If 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 MoreThis broad selection of Portuguese wines offers a variety of styles and a price point for everyone. What I especially love about the reds is that they have almost all been aged at the winery until they were ready to drink. That is a rarity - and a treat for the consumer - these days as most wineries rush their wines out the door!
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 MoreBouchaine's wines have a cosmopolitan edge, showcasing grace and pedigree with vigor. These are classy, approachable wines with broad appeal. Sitting on 104 contiguous acres on the southern cusp of cool climate Carneros overlooking San Francisco, Bouchaine Vineyards celebrates its 40th anniversary this year. Founders Tatiana and Gerret Copeland were pioneers in Carneros, which didn't become an AVA until 1985.
Read MoreQuinta do Ameal's focus on Loureiro made former owner Pedro Araújo something of a local hero, even if some of the same locals surely thought he was crazy when he began bottling ambitious, varietal Loureiro wines. Perhaps he believed that the Benedictine monks of the Convento de Refóios - which is believed to have owned the property as far back as 1710 - must have known what they were doing in their vineyards; monks usually did!
Read MoreFor almost 100 years, the Zemmer family has been making wines in southwestern Alto Adige in the small town of Cortina. This is the last town of German speakers before reaching the Trentino border, and it is uniquely positioned on the valley floor rather than perched in the hillsides. The winery's website has a brilliant, interactive aerial view where visitors can take in the natural beauty of the Dolomites while observing where the Zemmer vineyards lie.
Read MoreThese last few years I have tasted very few Alsatian wines at professional tastings. So, I jumped at the chance to taste these wines presented in New York in late spring. All of the wines showed well, but one domaine in particular stood out: the Domaine Kirrenbourg wines are riveting.
Read MoreDark salmon in color, this rosé is visually appealing in its attractive, clear bottle. Alas, something is off-kilter here, which is surprising for a producer and range that generally make reliably good still and sparkling wines.
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 MoreBlueberries and mulberries galore! This wine is vividly fruit-driven on the nose. The palate delivers some slate and ashphalt tones, too. The finish offers measured refreshment, which feels nicely integrated despite the 15.2% alcohol.
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 MoreDomaine de Cala 2020 Coteaux Varois en Provence: pretty and minerally with strawberry accents and a full throttle bouquet of tree blooms and peonies, this is moreish rosé for sure. This is the most impressive Domaine de Cala I have tasted, save its Prestige release in 2018.
Read MoreThe Cirq. and CHEV. are markedly ambitious wines, but they feel and taste rather forced.
Read MoreTwo things struck me in this tasting. On the one hand, I found it worrying that these current Montecucco releases taste so mature. On the other, if one is looking for a mature wine without having to age it, wines like the Scarafone bottling deliver very nicely. I do think, however, that these are very careful hand-sells.
Read MoreIt is always a pleasure to taste wines that are hard to come by in this country, especially when it's hard to get out of this country now. I tasted this line-up from Vitis Global last fall, and there was much to like in this diverse array of styles provided by a wide array of grape varieties and producers.
Read MoreContrary to the claims of wine producer Radgonske Gorice and the producer's consultant hailing from Champagne, this Slovenian, traditional method sparkling wine tastes very much the same, whether it is the original wine tasted in the dark or the same wine tasted after light exposure. Yes, there are vague differences due to the temperatures and amounts of time in glass, but these are very minor indeed.
Read MoreDark gold in color, neither the appearance nor the aromas of this fizz are very fresh. It's one thing to have reserve wines in a non-vintage cuvée and another to have aggressive bottle evolution. Alas, this is neither a very exciting nor a very refreshing cuvée.
Read MoreI first noticed the Respekt logo on wine labels in late 2011 at an Austrian wine tasting. Established in 2006 and requiring a three year conversion process, the first vintage for which this designation could appear on labels was 2009. The philosophy of Respekt BIODYN is to mentor fellow and aspiring members by establishing a practical and detailed conversion program for each, then to help the converted vinegrower outline a plan for the continuing the practice of biodynamic principles. Overall, the group eschews dogmatism.
Read More