HERDADE DO ESPORAO RESERVA WHITE - 2001

Private Selection.  Alentejo, Portugal.  14.5% alcohol. White blend of indigenous Roupeeiro, Arinto and Antao Vaz grapes.

TASTING NOTES:

Beautiful, vibrant gold color with french oak on the nose, lurking acidity, minerality.  Tropical fruits, orange peel, citrus and creamy oak. Bold, delicious wine with an attitude.

SCORE & RECOMMENDATION:

90 PTS
Looking for some esoteric varietals to spring on your friends, then look no further.  This wine is a dead ringer for a big Chardonnay, but brings its own swagger.  There is ripeness, terroir and originality. I love this wine. The oak is dominant but if you are classic California Chardonnay lover, you'll find this to be an affordable, under the radar rockstar! Retails for around $18.

BODEGA ALTO MONCAYO GARNACHA - 2009

100% Garnacha. 16% alcohol, from Campo De Borja.

TASTING NOTES:

Dark purple, rich wine with chocolate covered raisins, prunes, figs, licorice, blackberries, plum, spices, vanilla,  espresso-balasmic vinegar, and berries.  Elegance and power combine into an explosive effort and a finish that echoes.

SCORE & RECOMMENDATION:

94 PTS
For $35 a bottle, this has all the class and complexity of much more expensive bottles.  Alluring, seductive and delicious.

BODEGAS TRITON AVANTE MENCIA - 2009

Made from 100% Mencia grapes, a varietal that if you haven't heard of, is one you should get acquainted with rather quickly.

TASTING NOTES:

Dark red color with explosive grapey-berries on the nose.  Rich, focused cherry and black fruit with smoke, raspberries and minerality. Lengthy finish with a backbone.

SCORE & RECOMMENDATION:

90+ PTS
A juicy fruit explosion with mouth-watering deliciousness.  This wine has strength and finesse.  Spain still remains one of the best values in the marketplace.  Pick this one up on sale for as little as $12 a bottle.

SHATTER GRENACHE - 2011

Grenache based red from Southern France's Languedoc Roussillon region is made by Dave Phinney (Orin Swift's The Prisoner) and famous California winemaker Joel Gott. 15.9% alcohol.

TASTING NOTES:

Inky purple-red with blueberry pie on the nose.  Dark fruit with notes of blueberry, blackberry, plum, charred oak, and mocha. Brambly, some sweetness, lush grapey richness.

SCORE & RECOMMENDATION:

95 PTS
This is a blockbuster wine. Simply awesome. Powerful with elegance. There's complexity here and the whopping alcohol content is integrated fairly nicely.  Saturated and full of pure deliciousness.  If you love cult-Syrah like Denner, or young fruit forward Chateauneuf-du-Papes, you'll love this CDP-esque wine on PEDs.  Retails for $29 and one of the best new wines I've tasted all year.

CHATEAU CROIX DE LABRIE ST. EMILION GRAND CRU - 2007

One of the smallest St. Emilion producers.  A garage wine of sorts made from close to 100% Merlot and aged in 100% French new oak.

TASTING NOTES:

Black fruit, charcoal, oak-char, black cherry, mocha, leather, baking spices.  Rich, smooth, elegant with plum notes on the finish.

SCORE & RECOMMENDATION:

93 PTS
This is a sensational wine with tremendous character and style.  Terrific hidden gem of the vintage.

ANDREW RICH PRELUDE PINOT NOIR - 2010

13.5% alcohol.  Willamette Valley.

TASTING NOTES:

Light red color with raspberry and black cherry notes.  Clean, crisp with good acidity.  

SCORE & RECOMMENDATION:

88 PTS

Easy to drink, but lacks complexity. Simple, light and enjoyable but short on the finish and depth.  Retails for around $20.

LE G DE CHATEAU GUIRAUD BORDEAUX BLANC - 2011

Known more for its Sauternes, Chateau Guiraud's Le G is a dry white wine, barrel fermented in one year old Sauternes barrels and aged for six months on the lees.  80% Sauvignon Blanc, 20% Semillon. 13.5% alcohol.

TASTING NOTES:

Golden yellow with aromas of meadow grass, peaches, nectarines, and citrus. On the palate there's persimmons, creamy melon, grapefruit and pear. Smooth, dry finish with lots of minerality and composure. 

SCORE & RECOMMENDATION:

92 PTS
For $16 this is serious, sophisticated wine.  You don't come across this kind of layered complexity, ever-evolving in the glass kind of wine at this price point.  A wonderful wine. Triumph.

