Collection: January

$37.89 bottle / $209.94($34.99) six-pack   “Two thousand twenty-one is the single greatest young vintage I have ever tasted in Chianti Classico. Period. Full stop. The 2021s are majestic wines endowed with striking aromatics, layered fruit and all the energy that is such a signature of the appellation.”  - Antonio Galloni, Vinous So, there’s that and this: “The 2021 Chianti Classico Riserva shows the pedigree of this important vintage in its complex, multi-faceted personality. A wine of nuance and layers, the 2021 has so much to offer. Black cherry, leather, spice, tobacco, menthol, licorice and game are all amplified in this super-classic Riserva from Fèlsina. Drink 2025 - 2041” - 93 Antonio Galloni, Vinous. I love this wine and think it may be the single greatest value in age-worthy Italian red wine.

This is your chance to enjoy the Felsina pedigree at an absurdly low price. This wine is sourced from the estate's vineyards that lie just outside the Chianti Classico border but are farmed with the same care as their top bottlings like their Chianti Classico Riserva (above), Rancia Riserva and Fontalloro (below). The nose offers enticing scents of dried herbs, earth and perfectly ripe Sangiovese fruit. The bright and lively palate echoes the aromatic themes and has uncommon complexity and balance in this price range. Dusty tannins frame the soil-driven finish and lend food-friendly structure to this charming wine.

$69.89 bottle / $389.94($64.99) six-pack Fontalloro is Felsina’s most hedonistic wine. While 100% Sangiovese from their estate vineyards in Berardenga (just like their Riserva and Rancia bottlings), Fontalloro is plusher and offers more succulent fruit and a hint of used oak with the most velvety tannins. It’s freakin’ delicious. “The 2019 Fontalloro is terrific. In this vintage, the blend of three vineyards is a plus in giving a wine endowed with density, resonance and plenty of Sangiovese character. Dried herbs, leather, incense, tobacco and cedar open with time in the glass. Drink 2025 - 2036.” - 94 Antonio Galloni, Vinous.

$46.89 bottle / $263.94($43.99) six-pack #7 - Wine Spectator Top 100 of 2025 Come and get it! From the historically great 2021 vintage, the 2021 Produttori “normale” is already delicious and satisfying, but promises many years of enjoyment. Get it while you still can. “The 2021 Barbaresco is a gorgeous, deep wine. Although the aromatics are a bit closed, the 2021 shows gorgeous depth and a touch more palate presence than is typically the case for this bottling. Dark and enveloping, the 2021 will offer a number of years of very fine drinking. It is an impressive, classy wine from Produttori del Barbaresco. Drink 2024 - 2033” - 93 Antonio Galloni, Vinous

This white from Mount Etna is so damn delicious! A blend of 90% Carricante with a little Menella and Grecanico, the Ante (Etna spelled backwards) is at once rich and lush with apricot and nectarine fruit while pulsating with Etna’s volcanic minerality. I Custodi’s cellar master is long-time Etna guru Salvo Foti (formerly Benanti’s winemaker) who considers himself a bianchista (white wine lover) who prizes elegance and tension in his wines while allowing the volcanic spice to shine forth at the same time. Enjoy now and over the next few years with lobster, prawns, scallops, swordfish, chicken or pork dishes. So good.

$59.89 bottle / $329.94($54.99) six-pack This is sensational Chardonnay and will please discriminating Oregon and Burgundian Chardonnay lovers alike. Evening Land's Seven Springs Vineyard is one of the oldest and most sought-after sites in the Willamette Valley. Planted in 1984, the vineyard has always been dry-farmed and for years now, also farmed biodynamically. La Source is a small portion of the Seven Springs vineyard and is an obvious step up from the very good “regular” Seven Springs Chardonnay.

$22.99 bottle / $119.94($19.99) six-pack Crazy deal. This is a plush, well-balanced Pinot Noir with subtle nuances that most domestic pinots at 2-3X the price don’t possess. The ripe juicy fruit is framed by suave tannins and joined by cool dusty soil tones on the silky textured palate. Go long. 

$35.99 bottle / $203.94($33.99) six-pack  Ruby’s Estate bottling ratchets up the complexity and richness from the above bottling while maintaining an excellent sense of balance. The perfumed nose features scents of just bloomed roses, raspberries, spices, and a hint of earth. The silky expansive palate offers piercing fruit with great depth and weight without coming across as heavy. A nice touch of earth and velvety tannins complete this sumptuous Pinot. Enjoy now and over the next seven years.

$33.99 bottle / $179.94($29.99) six-pack “…classically built wines that will absolutely thrill readers who appreciate freshness and energy. Restrained alcohols and mid-weight structures will remind readers of Bordeaux pre-2000s. The best wines offer a striking combination of old-school classicism and modern-day precision.” - Antonio Galloni, Vinous. The 2021 Les Clefs Saint Estephe is a model of the above vintage description. Primarily Cabernet Sauvignon with Merlot and a little Petit Verdot, the nose offers “old-school” Bordeaux earth, pencil shavings (remember pencils?) with modest fruit in the background. This really does smell like pre-2000s (and pre-Parkerized) Bordeaux! The palate is the real deal with great balance, fresh red and dark fruit, a very nice earth expression and fine tannic structure. And, somehow, it’s a great deal too. Enjoy through 2040. 

$29.99 bottle / $161.94($26.99) six-pack When I started trying to sell wines from eastern France's Jura region back in the ‘90s, it was a real uphill battle trying to convince people they should try these unique wines from a region they had never heard of. Now every sommelier and wine steward across the country proudly touts their selection of wines from the Jura. Trousseau is the Jura’s “full-bodied” red wine, but is closer to Pinot Noir in body, if not aromas and flavors. The nose in this textbook Trousseau releases scents of damp forest, morel mushrooms, blueberries and a hint of brett that works well with the other aromas. The palate offers pristine dark fruit, earth and mineral notes framed by suave tannins and balancing acidity. Reminds me of a Jacques Puffeney Trousseau.

$29.99 bottle / $161.94($26.99) six-pack This is a textbook Ploussard (the local spelling for what is know as Poulsard in the rest of the Jura): light in body with floral and earthy notes along with crushed red berries on the nose. The palate offers hood strawberry fruit, a bit of spice and herbs in the mid-palate and a reprise of earth on the finish - all framed by bright acidity. Enjoy this charming and complex red now and over the next several years with rabbit, chicken, boudin blanc, mushroom dishes and the like.