Domaine Courtois 2012 “La Grange” Vinsobres
This is a fresh and zesty style of red with lavender and fresh cranberry on the nose. Stone and crushed wildflowers are playfully entwined on the palate. The blend here is about equal …
2012
Tua Rita 2012 “Perlato del Bosco” Sangiovese
Super Tuscans were born on the Italian coast, and warm Maremma is the cradle of many modern wines. The region is known for massive Cabernet Sauvignon, with the depth and breadth …
Koyle 2012 “Gran Reserva” Carmenere, Colchagua Valley
Koyle is one of those wineries that pops into the marketplace once or twice a year, only to disappear as quickly as it came. The wines are fantastic, but inventory is …
Byron 2012 Chardonnay, Santa Maria Valley
Here is the knockdown over-the-top cream bomb. It will drown your sorrows in a bag of cotton candy tucked into the wheelbase of an out-of-control roller coaster. It’s a style with …
Falesco 2012 Merlot, Umbria
Riccardo Cotarella has been knocking out stellar Italian (and a few French) Merlot for decades. Very modern in style, this wine pushes the oak to center stage. Sweet vanilla, mocha, and clove …
Puramun 2012 “Reserva” Malbec, Valle de Uco
Puramun is a new project by Jose Galante, one of the finest winemakers in Argentina. He was the man behind Catena Zapata from the 1970s until a few years ago. Sourced …
Altocedro 2012 Malbec Reserva
A bold, full-bodied wine with lots of complexity. Aromas of smoky oak, vanilla, cola, black cherry, and spice. The palate pushes into mocha and cinnamon territory with a draping of dark …
Balma Venitia ‘Dom Venitia’ 2012 Beaume de Venise Rouge
A pretty bottle of village-level Rhone wine. A touch reductive on the nose at first, but quickly tosses out a potpourri of scent. Unoaked, as Grenache-dominated wines often are, this is pure fruit on the …
Carpineto 2012 “Valcolomba” Merlot, Tuscany
This wine starts with dark berries and toasted almonds, with a whiff of diacetyl (that butterscotch smell so popular in chardonnay and so reviled in Heineken). There is a hint of …
Maquis 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon Colchagua Valley
A lush and delightful bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon from one of the world’s top Cabernet growing regions. Aromas of licorice and sandalwood are accented by iron and fresh leather. On the …
Shatter 2012 Grenache, Côtes Catalanes
Côtes Catalanes is an obscure wine region tucked into the mountains that separate France from Spain. Eight years ago, when I was on the editorial review team for the second edition …
Chateau L’Ermitage 2012 Costieres de Nimes Reserve du Selection Vieilles Vignes
Talk about a winery with history; Château l’Ermitage has been kicking around since the 12th century. Most of that was terrible plonk made by hermits. Its modern history (and when the …
Landmark Vineyards 2012 “Overlook” Chardonnay
This bottle sports the generic appellation of “California,” but it’s mostly sourced from two vineyards in Sonoma’s Russian River Valley (the rest of central California).It is fermented in older oak barrels …
Chateau L’Ermitage 2012 “Sainte Cecile” Costieres de Nimes White
Chateau L’Ermitage is the classical type of French winery. Nothing exciting except the wines they produce. For the past thirty years, Michel and Jérôme Castillon have owned the winery and made …
Poggio Scalette 2012 Chianti Classico
The Greve Valley is lined with terraced vineyards. Looking across the valley from this winery, those stone walls can look like a giant scallete (ladder, in Italian). At least it did for the …
Salviano 2012 Orvieto Classico
OrvietoOrvieto used to be huge. I still am surprised when younger sommeliers and students don’t recognize the name. In the ’80s, it was one of those bottles that white zin lovers …