FINCA NEUVA RIOJA BLANCO - 2009

100% Viura grapes, barrel fermented and aged 4 months in French Oak barrels.  13% alcohol.

TASTING NOTES:

Straw-gold color with floral lemon aromas.  Peaches, honey, minerals, and lots of citrus. Candied apple-pear on the finish with oak undertones. 

SCORE & RECOMMENDATION:

91 PTS
A really unique and satisfying white from Spain. There is a deliciousness here. A long finish. Great balance and acidity. You can't ask for much more from a wine that costs $15 a bottle.

DUNHAM CELLARS TRUTINA - 2009

13.5% alcohol.  60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot, 6% Syrah, 6% Cabernet Franc, 4% Malbec.  From Columbia Valley, Washington State.

TASTING NOTES:

Dark fruit on display as blackberries, black currants, blackberry, licorice, plum and lots of oak are packed into a left hook. There's creamy cherry-vanilla notes and chocolate, big tannins and explosiveness with restraint and finesse.

SCORE & RECOMMENDATION:

91+PTS
This wine is raw, bold, naked and amusing so in a way it could be Lena Dunham wine. But all kidding aside, it is a terrific wine with "trutina" which means balance in Latin. For around $22 a bottle, this is superior stuff from one of my favorite wine regions on Earth.  Washington State delivers great quality at  a more affordable rate than a lot of California wineries.

CARPINETA FONTALPINO CHIANTI CLASSICO - 2009

14% alcohol.  Made from 90% Sangiovese.

TASTING NOTES:

Dark red color with aromas of black fruit and charred oak. Black currant, plum, blackberries and hints of cherry/mocha on the mid-palate.  Relatively smooth with dusty tannins, leather and spices accenting a round finish.

SCORE & RECOMMENDATION:

90 PTS
Nothing that will thrill you, but this is a well made wine with a good price tag. It lists for around $20 but you can find it on sale for around $17.  Not sure this will really improve with aging. Quality fruit, approachable now, but leaves you wanting more excitement because all the right ingredients are there but it just doesn't completely come together.

SKOURAS MOSCOFILERO - 2011

Greek white wine with 12% alcohol. Grown in volcanic soils.

TASTING NOTES:

Crisp and floral with pear, apple and citrus notes. There's peach and melon underneath well-balanced acidity and minerality.

SCORE & RECOMMENDATION:

89 PTS
Stellar Greek white for $13.  Some nice complexity and depth with a lovely floral nose.  Easy recommendation given the price point as you won't find to many complex whites for under $15.

BANSHEE MORDECAI PROPRIETARY RED - 2010

A blend of varietals sourced from some California mystery vineyards. 14.5% alcohol.

TASTING NOTES:

Red and black fruit. Smooth, dark, Cab driven with berries, licorice, black cherries and earth. Pretty balanced although some alcohol shows through.

SCORE & RECOMMENDATION:

89 PTS
A great wine with excellent fruit.  It does not possess tremendous depth but has an easy drinking feel to it. Despite some heat the wine is very balanced. Retails for around $21.

LA FLEUR DE BOUARD - 2005

Lalande-de-Pomerol. 85% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon with 14% alcohol.

TASTING NOTES:

Seductive aromas. Tannic, oaky, sleek. Rich black fruit of plums, blackberries, black currant, creme-de-cassis, licorice. Distinctive Pomerol smoked earth.

SCORE & RECOMMENDATION:

91 PTS
I love good Pomerol wines and this wine seems to deliver year after year. 2005 is a great vintage and this one pops dynamically in the glass.  Getting up there in price near $40 although this was a steal on futures when acquired.

MONSANTO CHIANTI CLASSICO RISERVA - 2008

90% Sangiovese, 7% Canaiolo, 3% Colorino with 14% alcohol. Instead of large Slavonian casks the wine was aged for 18 months in French oak barriques.

TASTING NOTES:

Dark red and black fruit, with lots of tobacco, cherries and leather. Plum and spice round out the ends with soft, ripe tannin.

SCORE & RECOMMENDATION:

91+PTS
Balance, structure and finesse. This is a great wine that flies under the radar.  Previous vintage made the Wine Spectator Top 100 list, yet the price on this one did not escalate. Retails for around $17 making it a solid buy.

RUFFINO MODUS TOSCANA IGT - 2009

A blend of 50% Sangiovese, 25% Cabernet and 25% Merlot.

