February delivered a landslide of Champagne discovery and liquid treasures from a heretofore unknown producer in Northern Spain. The month’s top three wines represented such immense drinking pleasure that they will linger forever in my palate’s memory. Not mentioned here, and to be completely fair, is the 2005 Clos Rougeard Saumur-Champigny. This cult-like Loire Cabernet […]
Top Three Wines of January: Spain and Bordeaux
Anointing three top January wines cast a cloudy challenge on WineZag’s monthly ritual. The first thirty-one days of this new year provided ample opportunity to taste a surfeit of over-the-top wines that unavoidably skew the aggregate three bottle price skyward, approaching $450. Plaguing fact of wine enthusiasm: Great wine can be expensive and detours are occasionally […]
Top Three Wines of December
France scores a smooth hat trick in the WineZag “Top Three Wines” December round up. This holiday month provided ample opportunity to drink a lot of great, and not so great, wine with boastful price tags and venerable credentials. These WineZag “top three” wines are especially worthy, all offering pinnacle palate moments that stand out […]
Top Three Wines of November
The “Top Three Wines” of November includes one remarkable New World Mourvedre from California’s Central Coast sandwiched in between two Old World Bordeaux and Rioja showcase wines. I was unfamiliar with the claret from Saint-Estephe and the Rhone Ranger from Paso Robles until tasting them last month; both excellent new discoveries. Unfortunately, the oddball auction […]
Top Three Wines of October: Beaujolais, Barbaresco, and Champagne
In this second “wines of the month” summary report, here are October’s top WineZag recommendations. This autumn unveiled itself with vinous treats from Beaujolais, Champagne, and Barbaresco. 2006 Sottimano Barbaresco Pajore $50: This was my favorite wine in a blind flight of Barolos and Barbarescos spanning two vintages. I was taken by this wine’s smoky […]
Top Three Wines Of September
Tom Matthews, Wine Spectator Executive Editor, left an intriguing and somewhat tongue-in-cheek comment today on a WineZag post that I published earlier this week which featured some thinking stimulated both by Terry Theise’s new book and my palate’s evolution over the last twenty five years. Here is Tom’s comment that he left today: “The ‘quiet […]