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To all Best Winers, Four out of the last five vintages of Waterbrook Reserve Merlot received a score of 90 points or more from Wine Spectator. The other one received an ‘88’. Guess which one we’re selling at a steep discount today? The 2008 vintage was one of Washington’s finest on record. The long, cool […]

To all Best Winers, Daniel Castaño rolled into the warehouse the other day. I don’t know if this fine gentleman realizes what a pivotal figure he is to the Spanish wine industry, and to the Monastrell grape variety. He is instrumental with regards to the American consumer thoughts and perceptions when it comes to both […]

To all Best Winers, Paul Draper. Eric Baugher. John Olney. One of these names you may be familiar with, and it’s probably the first one.  Paul Draper is considered a true California wine visionary, having been the guiding force behind the greatness of Ridge Vineyards since the early 1960’s. Ridge Monte Bello Cab? He did […]

To all Best Winers, Pondering...why exactly this wine ended up being such a terrific deal? Dominio IV splashed onto the Oregon wine scene with a set of releases in 2008 that took the wine press (namely the Wine Advocate) by storm. They received a bunch of scores in the 90’s, production was tiny and it appeared […]

To all Best Winers, This is one of those easy ones. The 2010 vintage in Tuscany is outstanding. But Tuscany is a big place, huge, actually which means there usually different levels of outstanding through the area based on micro-climate, exposures, soil types and so on that respond in one form or another to the […]

To all Best Winers, Hmm. What to do? There are several paths I could take in marketing Kumeu River’s 2007 Estate Chardonnay to you today. All of them compelling, all of them legit. All of them would make me want to grab a few bottles. I could play the ‘score’ card. This was a 92 […]

To all Best Winers, Is Chateau d’Yquem the world’s greatest dessert wine? At this price, in a word, yes! The last couple of years saw Yquem pricing get a little ‘kooky’. There was a definite push by the chateau to take the 'reputation' of this fabled wine up another level, setting the pricing so Yquem […]

To all Best Winers, Bordeaux lovers often associate the name Stephan Van Neipperg with his more illustrious Right Bank chateaux, the 100 point-scoring La Mondotte, Canon La Gaffeliere, Clos de L’Oratoire and so on.  And we did as well. Until now. Stephan’s Clos Marsalette property in Pessac Leognan has flown under the radar for years […]

To all Best Winers, They’re here. Well, at least a few of them. The 2011 Vintage Ports are hot. Red hot. It’s considered the finest vintage for this genre since the great 1994’s, and we are not ones to argue. Port has changed in the last 20 years. The wines are silkier, finer, more seductive, […]

To all Best Winers, When Pope Clement V decided to pick up sticks and move everything lock, stock and barrel from Rome to Avignon we don’t think he was making the move based on the local wine lists. After all, it probably wasn’t too hard to find a glass of something to drink in Rome […]