Discountable for new subscriber coupon
Shopping Options
La Rioja Alta Vina Ardanza Reserva Rioja 2016
La Rioja Alta Vina Ardanza Reserva Rioja 2016
Regular price Regular Price: $39.99 Sale priceYour Price: $33.97
Save $6.02
Available: 132
95 points James Suckling
Savory and complex with dried orange peel, cedar and plenty of sweet spices, walnuts, caramel, dried mushrooms and pine needles. Shows maturity here, with a medium body and superb freshness. Incredibly long finish with lots of truffle and walnut. Lasts over a minute. Very complete now, but you can still hold it.
94+ points Wine Advocate
The 2016 Viña Ardanza Reserva was produced with 80% Tempranillo and 20% Garnacha that matured in used American oak barrels for three years, where it was hand-racked from barrel to barrel six times in the case of Tempranillo and five times for the Garnacha, as it had a slightly shorter élevage of 30 months. Against all odds, I found the 2016 to be fresher than the 2015 and less developed, despite the fact that winemaker Julio Sáenz told me he considers it a warmer year. But I have found many wines I like in 2016, and the wine feels very clean and quite harmonious, younger and less developed, with more primary notes and a velvety mouthfeel. 600,000 bottles produced. The wine was bottled in June 2020.
PJ00359
Spain
Rioja
Red
2016
.750L
CVNE Cune Gran Reserva Rioja 2016
CVNE Cune Gran Reserva Rioja 2016
Regular price Regular Price: $32.99 Sale priceYour Price: $28.97
Save $4.02
Available: 106
I like the medium-velvety tannins with firmness, brightness and freshness. Full-bodied, racy and energetic. Elegance with structure. 85% tempranillo, 10% graciano and 5% mazuelo. Needs four to five years in the bottle, but already impressive to taste.
W21355
Spain
Rioja
Red
2016
.750L
Bodegas Protos Reserva Ribera del Duero 2016
Bodegas Protos Reserva Ribera del Duero 2016
Regular priceYour Price: $36.97
Available: 11
This red has focus and depth, in an austere style that remains balanced and fresh. Black cherry fruit lurks beneath espresso, licorice and black pepper flavors, supported by firm, well-integrated tannins and juicy acidity.
W04244
Spain
Ribera del Duero
Red
2016
Tempranillo
.750L
CVNE Vina Real Gran Reserva Rioja 2016
CVNE Vina Real Gran Reserva Rioja 2016
Regular price Regular Price: $59.99 Sale priceYour Price: $54.97
Save $5.02
Available: 15
The extremely affordable 2016 Viña Real Gran Reserva Especial recovers the "Especial" mention from the old Reserva Especial vintages from a very good year. It's open and expressive, with notes of berries, fresh blood and iron, orange peel and sweet spices with the oak still present and in need of some more time in bottle. The palate is medium-bodied and feels lean and serious, with abundant chalky tannins. This should be a classical vintage of this wine in the making.
95 points James Suckling
Attractive nose of dark cherries, dill, thyme, coconut and chocolate. Some salted caramel, too. It's medium-to full-bodied with firm, silky tannins and vibrant acidity. So balanced and fresh with a long, refined finish.
W21742
Spain
Red
2016
.750L
Vineyard 7 & 8 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 2016
Vineyard 7 & 8 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 2016
Regular priceYour Price: $189.99
Available: 5
sashays out of the glass with provocative Black Forest cake, warm blackcurrant, wild blueberries and black raspberry scents with an undercurrent of candied violets, menthol, pencil shavings and forest floor...Full bodied..
W00266
US
California - Napa Valley
Red
2016
Cabernet Sauvignon
.750L
Renieri Brunello di Montalcino 2016
Renieri Brunello di Montalcino 2016
Regular price Regular Price: $59.99 Sale priceYour Price: $50.97
Save $9.02
Available: 225
96 points James Suckling
This is a very tight, refined Brunello that shows so much beautiful fruit and polish with dark-berry, cedar, walnut and cherry character. Its full-bodied with layers of fine tannins and a fresh, pretty finish. Needs much more time to open.
