Red Wine

Located in the southeast of Sicily in the province of Ragusa, Vito Catania of Gulfi Cantina is a leader of organic farming, in a very unforgiving region. Here, clay-limestone soils and 420 meters of elevation yield mind-bendingly tasty reds, made from Nero d'Avola and Frappato.

Following more natural cellar practices, and aged for one year in barrel, the nose is a ruse of sour cherry, plum, and grilled herbs. Super silky and full of Mediterranean gusto on the palate,

Expert Reviews - Vintage 2021

Decanter 96 Points | From the legendary Monte Bello estate vineyard, most of this 2021 Cabernet comes from the Klein Ranch portion of the famed Santa Cruz Mountains estate. An American Cabernet (blended with 16% Merlot) evocative of first-growth Bordeaux nuance and complexity. Freshly turned soils, bay leaf and sweet tobacco aromas segue into notes of pure black fruits. Sweet, ripe black plums open the palate with perfectly tart blackberries, muddled mint leaves, pencil shavings, and soaring acidity brighten this wine into a mineral-driven finish. This is a wine that, in 8-10 years, will surely be at its apex.

The Wine Advocate 92+ Points | Blended with 16% Merlot and bottled at 13.3% alcohol, the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate is immediately layered and expressive on the nose. Aromas of blackcurrant, blackberry, cocoa nibs and charred wood lead to a vibrant, satiny palate that is fresh and light on its feet. The finish combines juicy, muddled berry flavors with tense, chocolaty tannins of good length. Rating : 92+

Winemaker Description 

Dark purple hues with black cherry, dark plum, black olive, soy, dried jerky, lilac, dried rose petals, cedar, juniper berry, and wintergreen mint. Fresh entry with building tannins that coat the entire palate. Gravelly, dusty, and mineral notes give way to layers of red and black fruits. Integrated oak with youthful tannins and acidity. Will prove to be very age-worthy. 

Winemaker Description

Peay Vineyards is a first-generation family winery. Husband and wife, Nick Peay & Vanessa Wong, grow and make the wine and brother, Andy Peay, and his wife Ami, sell the wine and run the business.

All wines are made from grapes grown on our 53-acre estate vineyard located above a river gorge in the far northwestern corner of the Sonoma Coast, 4 miles from the Pacific Ocean at Sea Ranch. We sit in the chilly inversion layer with fog and wind from the Ocean maintaining cool temperatures with plenty of sunlight.

The Scallop Shelf has evolved over the last 15 years into the most mineral-driven and understated of our Pinot noirs. The 2021 is perfectly proportioned and harmonious with aromas of sassafras, wet slate, and apple skin with a floral and savory note popping in and out. The elements of the wine are already remarkably well-integrated with notes of cedar, forest floor, and ras el hanout spice framing the fruit. The finish is bright and the flavors go on and on. A wonderful Scallop Shelf from a superb vintage.

Winemaker Vanessa Wong left her position as winemaker at Peter Michael Winery in 2001 to launch Peay Vineyards. Formerly she worked at Chateau Lafite-Rothschild, Domaine Jean Gros and Hirsch Winery.

We farm organically and maintain our licenses for fish friendly farming and integrated pest management. The health of our vineyard dictates these approaches to farming and making wine. We also run on bio-diesel at the vineyard and solar power at both the vineyard and winery.

Expert Reviews - Vintage 2021 

Jeb Dunnuck 99 Points | More mineral aromas emerge in the 2021 Pinot Noir Scallop Shelf, with notes of wet stone, black raspberry, and fresh herbs. Medium-bodied and more tension driven, it’s taut with orange zest, clove, and gravelly, saline earth. It’s going to need time to unpack. Drink 2026-2046. (2021). 

