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Wine Scores
Below is a listing of the wine review scores we frequently reference in our notes. While these sources remain an excellent source of information, we always recommend that you trust your own palate. Scores in these publications often represent the personal taste of an individual critic, which may not always coincide with your own. We have a huge team of excellent wine professionals that can match wines you've had in the past with new arrivals that meet your flavor profile.
- Allen Meadows - Burghound
- Connoisseurs Guide
- Gambero Rosso
- Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
- International Wine Cellar
- Wine & Spirits
- Wine Enthusiast
- Wine Spectator
- The Wine News
- Malt Advocate
Reviewers
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Staff Favorites - Patty Torrel
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Reviews
De Meric Grande Reserve Sous Bois Brut Champagne
Review Date: 10-31-2009
From the De Meric website: “There are numerous modern techniques used in champagne today – and we ignore them all.”
I love this statement! De Meric continues to use traditional, time-consuming Champagne methods such as a vertical press and remuage by hand. It is vinified 50/50 in neutral oak barrels and stainless steel to balance out richness and freshness. The blend consists of approximately 80% pinot noir, 15% chardonnay, 5% pinot meunier…all a combination of 1er and Grand Cru vineyard fruit. Put all these components together and you have one serious Champagne. The nose is very traditional with aromas of fresh biscuits, lightly buttered wheat toast, and crisp Washington apples. The palate is powerful, rich, and creamy yet maintains an elegant, crisp style with subtle flavors of apple and cherry skins rounded out with a toasty finish. Love, love, love this Champagne!!
Price: $34.99
1996 Desbordes-Amiaud Premier Cru Brut
Review Date: 10-31-2009
This beautiful, complex Champagne from the great ’96 vintage is not to be missed. On the nose are aromas of warm biscuit, toast, aged Gouda, toffee, subtle minerality, and oyster shell. The palate starts with hazelnut and fresh baked bread, leads to soft ripe citrus, fresh apples, baked apple skins, light butterscotch…finally coming full circle with a toasty, long finish. Quite a journey for your tastebuds!
Price: $49.99
2007 Shenandoah Vineyards "Special Reserve" Amador Zinfandel
Review Date: 10-31-2009
This is not your big “monster truck” Zinfandel! With all the traditional characteristics Zin lovers want minus the heavy handed fruit and alcohol, this value driven beauty is extremely versatile for food pairings. This more “genteel” style Zin is an ideal choice for Thanksgiving—it will compliment the bird without overpowering it!
Price: $9.99
2007 Baricci Rosso di Montalcino
Review Date: 10-29-2009
Love Brunellos, but don’t have the patience? Stock up on the Baricci Rosso di Montalcino! Though the Baricci Rosso could itself age for up to 10 years, it is very approachable now, even without a lengthy decant. I tasted this one right out of the bottle and though it possessed substantial tannins, I found it to be loaded with blackberries, black cherries, with a hint of coffee, bitter dark chocolate, finishing with a slight charred wood characteristic. After two hours in a decanter, the flavors softened to a beautiful medley of soft blackberries, lavender, anise, spiced black plum, savory meat notes with a light touch of molasses. Made from the same grape and grown in the same production area as the Baricci Brunello, this wine offers a great value and should not be passed up.
Price: $19.99
2007 Jean-Francois Merieau Touraine Sauvignon Blanc
Review Date: 10-29-2009
What else is there to say about this wine that has not already been said? As you may have noticed by the numerous reviews, this is a staff favorite. And for a good reason—this is a no-brainer wine. For $13.99 you get a Sauvignon Blanc that is loaded with wet stone minerality yet softened with subtle fruit characteristics of ripe pear, red apple, soft citrus and white skin nectarine. This is classic Sancerre without the biting austerity…or price.
Price: $13.99
2008 Alamos Chardonnay Mendoza
Review Date: 9-30-2009
Remember the Alamos!! Ok…so it is Alamo, not Alamos…and this wine has nothing to do with historic battles or Texas, but this is a wine that you should ‘remember’ to put in your web basket. This golden, glass-coating beauty is packed full of flavor. The nose starts out with a hint of ripe citrus, melon and pineapple followed by the scents you may remember wafting from grandma’s kitchen: baked apples, peach cobbler…all rounded out with orange blossoms. And that’s just the nose! The palate has a luscious creamy texture yet ample acidity and is loaded with rich ripe pear, spiced apples, ripe citrus ending with a long cinnamon toast finish. If you like your Chardonnay big, but do not want to pay a hefty price, this is the one for you! Pair this with roast lobster with tarragon-lemon butter or polenta with smoked fish and crème fraiche.
