Best Buys $10 And Under

Organic

44% Trousseau Noir, 22% Gamay, 18% Valdiguié,13% Cabernet Pfeffer and 3% Poulsard from a variety of organically farmed sites around the North Coast AVA of California. All components fermented separately, partially carbonic for brightness and all whole-cluster, adding a spicy aromatic component. Delicate, lean and red-fruited.

Jolie-Laide is a one-man operation based in a Sebastopol winery where winemaker Scott Schultz makes only 500 cases of wine a year under his own label. The name Jolie-Laide translates loosely to "Pretty-Ugly", a French term of endearment to describe something that is unconventionally beautiful. Scott makes some of the most unique and highly sought-after wines in California that are true to their name.

Scott's passion for wine was ignited when moved to Napa from Chicago in 2007. Having had extensive experience in the restaurant business, he switched gears upon his arrival in California to lead the wine program at Thomas Keller's Bouchon. Working a harvest and as a cellar master are a few of Scott's many achievements. He now works with Wind Gap, Ryme Cellars, and formerly Arnot-Roberts. They all share both a winemaking space and similar philosophies in discovering unconventional beauty. Scott Schultz does what he loves, and he does it well. It shows!

Organic / Natural

This is my first year working with this vineyard. My sweet friend Evan Lewandowski helped me secure Sauvignon Blanc from the beautiful Mee Vineyard in the Talmage Bench region of Mendocino.

These grapes were harvested on September 5th 2022. We pressed immediately. The juice fermented with native yeast in stainless steel tank over a period of 2 weeks. It was then transferred into neutral barrel where malolactic fermentation occurred. The wine was bottled on May 31st 2023. - Winery

Organic / Biodynamic

92-93 points Wine Advocate
The sample of the 2022 Pétalos has a fresh twist of watermelon, which is quite remarkable, as the summer torrid and very dry and they expected much riper wines. Some 25% of the grapes used here are from owned vineyards in the village of Corullón and 80% purchased grapes. They used more white grapes this year, more than any other year, to give the wines freshness. The result is much better than expected; there's not much acidity, but using so many different plots allows more room to play with the blend, which is something they can only do here and in Corullón. It's perfumed and quite harmonious, balanced and fresher than expected. They expect to fill some 290,000 bottles. This is the 20th anniversary of Pétalos and the 25th anniversary of the winery

Tasting Notes:
Inviting and elegant tropical aromas give this wine a stylish personality before even tasting it. A storyteller on the palate, this World Class Sauvignon Blanc has brilliant fruit concentration, rich texture, bright acidity with an entertaining long and smooth finish.

94 points James Suckling 
Lovely seductive aromas of perfectly ripe strawberries with fresh flowers and orange. Medium body, very fine with orange peel and cherries as well as stone and hints of bark. Already delicious. A blend of their four vineyards. From biodynamically grown grapes with Demeter certification.

92 points Wine Advocate 
The 2022 Bannockburn Pinot Noir is a blend of the four vineyards: Cornish Point, MacMuir, Block 3 and Block 5. It leads with violets, cherry blossom, pomegranate pearls, star anise and cracked fennel seeds. In the mouth, the wine is supple and spicy, with lashings of fruit flavor and a balancing splay of tannins through the mid-palate and finish. Nicely handled wine, satisfying and supple.

