I taste a bunch-o-wine (technical term for more than most people). So each week, I share some of my wine reviews (mostly from samples) and tasting notes in a “mini-review” format.
 
They are meant to be quirky, fun, and (mostly) easily-digestible reviews of (mostly) currently available wines (click here for the skinny on how to read them), and are presented links to help you find them, so that you can try them out for yourself. Cheers!

• 2018 Whitehaven Sauvignon Blanc (Marlborough): Perky, pungent, pushing the exotic fruits, and getting right to the point about it. $20 B+
• 2015 Neyen Espiritu de Apalta (Colchagua Valley): Dark, supple, meaty, spicy, and more alluring than most centerfolds. $68 A-
• NV Henriot Blanc de Blancs Brut (Champagne): Pucker the hell up, punk! $59 A-
• 2018 Opolo Vineyards Viognier (Central Coast): A phalanx of peachy richness, with no prisoners taken. $26 B+
• 2019 Bonny Doon Vineyard Le Cigare Blanc (Central Coast): The new path appears to be – more floral, less serious, & still delicious. $20 B+
• 2019 Bonny Doon Vineyard Picpoul (Arroyo Seco): About as zesty – and as pleasant – as they come. $15 B+
• ZD Wines 50th Anniversary Cuvee Blanc de Blancs Brut (Napa Valley): Yeast, brioche, baked yellow apple… prepare to spend a good long while unpacking this one. $90 A-
• 2017 Pope Valley Winery Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley): Textured, tangy, taught, and terrifically easy to get your head around. $42 A-
• 2016 Gundlach-Bundschu Estate Vineyard Merlot (Sonoma Valley): Woodsy, but in all of the super-fun ways. $35 B+
• 2017 Tongue Dancer Wines “The Sly One” Pinot Noir (Sonoma Coast): Also ‘The Young One,’ just barely revealing its wonderfulness for now… $59 A-

I taste a bunch-o-wine (technical term for more than most people). So each week, I share some of my wine reviews (mostly from samples) and tasting notes in a “mini-review” format.
 
They are meant to be quirky, fun, and (mostly) easily-digestible reviews of (mostly) currently available wines (click here for the skinny on how to read them), and are presented links to help you find them, so that you can try them out for yourself. Cheers!

• NV Freixenet Prosecco Extra Dry (Veneto): Making – and quickly getting to – the fresh, tasty point. $17 B
• 2018 Donnafugata Sherazade Nero d’Avola (Sicily): Boldly strolling through Nero’s more herbal side. $21 B+
• 2018 Masseria Li Veli ‘Askos’ Susumaniello (Salento): All the pepper that you need to spice up a Tuesday night. $18 B+
• 2019 Troon vineyard “Piquette!” (Oregon): Putting all the funky fun back into Pét-Nat. $25 B+
• 2018 Laetitia Vineyard & Winery Estate Pinot Noir (Arroyo Grande Valley): When you positively, absolutely need to have a concentrated hit of purity-of-expression. $28 B+
• 2018 Dry Creek Vineyard Dry Chenin Blanc (Clarksburg): Floral, fruity, and just as fun as ever. $13 B+
• 2018 Merry Edwards Klopp Ranch Pinot Noir (Russian River Valley): That time that rhubarb became transcendent. $66 A
• 2018 Merry Edwards Olivet Lane Pinot Noir (Russian River Valley): Showing off cascades of complexity within the rippling curves of its flexing muscles. $68 A
• 2016 Mi Sueño Winery Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley): Line up the hedonists, for they are thirsty! $75 A-
• 2016 Summit Lake Vineyards Emily Kestrel Cabernet Sauvignon (Howell Mountain): Huge, and dense in several senses of the word; but probably poised to prove the haters at least a little bit wrong in the end. $89 A-

I taste a bunch-o-wine (technical term for more than most people). So each week, I share some of my wine reviews (mostly from samples) and tasting notes in a “mini-review” format.
 
They are meant to be quirky, fun, and (mostly) easily-digestible reviews of (mostly) currently available wines (click here for the skinny on how to read them), and are presented links to help you find them, so that you can try them out for yourself. Cheers!

• 2018 Bodegas Virxe de Galir ‘Pagos del Galir’ Godello Lias (Valdeorras): Basically, lightening captured in a bottle. $18 B+
• NV Adriano Adami Garbel Prosecco Treviso Brut (Veneto): Instant elegance that will be gone more or less in an instant after you open it with friends. $17 B
• 2015 Pasqua ‘Famiglia Pasqua’ Amarone della Valpolicella (Veneto): Meaty, and managing balance amidst the burliness $50 A-
• 2018 Kalfu Kuda Sauvignon Blanc (Leyda Valley): A grassy, sassy, south-of-the-border bargain. $16 B+
• 2018 Bodega Colome Autentico Malbec (Calchaqui Valley): More nuance than you probably deserve for the price, you ungrateful little snob, you! $30 A-
• 2017 Sosie Wines Vivio Vineyard Roussanne (Bennett Valley): So hot under its collar, but we forgive it because it’s so good at everything else. $38 A-
• 2017 Flora Springs Trilogy (Napa Valley): Classicly Napa – and I mean that in every possible sense of the phrase. $85 A-
• 2016 Smith Madrone Chardonnay (Spring Mountain District): Lithe, lemony, lingering… dressed head-to-toe in gorgeousness. $40 A-
• 2017 Beckmen Vineyards ‘Purisima Mountain’ Syrah (Ballard Canyon): cornering the market on “being meaty AF!” $30 A-
• 2019 Troon Vineyard Kubli Bench Amber (Applegate Valley): Manages to convince me that smoked grapefruit pith is now a (very good) thing. $30 A-

I taste a bunch-o-wine (technical term for more than most people). So each week, I share some of my wine reviews (mostly from samples) and tasting notes in a “mini-review” format.
 
They are meant to be quirky, fun, and (mostly) easily-digestible reviews of (mostly) currently available wines (click here for the skinny on how to read them), and are presented links to help you find them, so that you can try them out for yourself. Cheers!

• 2018 Botromagno Rose di Lulu Murgia IGP, Puglia: Behold, the zesty, floral-laden arrival of Spring! $17 B
• 2018 Donnafugata ‘SurSur’ Grillo (Sicily): Pink grapefruit, white flowers, & an exceedingly good attitude. $21 B+
• 2018 Enrico Serafino ‘Grifo del Quartaro’ (Gavi di Gavi): Delicious, refreshing, and… when is Summer getting here, again? $17 B+
• 2017 Weingut Heinrich Spindler Sauvignon Blanc Trocken (Pfalz): Zest, zest, zest, and… more zest! $NA B
• 2016 Domaine Jean Fery & Fils Les Vergelesses, Pernand-Vergelesses Premier Cru (Burgundy): For when you’re ready to prize elegance over power. $69 A-
• 2017 Ferraton Pere & Fils Crozes-Hermitage La Matiniere (Rhone): All of that game and black raspberry, with none of the fat. $26 B+
• 2017 Dutton-Goldfield ‘Deviate’ Pinot Noir (Sonoma Coast): The farmer’s daughter dressed up, elegant & sexy, and it was a sight to behold. $72 A
• 2017 Dutton-Goldfield Azaya Ranch Vineyard Pinot Noir (Petaluma Gap): Rich, without being obnoxious about it. $62 A-
• 2017 Amici Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley): Hearkening back to a time when pretentious crap wasn’t even on the Valley’s radar. $50 A-
• 2016 Smith Madrone Riesling (Spring Mountain District): Lemony-lime seriousness? Yep, lemony-lime seriousness! $30 A-