Next Tastings

March 7

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Domaine de Villargeau Côteaux du Giennois Blanc, 2023 ($19.99) – Twenty-dollar Sancerres are long gone. Twenty-five-dollar Sancerres are an endangered species. What to do when you want that taste but don’t want to spend $30? We have numerous Menetou-Salons and Pouilly-Fumés in the mid-20s, but it’s slim pickings under that. Our popular Quincy was the only option until we tasted this beauty. It has most of the minerality, weight, and balance of a good Sancerre and, of course, the delicious Sauvignon Blanc character of the upper Loire Valley. Coteaux du Giennois is located just northeast of Sancerre, along the north bank of the Loire River, stretching between Gien and Cosne-sur-Loire, It is often considered a northern extension of the soils and climate of Sancerre, but it’s a very small appellation with only 200 hectares (494 acres) of vines. For comparison, Sancerre has 3000 hectares (7400 acres); Pouilly-Fumé has 1200 hectares (2965 acres); Menetou-Salon has 611 hectares (1510 acres); and Quincy has 346 hectares (854 acres). Domaine de Villargeau farms 20 of the 200 hectares of Côteaux du Giennois!

Bodegas Muga Rioja Riserva, 2021 ($34.99) – Always a superb bottle of wine, Mugas Riserva was just listed as the Wine Spectator’s #1 value of the year! 92 $39 “This is fresh and minerally up front, opening to reveal a fine mesh of chopped cherry and plum skin flavors, with fragrant hints of ground coffee, smoked papria, and dried marjoram. Sculpted tannins define the long, slightly chewy finish. Tempranillo, Garnacha, Mazuelo and Graciano. Drink now through 2035.”

The Wine Advocate (Luis Gutiérrez) also loved it: 94 $38 “The grapes for the 2021 Reserva (sold as Crianza in Spain), mostly Tempranillo with some Garnacha Tinta, Mazuelo, and Graciano, were picked late in a cooler year when they finished the harvest the 20th of October, with plenty of times for the grapes to develop full aromas and flavors and complete ripeness. It fermented destemmed and was lightly crushed into oak vats with indigenous yeasts, separating qualities, villages, and soils, and matured in 80% French and 20% American oak barrels, 20% of them new, for 24 months, with racking every eight to nine months. It’s a textbook example of their style in a very good year, with power, concentration and clout, elegance and freshness. It was a very harmonious year; the cycle was long and the tannins ripened to perfection. It’s terrific and more so for the volume they produce (984,000 bottles of it). It was fined with egg whites and bottled in January 2024. Drink 2025-2040.”

Muga has almost 1200 acres of vineyards (that cover around 60% of their needs), and they have started the process of obtaining organic certification for some plots, as they do not use insecticides, herbicides or mineral fertilizers and apply sustainable practices, using pheromones and organic products for the treatment of the vines. They have 14,000 oak barrels and 250 oak vats, as the whole winery is based on wood; they don’t use stainless steel at all. 


Recent Tastings
February 28
Terres Dorees Morgon, 2018 ($25.99)
Department 66 Côtes Catalanes “Others,” 2015 ($29.99)

February 21
Francis Berwyn Chardonnay, Willamette Valley-OR, 2023 ($24.99)
Paul Jaboulet Aine Gigondas Pierre Aiguille, 2017 ($25.99)

February 14
Höpler Grüner Veltliner, Burgenland-Austria, 2024
Petit Bécot, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru, 2019 ($36.49)

February 7
Jermann Pinot Grigio, Friuli, 2024 ($24.99)
Sojourn Cellars Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir, 2023 ($39.99)

January 3 1
Familia Torres Clos Ancestral Forcada, Penèdes-Spain, 2024 ($26.59)
Catena Malbec “Lunlunta,” Old Vines, 2023 Mendoza-Argentina ($26.99)

January 24
Ken Forrester Vineyards Old Vine Reserve Chenin Blanc, Stellenbosch-South Africa, 2024 ($19.99) 
Robert Foley Red Blend “The Griffin,” California, 2016 ($49.99)

January 17
Levendi Estate Chardonnay, Napa Valley, 2023 ($39.99)
Barrel Bomb Red Table Wine, 2017 ($19.99)

January 10
Levendi Sauvignon Blanc, Oakville-Napa, 2024 ($29.99)
Château d’Issan Moulin d’Issan, Bordeaux Supérieur, 2022 ($23.99)

January 3
Lobster Reef Sauv Blanc, Marlborough-New Zealand, 2024 ($15.95)
Le Ragnaie Troncone, 2023 ($23.99)

December 27
Madame Veuve Point Bourgogne Rouge, 2023 ($29.99)
The Messenger Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon, 2023 ($49.99
Paul Goerg Blanc de Blancs Brut Premier Cru À Vertus, NV ($56.99)

December 20
Château Graville Lacoste Graves Blanc, 2024 ($22.49)
Shelter Winery Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir), Baden-Germany, 2023 ($29.99)
Champagne Pierre Boëver Des Dames de France GRAND CRU, Non-Vintage ($54.99)

December 13
Shelter Winery Lovely Lilly Chardonnay, Baden-Germany, 2024 ($19.99)
La Granja Nuestra Señora de Remelluri Rioja Reserva, 2016 ($45.99)

December 6
Shelter Winery Lovely Lilly “Psychedelic” Pinot Noir, Baden-Germany, 2023 ($20.99)
Trefethen Eshcol Red, Napa Valley, 2022 ($22.99)

