Category: Tasting Notes

Engaging celebration of Cab Franc. Robust and rich with a bewitching mélange of ripe fruits that will bring pleasure to dark-fruit-wine aficionados, especially after the wine enjoys exposure to some air. It also is a window into a saga of grit and hardscrabble survival in the volcanic basalt and wind-whipped loess of eastern Washington State. $65-70 Continue reading →

Delivers freshness, good linear acidity, and gives a polite bow to richness and creaminess while avoiding buttery notes. Modestly elegant, clean, straightforward, easy drinker built for everyday pleasure. $19-25 Continue reading →

Delivers rich, dark fruit flavors in a very approachable kosher-for-Passover wine from a major Israeli producer. This is an easy-drinking Cab rather than one with complicated structure, a category that has its place in your glass and is respectful of your bank account. $18-22 Continue reading →

Another winner from Chehalem, a brand of Stoller Wine Group. Chehalem consistently produces excellence from a vineyard planted in 1982 and graced with outstanding Pinot Noir terroir. $45–55 Continue reading →

A great find—a Chianti with this much delicious balance and classic, food-friendly profile at an excellent price point. Made by one of the major players in the Chianti Classico region between Florence and Siena, this is an impressive Chianti Classico. $22-30 Continue reading →

Smooth, satisfying dark-fruit wine made in the country where archaeology indicates human wine production began 8,000 years ago. This wine was fermented and aged in qvevri using a distinct red grape, then made in a modern winery born after the disasters of Soviet-era wine diktats. Whew, more than worth a sip, especially at its price point. $19–30. Continue reading →

Flagship wine from Frescobaldi’s Collio estate. It is 100% Sauvignon Blanc from a single terraced hill at the foot of Monte Calvario in Collio Goriziano, a region in northeastern Italy that spills over into western Slovenia (the DOC stops at the border). While the wine has a Sancerre-like freshness, it delivers more weight and texture. Its oak regime shows as spice rather than sweetness. This offers a fascinating, palate-pleasing glimpse into another dimension of Sauv Blanc. $35-40 Continue reading →

Delicious, very food-friendly, and an exceptional value from a legendary Alsatian biodynamic white wine maker. Blend of Auxerrois Blanc and Pinot Blanc grapes. $30-35. Continue reading →

Well-made Napa Chardonnay deploys restrained oak and full malolactic conversion to deliver a polished pour that avoids the sharp edges of an unoaked Chard and the excessive melodrama of too much wood and butter some Napa makers produced in the past. $38-40 Continue reading →

Svelte, sophisticated, red-wine blend fashioned by a partnership between top Portuguese and French winemaking families. Together, they create another example of the impressive value available in Portuguese wine beyond the country’s long domination of Porto (port wine). $28-35 Continue reading →