Robert Parker 96 Points | The 2021 Estate Pinot Noir Scallop Shelf is delicate and perfumed this year. Pale ruby-purple in the glass it has pretty scents of red licorice and raspberry lavender and saline with mushroom undertones. The medium-bodied palate has a frame of chalky tannins and fireworks of fresh acidity. Despite its lifted character it's bursting with floral fruit and has a long perfumed finish. Give it a couple of years in bottle to unwind. (2021). 

Vinous 96 Points | I tasted many Peay wines during my last visit and the months preceding. The Peay team led by brothers Andy and Nick Peay and winemaker Vanessa Wong turned out an absolutely brilliant set of 2021s. Every wine is a joy to taste. The 2021 Pinot Noir Scallop Shelf offers a more linear mineral-driven expression of the estate. Most of this fruit is Pommard clone but that is not especially evident. Red-toned fruit chalk mint white pepper and slate lend brightness. This linear focused Pinot bristles with saline energy and tension. Give it time.

Winemaker Description

The result of a nearly perfect, long and cool ripening season (and oblivious to the Covid chaos swirling around it), the 2020 was picked and in the barn fully two and a half weeks before the Glass Fire broke out. Industrial-grade air filters kept smoke out of the winery as the wines went down to barrels. We are so grateful, and relieved, to present the lovely 2020.

This wine is wildly complex with tart cherry, blueberry, red and black currants, raspberry, plum and boysenberry fruit, fleshed out with notes of baking spices and peppermint. The tannins are characteristically polite yet grippy. Mineral notes add lift and the evolving violet perfume is so pretty. - Cathy Corison.

Expert Ratings - Vintage 2020 

Decanter 96 Points | Medium to full-bodied beautiful and restrained with savoury aromatics of fennel black liquorice cedar and black currants. Soft satiny blackberry fruits are lifted by fine-grained yet supple tannins while a purity of fruit guides the palate to a long tobacco-tinged finish marked by a mineral-freshness that beckons sip after sip. 100% Cabernet aged 18 months in 50% new French oak barrels. (Drink between 2023-2035. (2020).

Wine Spectator 93 Points | Distinctive, with a vivid display of mulberry, pomegranate and plum fruit aromas and flavors that glide through easily, carried by a silky but persistent structure. Reveals nice floral nuances through the finish, with a late twinge of iron, too. (2020). 

James Suckling 92 Points | Quite fruit-expressive and floral with spiced dark cherries rust baked plums hibiscus and violet extract on the nose. Rich and fruity with tart cherries cassis and dried herbs on the palate. Full-bodied and juicy with silky tannins that smoothen it out. Drink or hold.

The Wine Advocate 91 Points | Corison fans should enjoy the 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon. Gentle herbal streaks run through the wine's classic black cherries and cassis fruit. Medium-bodied sleek and streamlined it shows vibrant energy and ample length framed by gentle silky tannins.

Jeb Dunnuck 91 Points | The base 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon is pretty with a medium-bodied elegant style as well as lots of sappy herbs flowers and currant-driven aromatics fine tannins and nicely integrated acidity. Drink this balanced satisfying old school Cabernet over the coming 10-12 years or so. This Cuv e spent 18 months in 50% new oak.

Winemaker Description

Intense purple color. Aromas of tobacco, licorice and blackcurrants. Full-bodied with hints of toast and mature fruit. Long balanced finish.

Expert Rating

89 Points Wine Spectator | Delivers dark and juicy blackberry and black plum fruit underscored by subtle smoke and earth notes. Medium-bodied, with accents of dried medicinal herbs, anise, iron and graphite on the finish alongside lightly chalky tannins.

Winemaker Description

Borgo Reale Chianti Riserva is made from a selection of the finest grapes, receiving additional aging following fermentation. Enjoy with all types of pasta, hor d'oeuvres, and red or white meats.

Winemaker Description

Rico Nuevo is a relatively new player in the Spanish wine scene, but they’re already making plenty of waves. The winery is right near Leon in the heralded Gredos Region. All eight wines they submitted to Parker’s Wine Advocate got at least a 90-point score. 