November 29
Niepoort Douro Redoma Branco, Portugal, 2024 ($25.99)
Bodegas Teso La Monja Almirez, Toro-Spain, 2020 ($36.99)

November 22
Ponzi Pinot Gris, Willamette Valley-Oregon, 2023 ($19.99)
Colene Clemens Pinot Noir Chehalem Mountains Dopp Creek, Willamette-Oregon, 2022 ($37.49)
Lionel Osmin & Cie Chambre d’Amour ($16.99)

November 15
Cloisonne Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast, 2023 ($20.99)
Cloisonne Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley, 2022 ($24.99)
Fulcrum Pinot Noir Brousseau Vineyard, Chalone Appellation-Monterey, 2021 ($59.99)
Fulcrum Petite Verdot, Alexander Valley-Sonoma, 2022 ($29.99

November 8
Karl Fritsch Grüner Veltliner Ried Steinberg, 2023 ($27.75) 
Domaine Lafage Narassa IGP, Cotes Catalanes-France, 2020 ($23.99) 

November 1
Damilano Barolo Lecinquevigne, 2021 ($44.99)
Legras & Haas Blanc de Blanc Grand Cru Chouilly ($62.99)

October 25
Costers del Priorat Blanc de Pissarres, 2021 ($36.99) 
Chateau Prieuré Jehanne, St.-Estephe, 2017 ($29.99

October 18
Tenuta Ca’ Bolani Pinot Grigio, Friuli, 2024 ($15.95)
Château Teyssier, St.-Emilion Grand Cru, 2015 ($29.99)

October 11
Fess Parker Winery Chardonnay, Santa Barbara County, 2023 ($19.99)
Château Pierre 1er, St.- Emilion Grand Cru, 2018 ($27.99)

Oct 4
Drouhin Oregon Roserock Chardonnay, Eola-Amity Hills-Oregon, 2022 ($39.99
Château Pierre 1er, St.- Emilion Grand Cru, 2016 ($27.99)

Sept 27
Kaikén Sauvignon Blanc/Sémillon, Argentina, 2023 ($14.99)
Château Franc Laporte, St.-Emilion, 2017 ($22.99)

Sept 20
Domaine Vocoret & Fils Chablis, 2023 ($33.99)
Âmevive Ravie (GSM), Santa Barbara, 2022 ($39.99)

Sept 13
Château Moulin Noir, Lussac-St. Emilion, 2016 ($19.99)
Chateau Hanteillan, Haut-Medoc, 2014 ($19.99)

Sept 6
Man Family Chenin Blanc, Cape Coast – South Africa, 2024 ($14.99)
Zephyr Wells Pinot Noir La Carbonique, 2024, Willamette-OR ($19.99)

August 30
Ninety Plus Cellars Pinot Noir, Eola-Amity Hills, Lot 193, 2024 ($21.99)
Matthew Fritz Cabernet Sauvignon, North Coast, 2023 ($17.99)

August 23
Three Wine Company Old Vine Field Blend, Contra Costa County, 2019 ($24.59
Cave de Ribeauville Gewürztraminer, Alsace, 2016 ($19.99

August 16
La Colline aux Fossiles Chardonnay, Languedoc-Roussillon, 2023 ($19.99)
Louis Tête Morgon “Les Charmeuses,” Beaujolais-Burgundy, 2018 ($21.49)

August 9
Novellum Chardonnay, 2023 ($15.95)
Château Martignac, Graves, 2019 ($20.99)

August 2
Russian River Vineyards Rosé of Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley-Sonoma, 2023 ($17.99
Vicente Gandia Bobal Noir, Utiel – Requena – Spain, 2019 ($16.89)

July 26
Chateau Henri Gaillard Rosé, Côtes de Provence, 2024 ($18.99)
Hermanos Pérez Pascuas El Pedrosal Reserva, Ribera del Duero, 2009 ($31.99)

July 19
Domaine Moreux-Corty Pouilly-Fumé Artisan-Intro, 2023 ($24.99)
Vallepicciola Chianti Classico, 2021 ($21.99)

July 12
Domaine de La Tonnellerie Sancerre, 2024 ($24.99)
Yllera Pepe Yllera, Ribera del Duero-Spain, 2019 ($14.99)
Volante Bellini ($13.99)

July 5
Soalheiro Alvarinho, Monção e Melgaço- Portugal, 2024 ($21.99)
Bonpas Ventoux Grand Reserve des Challieres, 2020 ($15.95)

June 22
Lyrarakas Plytó, Crete, 2019 ($26.49)
Ninety+ Cellars Chianti Riserva, Lot 144 ($11.99)
Giorgi Cellars Buttafuoco Oltrep Pavese “Clile Tre Donne,” 2011 ($19.99 net)

June 21
La Crema Chardonnay, Sonoma Coast, 2023 ($26.59)
Pastourelle de Clerc Milon, Pauillac, 2016 ($25.99/375ml)

June 14
Black Stallion Chardonnay, North Coast, 2023 ($16.99)
L’Esprit de Chevalier Rouge, Pessac-Léognan, 2015 ($34.99)
Sparkling Lavender Lemonade, The Better Man Distilling Co. ($6.99/can; $21.99/4-pk)

June 7
Lobster Reef Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough – New Zealand, 2023 ($15.95)
Château La Verrière Bordeaux Supérieur, 2022 ($19.99)