Wines

91 points James Suckling
Savory, dried meat and spiced plums and cherries with a hint of rust and walnut to the nose. Elegant and juicy on the palate with some tart red plums and light berry fruit. Long and almost a bit ethereal with firm tannins.

Winemaker Notes:
Montecillo Crianza consistently wins ‘best value’ wine awards, around the world. Established in 1874, Bodegas Montecillo is one of the oldest wineries in the D.O. Rioja. Montecillo maintains its ancient underground ‘bodega’ where hand stacked bottles remain undisturbed until reaching optimal roundness. Montecillo wines are crafted to enjoy a long bottle life; they continue bottle ageing longer than those from other wineries in the region.

Elegant and attractive cherry red, with a good depth and intensity of color. Ripe fruit on the nose, particularly strawberry preserve. Subtle flavors interlaced with notes of sweet oak that are reminiscent of black liquorice. Broad entry in the mouth, rounded and with great presence. Th­is is when we really notice the high quality of the oak, thanks to tannins that are well integrated with the ripe fruit, making the wine silky with a long, pleasant aftertaste.

Ideal with grilled meats, charcuterie, vegetable and pulse based stews, tapas and canapes.

93 points James Suckling
Peppery and floral nose with some dark cherries, graphite, peppermint and wild herbs. Juicy and fine-grained on the palate with silky, close-knit tannins. Pretty long and bright.

Organic / Biodynamic

90 points Vinous
The 2021 Pinot Noir Red Cap is dark and brooding, with a dusty blend of dried strawberries, white pepper and hints of cedar. This flows across the palate with silky textures and ripe red fruits as an acid-driven tension mounts toward the close. Chalky mineral tones and touches of lavender resonate as the 2021 finishes with staining and long.

92 points Wine Enthusiast
This is a smashing deal every vintage, and this year's blend of 58% Grenache, 35% Syrah, 4% Mourvèdre and 3% Tempranillo doesn't disappoint. Fresh but savory aromas of roasted red fruit and baking spice drop into a tightly wound palate of snappy red currant and light pepper that rides a zippy acidity through the finish.

92 points James Suckling
Very fresh with aromas of lemon pith, white grapefruit, crushed shells and slate. Some biscuits and salted yellow plums. Medium-bodied with beautiful minerality and freshness. Vivid finish.

90pts Wine Enthusiast:
"This is a delicious brut-style wine, based on Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. It's very rich in strawberry, raspberry and lime flavors, with vanilla and toast complexities, and the finish is honey-sweet and spicy. Great price for a bubbly this elegant." -

91pts-Wine Spectatore: #54 TOP 100
"Packs in a lot of complexity, with aromas of apple, fresh ginger and rubber that lead to crisp and layered flavors of raspberry and spice. Drink now."

45% Chardonnay, 45% Pinot Noir, 10% Pinot Gris /Pinot Meunier. Dosage of 1.08%.

Winemaker Notes:
"Brut Prestige is Mumm Napa’s signature sparkling wine. It is a relaxed, yet elegant, wine that earns sparkling accolades from consumers and critics alike. Brut Prestige features fine bright citrus, red apple, stone fruit and creamy vanilla aromas, with hints of toast, honey and gingerbread spice. Its vibrant flavors are balanced by fine acidity and a rich, lingering finish."

The Brut Prestige grapes are harvested by hand during the crisp morning hours to ensure they arrive at the winery in pristine condition. Fermentation is conducted at cool temperatures, mainly in stainless steel tanks to preserve freshness and fruit intensity. A few selected lots are aged in French oak barrels to add depth, complexity and spiciness to the final blend. After initial fermentation, the art of the blending begins. Our winemakers find the perfect blend of wines to create our signature taste. Then the finished blend is bottled for the second fermentation. An average of 18 months’ yeast aging adds complexity, contributing subtle bread dough flavors and layers of creaminess. The wine is disgorged as a brut style and a dosage is added back to balance the wine’s acidity. Brut Prestige then ages another 3 months on the cork to fully marry the dosage to the base wine.

91pts Wine Enthusiast:
"A blend of 80% Pinot Noir with 20% Chardonnay, this rose sparkles in well-hewn acidity, a dry mix of white peach that's fruity and decadent in creamy waves of soft texture and yeasty bubbles. It finishes with length and breadth, an ideal match for the table."

Brut Rose grapes are harvested by hand during the cool morning hours to ensure they arrive at the winery in pristine condition. Fermentation is conducted at cool temperatures, mainly in stainless steel tanks to preserve freshness and fruit intensity. A few selected lots are aged in French oak barrels to add depth, complexity and spiciness to the final blend. A small amount of red Pinot Noir is added to the blend before bottling to create the beautiful pink coral color. An average of 18 months’ yeast aging adds complexity, contributing subtle bread dough flavors and layers of creaminess. The wine is then disgorged and a dosage added back to balance the wine’s acidity. The dosage includes a Pinot Noir fermented in traditional Burgundian fashion, which contributes an extra measure of depth, color and robust fruitiness.

Hard to find a better performing Pinot Grigio than this for the money!