Price: $10.99
2008 Vidal Soblechero "Viña Clavidor" Verdejo Rueda
Review Date: 9-30-2009
This Verdejo is harvested from 50 to 60 year old vines, producing a wine of surprising depth for $12.99. The Viña Clavidor is a pale lemon-yellow color and offers up aromas of fresh straw, musk melon, white nectarines, and beautiful wet-stone minerality. These fruit characteristics carry over to the medium bodied palate. This wine is both fresh and focused without being austere. Try this with fresh sea scallop ceviche, crab cakes, gilled white fish or pesto pasta.
Price: $12.99
2007 Domaine des Ballandors Quincy
Review Date: 9-10-2009
The tiny 200 hectare appellation called Quincy has sandier soils than its famous neighbor, Sancerre, so their Sauvignon Blancs tend to be softer and a bit more pungent. This stylistic shift makes The Domaine des Ballandors perfect for those who would like to be introduced to Sancerre whites, but often find them a bit too austere. Both the palate and the nose carry flavor profiles of light citrus, white nectarine, and a slight almond skin character. Buoyed by a sufficient amount of acidity, this wine finishes strong with just a touch of minerality. Pair this with your typical Sancerre fair: oysters, delicate white fish, or goat cheese.
2008 Franck Millet Sancerre Blanc
Review Date: 9-10-2009
The Franck Millet vineyards span 22 hectares in Sancerre and have been in the same family for three generations. This is classic Sancerre: it has a pale, lemon-yellow color; aromas of green and yellow apples, fresh straw, wet clay and stone; and a palate abundant with lively citrus and minerality. An absolute must-try, must-have wine!
Price: $16.99
2007 Martin Schaetzel Pinot Blanc Reserve
Review Date: 9-10-2009
This French white wine variety is member of the Pinot family, but has been overshadowed by its rather famous cousins: Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris. Undistinguishable from Chardonnay in Burgundy for years and losing rank to Riesling in Alsace has taken its toll on this lesser known Pinot, but being lost in anonymity and losing clout is not going to keep a good grape down! Pinot Blanc is inching its way back into the spotlight with the help of a few quality producers…one being Martin Schaetzel. This Alsatian Pinot Blanc has a gorgeous polished-brass color and smells of candied orange peel, red apple, peach, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Though full bodied and rich with flavor, the palate comes through crisp and balanced due to the presence of substantial acidity. This is not an assertive white and is content to play a supporting role at the dinner table…pairing well with all sorts of different foods. And it has the added advantage of being quite reasonably priced!
Price: $13.99
2007 Reichsrat von Buhl "Armand" Riesling Kabinett
Review Date: 9-10-2009
A classic German Riesling loaded with apricot, melon, spiced apple, slate and that ever-so-interesting petrol note on the nose. It has a creamy, persistent palate of generous fruit, lemon meringue, a hint of vanilla and bright acidity. This off-dry number will pair well with many Asian preparations such as Korean BBQ chicken, Chinese chicken salad, Tandoori-style shrimp, or baked rockfish with spicy peanut sauce.
Price: $18.99
2008 Southern Lights Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough
Review Date: 8-26-2009
2008 was a big vintage for New Zealand…so big, in fact, that Omaka Springs decided to use some of their highly regarded fruit to make a second label wine: Southern Lights. Omaka Valley is in the heart of Marlborough’s wine growing region and is characterized by its well-drained stony soils and long dry growing season with warm sunny days and cool nights. This is a classic Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc bursting with grapefruit and gooseberry flavors intermingled with just a hint of that classic Kiwi grassy note. There are plenty of warm days left in California, so stock up…this is a tasty everyday wine you do not want to pass up!
Price: $7.99
2008 Tabali Pinot Noir Reserva Especial Limari Valley
Review Date: 8-21-2009
Viña Tabalí is a relatively young winery, but wine writers and critics from Decanter, Wine & Spirits and The Wine Advocate are already sitting up and taking notice. Limari Valley is located in the Coquimbo Region—Chile’s most Northern region. Its semi-arid Mediterranean climate, normally tough for wine growing, is kept in check by the cooling effects of the Camanchaca fog that flows in every morning from the Pacific Ocean. This tempering of the climate helps moderate the rate at which the grapes ripen, producing wines of great depth and character. This wine is seductively smooth with gorgeous pinot characters of deep cherry, red currant, strawberry, spice and just a touch of toasty oak imparted during 9 months aging in French barrique. Powerful yet elegant—Tabalí, though a young contender, could stand up to most California Pinots at twice the price…with twice the experience. Definitely a winery to watch!
