawberry fruit and light color with a jolt of dark and earthy Nero d'Avola. With its bright black cherry color (Cerasuolo = cherry in dialect),... Read More
The Omen strategy is to go to overlooked California regions and then find hidden-gem vineyards full of terrific fruit at a great price. Here we’re in the Fair Play AVA of the Sierra Foothills where California’s interior... Read More
If you like Paso Cab, you’ll love how this shows in your glass and on your credit card bill (good value here). A darkly fruited, rich and fleshy blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Merlot and Syrah, the whiff of scorched... Read More
Organic/Bio Not to do the points thing too much, but this is one of the 3-4 highest rated “straight” Chianti Classico 2021s Antonio Galloni at Vinous has tasted so far and by far the least expensive. It’s a triumph... Read More
Terrific Ribera del Duero Tempranillo that let’s the fruit and minerality of these steeply sloped vineyards shine through and uses oak to shape, rather than assertively flavor, the wine. A nicely deep and ripe mass of blackberry... Read More
Organic/Bio Although the Serraboella vineyard – along with Montestefano – produces very “Barolo-like” wines, this release of the Paitin family’s flagship Nebbiolo matches that power with lovely Barbaresco... Read More
Organic/Bio At just 1,800 feet elevation, the lowest of Passopisciaro’s Contrada vines grow on the last edges of Mount Etna lava. The vines push through the lava to limestone and develop more rich, round, textures than the... Read More
Organic/BioOnly available as part of the Passopisciaro Etna Six-Pack. Ok, I blew it and didn't buy enough of this because, tasting it in May on the slopes of Etna, it was closed and the fruit was hiding. Contrada Rampante... Read More
I never met Andrea Franchetti, who died in December 2021 at the age of 72. But this wine sums up everything I’ve read and heard from his partners at Passopisciaro. “Poetic” and “wildly visionary”... Read More
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