Review Date: 8-31-2012

This 100% Garnacha was harvested during a fairly dry season that promised smaller, more intense berries than usual, fermented at very low temperatures to preserve the striking, savory flavors of the fruit. And this wine is really about revealing pure, intense Garnacha fruit, not overly ripe or minerally, with lush and expressive dark plums on the nose followed by a generous, silky palate. Value-priced, this one should fly off our shelves.

Review Date: 8-31-2012

This intense wine is a powerful argument in favor of this often-blended, low-yielding grape garnering more attention and respect as a single bottling. Made from thirty year old vines in excellent health, the fruit was fermented in both stainless and new French oak and aged for four months on the lees before light filtration and bottling. Highly-perfumed notes of fresh herbs, mulberry and wild strawberry fruit penetrate the nose, marked by a provocative palate of more juicy mulberries, violets and licorice, laced with vibrant acidity. Pair this lovely wine with grilled meats, preferably lamb, or a lentil and chorizo stew. You might find yourself singing like a zorzal!

Review Date: 8-31-2012

Pure, savory, fruity Garnacha, ballasted by light oak and agreeable tannins, this incredibly-priced Spanish red delivers aromas and flavors of wild raspberries and fleshy cherries in a round, early-drinking style, the perfect choice for late-summer parties and outdoor barbecues.

Review Date: 8-31-2012

This impressive Vin de Pays wine, a special project from the winemaker at Clos St. Jean and famed consultant Philippe Cambie, is a robust, tripartite expression of unabashedly fruity Grenache, bold, pepper-inflected Syrah and rustic, earthy Carignan, with enough depth, richness and character to handle the most seductive Provencal and Mediterranean dishes. And yes, the starkly bold label reminded me of a certain local silver and black football team….

Review Date: 7-29-2012

Fashioned in an early-drinking style from compact clusters of old vine Baga, with 10% Touriga Nacional and 1% Bical, famed winemaker Luis Pato's goal was to prove that Baga, a fiercely tannic grape, can be amenably tamed and softened by brief maceration and precision fermentation into a smoothly aromatic wine, almost Pinot-like in texture, but with the enticing briary blackberry fruit, dark cocoa and resinous character intact. A versatile, food-loving wine, perfect for late-summer barbecues.

Review Date: 7-29-2012

Luis Pato also creates stunning, ageworthy white wines from indigenous blends— the 2010 Vinhas Velhas White, Regional Beiras ($17.99), made from equal parts Bical and Cerceal, with 20% Sercialinho carries only 12.5% ABV, possessing the textural body and poise of a Premier Cru Meursault, with bracing notes of lemony citrus, peach and flint followed by a delicate tang of acidity on the beautiful finish.

Review Date: 7-21-2012

With an illustrious history in Sonoma Valley winemaking going back 154 years, looming six generations, Gundlach Bundschu continues to weave stunning, flavorful wines for much less than one would expect from such a venerable producer. The 2009 Mountain Cuveé holds court with a bit more Cabernet Sauvignon (42%) and slightly less Merlot (28%) than last year, with 6% Zinfandel added to bolster the spectrum of brambly dark fruits and enticing mountain spice. Notes of tobacco leaf, black cherry and creamy cocoa frame the dense, juicy, long finish. Serve this red wine with a generous pile of baby back ribs, sweet cornbread and fennel cole slaw...

Review Date: 7-1-2012

A classic, uncompromising Northern Rhone style wine made from 100% Syrah grown on the famed Stagecoach vineyards in Napa, this is hauntingly aromatic, replete with blackberry, plum and smoke spice, an extraordinary achievement from the synergy of two fine vintners, Gary Brookman and Francois Villard. All the correct elements fall into place, delivering a savory, fleshy, almost sinewy palate of gamey flavors and powerful structure. This is no Syrah for the casual sipper, demanding a measure of contemplation and reverence for the beauty that evolves from the glass.

Review Date: 6-1-2012

If you're searching for a non-vintage Champagne with generous texture, abundant freshness, depth of character and a distinctive aromatic profile, search no further! This stunning barrel-fermented assemblage of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Blanc....yes, I said Pinot Blanc, an odd wine out in most of Champagne, is a triumphant display of everything one can discover in a fine bottle of bubbly- sparkle, effervescence, layers of brioche, chalk, herbs, toast and lemon, ever-evolving complexity, with a lengthy, lingering finish.

