Pierre Legras Brut Blanc de Blancs Champagne
One of the great developments in sparkling wines in the last few years has been the emergence of small grower-producer Champagne houses. They offer a level of quality and individuality that …
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Cantina Firriato 2011 Quater Bianco
This is not the first time we have reviewed a [link id=”11146″ text=”Firriato wine”], and it probably won’t be the last. They bring classic Sicilian wines to the American market in …
Bodegas La Magdalena 2011 “Sueno” Tempranillo
Ribera del Jucar is one of a dozen unknown yet exemplary wine regions in Spain. It’s an ancient wine region that was under vine during the Roman Empire. But it’s also …
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 …
Curtis Winery 2010 Heritage Cuvée
I am not a fan of corporate wines. That is something most people in the wine trade know all too well. I am not a fan of large-scale wineries, even if …
Bodega Goulart 2010 “The Marshall” Malbec
This wine is a bit of Argentine history. Gastao Goulart originally planted the Bodega Goulart vineyard in 1915 to Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon. At the time, he was a Brazilian political …
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 …
Rosenblum Cellars 2010 “Harris Kratka” Zinfandel
A Little About Zin No matter its pedigree, Zinfandel is big, dumb, and fun. I don’t mean that in a pejorative way. There should always be a place for fun. This …
Evening Land 2011 Pouilly Fuisse
About Pouilly Fuissé Way back when I was in my early twenties, Pouilly-Fuissé was all the rage. The restaurant I was working at had three on their wine list. One of the …
Contino 2007 Gran Reserva Rioja
CVNE A number of years ago, I was fortunate enough to have a one-on-one tasting with Maria Larrea, the CVNE winemaker. A wonderfully gracious woman, she took me through her entire portfolio …
Saintsbury 2009 “Brown Ranch” Pinot Noir
Saintsbury Winery Most descriptions of Saintsbury Winery will include the word “pioneer” somewhere within the first paragraph. Go one and google it: you will get over 3.5 million pages describing how …
Montecillo 2008 Rioja Reserva
If I could figure out a way to turn the Wine School into a religious institution (think of it: best communion ever!), Rioja would be one of our holy lands. It’s …
Salviano 2012 Orvieto Classico
Orvieto Orvieto 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 …
Domaine Forca Real 2011 “Mas de la Garrigue” Côtes du Roussillon-Villages
For a hot moment in the late 90’s, France’s Mediterranean vineyards were trendy, in particular the Languedoc-Roussillon. The good folks at Wine Spectator and Wine Advocate couldn’t rate the wines high …
Château de Belcier 2011 Castillon Côtes de Bordeaux
I discovered the wine company Gironde et Gascogne at a trade tasting a few years back. This is a boutique operation with two chateaux on their roster, both in Bordeaux: Château Ramage La …
Paul Jourdan 2010 “Cuvee Papale” Chateauneuf-du-Pape
Winery Background This wine is something of a mystery. There is no winery in Chateauneuf-du-Pape with the name Paul Jourdan. There was a man by that name who owned Domaine Chante Cigale from …
