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.