Always one of the top Chateauneuf's and also a bit different than most due to the higher amounts of Mourvedre in the blend.  Purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose is classic Beaucastel which can be polarizing.  Black cherries, plums and a fair bit of barnyard.  Very earthy.  Full bodied.  On the palate, lots of black cherries and plums but cleaner earthiness than the nose.  Complex, deep and layered.  Long finish.  This is at peak right now if well stored.  Drink over the next seven to ten years.  This drinks well on its own but will be better with food.  Braised meats or roasted ve

Another top notch Syrah from Bedrock.  Consumed over two days, it was better on day 2.  Purple in color, ruby at the rim, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose has black cherries, black raspberries, black pepper and char.  Medium to full bodied.  On the palate, this has slightly restrained, black raspberry fruit over char and slight earth.  Deep but tight.  Good balance.  If drinking soon, give this some air.  It should continue to improve for another five to eight years and be good for ten more after that.  It drinks well on its own but would work better with some fatty/fried foods.   

Reynvaan makes some great Syrah's in Washington state.  Purple in color, ruby at the rim, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose is nice with boysenberries, slight burnt rubber, black pepper and slight bacon fat.  Full bodied.  Nice acidity.  On the palate, the boysenberries come thru over a nice minerality.  Long finish.  This is drinking well right now.  it is not robust but very concentrated.  Drink over the next eight to ten years.  This will work well with Indian food or stews.  

This is 57% Syrah, 29% Grenache, and 14% Mourvedre.  Inky purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose is nice with black raspberries, black cherries, black pepper, slight roasted meats and herbs, and spice.  Full bodied.  Fruit forward.  Quite tasty.  This is drinking well if still young.  Lots of jammy black raspberry fruit over char and some black pepper.  Maybe a bit of black cherries.  This is a real crowd pleaser.  It should continue to evolve over the next ten to twelve years.  it drinks great on its own and will work well with roasted veggies or meats.  

This is a sparkling wine made from 75% Pinot Noir and 25% Chardonnay from Argentina.  The grapes used are grown organically at an altitude of 4,000 feet.  It has a pretty salmon pink/orange color with a nice mousse of many smaller bubbles.  The nose is very nice with strawberries and cranberries and a slight ginger note.  On the palate, this is slightly sweet (12 gr/l residual sugar) but still refreshing.  it drinks quite easily with nice strawberry and cherry fruit.  The best thing about this wine is the price.  It retails for $13 a bottle which makes this perfect for anytime quaffing (and

Very nice showing for this admittedly young, dry Riesling from one of my favorite producers.  Very light silvery/golden in color, clear and bright.  The nose is intriguing with peaches, salinity, slight ginger and melon along with a nice mineral component.  Medium bodied.  On the palate, this is delicious and open.  Crisp peaches and grapefruit with a lot of minerality.  Very long finish.  This improved with air and if drinking soon, a decant would help.  It should drink well for the next ten years.  As for food, this will go with just about anything.  Thai food is obvious, but even spicy m

I had high hopes for this wine, but it really didn't come together well.  Consumed over three nights, the first night was the best showing.  given the showing, it is possible this bottle had seen heat damage at some point although there were no obvious signs.  Garnet/purple in color, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose has candied cherries (think cough drops) with some plums.  Medium bodied.  On the palate, the candied cherries carry thru along with a slight port-like note of alcohol.  Prune with heat on the finish.  I like these wine as a general rule and perhaps with some cellaring, this

Wow.  Even better than the spectacular Hunting Hill!  Still quite young, but with some air, this is wonderful.  Light golden in color.  The nose has lemons, slight citrus, a hint of mineral and tons of minerality.  Full bodied.  On the palate, this is big and rich, but then it has so much zing that cuts right thru it.  Layers of complexity.  Grapefruit and lemons over minerals.  Slight green apple on the finish.  This should continue to develop for another five to ten and then drink well for another ten to twelve after that.  It drinks great on its own but will work well with sea food or ev

The vast majority of wines from Abruzzi are quaffable/forgettable inexpensive red wines.  This is neither of those.  Emidio Pepe is one of the great producers of wine in Italy.  His red and white wines are both expensive and sublime.  They can age for decades.  This 2007 is just beginning to hit full maturity.  Deep ruby in color, mostly clear and bright.  The nose is complex with cherries, black cherries, baking spices, slight tarragon, and tar.  Dull bodied.  A strong streak of acidity (this is Italy).  Full bodied.  On the palate, layers of cherries and black cherries with underlying tar

One of my evil guilty pleasures is to put this on the table with non wine geeks and see if they drink it.  Usually, they don't, but the ones who do are impressed.  Some will just see that it is a Chianti and think it can't be any good.  This is possibly the best that Chianti offers and certainly one of the top wines that Italy offers.  Although expensive, given that, it is priced fairly.  At age 10, this is still young and needs more air though with a few hours, it drank well.  Deep garnet with purple streaks, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose is great with black cherries, cherries, black