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Staff Favorites - John Archuleta
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Reviews
2023 Tua Rita "Rosso dei Notri" Toscana Super Tuscan
Review Date: 08-19-2026
I was absolutely blown away when I saw this wine hit our shelves at 19.99 (even better, for wine club members, just 14.99).
Tua Rita is quite possibly my favorite Supe Tuscan house - from their Merlot to Syrah, anytime I am able to enjoy and savor a bottle from Tua Rita it's an absolute gem.
But we cant always be opening Redigaffi or Per Sempre - sometimes you want the elegance and complexity, without the huge price tag.
This wine here delivers on all fronts - beautiful acidity, integrated but strong tannin, and incredible length on the finish - it feels like such a steal.
The wine opens with notes of fresh cherries with a hint of spice and earthiness, and on the palate you are met with intense red fruits, zingy acid, and even a bit of citrus and saline from the coastal influence of the vineyards.
You'd be missing out if you didn't take on of these home - or even 3-6.
2024 San Lorenzo "Vigna di Gino" Marche Rosso (Montepulciano - Sangiovese)
Review Date: 07-30-2026
Another sub-twenty banger from the Italian category - if you're looking for something easy, crowd pleasing, and just down right good, grab a bottle of this.
I'm always a fan of Montepulciano, this varietal always brings notes of jammy red fruit, a little earth, and a hint of baking spice, and with the Sangiovese addition to the blend it is rounded out with some zippy acidity, notes of bright red cherry, and a bit of florality.
For the price you are getting a ton of depth and complexity, as well as just something you can pop open and be confident all will enjoy at the dinner table.
Price:
$14.99
2022 Le "C" des Carmes Haut-Brion, Pessac-Léognan
Review Date: 05-07-2026
What an incredible hidden gem in the sea of fantastic wines that hail from Pessac-Léognan.
The nose is elegant and refined, with notes of sour cherries, rose hip, and fresh berry bramble. On the palate, I was immediately blown away by the acidity of the wine - almost felt at first as biting into an underripe bing cherry.
Amazingly layered here, the initial red and blue fruit notes give way to a mid-palate of rosemary, thyme, a hint of gravel and pencil lead.
The finish was superb with even more back palate notes of bright red fruit and currant. If you're looking for something incredibly flirtatious, refined but still playful and fun, you should definitely reach right for this bottle here.
2024 Medici Ermete Concerto Reggiano Lambrusco
Review Date: 04-04-2026
If you have never had the pleasure of trying the real deal Lambrusco, this is a MUST try.
Lambrusco gets a bad wrap - it was often common for US importers to only source lower quality wines that were fraught with over-sweetness - probably to cover up the wine faults.
But you will find none of this here - coming from Emiglia-Romagna, this is about as close as you can get without taking a flight to Italy. Super dry, almost austere, this sparkling red wine is an absolute gem from the region.
You will get notes of rich purple and red fruits - jammy plum, stewed cranberry, and notes of red flower petals. The acidity is nice and balanced, and has a delightful fizz that goes great with both hard and soft chesses - the richer and nuttier the better.
Do yourself a favor and give this wine a try for your next aperitivo!
2024 Seppeltsfield "Watervale" Riesling Clare Valley South Australia
Review Date: 04-02-2026
Man oh man... What a zinger and banger of a white wine here.
This one was right up my alley - like many of the industry folks, at a certain point in my wine journey I started chasing high acid, mineral driven wines - and this hits all the notes I love from my Rieslings.
Incredibly austere, teeth numbing acid makes this wine the perfect pairing for the upcoming heat waves. On the palate you citrus, white nectarine, and peach pith, with the a long mineral driven finish of riverstone and white slate.
If you are looking for Riesling from a region a little less known to the world, give this a go - no regrets will be found.
2018 Sportoletti "Villa Fidelia" Rosso
Review Date: 08-05-2025
This one is for sure for my value driven crowd - this wine completely over-delivers for the price.
Rich with a tiny bit of rustic characteristics, this Bordeaux blend hits all the right notes for my new world wine lovers.
Dense but soft, this wine has aromatics of earth, touch of leather, and dried plums and blueberries - on the palate you get a little savory herbs, well integrated oak and baking spice, and grippy but approachable tannin. You want a wine to go with some steak, prime ribs, or fatty pork belly? This is the wine that'll take on all three no problem.
Price:
$14.99
Foss Marai "Guia" Prosecco di Valdobbiadene Millesimato Brut
Review Date: 04-11-2025
Simply one of the best Prosecco's and sparkling wines I have gotten to enjoy - coming from Valdobbbiadene (try saying that three times fast), this stunner is an absolute STEAL for the price.
Coming from the best glera in the region, Foss Marai puts together a technical, complex, and very serious wine - elegant on the nose you get notes of white flower petal, light brioche, and sharp green apple skins. On the palate, you have zingy aciditiy, notes of lemon and acacia flower blossoms, and stunning minerality with a lingering finish - an amazingly pretty wine.
Price:
$21.99
2022 Turley "Ueberroth Vineyard" Paso Robles Zinfandel
Review Date: 04-11-2025
WOW! What a wine - had the pleasure of getting to try this gem, and it simply blew me away.
I think its easy to overlook some of the wines from Turley, but they are a staple and benchmark producer in California for a reason - don't be intimidated by the higher alcohol content here, the winemaker and team have masterfully integrated this into the wine with extended barrel aging, giving you a complex and layered drinking experience.
Notes of prune, smashed blueberries, and lovely notes of earth and leather make this a perfect wine for food pairing - as I was tasting it I was craving a big rack of BBQ ribs.
Hits all the notes I want out of a big and jammy Zin.