94 points Wine Advocate
"The Renieri 2016 Brunello di Montalcino is a plush, fruit-forward and accessible wine that captures the purity and elegance of the vintage. The best take-away, however, is the fresh, ready and bright state of this wine that makes it almost ready to enjoy straight out of the gate. This Brunello from a nine-hectare plot with limestone clay soils offers bold cherry and blackberry with delicate spice, smoke and blue flower. The wine is marked by balanced acidity, and there is some tannic tightness that should further relax by the time this wine hits the market at the start of 2021.
PJ00197
Italy
Red
2016
.750L
Gramercy Cellars Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2016
Gramercy Cellars Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2016
Regular price Regular Price: $51.99 Sale priceYour Price: $46.97
Save $5.02
Available: 5
Composed of 92% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Merlot and 1% Petit Verdot, the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon opens with an expressive nose of ripe, soft red and black fruits-dark cherry, blackberry and juicy plum skin-with subtle spice tones and floral notes underneath. Medium to full-bodied on the palate, the wine turns slightly tart, with a balanced structure and buttressing acidity. It ends with a focused, long finish demonstrating precision every step of the way. It's a well-made wine that I will be putting into my cellar. Only 1,493 cases made.
92 points Vinous
Medium ruby-red. Aromas of blackcurrant, dark raspberry, espresso, bitter chocolate and graphite. Silky and plush but also vinous on entry, then densely packed, seamless and deep in the middle, with savory red and blacker fruit flavors complicated by subtle brown spices and minerals. Conveys excellent inner-mouth peppery lift and vinosity without coming across as green. This wine struck me as quite similar to its 2015 predecessor, suggesting that owner/winemaker Greg Harrington was especially successful in avoiding obvious signs of the very hot 2015 growing season. This savory, classically dry, energetic Cabernet Sauvignon finishes with firm, suave tannins and slowly mounting persistence.
W21070
US
Washington
Red
2016
.750L
Penfolds Bin 407 Cabernet Sauvignon 2016
Penfolds Bin 407 Cabernet Sauvignon 2016
Regular priceYour Price: $67.97
Available: 19
Slightly herbal and leafy on the nose, the deep, currant-scented 2016 Bin 407 Cabernet Sauvignon blends fruit from five different regions of South Australia. It's medium to full-bodied, with soft, measured tannins and true Cabernet identity. Aged in French and American oak, there are some cedar and mocha notes apparent on the nose and finish, but the cassis fruit carries the day.
92pts James Suckling:
Youthful cabernet style here, showing plenty of blackcurrants and a tarry edge with dried plums, some raisins, mint and sweetly fragrant oak spices. The palate is very smooth and juicy. The fully ripe tannins are super fluid and open-knit, delivering a silky and approachable style. Coonawarra, McLaren Vale, Barossa Valley, Wrattonbully, Padthaway fruit sourcing. Drink now or hold.
91pts Decanter:
Bin 407 is an offcut of Penfolds’ signature Cabernet Sauvignon, Bin 707, and as such it tends to share a similar multi-regional expression - in this case Coonawarra, McLaren Vale, Barossa, Wrattonbully and Padthaway. It's cloaked in both French and American oak, where it spends 12 months, resulting in a youthfully primary, vibrant red in that distinctly ripe, opulent Aussie style. Sweet, blackcurranty Cabernet aromas are accompanied by just a hint of cooler climate leafiness, all the while showing plenty of cassis richness, nice firm tannins and a savoury quality on the finish. Try with a rack of rosemary and garlic lamb. Drinking Window 2020 - 2030
Taste Description:
Colour
Deep and prominent - solid red.
Nose
Where to start? So immediately true to variety. Punchy, not shy.
Beneath: Subtle forest floor earthiness, laced with liquorice, fennel and anise with a sceric of non-aggressive fresh spearmint.
Above: Sugar pastille wafts - somewhat reminiscent of the fruit bon bons of youth- more prescriptively/realistically - blackcurrant jelly bean.
