Le Paradis 2010 Chinon
Cabernet Franc doesn’t get much play on the American wine market. Wines from the Loire Valley in France are also not very popular, either. Combine them, and you get… Chinon. It’s …
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La Ca’ Nova 2007 “Bric Mentina” Barbaresco
A brilliantly crafted Barbaresco. Bric Mentina is an estate bottling from this excellent producer and pushes me to be a bit more poetic than I can usually muster. This Barbaresco has …
Carmen Grifoll-Declara 2006 Tossals, Monstant
A deeply and profoundly delicious wine. It manages to have the luxurious depth of a feather bed and an operatic expanse of fruit under a canopy of rust and granite. This …
Bodegas Pedro Escudero 2009 “Fuente Elvira” Verdejo
A singularly modern style of Rueda that is taking its cues from its brethren up in Rioja. Reductive winemaking combined with barrel fermentation is doing wonders for Spanish whites, in particular Verdejo. Creamy peach and quince are …
Vignerons de Caractere 2009 “Les Hauts du Castellas” Vacqueyras
All the hallmarks of a great Rhone wine: opulent kirsch, lavender, burnt toast, and a deep and haunting minerality. A finish of burnt vanilla and sweet cinnamon ties it up with …
Tenuta di Biserno 2006 Coronato, Bolgheri
Olive and clove peek out of this lush glass staining Cabernet blend. A true super Tuscan, this has zero pretensions to terroir but a brilliant aptitude for deliciousness. A luxury bottling …
Castello Banfi 2007 Excelsus, Montalcino
While it may be sacrilege to grow Merlot in the very heart of Tuscany, this wine may be worth damnation. A deft but decadent Merlot-Cabernet blend spans a framework of lush …
Chateau d’Or et de Gueules 2009 Cuvee Trassegum, Nimes
From Costières-de-Nîmes, across the river from the Chateauneuf du Pape. Medium-bodied with an earthy component of graphite and wet clay. The fruit really shines here, with a finish of black pepper …
Falesco 2009 Tellus, Lazio
Luxurious, like a velvet cushion of dark sweet fruit. The only fault is its perfection –round, sexy, slick perfection– which takes away some of the pleasure of drinking a bottle of …
Jersey Wins!
Keith Wallace (the founder of the Wine School) hosted an event for National Public Radio. It was a blind tasting pitting his top picks from New Jersey with comparable wines from …
Tenuta di Castiglioni 2008 Cabernet, Tuscany
A bordeaux blend that leads with classic Cabernet notes of cigar box and mint. Gritty tannins and fleshy fruit round out this fine bottling. An excellent price for this wine.
Bad Science
A bevy of news outlets are reporting that only wine professionals can taste complexity in wine:Ever wondered why you can’t quite detect those hints of vanilla and cardamom touted in a …
Feudi di San Gregorio 2007 Companaro
This is one of those wines that come with a caveat: drink this now! It’s already hitting its peak, so don’t keep it around for more than a few months. However, …
Local Wine Events
One dude changed how America thought about wine and changed it for good. Eric V. Orange didn’t mean to, but that’s how history often works. This interview happened in 2012. Promoting …
Pennsylvania Wines
PA wines are slowly finding their footing. High-quality wines are supplanting the preponderance of sweet pink trash. However, the history of these wines is just being written. This article covers what …