Price: $17.99
2005 Dubourg, St-Emilion
Review Date: 7-31-2009
This is a great value St. Emilion. It is soft and approachable, though not fleshy. The palate shows restrained red and black fruit, chocolate, and just enough grip to make it interesting. Definitely drinking now, but will hold and improve over the next few years.
Price: $17.99
2005 Benjamin de Sansonnet, St-Emilion
Review Date: 7-30-2009
This is by far my favorite Bordeaux in the $20 to $30 price range. “Elegance” was the first word that came to mind when I tasted it. Though I still recommend decanting this wine and letting it open up for a half hour or so, it is still one of the more approachable wines of the ‘05 vintage. Aromas of earth, macerated black cherry, violets, chocolate and cedar box jump from the glass, while on the palate you are treated to a seductive mingling of ripe black fruit, forest floor, roasted herbs followed by a smoky finish. This is a beautiful wine for the price and should drink well for the next 5 years or so.
Price: $26.99
2007 Blason Franconia (was $11.99)
Review Date: 7-30-2009
Want to try something outside the norm and perfect for summer fare? I give to you Franconia. “What is Franconia?” It is another name for Blaufrankish. “What is Blaufrankish?” Well, it is the Austrian name for the middle European black grape variety the Germans call Lemberger. “What?” Well, don’t let a little grape identity crisis deter you from trying something new. This is a great wine for a great price! Giovanni Blason calls it one of his “flowery” wines because “it is easy drinking with outstanding fragrance, fruit and freshness.” It is deep ruby in color and offers up aromas of spiced plums, black cherries, ripe strawberries all mingling with dust, wet earth and just a tiny hint of coffee. The aroma profile is mirrored on the palate accompanied by a dry, medium-bodied, high acid, modest tannin structure. It’s got the lively red cherry fruit of Pinot, the black pepper spice of a Northern Rhone Syrah, and just a hint of the dusty earth of Cabernet Franc. Serve this wine a bit chilled and pair it with grilled salmon, herbed chicken, or a pastrami sandwich. Here’s to trying something new!
Price: $9.99
2008 Domaine Le Galantin Bandol Rosé
Review Date: 7-30-2009
Can you say YUM?! This is a beaut of a Rosé and one of my favorites in the store. It is a little on the higher end of the rose price spectrum, but it is worth every penny! This is my pool-party wine; picture a hot day, relaxing poolside with a freshly poured, perfectly chilled, Le Galantin…tiny beads of condensation “jewelling” the pretty pale salmon color in your glass. Sounds refreshing already, doesn’t it? It has restrained aromas of freshly picked wild strawberries with just a hint of pink cotton candy. The fruit on the palate is soft and round, but the bracing acidity with a steady stream of wet-stone minerality makes this wine endlessly refreshing. Le Galantin is an elegant choice for a picnic, backyard barbie, or just a quiet evening out on the patio. Cheers!
Price: $18.99
2007 Terraces Napa Valley Chardonnay (Was $25)
Review Date: 7-30-2009
This is a great example of a “slightly” oaked California Chardonnay. It is a beautiful pale gold color and has moderately intense aromas of baked apple, caramelized pear, tangerine and cantaloupe, all rounded out with a faint hint of orange blossoms. The palate does not disappoint; buoyed by a bright, balanced acidity, it is loaded with candied citrus, cantaloupe and stone fruit. One of my favorite Cali Chards: well made and well worth the 25 bucks.
Price: $19.99
Veuve du Vernay Brut
Review Date: 7-30-2009
“Girls” weekend in Palm Springs? Pool party? Celebratory get together? Any kind of get together? This is the sparkler that says 'celebration' without breaking the bank! Think Prosecco with attitude. Pale straw in color and lively with effervescence that releases aromas of fresh flowers and citrus. On the palate, delicate apple and pear flavors accompanied by a persistent mousse are there to see you through to a crisp finish. This can be enjoyed on its own or with a splash of freshly squeezed orange juice, white peach nectar, strawberry puree or go straight for the crème de cassis for a delicious Kir Royale. Even at the increased price of $7.99, this is a no brainer!
Price: $7.99