The Wine 100% Pinot Noir Sourced from four vineyards in the Bannockburn subregion The nature of being a gravity flow winery allows grapes to be gently destemmed without pumping 20% whole cluster fermentation Native yeast fermentation Aged for 13 months in French oak (30% new) No fining or filtering The Estate The winerys story begins with extensive research by Stewart Elms (inspiring the Elm tree logo) in 1991 which ultimately identified the north facing slopes at the end of Felton Road in Bannockburn as some of warmest and most ideal sites in all of Central Otago. Thanks to these findings, proprietor Nigel Greening made the decision to purchase the land which would eventually be transformed into the defining vineyard sites for Felton Road. Releasing their first commercial vintage in 1997, Felton Road has since developed an impressive reputation both in and outside New Zealand over the last three decades thanks to the singular vision of winemaker Blair Walter. While the winery is best known for its single vineyard expressions of Pinot Noir, Blairs limited production Chardonnay and Riesling bottlings are equally jaw-dropping. Even if you arent familiar with this winery, Im confident that your best customers will be. Not only do they represent one of the top wineries in New Zealand, but they are also widely considered to be one of the best Pinot Noir producers in the world at-large. Fast forwarding to present day, the winery remains committed to sourcing fruit from only their estate vineyards and everything is hand-picked. Since 2002, the vineyards have been managed organically and biodynamically, with their four vineyards eventually receiving full certification in 2010 by Demeter. Their aim is to promote a biodiverse ecosystem in their vineyards through the planting of cover crops which are kept in check by the herd of goats that call the vineyards home and their choice to naturally fertilize the vineyards with a clutch of chickens which forages amongst the vines. In the winery, Blair employs a minimal intervention approach indigenous yeasts, no fining or filtration, and no other additives. He keeps oak usage minimal with less than 30% new French oak on all of Felton Roads wines and approximately 15-30% whole cluster, depending on the vintage.

90 points Wine Spectator
The 2022 Pinot Noir Les Dijonnais is scented of cranberry sauce, raspberry preserves, mushrooms and earth. The light-bodied palate has an understated core of spicy fruit structured by finely chalky tannins and vibrant acidity, and it has an easygoing finish that calls you back for another juicy sip.

The 2021 landed at #4 on The Wine Spectator's Top 100 Wines of 2024 but unfortunately it is sold out. The 2022 vintage is now in stock and is just as good!

The review is on the previous vintage.
#4 on The Wine Spectator's Top 100 Wines of 2024!

94 points Wine Spectator
Packed and broad in feel, with a ganache note draped over black currant, blackberry and steeped cherry. Licorice root and alder smoke flavors check in on the finish as the fruit pumps through, ending with a flash of violet. Hard to resist now, but this has some development ahead. Drink now through 2036

Winemaker Notes:
"Caymus has a signature style that is dark in color, with rich fruit and ripe, velvety tannins - as approachable in youth as in maturity. We farm Cabernet grapes in eight of Napa’s 16 sub-appellations, with diversification enabling us to make the best possible wine in a given year. Our Cabernet offers layered, lush aromas and flavors, including cocoa, cassis and ripe dark berries."

In 2015, chateau owner Bertrand Gourdou was searching through an old desk when he came across a label that his grandfather had made in the early 1970’s; that wine was called “Le pot-de-vin” which, in French, translates to “the bribe”, which for that era was an audacious play on words for a wine label! This label inspired Bertrand to make a simple, natural wine: biodynamically grown fruit, fermented with native yeast and with a negligible dose of SO2, made in concrete tanks built by his grandfather. The word "pot" also references the old-style bottle shape.

The rouge is 100% Merlot from the IGP Pays d’Oc, made with no oak in a light-to-medium-bodied style with gloriously fruit, freshness and length. It is, simply put, the quintessential French bistro red.

Age of vines: about 28 years
Elevation: average 259 meters (850 feet)
Vinification: The grapes are picked by hand and crushed whole. Fermentation with native yeast in
stainless steel tanks with temperature control. The wine is aged in large oak casks (foudres) and
maturing on fine lees until late Spring. Bottled in August the following year of harvest.
Tasting notes: A classic interpretation of this traditional Alsatian grape variety, this wine is dry and has
citrus, stone fruit, and sweet spice aromas.
Alc: 12.5%

Organic

For those who like their reds on the sweet side, this fruit-filled treat is just the thing. Lots of juicy red berries that are hard to resist. You could go ahead and put a chill on this and enjoy it out in the sun, or take it along to your next barbecue. Heck, take it anywhere. This is definitely party wine; no thinking required, just lots of luscious sweet grapes. - PJ

So you hear it bandied about: “There are thousands of native grape varieties in Italy!” That’s true, but a lot of them are merely cute. The most serious native variety Timorasso deserves another category (and it’s white to boot). It’s utterly unique, complex, capable of aging, and transparent to where it’s grown. Walter Massa is the contadino straordinario who brought the grape back to life in the early 1980s. He remains the leading producer and go-to grower for Timorasso.

