France

• Alsace
• Bergerac
• Bordeaux
  • Barsac
  • Bordeaux Supérieur
  • Margaux
  • Graves
  • Haut-Medoc
  • Listrac
  • Pauillac
  • Pomerol
  • Saint Emilion
  • Saint Estephe
  • Saint Julian
  • Sauternes
• Burgundy
  • Beaujolais
  • Bourgogne
  • Chablis
  • Côte de Nuits
  • Mercurey
• Cahors
• Champagne
• Cognac
• Corsica
• Gascony
• Jura
  • Arbois
• Languedoc-Roussillon
  • Minervois
• Loire Valley
  • Bourgueil
  • Jasnières
  • Muscadet
  • Mont Louis
  • Sancerre
  • Saumur
  • Savennières
  • Touraine
  • Vouvray
• Rhone (Rhône)
  • Châteauneuf-du-Pape
  • Cornas
  • Crozes-Hermitage
  • Gigondas
  • Hermitage
  • Lirac
  • Saint Joseph
• Provence
  • Bandol
• Savoie
• Tavel

For those looking for value in their red wines, the southern Rhone is still a great place once you get outside Chateauneuf and perhaps Gigondas.  This is one of those wines that is a great wine to stock up on in great vintages.  Purple/ruby in color, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose is very nice with black cherries, plums, slight spice and slight floral notes.  Medium bodied.  On the palate, this has some depth to it.  Black cherry fruit with underlying spice.  Good acidity.  This should drink well for the next five to seven years.  A nice match with a veggies burger (or even a meat burg

This is still a bit on the young side but with a few hours of air, it drank well.  Purple in color, ruby at the rim.  Opaque and bright.  The nose is nice with cherries, spice, minerals, black raspberries and smoke.  On the palate, this is full bodied with a rich, lush texture.  Lots of juicy black and red raspberries with underlying pepper, and earthiness.  Good acidity.  Deep with tight layers that unwind in the glass.  Long finish.  This needs about three to five more years until peak and should drink great for ten to fifteen more after that.  It drinks great on its own and will work wel

Another nice value play from Kermit Lynch.  A blend of 60% Carignan, 30% Grenache Noir,  and 10% Syrah.  Purple in color with ruby swirls.  Mostly clear and bright.  The nose has black cherries, black raspberries, slight earthy note and black pepper.  Medium bodied.  Nice acidity.  On the palate, the black cherries come thru.  Some depth.  Light tannins.  Good finish.  This is a tasty wine that drinks fine on its own but works better with hearty food.  It went great with a vegetarian chili.  Drink this over the next five to seven years.  

I honestly don't remember a Nouveau carrying a Villages designation, but this was certainly a step up, so there is that.  Purple in color.  The nose has cherries, slight banana and a hint of bubblegum.  Medium bodied.  On the palate, the cherry fruit is nice.  Clean.  Not deep but tasty.  This should at least drink well through the end of the year.  A nice wine with Thanksgiving leftovers.  

Celebrating one of the ingenious pieces of wine marketing, I certainly enjoying a free glass of wine when these are released.  It does give a nice glimpse of what the vintage holds and adds a bit of whimsy.  This is purple in color, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose has bubble gum, yeast and some grapey black cherries.  Nice texture.  On the palate, a bit bitter but some cherry soda flavors.  Good acidity. Ideally this should be consumed by the third Friday in November (it comes out the third Thursday).  It matches ok with lighter fowl dishes.  

From one of the top producers in the Loire Valley in France comes this great value in dry Chenin Blanc.  Light golden in color, clear and bright.  The nose is great with orange peel, sea air and minerality.  Medium bodied.  Great texture.  Dry.  On the palate, there is quince, slight salinity and underlying minerality.  Nice acidity.  Long finish.  This is delicious on its own and will work well with lighter foods and also Thai food.  This is drinking well right now and should continue to do so for ten to twelve more years.  

This is drinking great and pretty much at peak.  Pop and pour, it took about 20 minutes to open and was good to go.  Purple in color with some ruby swirls with slight browning.  A bit flat and a bit shiny.  The nose is great with black cherries, spice, dried flowers, plums, minerals and slight char.  Medium bodied.  A nice backbone of acidity.  The palate has plenty of fruit left with plums and black cherries.  Underneath there is some minerality, spice and slight earthiness.  This has nice layering and complexity.  Nice finish.  Delicious.  At this stage, this works better with some food,

This may be the most iconic Rosé made.  It is arguably the best as well.  While the price has risen over the last decade or so, there is no question that it delivers on quality.  Pale salmon/copper in color, clear and bright.  The nose is great with strawberries, minerals and a slight salinity.  Very nice texture.  Medium bodied.  On the palate, strawberries with a mineral base.  This is not a big wine, but its not delicate either.  The finish goes on for a long time.  Some people advocate letting these age and while this will no doubt last for another five to seven years, the freshness in

Much better and cleaner than another bottle tried a couple years ago.  Both were bought on release at the same time.  A right bank wine from the great 2005 vintage.  The vineyard is 95% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc (unsure about the specific vintage in bottle).  Purple in color, ruby at the rim.  The nose is nice with cherries, black cherries, cedar, chocolate, slight tobacco and just a bit of smoke.  Consumed over two days, this was better/more open on day 2.  Full bodied.  Lush texture but with good acidity.  Lots of black cherry fruit over smoke with some chocolate.  Nice finish.  This s