SI PUO’ BERE BENE A PREZZI ACCESSIBILI

From Frescobaldi’s gorgeous Nipozzano estate, this Riserva Sangiovese (with small percentages of Malvasia Nera, Cabernet and Merlot for extra density and intensity) opens with impressive generosity and personality. It offers lingering flavors of cherry, chocolate and dark spice.

An awesome Pinot Noirit’s hard to find words to describe its beauty. It’s bone dry and rich in stimulating acidity, and the cherry and raspberry fruit flavors have an earthy, mushroomy quality that grounds the wine and gives it a real sense of terroir. Shows the fleshy attractions of the amazing ’07 vintage, with an undisputed capacity to age. Now2017, at least.

A fine and intricate heavyweight that blends power and ripeness with complexity and class. Quality leather, spice, toast and dark berry aromas set up a structured, grippy palate with generous black fruit flavors, tobacco notes and chewy tannins. Long, sweet and rewarding on the finish. Drink now through 2016.

Winemaker Mike Lee continues to prove his prowess with Sauvignon Blanc in this latest vintage of Patianna, Patti Fetzer’s line of organically farmed wines from outside of Hopland in Mendocino County. Fermented entirely in stainless steel without undergoing ML or barrel aging, it delivers everything you love about the variety, inviting one in with melon and minerality, then following through with a surprising creaminess and almost decadent, mousse-like finish.

A ridiculously hedonistic bottle of Syrah, this hits you first with its heady aromas of strong black olive, tobacco and bacon, then seduces you further with layers of rich berry fruit topped by Syrah-proper pepper. Blended with Petite Sirah and Petit Verdot and fairly high in alcohol (15.5%) this is one for those who love good Syrah.

A stunning and unusual white wine out of Lodi made by Jim Moore, with tremendous aromatics of honeysuckle and melon and a genius balancing between sweetness and acidity. Grapes—technically Moscato Giallo—were harvested from the Bella Vigna Vineyard fully ripe but at low brix, allowing this bottling to maintain a very low 12% alcohol level. An amazing deal for a wine that jumps out of the glass, all bright and starry eyed.

A brilliant Chardonnay. Almost nothing quite like it out there. Great, zesty acidity makes the mouth water, and oak is strongly there but perfectly vindicated by the power of the underlying flavors. They suggest ripe pineapples and tropical fruits, peaches, honeysuckle and a firm, stony minerality that has to come from the soil. For all the richness, the wine is terrifically dry.

Want dense tannins? Then this your wine. Of course, it has much more than that. It has mineral-driven stone fruit flavors, a sense of terroir, of restrained power. It also has a serious side, and definite aging potential.

Tasted blind in a large group of Napa Valley Cabernets, this one stood out for sheer power and authority. It’s absolutely delicious, dazzling showing blackberry tart, cherry pie with the sweet, smoky crust, cassis and baking spice flavors, wrapped into wonderfully thick, fine tannins. Pure California fruit, but dry, balanced and nuanced. A classic, but high-alcohol haters will find plenty to complain about. Drink now2020.

A hugely oaky wine, but one that manages to taste awfully good nonetheless, with layers of vanilla and toast leading into a full-bodied, supple wine loaded with notes of maple syrup and brown sugar. Drink now.

Winemaker Clive Jones has been steadily improving the wines at Nautilus, and the 2010 Sauvignon Blanc may be his best yet. Leafy, capsicum notes arise on the nose and persist through the finish, backed with just enough grapefruit to see them through. Lithe and refreshing.

A powerful, ripe wine, solid tannins and rich black plum and currant fruits. The wine is very much in the Malartic-Lagravire style of rich, dense fruits layered with tannins.

A stunning wine loaded with nuance and complexity, Fusion V is a blend of 56% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Cabernet Franc, 12% Malbec, 7% Merlot and 5% Petit Verdot. Spicy accents of leather, tobacco and cured meat add intrigue to the dark fruit core, while pepper and sweet licorice spice infuse the long finish. It’s textured like crushed velvet with a firm structure of dusty tannins that linger. Drink now–2014.

With this wine, Dolce cements its status as California’s most consistently great dessert wine. This year’s blend is 80% Smillon and 20% Sauvignon Blanc, and the grapes were infected with the botrytis, resulting in the fantastic sweetness. Devastating in apricot, orange, pear, honey, vanilla and crme brle flavors, in an unctuous, viscous texture, with wonderfully clean acidity, it’s certainly one of the greatest sweet California wines in memory.