Marques de Concha 2009 “Peumo Vineyard” Carmenere
Crimson and dense, this Carmenere is one of the best examples of the varietal on the market. It offers up plenty of oak-influenced flavors, including chocolate, coffee, and licorice. Toasted spices …
Wine
Vezer 2007 La Salette
Rising from twin pads of blackberry and oak, this is a drunken philanthropist of a wine. It holds nothing back, offering up a wealth of jam, coconut, sweet cream, and vanilla. There is nothing …
La Bastide Blanche 2010 Bandol Rosé
Rosé doesn’t get more complex than this lovely example from Provence. On the palate, the flavor goes richer, with deep strawberry and cherry flavors wrapped around a core of mineral zing and some toothsome tannins. Burnt orange peel and black tar finish off this complex and aggressive pink wine.
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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, …
Eric Orange of LocalWineEvents
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. Promoting Wine TastingsIn 2000, Eric started …
The End of a Wine School
How Reviews Killed a Chicago Wine SchoolHow Krunch Went YelpA small wine school in Chicago gained significant attention in 2012, illustrating how social media can destroy a small business. The story …