From a single namesake parcel of 50-year-old garnacha vines on decomposed granite soils in the town of Villena, Alicante. Fermented in steel, raised for 12 months in 2- to 4-year-old... read more →
An Italian couple, architects, moved to Cataluna from Piedmont and went about hunting old vines and working with the fruit. This field blend is my favorite of their offerings. Love... read more →
All of Fabio’s 2013s are worth seeking out. Remember the albillo (some sauvignon-like skunk), the malvar (which would get both my hardcore and geek stamps, with some interesting Band-Aid mint,... read more →
Jancis Robinson’s book Grapes documents chelva as an old Andalucian grape which is often called lairen. Allowed in the Madrid DO, it seems to be a hearty and disease-resistant variety,... read more →
2013 was a hard year in the Anjou, but it was kind to Christine and Joël Ménard, two of the nicest vignerons in all of the Anjou Noir. All of... read more →
West of Toulouse and east of Bordeaux in Buzet, Magali Tissot and Ludovic Bonnelle do the old fashioned thing, work by hand, foot crush, deeply respect the soil, get silly-low... read more →
Cyril Alonso is the “natural” négoce, who wins the value prize with this entry for a full liter of glou glou deliciousness. The grapes come from near Tavel, vinified in... read more →
Camille Rivière watched as I tasted Jean-François Coutelou’s wines at my kitchen table. Jeff used to be her wine teacher back when she was being a pain in the ass... read more →
How ’bout this for a note, “Hoo-ha!” If the other cuvée is glou glou, this cuvée is intense, but still easy. However, it’s not just a fruit bomb: along with... read more →
Mike Roth has left Martian Ranch and that’s a good thing, because now he can develop into the vigneron he was meant to become. While he’s waiting for his vines... read more →