Reviews

E. Guigal 17691

Saint-Joseph Blanc 2018

December 13, 2019
While the reds of Saint-Joseph are today one of the most exciting stories in the Rhone Valley, the minuscule production of whites, in the hands of the best producers, are absolutely thrilling and in a perhaps less extreme way than the other great whites of the region, namely in Hermitage and Condrieu. Get them while they're still affordable.

E. Guigal 17685

Condrieu 2018

Condrieu

December 13, 2019
Condrieu is the ancestral home of the Viognier vine and is the source of one of the world's most exotic white wines. In the mid-20th century, only 20 acres of Viognier remained in Condrieu, leaving the grape and the appellation in serious jeopardy. Guigal was instrumental in bringing this appellation back from near extinction, and today supplements the grapes from their own vineyards with grapes purchased from numerous small growers, ultimately vinifying nearly one-third of the entire appellation.

Ferrer Bobet 17665

Vinyes Velles 2016

Priorat, Spain

December 13, 2019
Ferrer Bobet's Vinyes Velles is an old vine blend of Carignane (70%) and Grenache (30%). It's produced from some of the best steep slate hillside and terraced vineyards in Priorat. Though the "second wine" of Ferrer Bobet, the initial 2005 release put Ferrer Bobet on the wine world map. Two of the most important publications in Spain named it their wine of the year, and accolades came pouring in from Russia, the UK and the US. It launched the Ferrer Bobet mission of creating wines of elegance and purity, and the message has resonated.

Ferrer Bobet 17652

Priorat 2016

Priorat, Spain

December 13, 2019
Ferrer Bobet Priorat is the second vintage of a Priorat produced primarily from Ferrer Bobet’s own vineyards. It fulfills the vision of elegance, freshness and detail that were the reasons for starting the estate. It is a Carignan based blend, based on low vigor and high quality rootstocks and clones, aiming for perfectly balanced vines.

E. Guigal 17645

Gigondas 2016

Gigondas

December 13, 2019
Guigal’s Gigondas is an incredible introduction to serious Southern Rhône reds, and a show-stopper at the price. In the hands of Guigal, the rich ripe fruit and savory character of the wine bursts with sheer pleasure, yet the wine displays terrific refinement, complexity, length and ability to age.

Chateau Montelena 17586

Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2016

Calistoga, Napa Valley, California

January 21, 2020
The Estate Cabernet Sauvignon is Chateau Montelena’s flagship wine and a quality icon of Napa Valley. The winemaking team works obsessively and passionately with each vintage to capture the best expression of their historic terroir. This is a show-stopper that reveals the perfect blend of flavors, aromas and textures to reach the pinnacle of balance.

Dog Point Vineyard 17424

Pinot Noir 2017

Marlborough

December 05, 2019
Dog Point's renown as a Sauvignon Blanc producers has done nothing to lessen the enthusiasm around their Pinot Noir, today considered one of the finest in New Zealand. What sets their wine apart is the generosity of the structure, which comes off as rich but not sweet, and the complex mingling of fruit and savory notes.

Dog Point Vineyard 17418

Chardonnay 2017

Marlborough

December 05, 2019
Several influential voices in the wine industry believe that in time Chardonnay may prove New Zealand's single highest achievement. All three of the Dog Point wines fermented in barrel are small in production, but the Chardonnay is the smallest, and at times indeed the most dazzling.

Chateau Montelena 17405

Napa Valley Chardonnay 2017

Napa Valley, California

December 04, 2019
A true icon. The Napa Valley Chardonnay is the wine that put Chateau Montelena and Napa Valley at the forefront of the wine world in 1976, in what is now memorialized as “The Judgment of Paris.” To great disbelief, the Chateau Montelena Napa Valley Chardonnay was the top-ranking wine against four white Burgundies and five other California Chardonnays. And as they say, the rest is history.

Chateau Montelena 17398

Napa Valley Chardonnay 2012

Napa Valley, California

December 04, 2019
A true icon. The Napa Valley Chardonnay is the wine that put Chateau Montelena and Napa Valley at the forefront of the wine world in 1976, in what is now memorialized as “The Judgment of Paris.” To great disbelief, the Chateau Montelena Napa Valley Chardonnay was the top-ranking wine against four white Burgundies and five other California Chardonnays. And as they say, the rest is history.

Petrolo 17170

Bòggina A 2017

Val d'Arno di Sopra DOC

November 14, 2019
Every year, Petrolo selects a small lot of Bòggina, a wine made purely from their best Sangiovese grapes, to ferment in amphorae. The choice of amphorae has a historical dimension: Terracotta in Tuscany has a history back to the early Etruscan times. The remains of amphorae and other Etruscan relics can be found throughout the Petrolo property, an area that has been settled for thousands of years.

Petrolo 17165

Galatrona 2017

Toscana IGT

November 14, 2019
Year after year, Galatrona has quietly been recognized as one of the great wines of Italy and is often referred to as the Petrus of Tuscany. What it truly is, though, is beyond comparison - a wine of utter individuality reflective of the Petrolo estate and its unique location in an all but unknown appellation of Tuscany.

Petrolo 17161

Bòggina B 2017

Toscana IGT

November 14, 2019
Bòggina B is a little bit of Burgundy with a Tuscan twist. The wine is made with 100% Trebbiano Toscano. The clone of the Valdarno has been known for its quality since the 1300s, when it was regularly sent to the popes in Rome and the courts of Florence. Petrolo has been using Trebbiano grapes for its sweet vinsanto for decades, but owner Luca Sanjust decided that the time had come for a tribute to the great whites of Valdarno’s past.

Sandrone 17121

Le Vigne Barolo 2016

Barolo

June 01, 2020
Le Vigne is a wine created from four different Nebbiolo vineyards, each of which brings its own contribution. This union generates an exceptionally complex wine that is round and harmonious on the palate, with fruity and spicy notes, and this approach of blending together plots is in fact the traditional one in Barolo.

Tommasi 17055

Ripasso Valpolicella 2017

Valpolicella Classico Superiore DOC

November 12, 2019
This wine is made by refermenting the juice from the Valpolicella on the warm Amarone grape skins, in the typical “Ripasso” method, which imparts a rich character and personality to the wine. The grapes are sourced from three of most prestigious Tommasi vineyards: Conca d’Oro, La Groletta and De Buris.

Rotem and Mounir Saouma 16911

Châteauneuf-du-Pape Omnia 2016

Châteauneuf-du-Pape

November 07, 2019
Omnia, Latin for "all," is a wine that attempts to encompass the full diversity of the Chateauneuf-du-Pape appellation, both in its terroir and vinification. Fruit comes from vineyards in all 5 of the Chateauneuf communes (Chateauneuf-du-Pape, Courthezon, Sorgues, Bedarrides and Orange) and aged in foudre, cement and 500 liter barrels.

Tenuta Luce 16870

Lucente 2017

Toscana IGT

November 04, 2019
Lucente is the second wine of Luce, a wine with contemporary style, immediate and great pleasure, and like its elder sibling, an authentic interpretation of Montalcino and the Luce estate.

Domaine Chanson 16493

Beaune Clos des Fèves 1er Cru Domaine 2017

Beaune, Burgundy

October 23, 2019

Domaine Chanson 16480

Pernand-Vergelesses 1er Cru Les Caradeux Domaine 2017

Pernand-Vergelesses, Burgundy

October 23, 2019

Domaine Chanson 16455

Savigny-Dominode 1er Cru Domaine 2017

Savigny-Les-Beaune, Burgundy

October 23, 2019