The key to success here is the region of Gredos itself as well as the 77-year old Garnacha vines that the winery taps into. The region is known for making a more savory, higher toned expression of Garnacha, but Rico Nuevo really epitomizes that elegance.

They divide their own property with 40 micro parcels, all along the highest elevations of the north side of the Gredos Mountains. Here everything is organic and biodynamic and they’re very hands off in the vineyard, letting the gnarly old-vines do all the talking. It works so well.

Tasting Notes: Beautiful red fruit - cherry, cranberry, raspberry. Floral notes and Mediterranean herbs. 

Winemaker Description

This is extremely linear and refined with a super-fine line of tannins running through the center of the wine. It’s full-bodied, yet tight and sophisticated, with a long, long finish. Plenty of blackcurrant, dark chocolate, walnut and cedar in the aftertaste. Try after 2025.

Expert Reviews

Winemaker Description 

Domaine Frédéric Esmonin, from Burgundy's Gevrey-Chambertain appellation, is a true family collaboration that consists of Frederic, his father, André, and his mother, Michele. They have been farming their 10-acres of family vineyards for generations and selling their fruit to the likes of Drouhin, Jadot, and Leroy. In 1988 they began to commercialize their own labels today they are producing consistently high-quality, beautiful wines that represent a great value considering their pedigree.

Supple in texture, the 2023 Clos Prieur Gevrey-Chambertin red boasts cherry, black currant, graphite, and earth notes. Starts out very elegant for the appellation, picking up firm tannins and more weight on the long finish.

Expert Reviews - Vintage 2022

Jeb Dunnuck 93 Points | A barrel selection of their preferred lots and barrels, the jeweled ruby-colored 2022 Pinot Noir Breaking Ground brings more intensity and depth, boasting aromas of pure red cherries, rosemary, roses, and a hint of licorice. Medium-bodied and appealing on the palate, it offers fine tannins, a bit more of a linear feel, refreshing, ripe acidity, and a pure, clean finish with good length. It’s going to drink well over the coming 6-8 years and should hold up over the coming 10 years if stored properly.

Vinous 91 Points | The 2022 Pinot Noir Breaking Ground wafts up with a bouquet of sweet lavender, pine shavings and black cherries. It sweeps across the palate, soft and pliant, with tactile mineral tones that add contrast as a wild blueberry concentration saturates. It leaves a tart concentration and edgy tannins to linger, tapering off with medium length and spicy.

Wine Spectator 89 Points | Sleek in style yet deeply flavored, with black raspberry, orange-flavored chocolate and black tea flavors that finish with snappy tannins. Drink now through 2031. 4,387 cases made.

Winemaker Description 

‘Lovely aromas of fresh boysenberry, grated nutmeg, and crushed rose petal lift out of the glass, framed with notes of loam and black peppercorns. The balance of this wine is impeccable, calmly walking a tightrope of tension and plushness. The fine-grained tannins bring finesse and elegance to the finish.’

-Gina Hennen, Winemaker

Appellation: Chehalem Mountains
Farming: LIVE certified
Composition: 100% Pinot noir

Expert Review - Vintage 2016

The Wine Advocate 93 Points | I love the textbook nose of the 2016 Señorío de P. Peciña Reserva, as it is earthy, spicy and developed, with notes of leather and vanilla and a touch of smoke and brick dust. It has ripe fruit without excess and a medium-bodied palate with great balance and freshnesjs. It has pungent flavors and is powerful and ripe without excess at 14.5% alcohol and with polished chalky tannins. This matured in American oak barrels for 36 months, during which time it was racked every six months. 42,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in September 2020.