For Timorasso as a variety: It’s native and unique to the Colli Tortonesi (southeast Piemonte). Before 1980s, most growers were ripping out Timorasso and planting Cortese, as the latter produces more and Gavi was all the rage, so they could sell the grapes easily. Timorasso is one of those grapes (unlike, say, Cortese) that really is delicious and refreshing to eat right off the vine, due to its high sugar content and acidity. When Timorasso is vinified, you get lots of complexity and structure (from alcohol and from tannins – skin contact and thick skins!). Yet there’s plenty of acidity to keep things fresh and a definite counterpoint of what we call ‘honeyed minerality.’ When Timorasso is young, it can be really tight. As it ages, it loses some of its baby fat, and riesling-ish, petrol-like notes emerge. As far as terroir, Walter vinifies each vineyard separately (or tries to if he has enough tanks) and bottles a small portion of three of the vineyards separately.

Native yeasts. Maceration with skins 48-60 hours. Fermentation 18-22°C. Batonnage. Light filtration. Minimum six months bottle aging before release.

Derthona is the ancient name for Tortona, the town in southeast Piemonte after which the appellation Colli Tortonesi (Tortona Hills) is named.

A typical slightly off-dry Spanish Rose from Garnacha.

Organic / Natural / No Added Sulfites

Grenache, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot from L'Ardeche. 10 day carbonic maceration in cement tanks and aged in fiberglass and stainless steel. A full-bodied, lush red that is seamlessly put together. This is super clean for a natural wine, especially as a sans soufre wine.

Organic / Biodynamic

This historic estate was established in 1834. Claude de Nicolay took over from her mother as winemaker in 1988 and crafts traditionally styled wines from one of the Cote d'Or's great terroirs, the hill of Corton and its surrounding villages.  The vineyard management has been fully biodynamic since 2005 and organic since 1998. Claude's brother, Francois de Nicolay joined the domaine in 2001.

Organic / Biodynamic

93 points Decanter
There is an alluring blackberry fruit with an edge of violets and a hint of liquorice. The grapes were picked very ripe and then allowed a five-day maceration before fermenting entirely as whole bunches, mainly pumping over and punching down lightly at the end. The grapes come from two parcels, one at the base of the slope replanted 10 years ago, the other at mid-slope. The soils here are compact clay and yellow marl that give a very lush result.

This historic estate was established in 1834. Claude de Nicolay took over from her mother as winemaker in 1988 and crafts traditionally styled wines from one of the Cote d'Or's great terroirs, the hill of Corton and its surrounding villages.  The vineyard management has been fully biodynamic since 2005 and organic since 1998. Claude's brother, Francois de Nicolay joined the domaine in 2001.

94 points Wine Advocate
Made with Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, the Tenuta San Guido 2022 Guidalberto gives you a good taste of the same DNA that brings us one of Italy's greatest wines, Sassicaia, but it's offered in a more immediate style here (thanks to the addition of the Merlot). This warm vintage opens to medium-dark concentration and very plump aromas that take you immediately to blackberry and blackcurrant sitting out in the sun at your local farmers market. The wine shows a soft and gentle side with a pretty level of elegance transmitted through the fruit freshness and the light oak spice that is discernible here but delivered with grace…” Monica Larner,

Organic

98 points James Suckling
This starts very quietly and gently with a wafting cloud of floral aromas, but then your gaze is pulled into the base of this Gothic cathedral window, pulling you ever further upward until you are staring at the heavens. Supernatural energy and vitality, the wet stone character cascading over your palate at the super-long finish. Doesnt want to stop! From organically grown grapes with Fair'n Green certification. Drink or hold. 8% abv

A perfect, steep southern slope with soils consisting of blackish grey slate and volcanic elements, extremely rich in minerals. The stuff of legends, for over 100 years this has been the most lauded site in the entire Nahe wine growing region