Over a pizza dinner, I snuck this to a table full of anti-California wine drinkers. I had to wrestle the bottle away from them to get a sip. Lively, delicate... read more →
Grown on brown limestone. Frick should get more recognition for his pinot noir and this vintage is particularly beautiful, with aspects I love: twig and ground ivy on top of... read more →
We stood in the vineyards and Audrey pointed out a gorgeous pink orchid growing from the granite. This is 14.5% abv but still has such life. Love the chamomile and... read more →
Lovers of Valentini and Emidio Pepe listen up: here’s another contender for brilliant traditional wines from Abruzzo. Vinified and partially raised in stainless then plunked in Slavonian and French oak.... read more →
This is an emotional wine. Full and light at the same time, like some luxurious silk drying on a line in the sun in the early morning.
Old world alert! Jacqueline André sidesteps the trend towards 100% grenache, embraces concrete and thus manages finesse and elegance, even with 14.5% abv. Cellar the powerful 2010s and 2011s—they’ll be... read more →
Kenji is from Vancouver. We met at the Renaissance, where the cupid arrow pierced my palate. This is his first vintage, but chenin of this quality is hard to find,... read more →
When I tasted Xavier Weisskopf’s line up at the Bio show, I thought, where have these been? Apparently on the west coast! There they get to drink the gorgeous côt.... read more →
This Touche is going to touch a lot of chenin freaks. The finish on this is fueled by lemon, apple and mineral like a hammer. Boing! Beautiful, edgy at 12%... read more →
Why don’t the Coulaine wines get better representation on the shelves? The 2011 vintage was generous to Etienne and Pascale and this is a gorgeous expression of grapes grown in... read more →