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Founded directly above the San Andreas Fault, DeRose Vineyards is located in one of the most active earthquake areasin the World. Furthermore, it is one of only a few wineries anywhere to have a major fissure dissecting its wine cellars. DeRose has vineyards on both sides of the infamous fault. Soils east of the break contain fragmented granite and crumbled sandstone while those on the west side are mostly granite and limestone. Some blocks lie precisely above the line, their tilled surfaces concealing the fissure far below. Cabernet Franc grows east of the fault in loosely packed loam where the drainage is excellent.

A temperamental grape variety in many locations, Cabernet Franc thrives on the DeRose estate, creating heavily extracted wines with wonderful viscosity. Winemaker Pat DeRose prunes each vine in the winter and later exposes the grapes to beneficial sunlight with careful leaf removal. Clusters are thinned after veraison to attain proper vine balance.

The best value going on Etna today...100% Nerello Mascalese. Vines are an average of 60 years old, located in Castiglione di Sicilia, on the northern slopes of Mount Etna, at 670 meters above sea level. The soil is a black volcanic soil mixed with sand and minerals. Vines are pruned and trained in traditional head-trained cordon spur. Manual harvest, temperature-controlled fermentation in stainless steel, aged on lees for 10 months in used barriques before bottling.

The best value going on Etna today...95% Carricante, 5% other local grape varieties. Vines are an average of 60 years old, located in Castiglione di Sicilia, on the northern slopes of Mount Etna, at 670 meters above sea level. The soil is a black volcanic soil mixed with sand and minerals. Vines are pruned and trained in traditional head-trained cordon spur. Manual harvest, temperature-controlled fermentation in stainless steel, aged on lees for 6 months before bottling.

Estate-owned vineyards are found across both terraced
hillsides above the Mediterranean coast and flatter lands near the town of Ortovero. Soils predominantly sandy, with limestone.
AGE OF VINES: 50 years, on average
WINEMAKING: Hand-harvested. Destemmed; cold macerated for 24 to 48 hours. Pressed then fermented on indigenous yeasts in temperature- controlled tanks. Aged in tank for one year.

Made from vines over 70 years old grown on gneiss, granite, and amphibolite soils.

Hand harvested and uses native yeast to start fermentation. After resting on the lees over the winter in concrete and glass vats, the cuvées are rigorously selected before being bottled in spring. In the spring following each harvest, the wine is siphoned off from above its lees, without stirring or filtering beforehand.

From the importer: Made of a blend of Nero d’Avola (Frappato 45%, Nero d’Avola 55%), estate-grown in vineyards near Chiaramonte Gulfi, in the Contradas Ponte, Biviere e Fegotto. The soils are a calcareous mixture of clay and sand, at just under 300 meters (1,000 feet) above sea level. The grapes are picked at moderate ripeness (with care to avoid over-ripeness, in other words, in this hot climate) around mid-October; fermentation is carried out with indigenous yeasts, and maceration with the skins lasts for about 3 weeks. After fermentation the wine is aged on the lees in the tank for a further 2 weeks, then racked and aged in a tank for 18 months. 

Nero d’Avola is the best-known Sicilian red wine grape when bottled on its own, but for my money, this blend is better. The Frappato lightens and lifts the meatiness of the Nero d’Avola, giving it juicier aromas and flavors and making it MORE DELICIOUS. See note above about temperature; stick the bottle in the fridge for 30 minutes for best results. Drink with red meats or more substantial pasta dishes. I bet this will age well, but I doubt I’ll have any left to find out.

For us, Matelica is THE spot for Verdicchio. And this is one of the most exciting new wineries in this area, having been founded in 2004. The vines are planted around the winery on a hillside above the valley of Matelica with sight line to the mountains of the Faggi Secolari di Canfaito national forest. The plots were replanted with mix clones in 2007, covering approximately 9 hectares over calcareous clay soils with substantial slope.