Winemaker Description 

Neal Martin writes:  The 2022 Morgon comes from 70- to 100-year-old vines on alluvial soils, farmed organically for 20 years. It underwent a 20-day maceration with just one pigeage (note A) before de-vatting. This has a very mineral-driven/slate-tinged bouquet that, thankfully, has sufficient fruit to back it up. The palate is medium-bodied with fine-grained tannins, just a very subtle marmalade note complementing the red fruit and gentle grip on the finish. Excellent.  Drinking 2024 - 2031. - Vinous 92

Note:  breaking up the thick layer of skins, stems and seeds that forms at the surface of fermenting red wine and submerging it during fermentation to extract color, tannins, flavor and aromas from the grape solids.

Winemaker Notes

Winemaker Description

The complex and mature bouquet offers rich fruit aromas, along with hints of spice and notes of raisin fruit, layered with tobacco and leather. Elegant and velvety on the palate, this is classic Gran Reserva Rioja from an excellent vintage that provides outstanding value for money.

Winemaker Description

2020 Gnarly Dudes is an unctuous yet classic Barossa Valley Shiraz. This Barossa Valley Shiraz staple will be able to go anywhere with you.

Expert Review

91 Wine Spectator | There's lots to admire in this compact red, which offers dense, firm tannins and accents of Earl Grey tea, smoked paprika, bay leaf, blackberry, blueberry and a hint of sweet mint on the finish. Drink now.

Expert Ratings - Vintage 2021 

93 Points Robert Parker | Sourced primarily from Oak Knoll, the 2021 Zinfandel Black Chicken delivers briar-laced bramble-berry fruit, plus a decent dose of vanilla (maturation was in 25% new French oak). Full-bodied, it's creamy, ripe and lush, with a slightly herbal tang on the lingering finish. 

93 Points James Suckling | Dark plums, crushed dark berries, cocoa beans, dried orange and moist bark. Medium-bodied, spiced and racy with sleek tannins and vivid acidity. Flavorful and silky.

92 Points Jeb Dunnuck | Tobacco, cigar, red and black plums, and strawberry notes all emerge from the 2021 Zinfandel Black Chicken, a medium-bodied, elegant, seamless Zinfandel that has light tannins and a great finish. 

92 Points Wine Enthusiast | A touch of maple sweetness tops boisterous, bright fruit flavors in this fullbodied, smooth and lightly tannic wine from one of Napa’s few Zinfandel specialists. Raspberries, strawberries and vanilla taste rich and relaxed as you sip.

Winemaker Description

Showing the influence of the breezy and fog-laced Oak Knoll District, the 2021 vintage offers rich, plush fruit, delicate acidity and a structure defined by well-ripened tannins. Layered notes of black cherry, raspberry, sandalwood, bergamot, cloves, blueberry, and balsam on the nose. Delicate, yet rich with plum compote, violets, and baking spice on the palate. An ideal vintage of the Black Chicken that, with proper cellaring, will continue to improve for the next 5-7 years. Winemaker Description.

Winemaker Description

With this new wine from Sumoll, Grosella, we return to our origins.

Winemaker Description

Fragrant and floral aromas of hibiscus and dried rose petal combined with bright cherry, dried cranberry, and just a hint of black licorice, are expressed in this classic Oregon Pinot Noir. A medium bodied entry instantly pleases and leads to a silky mid palate carried by dried Bing cherry, black tea, with light sandalwood and cedar notes. 

Well balanced, this wine’s body is supported by youthful yet integrated tannin and moderate acidity that lingers into a medium long finish. A direct and mouth watering Pinot Noir that promises to pair perfectly with both Wednesday night takeout or Friday date night!

Winemaker Description

Vivid notes of black raspberry, fresh pomegranate juice, with wild blueberry, sassafras, subtle licorice, toasted oak an earthy backbone, and grippy tannins. 

Expert Review - Vintage 2023 

90 Points James Suckling | A light and fresh pinot that has real pinot character, with sliced strawberry and citrus notes. Light-bodied, clean and an attractive.

