Cuna de Reyes 2009 Rioja Crianza (Spain)
Aged for a year in French and American oak, this wine is mostly Tempranillo with some Garnacha and Mazuelo. Grapes are sourced from vineyards in Nájera, in the southern edge of Rioja …
Barone Ricasoli 2010 “Brolio” Chianti Classico
The Castello di Brolio (the castle of Brolio) has been in the Ricasoli family since the 12th Century. Two of the family’s top wines (they produce 11) are labeled as Brolio. The top …
Juve Y Camps 2007 Milesime Gran Reserva Brut Cava
The family behind this bottle has been growing grapes in Catalonia, Spain, for over two centuries. Since 1921, they have been producing the Spanish sparkling wine known as Cava. Like many wineries in …
Michele Satta 2005 Cavaliere (Super Tuscan)
A voluptuous Sangiovese with a slight salinity that veers to black olive but pulls back into a beautiful layered expression of chocolate. A glass-staining beauty with plump blackberry and kirsch notes …
Passitivo 2010 Primitivo, Puglia
Judging wines isn’t a linear job. It’s not really about grading all wines as a spectrum of quality. We don’t judge a Red Zinfandel from Russian River next to a bottle …
Chateau Ramage La Batisse 2005 Haut Medoc (Bordeaux)
A finely honed bottle with eucalyptus and wet stone aromas that edge into black fruit and crème de cassis. Full-bodied and velvety, the palate offers fresh red fruit, black tea, and a bracing minerality …
Ch. Bastor Lamontagne 2007 Sauternes
Château Bastor-Lamontagne is not Château d’Yquem. It’s not one of the elite estates of the Sauternes region of Bordeaux. However, this producer offers up a consistently great quality-to-value, a rarity in the region. Considering that Château …
Pear Valley 2007 Syrah, Paso Robles
Pear Valley is located on the east side of Paso Robles,  right smack in the middle of it all. The winery is new, newer than this wine (it wasn’t built until 2008). …
Pillar Box 2008 Red
For a wine so damn cheap, a lot of rock star winemakers have been attached to this project. For the geeks, that means Aussie powerhouses Kim Jackson and  Chris Ringland, for starters. For the rest …
Hubert Veneau 2011 Pouilly Fume
The way to not sell to an American is by telling him that a bottle of wine is served to politicians. We especially (and by “We” I mean us in general) …
Feudi di San Gregorio 2007 Companaro
Since its origins in the ’80s, Feudi di San Gregorio has been one of the leaders in quality in southern Italy. Over the past few years, they have been ramping up the quantity, and …
Peachy Canyon 2008 Westside Zinfandel, Paso Robles
Paso Robles is a huge AVA, with over a half-million acres of vines. Huge wineries like  J. Lohr, Treana, and Meridian dominate the region. However, in the cooler hills on the westside of …
Castello di Fonterutoli “Ser Lapo” 2008 Chianti Classico Reserva
The Mazzei family has a very long history in Chianti and has considerably expanded their winemaking operations over the past few years, including forays into Sicily and the Tuscan coast. However, …
Maculan 2010 Dindarello Moscato
Maculan is a winery that typifies the remarkable change in winemaking in the Veneto wine region of northeastern Italy. A generation ago, the wines were –like most in the region– nothing …
Montinore 2006 Gewurztraminer, Willamette Valley
Yet another beauty from the land of beards and Birkenstocks. This one is every bit as exotic as the best of Alsace, but with the added weight that the New World …
Zuccardi 2008 “Q Series” Tempranillo, Mendoza
It smells like a little coffee house on fire, but without the hipsters. Yes, that’s a good thing. This bottle is all about the oak. Full-bodied, the wine sports a round, …