Month: December 2017

2014 Albatross Ridge, Pinot Noir “First Flight” Estate, Carmel Valley, Monterey County. The late release of a the Albatross Ridge First Flight, from Garrett Bowlus, is a refined and extremely…

2014 K Vintners, Syrah “Motor City Kitty” Washington State. The Charles Smith K Vintners “M*C*K Syrah is a rock and roll red that proves both powerful and wonderfully textural in…

2016 Sheldon Wines, Syrah, Luc’s Vineyard, Fountaingrove, Sonoma County. The wonderfully crisp and finessed Sheldon Syrah Luc’s Vineyard from the Fountaingrove AVA is unbelievably dreamy on the palate with a…

2015 Saint Cosme, Crozes-Hermitage, Northern Rhone, France. The Louis Barruol Saint Cosme Crozes Hermitage is as terroir driven and pure as it get for Northern Rhone Syrah with exceptional detail…

2013 Cascina Ballarin di Viberti Luigi e Figli, Barolo “Tre Ciabot” Piedmonte, Italy. This little known La Morra Barolo estate is run by the Viberti family, since 1928, and is…

2016 Joyce Vineyards, Syrah, Tondre Grapefield, Santa Lucia Highlands. The youth movement and generational change in Monterey wines has arrived with a flourish and you should take notice, these young…

2016 Sheldon Wines, Old Vine Petite Sirah “I’ll get him in the Straightaway” Napa Valley. Dylan and Tobe Sheldon’s tribute single barrel tribute to their friend, the late Ted Van…

2015 Eduardo Torres Acosta, Nerello Mascalese “Versante Nord” IGT Terre Siciliane, Italy. This is the second vintage I’ve had of Eduardo Torres Acosta, the Canary Islands native and now winemaker…

2014 Storm Wines, Pinot Noir, Vrede, Upper Hemel-en-Aarde Valley, South Africa. After years at the famed Hamilton-Russell winery, Hannes Storm has struck out on his own with three tiny parcels…

2015 Julia Bertram, Spatburgunder “Handwerk” Dernau, Ahr Germany. A lovely and delicate wine, the 2015 Julia Bertram Spatburgunder Handwerk from Germany’s Ahr region, one of the world’s great Pinot Noir…