Winemaker Description

Scarpetta Barbera del Monferrato is a bright plum red color. Aromas of crushed berries and plums intermix with aromas of earth and porcini mushrooms. On the palate, the wine is medium bodied with bright acidity and low tannins, yet wonderfully balanced.

The high acidity and low tannins let this wine work with everything from a pizza or homemade pasta to a piece of beef or pork.

Winemaker Description

Dark opaque plummy colors jump from the glass. Aromas of dark fruit: blackcherry, Plum and blackberry; Layered with soft notes of cinnamon and cloves. Full and satisfying finish.

Expert Reviews

Oscar Garcia Moncada, 67Wine: Tempranillo from Rioja Alavesa that expresses the terroir and microclimate of this acclaimed region. The Saenz family, who owns the winery and vineyards,  date their winemaking tradition all the way back to the 16th century. 

Sarah Jane Evans MW, 91 Points | Pedro Ballestero Torres MW, and Pierre Mansour write:  Black fruits, wild herbs, savoury tannin, and balsamic notes with rich fruit feel in the mouth. Long and open on the finish. 

Winemaker Description 

Made from old-vines planted on sandy soils in the coastal region of Apulia, this full-bodied, blackberry-perfumed, exotic Primitivo displays unexpected complexity for the price, and will please consumers in search for a juicy, hedonistic everyday house red.

Cantine Due Palme, is a cooperative founded in 1989 in Cellino San Marco, in the province of Brindisi in the high part of Salento. It is a project of Angelo Maci, third generation of winemakers/ grape growers, who with steadiness and dedication has made Cantine Due Palme one of the most active cooperatives in the South of Italy.

Winemaker Description

Caymus has a signature style that is dark in color, with rich fruit and ripe tannins – as approachable in youth as in maturity. Since its founding in 1972, Caymus has become renowned as a consistent leader in the production of Napa Valley Cabernet. Grapes for this wine are farmed in a range of Napa’s sub-appellations – from Coombsville to Calistoga – with fruit from the valley floor creating lushness and the hillsides providing backbone. Diversification enables us to make the best possible wine in a given year, featuring layered, lush aromas and flavors, including cocoa, cassis and ripe berries.

Winemaker Description

Hewitson Mourvedre Baby Bush 2019 is a wine produced by Hewitson winery in the Barossa Valley region of South Australia 1. It is made from 100% Mourvèdre grapes, which are grown on 15-year-old bush vines 1. The wine is a medium red with a bright purple hue and has aromas of brambly blueberry and black cherry, dried herbs, and earth 2. On the palate, it delivers a rich, velvety mouthfeel with sarsaparilla and classic blue fruits backed by very soft and fully ripe tannins 12. The grapes are whole bunch pressed and left on their skins for a couple of weeks before being aged for 15 months in seasoned French oak barriques.

Expert Reviews

According to Ray Jordan, a wine critic, the wine has a spicy raspberry and cherry character that lifts effortlessly from the glass. There is also a hint of liqueur chocolate and a lick of vanilla bean that adds to the complexity. 

Campbell Mattinson, another wine critic, describes the wine as firm, sweet, and ripe with just enough rusty/meaty notes to lend it some character. It feels of-the-earth even as the fruit swims forward, and its overall balance cannot be questioned. He suggests that it is good now but will be better in 2022.

Winemaker Description

This Cabernet Sauvignon is a deep and intense ruby red. On the nose are notes of plum, currants and cherries with toasted notes from oak ageing. On the palate this wine is elegant and soft with a fresh and persistant finish. 

Winemaker Description

Medium ruby-purple, the 2019 Estate Pinot Noir Ama features pure, layered aromas of rhubarb, tart dried red cherries, burnt orange peel, blueberries and violet with tones of conifer and forest floor, continuing to offer new aromatic nuances with each return to the glass. The medium-bodied palate is bright and chalky, with youthfully coiled fruits and a long, spicy finish.

