I had to look twice. On a warm June night in a lively Paris bistro many years ago, diners had bottles of Crozes-Hermitage...
Chilling Red Wines
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Michael Apstein
Las Rocas de San Alejandro, Calatayud (Aragon, Spain) Garnacha 2009
In addition to added complexity, the old vines (viñas viejas) used for this bottling provide riper grapes that...
Cakebread Cellars, Red Hills (Lake County, California) Zinfandel 2010
Ripe red and black fruit flavors bombard the palate without assaulting it because the tannins are unobtrusive. A lovely briary...
Valckenberg, Rheinhessen (Germany) Pinot Noir 2012
This extraordinarily bargain-priced Pinot Noir comes from a most unusual place -- Germany, a land far better known for Riesling...
d’Arenberg, Adelaide Hills (South Australia) Pinot Noir 2011
d’Arenberg is known for their muscular and intensely flavored wines. This Pinot Noir -- aptly dubbed The Feral Fox...
Montes, Colchagua Valley (Chile) 2010
With their “M” bottling, which they don’t produce every year, Montes has consistently demonstrated the heights...
Gallo, Santa Lucia Highlands (Monterey County, California) Pinot Noir 2011
In many ways, Gallo, a producer responsible for one out of every four bottles of wine sold in the US, has a high hurdle to jump...
Edna Valley Vineyard, Central Coast (California) Pinot Noir 2011
Confusingly, though the name of the wine is “Paragon,” it does not come from the famed and vast -- 875 acre --...
Cono Sur, Casablanca Valley (Chile) Pinot Noir 2012
Despite coming from the Casablanca Valley, a cool coastal area of Chile where you’d expect more delicacy in Pinot Noir,...
Toad Hollow, Russian River Valley (Sonoma County, California) Pinot Noir 2011
This mid-weight Pinot Noir combines spice and red fruit-like flavors in a most enjoyable package. Mild tannins allow it to...
Montes, Colchagua Valley (Chile) Cabernet Sauvignon 2010
Aurelio Montes was one of the pioneers of the premium wine industry in Chile when he and his partners founded the Montes winery...
Louis M. Martini, Sonoma County (California) Cabernet Sauvignon 2011
With its focus on soft lush black fruit flavors, Martini’s straight Sonoma County Cabernet is perfectly fine, especially...