In the 1970s, when California wine was trending toward agribusiness, Phil LaRocca approached enology professors at UC Davis and...
Copain, Anderson Valley (Mendocino County, California) Pinot Noir 2009
This is the wine that master sommelier Geoff Kruth used to demonstrate a definition of "balance:" Kruth...
Hirsch Vineyards, Sonoma Coast (Sonoma County, California) Pinot Noir 2009
Good value considering the neighborhood, this wine is from a blend of vineyards on the extreme chilly western part of the...
Miura, Santa Lucia Highlands (Monterey County, California) Pinot Noir 2008
Master sommelier Emmanuel Kemiji is the man behind Miura, and he found a way to get intensity without weight from these...
Soliste, Sonoma Coast (Sonoma County, California) Pinot Noir 2009
What a great combination of fruit and savory notes: dark plum and a strong black, not-sweet note that reminded me of what...
Peay, Sonoma Coast (California) Pinot Noir 2009
Winemaker Vanessa Wong said of this wine, "It has really forward fruit." She's a good winemaker, but she...
Mount Eden Vineyards, Santa Cruz Mountains (California) Pinot Noir 2009
Winemaker Jeffrey Patterson was a minimal interventionist long before the concept was cool in California. This wine,...
Domaine de la Romanée Conti, Échézaux (Burgundy, France) 2008
Power without weight is a beautiful thing. This is a potent wine, with strong initial pomegranate that lingers and...
Domaine de la Romanée Conti, La Tâche (Burgundy, France) 2008
This is a great wine that might last for decades. It's elegant and beautiful on the nose: raspberry and violet with...
Domaine de la Romanée Conti, Richebourg (Burgundy, France) 2008
An extremely savory wine, which starts off with pomegranate and dark cherry but finishes with intense salted licorice and...
Domaine de la Romanée Conti, Romanée-Conti (Burgundy, France) 2008
Look, this is a good-to-great wine. And it might get better: DRC veterans talked about how this was an unusually...
Domaine de la Romanée Conti, Romanée-St.-Vivant (Burgundy, France) 2008
The RSV's aroma is so delicate -- raspberry, some oak, mushrooms -- that its savory attack in the mouth comes as a...