Expert Review

Robert Parker 94 Points | Medium ruby-purple, the 2019 Estate Pinot Noir Ama features pure, layered aromas of rhubarb, tart dried red cherries, burnt orange peel, blueberries and violet with tones of conifer and forest floor, continuing to offer new aromatic nuances with each return to the glass. The medium-bodied palate is bright and chalky, with youthfully coiled fruits and a long, spicy finish. (2019). 

Winemaker Description

Appearance : Clean and with an intense color with cherry reflections. Aroma : Aromatic intensity and complexity, where red and black fruits appear with notes of underlying vanilla and balsamic. Taste : It transmit its strong and harmonious constitution, fruit and tannic softly shaped by the oak vessel, which are prolonged. Tasty and ashy, it’s a faithful, exponent of winery.

Winemaker Description

6Cepas6 is a great range that focusses on the fun and approachable side of Rioja. Rather than being over tannic, oaky or dry these wines are bold, fruity and exciting. Hand selecting in the vineyards and sorting in the cellar followed by 6 months aging in new oak barrels. 

Red fruits and spices and toasted brioche. Powerful yet fruity enough to remain balanced and subtle. Soft tannins and a lovely finish. Perfect with red meats, pasta or a good old stew! 

Winemaker Description

This vintage of our Malbec Clásico is fully representative of Altos Las Hormigas style, as the joyful and fresh expression of Mendoza Malbec. Displaying a bright ruby red color, this wine has a fruity nose of plums and raspberries complemented with herbal notes. 

The first palate shows supple tannins with a balanced acidity that is the secret of its freshness. Notes of crisp red fruits fill the mouth, with a soft texture and a long finish. This is a pleasant wine, ideal to pair with various dishes, from red meats to pasta or grilled vegetables.

Winemaker Description

The soils are of marine origin from the Tertiary era, characterized by bluish marl (at a depth ranging from 1 to 3 meters), calcareous, compact structure. The stratification is dense and varied, rich in mineral salts and natural springs.

Barbaresco Rio Sordo receives careful grape selection in the vineyard – 100% Nebbiolo. The immediately noticeable characteristics are the considerable complexity and depth, accompanied by elegance and finesse.

Expert Review

Robert Parker Wine Advocate 94+ Monica Larner | A release of about 3,000 bottles, the 2018 Barbaresco Rio Sordo shows the finesse and delicate fruit that is so well expressed by this estate. The bouquet is redolent of rose hip and crushed flowers, and you get cassis, wild cherry and dried pomegranate as well. There is a giant layer of minty herb, and then the wine finally relaxes with polished tones of crushed stone and white licorice. Cascina delle Rose makes a fine bottle of Barbaresco. 

Expert Rating

Vinous Stephen Tanzer writes 93 Points | (from 63-year-old vines in the center of the vineyard; aged in a combination of old barriques and new larger casks) Sweet aromas of redcurrant, cherry, smoke and mint, all lifted by high notes of orange peel, rose petal and minerals. Concentrated, vibrant and gripping, with a silky quality and noteworthy precision to the flavors of red fruits, spices and minerals. Harmonious acidity gives a juicy, sappy quality and real elegance to this densely packed Barbaresco. Here the tannins are considerably finer than those of the normale, and the long, juicy, gripping finish leaves behind a captivating floral perfume. A beauty. 

This is from a massale selection, including a bit of the lighter, floral rose clone of nebbiolo while the rest of the vineyard features five different clones. 

Winemaker Description 

Red Schooner's new "Red Wine of the World," this red blend is sourced from famed regions of southern Australia, the Barossa Valley and McLaren Vale. Consisting of Grenache, Shiraz and Mataro with a small amount of Cabernet Sauvignon, Transit 2 is bold yet nuanced, featuring scents and flavors of dark fruit, black pepper, leather and vibrant raspberries. 

A hint of mint stems from the region's native trees. Just like our Red Schooner Malbec from Argentina is known by the "voyage" that produced it, this wine is called a sequential "transit."