Split between two countries –France and Spain– Catalan winemakers share a skill in making powerful wines from scraggly old vines grown on craggy hills of shale. This unoaked bottling is mostly Grenache, with some Mourvedre …
Vibrant and exceptionally juicy, this Primitivo offers up simple pleasures with an elaborate flourish. The black pepper and pressed wildflowers open into tobacco smoke and ozone. Flavors drift from blackberry and currant to licorice: …
Sauvage notes of roses and resin lightened by strawberry and mint. The deeply steeped tannins cut into a concentration of tobacco and fennel. Managing that wonderful dance of Nebbiolo: intense and powerful, …
An impressive Reserva that offers an increased level of depth and verve. A classical note of leather ties together aromas of rusty iron and sandalwood. A hefty dose of gritty tannins …
A great value for Cabernet, thanks to the “Chairman’s Selection” program. The bottle is packed with the kind of menthol-smooth structure that makes Cab Sauv’s a great dinner wine. Classic notes …
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 …
This is a growling beast of a wine, trained from birth to dominate the dining room table and chew up any wine glass it is poured into. The nose is oak-dominant …
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 …
When wine writers call the aroma of wine the bouquet, they don’t usually mean it literally. If you don’t like flowers, don’t sniff this wine. Thyme, marjoram, roses, violets, and bay …
Garrigue and camphor on the nose and a finish of peppered beef jerky. In between, toasted spices and black fruit get busy, and a massive but elegant core of tannins take …
Sauvignon Blanc is becoming a bit too popular. I keep waiting for someone to come up with a “Housewives of Beverly Swills” bottle of Sweet Sauvignon, or possibly a White Sauvignon …
Despite being around since 1815, this port producer doesn’t really exist. That’s reason enough to pick up a bottle or two.Let me explain: Feuerheerd was founded in 1815 by Dietrich Matthias …
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 …
Is this Syrah from Cornas or California? In most ways, this wine drinks like it hail from that awesome Northern Rhone cru. Yet, here we are in Sonoma Valley, Dry Creek …
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 …
Way back in 1973, Chamisal was the pioneering winery in Edna Valley. Owners and varietals have come and gone, but one thing has remained constant: Pinot Noir from Edna Valley is …