TASTING NOTES: 

Cedar oak leaps from the glass with earth, cherries, tobacco and dark fruit emerging.  On the palate there's elegant fruit and oak, lots of leather, dark blackberries, plum, black currant and herbs. Hints of asphalt and spices lurk beneath. 

SCORE & RECOMMENDATION:

94 PTS

Great acidity and balance. Delicious cedar oak.  A wine that evolves in the glass with complexity. Ripe and ready to drink but will only get better with some time in the bottle. Retails for around $25 and worth every penny.

MOVIA SAUVIGNON - 2010

You've probably had Sauvignon Blanc from California or New Zealand, but what about Slovenia?  12.5% alcohol and 100% unique.

TASTING NOTES:

Dark amber-gold color with aromas of elderflower, citrus and herbs.  On the palate, there's lemon, an herbaciousness and honey on the finish.  More viscosity than your typical Sauvignon and drifts into an area of wet stones and minerality.

SCORE & RECOMMENDATION:

91 PTS
A really intriguing white wine that is not driven by fruit. It fits into more of a dry, floral, slate category.  Good acidity, a heavier bodied white with just a bit of oxidation. Retails for around $25.

OJAI SYRAH MELVILLE - 2007

From Santa Rita Hills, Central Coast, CA.

TASTING NOTES:

Dark purple-red color with aromas of blackberries, black currants and pepper. On the palate there's lots of plum, black fruit, some spice and licorice on the finish. Cherry notes dominate the mid-palate with good length and ripeness.

SCORE & RECOMMENDATION:

91+ PTS
A very saturated dark Syrah with hefty tannins and weight, but the wine falls short of greatness. The flavor profile lacks the complexity and richness one would expect from such a dark, inky pour.  Perhaps I have been spoiled by all the Washington State Syrahs I have been drinking. Retails for around $33 making it tough to recommend given its price point vs. delivery.  A quality wine but I've definitely had better from this producer as well.

SHAFER RELENTLESS - 2008

Syrah and Petite Sirah blend from Napa Valley, CA.  15.6% alcohol.

TASTING NOTES:

Big, bold, vibrant and youthful.  Dark inky red with blackberry, black cherry, black licorice, black pepper. Silky but tannic.

SCORE & RECOMMENDATION:

92 PTS
The critics have gone wild for this wine scoring it 95 points or higher but it definitely does not reach that kind of altitude for me, at least not yet.  Perhaps this wine will inspire awe years from now, but it is not hitting its stride. It has promise.  The deep concentrated, saturated red doesn't quite come together with tannin and alcohol. The oak is in check. The fruit is there. For $55 a bottle I'd recommend Gorman's Evil Twin over this offering which is already performing like a 1st round draft pick.

E. GUIGAL GIGONDAS - 2007

This is a classic GSM - Grenache, Mourvedre and Syrah blend with 14% alcohol.  From Rhone, France.

TASTING NOTES:

Rich dark purple color and flavors with earth, mushrooms, fig, minerals, tobacco leaf, black licorice, plum, black pepper and dark berries. Polished and smooth with wonderful complexity.

SCORE & RECOMMENDATION:

92 PTS
What a great wine for $25.  You get a terrific old world bottle with length, elegance and depth.  There are so many flavors that bounce around and wine quickly evolves on pop and pour. The next day yields  a further evolution and subtle shifts in the flavors and aromas.  I really love this wine.  The fact that you can buy it today and that it has 5 years of bottle age and can last another 5 to 7 makes it extra special.

FOLONARI MOSCATO - NV

Folonari Moscato is grown from grapes at the alpine foothills between Lake Iseo and Lake Garda.  The grapes are harvested when they are slightly overripe in the wine region of Veneto, Italy.  100% Moscato grapes with around 9.5% alcohol.

TASTING NOTES:

Light straw color with a nose of petrol, acacia, and peach.  On the palate there is Juicy Fruit gum upfront followed by peach, sour red pear and melon, honey and white grape juice.  There is good acidity on the finish.

SCORE & RECOMMENDATION:

87 PTS
For $9 a bottle there is a tremendous value here. The wine is well made and its only flaw is that the acidity is not quite balanced with the sugar.  I would have preferred just a tad more residual sugar and a longer finish, but this is still a wine I would recommend.  Moscato not only makes a great dessert wine, but pairs great with cheeses and appetizers as a starter wine.