I purchased these bottles recently as they seemed like solid solutions to my recent cravings for chillable reds to fight the heavy heat that has settled on New York City. Alas, I was reminded that lighter styles of red at gentle prices don't necessarily work with a chill. After all, both of these wines had some stuffing. These chilled reds wines were pleasant, but they weren't showing their best. So, I kept the wines for five days, trying them every day at chilled and cellar temperatures. As ever, I enjoyed the learning experience!
Read MoreThere is something undeniably charming about a winery whose back label illustration of its property highlights a tire swing. But make no mistake, Stoller Family Estate is a highly sophisticated operation. The winery's tasting room has been voted by USA Today's "10Best" as one of the Best Tasting Rooms in the US three times, and the visitor experience is going bleeding edge this summer with virtual and augmented reality experiences in a new and immersive Stoller Experience Center.
More importantly - at least in my view, the wines of 17-year, Stoller winemaking veteran Melissa Burr continue to impress, especially the 2019 white and rosé. Both also win points for being very good values.
Read MoreI admire the stylistic diversity of Austrian white wines, even when narrowed down to the two premier grapes, Grüner Veltliner and Riesling, then further streamlined to the central-west sub-regions of Niederösterreich, Kamptal, Kremstal and Wachau. Their ability to exude charm when young and prompt marvel with age captivate me.
Read MoreI love to learn new stories in the wine world, especially when those stories sprout from within the web of the older, already established ones. Priest Ranch, set in the eastern Vaca Range, is an example, as the historical property dates back to the 1860s.
And, while this is incredibly cool on its own, what is truly outstanding about the Priest Ranch wines is their sky-high value:quality ratio in a region that favors painfully expensive price points.
Read MoreThis trio of wines confirms that Nicholas Potel is clearly on his way to crushing it with this wine line, just as I suspected last year. As it says on the rosé wine label, the Bellenos wines are "Burgundy from the Heart and Sol", sol being earth. The wines all taste definitively Burgundian, but the very gentle prices don't look Burgundian at all.
Read MoreIt was a pleasure to taste these wines made by J.Christopher founder, Jay Somers. While there are still a few vintages of Pinot Noir made by Jay to be released, this is the last of the white wines. (Jay left for a new venture in 2019.) These are worth looking into as there's not a single one that isn't charming!
Read MoreI have a fondness for the Pecorino from La Valentina (and, admittedly, Pecorino in general), so I was excited to receive these wines again this year. (Here are my 2019 and 2018 write-ups.) The trio of di Properzio brothers, Sabatino, Andrea and Roberto, do excellent work in particular in crafting the Pecorino and the Spelt Montepulciano that deliver value beyond their price points.
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 MoreRuss Langord reached out to me toward the beginning of the COVID19 shut-down in the US. I loved the idea of his - and his wife Sharon's - winery's message. What a good time - as is any, really - to talk about the principles on which they founded their venture: "lovemore dreammore sharemore"?
Read MoreThe proper use of hypens on the back labels of the Knudsen Vineyards wines told me that this family - now run by the second generation cast of Cal Jr., Page, Colin and David - clearly pays attention to details. That's a good thing as they have 230 acres (with 130 acres planted to vines) that they tend to, right in the heart of Dundee Hills. Not only do the Knudsens farm a lot of prime land, they've been doing it a long time. They've been caring for this former walnut orchard since 1971, making their vineyards some of Oregon's oldest.
Read MoreFolded into the Jean-Claude Mas portfolio in 2016, this old Catalan property is bathed in Mediterranean sunshine yet cooled by the Tramontane wind that pushes from toward the sea. Historically planted with local varieties like those tasted below, these vines were recently joined by Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Mourvèdre and Merlot. Somewhat confusingly, the wines go by both Domaine and Château Lauriga. Nevertheless, they offer good value and are attractively packaged.
Read MoreDAOU 2019 Rosé Paso Robles: First, this wine gets top scores for its beautiful bottle. Second, it smells and tastes great, too. With its plentiful peach, nectarine and apricot pits, it's summer in a glass!
Read MoreCliff Lede 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon Dancing Heart Stags Leap District: This is a Rock Block Series wine, which bears a label that looks nothing like the other Cliff Lede labels. This series began when David Abreu was hired to manage the vineyards. Cliff began naming the micro-blocks after rock songs and albums, and every vintage features a specially-named "mash up" of two or more of these blocks.
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.
Read MoreIt's unusual to see an "Organic Wine", so I jumped at the chance to taste the Crianza Xtrème Ecológico. Additionally, both of these 2015 releases come from the original LAN vineyard, Lanciano, which sits along the Ebro River on the border between Rioja Alta and Rioja Alavesa. While LAN's overall quality is extremely good, including the wines made from grapes outsourced grapes, the wines from Viña Lanciano are always a particularly nice treat.
Read MoreThe Inama family understood early on the distinctiveness of individual vineyard expressions, even within the small Soave Classico zone. Inama bottles three wines from two Soave Crus: Carbonare, Foscarino and Vigneto du Lot, which hails from a western-facing, Foscarino plot that changes on an annual basis.
Read MoreA world almost entirely closed to travel, a cancelled Bordeaux En Primeur Campaign and persnickety, new DHL compliance requirements in the US are nothing compared to the tenacity of Martin Krajewski, owner of Château Séraphine and Clos Cantenac. And so it was that I held a mini En Primeur chez moi.
Read MoreLoimer NV Rosé Brut Sekt Reserve: This sekt stretches the imagination. A blend of Zweigelt, Pinot Noir and St. Laurent, it would be hard to place it in a blind tasting, even if its fruit purity, fine perlage and long finish clearly place it in a high quality region.
Read MoreThis quartet, indeed, sings with harmony. Each wine overdelivers for its price point. The Il Ghizzano Rosso, Venerosso 2016 and Nambrot drink the most easily now, and each offers a distinctly different drinking experience. I fell head-over-heels for the Il Ghizzano Rosso!
Read MoreLast spring I tasted the first vintage of Laura Díaz Muñoz's Sauvignon Blanc from Ehlers Estate. She joined Ehlers just before harvest in 2018, so I was very curious as to how a vintage fully under her watch might turn out. As I predicted, it's incredibly tasty!
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