Skyside Central Coast Pinot Noir boasts an intoxicating nose with bright fruit including cherry, rhubarb and raspberry, beautiful lilac, and subtle hints of forest floor and fresh mushrooms. The wine has a silky entry expanding with rose, berry and baking spices. The finish brings hints of minerality with milk chocolate and nice structure from the tannins and oak to build a lengthy finish.

Well structured and balanced, this full-bodied wine fills the palate with ripe but not jammy plum and black-cherry flavors backed by moderate tannins. It's a very good, substantial wine to pair with red meat.

90 points Wine Enthusiast
This well-balanced wine is medium in weight, lively in texture and offers spicy white-pepper and toast accents along with fresh citrus and crisp apple notes. It's fun, refreshing and won't fatigue the taste buds.

Organic

A light-bodied, chillable red with a crunchy acidity.
Very old vines 80-100+ years old grown on granite slopes of the Serra de Estrela. There are several varieties here but mostly Baga and Jaen. Natural fermentation in lagares with 20% whole clusters. A long maceration time but without extraction. The wine finishes fermentation and malo in casks.20 months aging in in old barriques and a 2500L old wooden vat. The wine is bottled unfiltered.
11% abv

Organic / Natural

The New York Times article on the 2020 vintage: 20 Under $20: Minimal Effort, Maximum Pleasure.
In most cases, wines with gimmicky names like Nat Cool are a turnoff. They reek of marketing, more than careful winemaking. But Dirk Niepoort is a visionary producer, so don’t look at the label, just drink. This is a delicious thirst quencher made of the baga grape, not complex. It’s easygoing and low in alcohol at 12 percent, with aromas and flavors of flowers and earthy red fruit. And it comes in a liter bottle.

Very light in color, the 2021 vintage of this wine offers a frank and expressive aromatic profile full of freshness and floral notes. It showcases the character of the Baga grape variety and Bairrada region superbly, with beautiful aromas of strawberries, dried roses and some spice. The wines minerality is reminiscent of the vines calcareous soils and unmistakable Atlantic climate. Fresh, direct and very seductive, this wine is light on its feet and so easy to drink, it will entice you to have another glass. It makes a very versatile food wine just add a good meal and good friends! Serve chilled. All work is done by hand implementing organic and biodynamic principles, utilizing natural fermentation with wild yeast. No sulfur is added. Nat Cool is naturally cool and funky. It represents an innovative concept initiated by Niepoort, in which various producers came together to create light and easy-to-drink wines. In the Bairrada region we have produced the DrinkMe, the first Nat Cool, where we try to showcase a different and elegant side of the Baga grape variety. An incredibly light and accessible wine which just begs to be enjoyed. Welcome to the Nat Cool world! -Winery

The baga vineyards are farmed organically and are located in Bairrada. All work is done by hand. Soil is calcareous clay. They utilize natural fermentation with wild yeast. No sulphur is added. 11% abv

Organic / Natural

The wine is made in a the very typical and traditional way for the region. Wild yeasts are used and the wine is bottled before it is dry with some residual sugar and the fine lees. The wine then re-ferments in the bottle leaving a little bit of spritz and a cloudy appearance. No sulphur is used so malo also takes place in the bottle.

Sliced green apple, lemon zest and white almond on the nose with a crisp and bright profile of yellow and green fruit on the palate. Elegant and fresh-toned.

"Pale yellow with brilliant clarity. Aromas of tropical fruit including pineapple, passion fruit, and guava. Flinty minerality with herbal notes of nettles and freshly cut tomato plant. Fresh, crisp and clean with zesty flavours of ripe tropical fruits, especially passionfruit and pineapple with subtle hints of nettle. The wine has excellent presence and mouthfeel, with balanced acidity and a generous finish." Winemaker notes

Grapes were selected from a wide variety of our Wairau and Awatere vineyards in Marlborough to ensure a complex and harmonious flavour profile.

It all began in 1943, when Nikola Nobilo, having arrived in New Zealand from Croatia, planted his first vines and began to turn a dream into reality. Combining over 300 years of family winemaking tradition with innovative approaches to winemaking and viticulture, Nikola was an early champion of premium New Zealand varietals. Today, winemaker David Edmonds continues his passion, selecting premium grapes from Nobilo vineyards to craft pure classic wines of distinct regional character. From Marlborough, Hawkes Bay, Gisborne and beyond, Nobilo vineyards span New Zealand. Care has been taken to plant vines in the most welcoming spots - valleys with ample sunlight, rolling hills with ideal soil characteristics - ensuring grapes benefit from the best that these wine-growing regions have to offer.

The review is on the previous vintage.

92 points Wine Enthusiast
#4 Top 100 Best Buys of 2023
Currently showing oak-forward notes of fresh cedar, vanilla and toasted wood. This is followed by earthy tones of capsicum, black currant, bramble, fresh black cherry and boysenberry. Elevated acidity keeps the wine alive from start to finish; chalky tannins coat the palate.

Organic

Pure and focused, offering violet, cherry, raspberry and mineral aromas and flavors. Shaped by vibrant acidity, this red persists with a lingering, resonant aftertaste.

This Superiore Barbera d’ Alba is delightfully smooth for being so rich and round. It seamlessly balances it’s power with terrific acidity and supple tannins. Lovely dark fruit notes with a bit of spice and earth. A very versatile wine for pairing with food.