Review Date: 6-1-2012

Vines planted in stony, impossibly poor soils without much to drink except morning dew tend to create intensely focused, low-yielding fruit. The 2011 Seifried Riesling is such an animal, er, plant. With fruit sourced from two select, non-irrigated sites, the Brightwater Vineyard and the Redwood Valley Vineyard, this delightful Riesling highlights varietal character with succulent notes of lemon, wildflowers, tropical and stone fruit, held in tension by a clean, brilliant beam of acidity. The perfect Riesling to complement a spicy Indonesian rijstafel.

Review Date: 4-30-2012

With summer fast approaching we're all in need of a super thirst-quenching beer to alleviate the effects of absorbing too much solar energy on our bodies while we flare up the grill for a swirling smoke-athon (ok, admittedly I'm not Mr. Weber, more like one of the guys who stands around getting hot smoke in his face while acting like it doesn't matter).... anyway, just discovered a fantastic antidote to insurmountable thirst in the Icelandic Einstok White Ale, like melting an iceberg slathered in freshly-ground coriander and orange peel. Well, to be truthful, it's a witbier brewed with the same ingredients and tastes absolutely awesome. Beer here now. And in honor of the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the ill-fated Titanic, pouring an iceberg down your throat might be a good tribute.

Review Date: 3-31-2012

Whimsically-worded proclamations and self-aggrandizing, sovereign edicts abound in the playful labeling and marketing concepts behind this new producer, reminding one of the magical worlds of Nick Bantock or the Republic of Tea, but it still comes down to the goods in the bottle. Accepting that Cabernet Sauvignon wines from the respected Oakville appellation in Napa Valley usually command high prices, and that this wine retails in store for twenty-two bucks, what can one expect? How about a fragrant, deep-hued, youthful wine with blackcurrant and sweet cassis aromas, a core of ripe plum on the palate underpinned by layers of vanilla, spice and mocha, finishing with a touch of earth and smooth tannins.

Review Date: 2-28-2012

We don't yet carry any African wines in our stores, but we do have several wines that could, but for the lingering effects of Spanish colonialism, qualify. I'm referring to the Canary Islands, those lovely volcanic sprouts off the coast of Morocco, where they make wines that are, by both taste and appearance (eerie lunar landscape), out of this world. Ravaged by wind and about as barren as a hairless Chihuahua, these virtually desert islands harbor many rare, ungrafted grape varieties that might make a wine geek forget to spit. Richmond-based importer Jose Pastor must get enormous credit for discovering and going to such great lengths to bring these exotic wines to our shores. I recently tasted the 2009 Fronton De Oro Tintilla Gran Canaria and almost entered a spacetime vortex as the wine aggregated and resonated on my palate, transporting me to an arid spot of volcanic rock where few if any canaries actually perch. The luminous wine tasted of red berries, dried roses, potpourri, tobacco and, um, meteorites (ok, I have yet to lick a meteorite, but think how they must taste, of otherworldly iron and rust)...

Review Date: 12-31-2011

Most of the luscious fruit for this excellent reserve wine (comprised of 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9.5% Merlot and 5.5% Cabernet Franc) originated in the extraordinary Gimblett Gravels region in Hawkes Bay, an ancient alluvial river bed comprised of free-draining, low-fertility soils that has achieved near cult status for its astonishing terroir specially suited to the cultivation of Bordeaux varietals and Syrah. Such is the nature of these unique stony soils that heat is both stored and radiated throughout the vines, achieving ideal ripening conditions while offering protection from the cool breezes that migrate from the nearby coast. Still youthfully fresh and vibrant, this wine possesses real charm in its cassis, black plum, suave mocha and floral aromatics, and the finely delineated tannins give it enough structure to evolve for a few more years.

Review Date: 12-3-2011

In his unwavering maxim that "we leave the earth to our children," Jean-Pierre Fleury was the very first winegrower in Champagne to adapt strict biodynamic principles and techniques in his steeply-sloping, calcareous vineyards near the northern village of Courteron. His exquisite Blanc de Noirs is an homage to the perfectability of Pinot Noir under his meticulous stewardship, and certainly one of the finest, long-lasting champagnes we carry at any price. Hand-crafted from select vintages, the Carte Rouge is emblematic, dry and complex, with a well-developed gamut of flavors from brioche and beeswax to cherry and acacia. Hard to say what 'not' to drink this with, but I guarantee you will be reaching for another glass after tasting this redolent, rewarding sparkler.