Serious Cabernet for not-too-serious a price. This young wine shows lots of muscle and intensity, with blackberry and...
Mirassou Winery, California (United States) Pinot Noir 2012
Juicy and sweet and damned near irresistible, this is an affordable Pinot Noir that will please almost everyone. Packed...
Sterling, Napa Valley (California) Cabernet Sauvignon 2010
Calling this Cabernet “Platinum” turns out to have been a self-fulfilling prophesy, as this was awarded a Platinum...
Daou Vineyards and Winery, Paso Robles (California) Cabernet Sauvignon 2011
This is a big-time Cab with plenty of power and punch, and yet that’s not all that it brings to the party. Dark...
Who’s On First? Champagne’s Earliest Houses
In this spring-summer season, filled with tradition and reflection at graduations and weddings that effervesce with Champagne,...
Castello Banfi, Toscana IGT (Tuscany, Italy) 2011
This is a completely convincing Tuscan red that shows excellent depth of flavor and persistence of finish, yet it also manages...
Wakefield, Clare Valley (South Australia) Shiraz 2013
Wow. What a wonderful mouthful of wine for $17! Dark, dense, deeply-flavored and amazingly persistent on the palate,...
Bonterra Vineyards, Mendocino County (California) Zinfandel 2011
Made with organic grapes, this wine shows beautifully ripened fruit, almost no discernible oak influence, no overt alcohol, and...
Windsor Vineyards, Sonoma County (California) Zinfandel 2011
Big and bold but not overblown, this Zin shows very expressive aromas and flavors, with dark berry fruit that really lingers on...
Concannon Conservancy, Livermore Valley (California) Petite Sirah 2010
Dark and densely pigmented, with fine intensity and excellent inner balance, this shows all of the markers for Petite Sirah at a...
Domaine Carneros, Carneros (California) 2009
Domaine Carneros’ 2009 Brut shows exceptional aromatic balance between toasty, nutty accents and a core of juicy but...
Trinchero Napa Valley, Napa Valley (California) 2010
Sweet and soft and quite alluring, this wine shows very ripe fruit character but manages not to come across as stewed or...