Category Archives: Reviews

Domaine Sylvain Langoureau, Saint-Aubin (Côte de Beaune, Burgundy, France) 2017

($30):  Saint-Aubin, lying behind the famous white wine villages of Puligny-Montrachet and Chassagne-Montrachet with their Grand Cru vineyards, is off the beaten tract, which means consumers can find value.   Prices for Premier Cru Saint-Aubin have climbed dramatically as consumers have caught on, but bargains still exist for village wines, even from a top producer like Langoureau. Read more

Domaine Bart, Marsannay (Côte de Nuits, Burgundy, France) “Les Finottes” 2018

($30):  Domaine Bart is a star producer in Marsannay.  This house makes splendid Grand Crus, such as Bonnes-Mares and Chambertin Clos de Bèze that routinely sell for $200+ a bottle upon release.  Their skill is also found in a bevy of single-vineyard wines from the village of Marsannay, the northern most village of the Côte de Nuits. Read more

Domaine Jean et Giles Lafouge, Auxey-Duresses (Côte de Beaune, Burgundy, France) 2017

($37):   One formula for Burgundy bargains is to find a top producer who lives and has vineyards in an out-of-the-way place.  Domaine Lafouge’s Auxey-Duresses (“oh say doo ress”) fits that formula. Auxey-Duresses, like Monthélie, which it abuts, is situated in the prestigious Côte d’Or, but most of its vineyards lie even further west. Read more

Gary Farrell Vineyards & Winery, Russian River Valley (Sonoma County, California) Chardonnay “Russian River Selection” 2018

($35):  Gary Farrell is well-known for producing excellent single-vineyard Pinot Noirs.  They also produce a bevy of single-vineyard Chardonnays.  This one, however, their Russian River Selection, is a blend of Chardonnay grown in five vineyards: Westside Farms, Bacigalupi Vineyard, Rochioli, Allen and Olivet Lane. Read more

Travaglino, Oltrepò Pavese DOC (Lombardy, Italy) Pinot Nero Poggio della Butinera Riserva 2015

($42):  Italy is not known for Pinot Nero (aka Pinot Noir) the way it is for Nebbiolo or Sangiovese.  In the relatively cool Oltrepò Pavese region, the grape does well, as Travaglino shows with this 2015 Riserva.  Nicely concentrated, but certainly nowhere near a New World style, it delivers both fruit flavors and savory character, the latter of which is immediately apparent in the nose and carries onto the palate. Read more

Bodegas Caro, Mendoza (Argentina) Malbec “Aruma” 2018

($15, Taub Family Selections):  This Malbec is an unusual wine for Bodegas Caro, a collaboration between Domaines Barons de Rothschild (Lafite) and Nicolas Catena, two stars in the wine world.  It is unusual because they pride themselves on combining two winemaking cultures, Bordeaux and Argentina, and their two respective grapes, Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec, but there’s no Cab in this. Read more

J. Lohr, Paso Robles (Central Coast, California) Cabernet Sauvignon “Signature” 2016

($90):  An over-sized bottle with the wine weighing in at 15.1 percent stated alcohol accurately predicts the nature of this Cabernet Sauvignon:  powerful.  Fruit-forward and dominant, it’s a blend of mostly Cabernet Sauvignon, with small amounts of Merlot, Malbec, Carmenere and Saint-Macaire, an ancient grape from Bordeaux, which is no longer used there, but was included in the allowed mix for Meritage wines in California. Read more

Agricola Punica, Isola del Nuraghi IGT (Sardinia, Italy) “Barrua” 2015

($46):  Agricola Punica is a collaboration between Tenuta San Guido, the Bolgheri producer responsible for Sassicaia, and Sardinia’s Cantina di Santadi.  The late Giacomo Tachis, who was a genius at sensing the utility of the so-called Bordeaux varieties in selected Italian locales, suggested the blend of Carignano, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot for their wine to be called “Barrua.” Read more

Schloss Johannisberg, Rheingau (Germany) Riesling Silberlack Trocken GG 2018

($75):  Schloss Johannisberg, whose Riesling planting started in 1719, is thought to be the oldest Riesling producer in the world.  (The first documented wine harvest from the site itself was a roughly a thousand years earlier, in 817.)  The estate grows only Riesling, yet makes many different wines depending on where in the vineyard the grapes grow and when they are harvested. Read more

Casa Perini, Farroupilha (Serra Gaúcha, Brazil) Moscatel NV

($20, Aiko Imports):  Brazil ranks third in wine production in South America after Argentina and Chile, according to The Oxford Companion to Wine.  And almost a quarter of the country’s production is sparkling wine.  Most of the fine wine production is located in the Serra Gaúcha area, where Italian and German immigrants settled, in the southern (cooler — away from the equator) part of the country near the border with Uruguay. Read more

Domaine du Cellier aux Moines, Givry, 1er Cru Clos du Celliers aux Moines, 2016

Drinking Window: 2025 – 2030
The Pascals introduced organic farming in 2016, which may explain its success in that tricky vintage. The only problem: it follows the 2015. Captivating savoury notes—that not-just-fruit character—are apparent and mingle with dark cherry-like fruitiness. Suave texture, now a hallmark of the domaine since 2015, adds to its appeal.
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Cascina Castlet, Barbera d’Asti DOCG (Piedmont, Italy) “Litina” 2016

($40, Artisan Selections by Romano Brands):  The label sports CCC in bold letters on the bottle, the abbreviation of the winery, Cascina Caslet, plus the village, Costigliole, where it’s located. The important information can be found on the neck label. Similar to their Vespa bottling, the Litinia, named after a family member, is a robust wine that delivers black fruitiness buttressed by zippy acidity. Read more