Agustín Lopez, Mauricio Castro, Marcela Manini and Sebastian Zuccardi met at the Liceo Agrícola & Enológico School in Mendoza Argentina when they were 17 years old and they eventually formed Alma 4. Two years later, the quartet vinified 300 bottles of Methode Tradicional wine in 1998, their first year of production. Over 20 years later, they are still making wine together and they currently produce 5 sparkling cuvees from parcels located in the Uco Valley ranging from 1300-1550 meters above sea level.

94 Points! The Mascarello family has recently doubled its vineyard holdings in Perno, Monforte d'Alba. We will see that new fruit on line in 2027. The Giuseppe Mascarello 2020 Barolo Perno Vigna Santo Stefano reveals a delicate and soft entry with generous fruit, sweet cherry and mild tannins. The wine offers a combination of mature fruit tones and spiciness that comes from higher elevations at 300 meters above sea level, where nighttime temperatures are cooler. The wine excels in length and silkiness. - Monica Larner, robertparker.com

Owned by the Shannon family of Lake County, Block 8 of La Sierra vineyard is a small western facing block of head-trained and organically farmed old vine Mourvèdre. Sitting at 1800ft above sea level in the High Valley AVA, this hilltop vineyard is comprised of a mix of clay loam and volcanic soils and is subjected to long hours of sunlight, cooling breezes and large temperature swings. These growing conditions that allow for a long growing season and optimal phenolic development and are ideal for a late ripening varietal such as Mourvèdre.

Created in collaboration with master perfumer Roja Dove, No. 3 was built around aroma. European and American oak sherry-seasoned casks, 48.3% ABV.

Nose: citrus peel, vanilla, cedar, apple blossom. Palate: honey, candied orange, toffee, sweet baking spice. Finish: polished, warm, long.

The Edition series was Macallan's six-year run of annual limited releases, each built around a singular creative theme, each produced once, each retired when the casks ran dry. They are not made anymore. They will not be made again. Bottles still surfacing in 2026 routinely trade above original retail.

A Pantone Color Institute collaboration with a deep, cask-forward profile to match its signature purple hue. American and European oak, 48.5% ABV.

Nose: vanilla, milk chocolate, orange blossom, candied ginger. Palate: vanilla custard, dark chocolate, citrus zest, raisin, toasted almond. Finish: chocolate and spiced oak, medium-long, balanced.

The Edition series was Macallan's six-year run of annual limited releases, each built around a singular creative theme, each produced once, each retired when the casks ran dry. They are not made anymore. They will not be made again. Bottles still surfacing in 2026 routinely trade above original retail.

100% Cortese, planted in 1977 and 2000 in the middle of the Colombera hill, above the cellar. The altitude is 280-300 meters (900-1000 feet) above sea level. The vineyard is called Bartolomeo; the soil is limestone-based clay.

94+ Points! The very young and pale white 2024 Txuria has a serious and stony nose. It was produced with grapes from small dry-farmed plots in different locations—Dicastillo (490 meters above sea level) and Andosilla (395 meters above sea level) in Navarra and Ábalos (550 meters above sea level) in Rioja—on sandy and silty soils with clay and limestone. It fermented in stainless steel without malolactic and was kept with the lees, 50% in stainless steel and the rest in used 400-liter French oak barrels. It has great purity, elegance, focus, clarity and balance. It comes in at a moderate 12.5% alcohol, with surprising freshness (pH 3.09) and high acidity (6.7 grams). This is stunning...- Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com

95 Points! They adjusted the picking dates, and the 2022 Camino de Auritz sees a jump in freshness and elegance, finishing with a full 1% less alcohol than the 2021 (this has 13.5%). It's Garnacha from two old plots of 0.22 and 0.1 hectares on limestone soils at 450-plus meters above sea level, where they found some plants of Garnacha Gris. It fermented with 50% full clusters and indigenous yeasts (including malolactic) and matured in used French oak barrels for 11 months. This is a big jump in quality from the previous year. Unfortunately, there are only 874 bottles of this wine. It was bottled in August 2024. The wine is harmonious and approachable but should also age nicely in bottle. - Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com