In between: Summer pudding fruit generosity - suggestive of a cherry clafoutis? Or maybe a fleshy red cherry trifle, avec sponge cake? Yes please.
Absorbed: Stylish/coiffured oak - want to say classy, but might sound pretentious? Next time.
Palate
Bountiful red cabernet fruits complexed by cut tobacco (pouch) and darkened spices.
Seamless, with a tightness/tension between acidity and tannins.
These tannins are ripe and friendly - currently perceived as fruit, not oak tannins.
Oak - quite possibly partially contributing to the sweetness apparent on palate?
Flavour and length. Lingers.
W11437
Australia
South Australia
Red
2016
Cabernet Sauvignon
.750L
CVNE Vina Real Reserva Rioja 2016
CVNE Vina Real Reserva Rioja 2016
Regular price Regular Price: $29.99 Sale priceYour Price: $25.97
Save $4.02
Available: 77
The textbook Rioja Alavesa red 2016 Viña Real Reserva was produced with 90% Tempranillo and 10% Graciano, Garnacha and Mazuelo, mostly from their own grapes. It fermented in stainless steel vats and matured in new and second use barriques for 22 months. This is a more delicate version of the Reserva with added freshness and a touch of red fruit. It has contained ripeness, elegance and balance with very tasty flavors and abundant fine-grained tannins.
92 points Vinous
Deep, shimmering ruby. Expressive, spice-accented red berry and cherry preserve and floral aromas are complemented by suggestions of smoky minerals, vanilla and cured tobacco. Sweet and energetic on the palate, offering juicy black raspberry and cherry flavors that flesh out slowly with air. In a lively style, displaying sharp clarity, discreet tannins and an echo of candied rose on the long, penetrating finish.
PJ00196
Spain
Red
2016
.750L
La Rioja Alta Vina Alberdi Reserva Rioja 2016 1.5L
La Rioja Alta Vina Alberdi Reserva Rioja 2016 1.5L
Regular price Regular Price: $51.99 Sale priceYour Price: $46.97
Save $5.02
Available: 23
Vina Alberdi is a 100% Tempranillo that was hand-harvested, destemmed, and vinified in tank. The wine was then aged for two years in American oak barrels manufactured in-house; the first year in new oak and the second in barrels averaging three years in age. The wine was then manually racked four times by the light of a candle; it doesn?€?t get more old school than that!
La Rioja Alta was formed in 1890 as a partnership of 5 quality-conscious growers keen to exploit the export potential for well-made Rioja. At this time, French vineyards were ravaged by phylloxera, and connoisseurs were having to look elsewhere for supplies of fine wine. Rioja, with its excellent climate and soils, had already attracted attention, and experiments with Bordeaux-style vinification and barrique-aging were proving very successful.
La Rioja Alta?€?s wines are still crafted in the traditional Rioja manner. The bodega is adamant about not using French oak, keeping the unique Rioja style which has been developed since the end of the 19th century. In spite of the varying amount of time in cask and bottle, the wines all display a wonderful rich ruby color, gorgeous aromas of oak, spices, and fruit followed by a sensational feel on the palate, with a wonderfully smooth texture, clean rich oaky/fruity flavors, and a long lingering finish.
W21777
Spain
Rioja
Red
2016
.750L
Chateau Larrivet Haut Brion Pessac Leognan 2016
Chateau Larrivet Haut Brion Pessac Leognan 2016
Regular price Regular Price: $51.99 Sale priceYour Price: $46.97
Save $5.02
Available: 12
Also terrific, the 2016 Chateau Larrivet Haut-Brion is in the same league as the 2015 and offers a perfectly balanced, medium to full-bodied style as well as complex notes of red and black fruits, smoke tobacco, incense, and cedar. It picks up a Graves-induced cold fireplace note as it sits in the glass, and again, is a beautifully balanced, layered 2016 that has loads of character. Give bottles a few years and enjoy over the following 15+. (2/19)
PJ01052
France
Red
2016
.750L