2017 Wine

Intense, perfumed and already enjoyable with air.

Howell Mountain specialist Bravante makes tiny quantities of powerful, deep, mountain structured wines. Here roughly one-third each Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot get extra perfume from 24% Cabernet Franc and lift from 7% Malbec.... Read More

Fronsac is on the Right Bank but has more of a Left Bank feel courtesy of its gravely, well-drained, soils. Mainly Merlot with both Cabernets, this open and ready-to-go 2017 shows cranberry, boysenberry and graphite aromas that... Read More

As always, a compelling mixture of richness and vivacity. Fun to drink now, better from 2024, delivering pleasure for 30 years.

Ciacci's famed single-vineyard PIanrosso Brunello transcends the heat of the vintage to give a wine wonderfully ripe but also very floral, aromatic and pure. Decant now or enjoy from 2024 forward.

What’s the fuss over Vintage Port all about? Simple – in a great harvest, Port winemakers are able to use the wines from their finest sites to make fortified reds that can improve in bottle for decades. And, with modern,... Read More

911 bottles made, 360 imported. “Quasi Centenaria” roughly translates to “about 100 years old,” a reference to this gnarly old Carignan vineyard planted right around 1919. The vines grow on two steep, rock-covered,... Read More

Always one of the best values in well-made, traditionally styled, Brunello and especially attractive in 2017.

Powerful and ripe, for sure, but also showing a lovely mineral streak.

Stand at the top of Grand Cru Mazis and look down the rows. You can immediately pick out Jean-Michel’s vines. They're the ones that look clean and trim and seem to exude health and vitality. Every year, Jean-Michel invests... Read More

Perched just below Bonnes-Mares on the border with Morey-Saint-Denis, this blends the perfume and elegance of Chambolle with the guts and intensity of Morey.

Bold and rich, for sure, but vivid and really easy to drink, the 2017 Todos is right in the window now and for another half-dozen years. A blend of Syrah, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot and more!... Read More

There's 50% less Pertimali Brunello in 2017 than usual due to a very strict selection in the vineyard and less power and structure, too. But the resulting wine is delicious Brunello already, full of flavor and flying across... Read More

Organic/Bio Lower ABV Does what Savigny-les-Beaune is all about - delivers a pretty, elegant, nicely fruited Burgundy Pinot Noir that's delicious now and for the next few years. Organic fruit grown on deep soils, fully destemmed... Read More

Montestefano is one of the Produttori’s steepest sites and one of the warmest. The high calcium content of the soil is more like Barolo’s Serralunga than the rest of Barbaresco, and the wine is more Barolo-like as... Read More

Montestefano is one of the Produttori’s steepest sites and one of the warmest. The high calcium content of the soil is more like Barolo’s Serralunga than the rest of Barbaresco, and the wine is more Barolo-like as... Read More

Located in the center of Barbaresco, not far from Asili, the site is the essence of Barbaresco in terms of soil, exposure, and elevation. At a class a few years ago, co-cellar master Luca Cravanzola caught everyone’s attention... Read More

Located in the center of Barbaresco, not far from Asili, the site is the essence of Barbaresco in terms of soil, exposure, and elevation. At a class a few years ago, co-cellar master Luca Cravanzola caught everyone’s attention... Read More

Pora's mineral-rich clay/limestone soils and sunny exposure tends to give wines of muscular power and deep minerality. In sunny 2017, this is one of the most open and satisfyingly fleshy of the Produttori's Riservas.... Read More

One of Martin Mittelbach's flagship bottlings, this was almost too intense to enjoy on first release. Now that a few years have passed, it's unfurled beautifully to delivery layers of ripe fruit flavor balanced perfectly... Read More

Lots of contradictions here, starting with a Vento estate with more than 200 years of history that just started making Amarone in vintage 2010. And that has still yet to be reviewed by any major wine critic, even though they make... Read More

Close out on remaining bottles.. As always, intense and lovely Barolo.

Close out on remaining bottles. Always one of our favorite of Vietti's Cru Barolo.

Close out on remaining bottles. Perhaps the finest of Vietti's Cru Barolo, Ravera is open to the elements and the cold air from the Alps, giving it a freshness and mineral character to go with plenty of power and depth.... Read More

Time in bottle has allowed the texture to really develop in this darkly fruited, spicy, single-vineyard Chianti Classico. An excellent match for steaks, roasts, stews.