It is no secret that I love all things labeled “Rhone Blend” and this offering from E. Guigal (one of the regions best) perfectly illustrates why. The 2006 E. Guigal Gigondas is all creme de cassis, blueberries, crushed rock, pepper, and hints of lavender. Incredibly muscular, this wine is finally coming around to its “drinking-range”. [...]

I usually know what I want to drink with any particular dish I am eating. I say usually. Occasionally I either can’t quite figure out what would be best, or I just plain don’t care! This often happens when I grill a great burger and want a nice red to accompany it. Lately I have [...]

Two Hands, while relatively new, has been turning out consistently outstanding Syrah-based wines from the Barossa Valley every single year. Five wines in Wine Spectator’s Top 100 and 2 in the Top 10! The just-released 2008 vintage of Two Hands Angel’s Share Shiraz continues this excellence with a big, bold and expressive red, with some [...]

Ah, Tempranillo and cold-weather…as a current resident of Southern California, I miss the later (occasionally) and use the former to remember it. For years, I drank copious amounts of Tempranillo with the hearty, comfort dishes my wife would make during the loooong, cooooold Upstate New York winters, and nothing quite takes me back in the [...]

Huge fan of Rhone blends…always have been, most likely always will be. My problem is I drink so many from the Rhone Valley that I crave change. That is why I love the fact that so many other countries are experimenting with these blends at all different price-points. My latest discovery is from the famed [...]

Henry’s Drive, with their terrific winemaker Chris Ringland, are turning out some of Australia’s most exciting and highly rated wines, with a stable that includes Dead Letter Office, Pillar Box, and Parson’s Flat Shiraz/Cabernet. A blend of 70% Shiraz and 30% Cabernet Sauvignon aged in 100% American oak, of which 80% is new. It is [...]

Last week, the boss (read: wife) and I hosted a wine tasting at the house for a few close friends. We only stipulated under $30 and red….cold and rainy, no whites allowed. As often happens, we ultimately ended up with 6 Cabernets, and our Spanish blend (our friends do love their cabs). Lo and behold, [...]

I cannot seem to remember the last wine from Muga that I didn’t love. Frankly I cannot remember even merely liking one. Truth be told, I am infatuated with Spanish wine, but I think that can actually work against them on occasion, as I drink so many that “mediocre” is always immediately obvious to me. [...]

Sometimes you just don’t want to mess with success. That is often the mantra with Antinori when it comes to wine, and it certainly applies to the 2006 Chianti Classico Peppoli. This wine is a perennial favorite of the staff at Saratoga Wine, as much for its consistency as for its quality. Peppoli delivers ripe [...]

This one is gonna be controversial. People are always mixed on this wine, some will say we should change the name of the site to “Wines that Suck”, and some will say “you could not be more right!”. I was introduced to this wine about 4 vintages ago and have never looked back. Never a [...]