The results I tasted from both Clos Cantenac and Château Séraphine are downright delicious. Distinctly different from the two previous vintages, the reds are slightly more approachable at this stage than their predecessors, and they have a decisively bordelais flair. The rosés and white crackle with freshness and structure. All made in very small quantities, these are worth seeking out.
Read MoreApparently, a French man in the early 1800s became interested in Chilean flora, fauna and geology. Claude Gay became the effective patron saint of local, Chilean plants. Thanks to Claude, anytime you travel to Chile, it is made abundantly clear in all government proclamations that you cannot bring in any plants, fruits or vegetables. A friend inadvertently crossed customs with an apple in his pocket (I believe he was traveling from Taiwan, though he lives in London) about 15 years ago and was firmly reprimanded, despite eating the same apple in the presence of immigration officers.
Read MoreWhen Fabrice Reynaud, the fifth-generation custodian along with his brother Philippe, asked if I would be interested to taste their flagship estate's 2020 en primeur wines, I was happy to do so. Sure, I was interested to taste some Graves wines from Bordeaux's excellent 2020 vintage, but I was also deeply curious to taste wines from Château des Places. Because in 1859, a large stash of Roman coins - one of the largest found in France - was found in the vineyards that a few years later began the legacy of this château. A Roman winemaker is purported to have buried them in 49 BC. How could a history buff refuse?
Read MoreThe 2019 vintage marks Jordan Chardonnay's 40th anniversary. As ever, the Jordan Chardonnay wildly over-delivers in quality and price with this decade-marking, birthday vintage. I can't believe the winery still only charges for $35 for this class act, but I'm very happy that such an attractive and age-worthy Sonoma Chardonnay is available at such an (all things relative) incredibly accessible price.
Read MoreGrown at a rather low 33° North, there is a fine balance of latitude and altitude that makes wine production possible win the Golan Heights. The altitude - with vineyards climbing to 1,150 meters / 3,773 feet - mitigates the low latitude. Yet, the latitude helps in a surprising way as the grapes near harvest. Whereas more northerly regions receive more sunshine during the middle of the growing season, as the earth turns for the Autumn Equinox, the Golan Heights receive extra hours of sunshine in the crucial weeks before harvest.
Read MoreGraves is where Bordeaux's first vineyards were planted, yet the AOC remains a bit off the radar. This is one of many areas in Bordeaux where good potential lies for a high ratio of quality to value. This is especially true of wines that are not part of the Crus Classés de Graves, which account for only 16 of the 200 vignerons. Here is a small tasting of bottled 2019s from select producers sent directly from the properties this late spring.
Read MoreEhlers Estate 2020 Sauvignon Blanc - This beauty's aromas are pretty and exotic yet also delicate: a plethora of floral blooms nest with kumquat, pomelo zest and cardamom. The palate has a pleasantly tactile pithiness that, with its medium-plus acidity, nicely corrals its rather full and creamy body - whatever one might assume from the abv. Minerally and lingering on the finish, this wine has oodles of charisma along with rather profound concentration to allow it to age in bottle well for several years.
Read MoreAs hard as it may be for some to believe, Merlot is a much-loved grape. The Sideways effect on Merlot at this point feels almost as distant as the 60 Minutes effect on red wine in general almost three decades ago. Kids born the year that the movie Sideways hit the indie screens (2004) will be legal drinkers in the USA in just four years. They and many other young sippers don't care that Merlot was sidelined - by a small portion of the drinking population - for a fairly short while. They are going to drink what they like, just like many other drinkers have been all along.
Read MoreIf only Don Melchor Concha y Toro could know how his idea to import and plant in Chile pre-phylloxera vinifera vines from Bordeaux has evolved! It started 138 years ago...and one-hundred and four years after that initial planting, in 1987, the first wine named in Don Melchor's honor from the Puente Alto Vineyard was bottled. In 2017 - the year of this vineyard’s 30th anniversary and the wine's 31st bottling, the Viña Don Melchor winery became independent from the Viña Concha y Toro portfolio. All this fascinating history aside, this wine is ravishing!
Read MoreAs food prices continue to creep up, it's nice to know that good wines are still available for a Jackson. (Or, maybe soon it will be a Tubman!) All three of these red blends taste delectably of Tuscan sunshine, and they all hail from highly acclaimed estates.
Read MoreOnce again, Martin Krajewski and his daughter, Charlotte, deliver focused, precise wines with immediate appeal yet evident ageability. Each offers ample delight, but as with the 2019s, I find an electrifying je ne sais quoi element with the Clos Cantenac.
Read MoreThe labels and the brand material for Luke, created by husband-and-wife team Thomas and Kristin Vogele look like something fit for a Western flick: a lone, perhaps forlorn, man on dusty, desert terrain. Cleverly, "The Companion" label, is not only a red blend but also includes a dog striding beside him. There is good value here, and there is a lot to like in these muscular, Wahluke Slope wines.
Read MoreYet again, Rodney Strong has released some solid wines, especially at the value end of the spectrum. The Chalk Hill Chardonnay is a perennial star, and the 2017 Russian River Pinot Noir is especially tasty!
Read MoreThe slighly jarring - if catchy - name of this label has fascinating origins. The name points out the K-T Boundary Line that apparently tells the geological tale of an asteroid impact on earth, leading to the extinction of dinosaurs 65 million years ago. Fittingly, The Boneline's catch phrase is "wines grown on the shoulders of giants".
Read MoreWinemaker Justin Seidenfeld clearly has a knack for blending based on these two wines in Rodney Strong Vineyard's relatively new Upshot line. The combination of varieties is delightfully unorthodox.
Read MoreTenuta di Arcano 2013 Arcanum Toscana: This very attractive and fragrant wine composed of predominantly Cabernet Franc (73% - from 16 different blocks of vines, along with 17% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon) needs some time to open, despite the fact that it is showing decidedly tertiary aromas.
Read MoreToday’s Bordeaux is affordable Bordeaux. No, I’m not talking about the 2019 En Primeur campaign, where prices are being slashed despite the most recent declarations of “the vintage of the century” in the face of the challenges presented in bringing the wines to market in the face of COVID-19. Rather, I’m talking about the 90%+ of Bordeaux wines that are sold outside of the En Primeur system. In fact, many sold within the En Primeur system are highly affordable, too. The fanfare at the precipitous (price-wise) top of the quality pyramid has distracted far too many consumers for far too long. During the same time, quality was skyrocketing while prices throughout most the region remained modest.
Read MoreFor the wine geeks: while made in the Nino Franco cellars in Valdobbiadene, this blended spumante (80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc) technically is not a Prosecco for several reasons. The differences add up to make the Faìve Rosé Brut a more intense and concentrated sparkling with with a definitively dry edge and focused finish
Read MoreLast year, the impressive Maggie Kruse became the second head winemaker at Jordan Winery. She had honed her senses for the Jordan style for 13 years alongside the winery's iconic Rob Davis, Jordan's winemaker since the inaugural 1976 vintage. Moreover, she had onboarded just after John Jordan received the reins from his father after the 2005 harvest.
Read MoreThe San Leonardo winery poses poses two contradictions to Trentino conventions. First, it is family-owned and family-run in a region known for its (very high quality) cooperatives. In fact, about 75% of Trentino grapes are processed by coops. Second, San Leonardo's production focuses on reds rather than whites. Though Trentino used to make more reds, the popularity of Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay and the region's top-notch sparkling wines have led to an increase in white and sparkling wine production. What is the same is that, like its neighbors, San Leonardo makes finessed wines of distinguished quality from vineyards perched in the Dolomites.
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