Drinkhacker

NOVEMBER 12, 2024

Hurd has been working on Priest Ranch’s wines since before the winery was even built in 2010. 2021 Priest Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley – The largest production wine from Priest Ranch. Tannins are largely beaten down, but Hurd says the wine has cellarability to last 15 to 20 years.

Wine 81

Wine Club Bottling Alcohol 81

Drink Me

NOVEMBER 22, 2024

The newly released 2021 vintage reflects that legacy with a depth and richness honed by an uncommonly dry year, which intensified concentration and flavor. With its roots in the traditions of both Napa and Bordeaux, Opus One 2021 promises enjoyment now or decades down the line. 365 Buy from Opus One

Wine 52

Wine 52

Drinkhacker

AUGUST 4, 2024

We got a little backwards in our review of Beringer’s chardonnay: Rob already covered the 2022 expression of this wine. Now we’re turning around and looking at the 2021, which you should still be able to find on the market alongside the 2022.

Wine 93

Wine 93

Drinkhacker

MAY 10, 2024

2021 Larkmead Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley – The 2020 vintage featured a blend that was 82% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot, and 1% Cabernet Franc. The wine is very well-structured on the palate, delivering additional notes of vanilla and mocha to cut through and add even more complexity without becoming too jammy or chaotic.

Wine 93

Wine Bottling 93

Drinkhacker

OCTOBER 11, 2024

Work their winemaking voodoo each year by selecting the right fruit from the best vineyards in Napa to craft the perfect wine once each year. It’s not a wine that you’re going to brood over by the fire, and it’s not one that needs more time in the cellar — nor would it likely benefit from it. Their idea?

Wine 75

Wine Bottling 75

Drinkhacker

MARCH 20, 2024

The palate is a bit different: mocha with lovely milk chocolate and cherry cola, and the wine has a big, heavy, enjoyable mouthfeel. It is entirely hidden beneath the fruit, which makes the wine dangerous and dangerously drinkable. Some of this weight is due to the high alcohol content, clocking in again at a brazen 15.9%

Wine 110

Wine Alcohol 110

Imbibe Magazine

OCTOBER 18, 2024

What might be more surprising is how much of a problem glass presents for wine, an industry deeply connected to the climate. I’ve seen estimates that glass is responsible for anywhere from 29% to 50% of wine’s carbon impact. As a result, ecologically minded producers are experimenting with new ways to package wines.

Wine 191

Wine Sustainable Sips Bottling Aperitif 191

Drinkhacker

AUGUST 28, 2024

With the 2021 Trilogy, the first wines from this transition have now arrived. The skeptic in me assumed there was a healthy amount of viognier in this wine, it’s so flowery and heady, but apparently that’s not the case. Very little here telegraphs sauvignon blanc to me. Never heavy in the slightest — at 14.2%

Wine 89

Wine Bitters 89

Drinkhacker

SEPTEMBER 3, 2024

Tenuta Perano’s Chianti Classico is a wine we’ve covered in numerous incarnations — including this (standard) version and the Riserva bottling. A- / $28 / frescobaldi.com The post Review: 2021 Frescobaldi Tenuta Perano Chianti Classico DOCG appeared first on Drinkhacker: The Insider's Guide to Good Drinking.

Wine 88

Wine Bottling 88

Drinkhacker

JUNE 18, 2024

Two wines from Etude, which crafts bottlings from all over California — but particularly Napa Valley. 2021 Etude Pinot Gris Carneros – Etude’s pinot gris invariably offers a floral-heavy, slightly austere experience, and this 2021 bottling is no exception.

Wine 108

Wine Bottling 108

VinePair

NOVEMBER 11, 2024

With a seemingly endless number of producers making dozens of varieties, finding a quality bottle of red wine for an affordable price can often feel like looking for the needle in a haystack. From Cabernet Francs and Cabernet Sauvignons , to Syrahs and Austrian Zweigelts, these are the 15 best red wines under $25 to drink in 2024.

Wine 130

Wine Bottling 130

Drinkhacker

AUGUST 12, 2024

His 2021 cab-heavy blend is composed of 82% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Petit Verdot, and 6% Cabernet Franc — a heady recipe, to be sure. The wine is aged in new French oak for 18 months before bottling. The Chris in question is Chris Kenefick, the winemaker at Kenefick Ranch. Let’s give it a try.

Wine 87

Wine Bottling 87

Drinkhacker

JUNE 10, 2024

Tornatore’s Pietrarizzo Etna Bianco is not the same thing as this wine , which is bottled only under its DOC identification of Etna Bianco. Details are a little hard to suss out, this being a Sicilian wine and all — even though the brand is now owned by the American Gallo empire.

Wine 95

Wine Bottling 95

Drinkhacker

SEPTEMBER 22, 2024

Two new releases from Sonoma-based Three Sticks, both pinot noirs from the 2021 vintage — and both very different. B+ / $95 2021 Three Sticks Pinot Noir Sonoma Mountain One Sky Vineyard – The first vineyard-designated release from One Sky. Consider aging for a few years.

Wine 86

Wine Bottling 86

Drinkhacker

MAY 13, 2024

Before bottling, the wine was aged for nine months in French Oak. Trying the wine, I found it surprisingly assertive for a Pinot. The wine has high acidity providing much needed structure that keeps the fruit in check, and its gentle tannins provide a good mouthfeel. I might have guessed this was a Syrah if I tasted it blind.

Wine 112

Wine Bottling 112

Drinkhacker

JULY 15, 2024

Jermann’s wines are Italian, not German, though I can understand the confusion: Even the font the company uses is Germanesque in design. Today we analyze two white wines from this Venezia-based winery, which you’ll find just miles away from Italy’s border with Slovenia. Thoughts follow. Thoughts follow.

Bitters 91

Bitters Wine 91

Drinkhacker

FEBRUARY 20, 2024

This is our first time out with Lovatelli, a producer of both barbera and primitivo wines. This 2021 release is a pretty, clean, and approachable barbera, heavy on the nose with its notes of rosemary and white pepper. Slightly flabby, the wine would benefit from a boost of acidity.

Wine 90

Wine 90

VinePair

NOVEMBER 13, 2024

Check out the best wines from previous years here ! As 2024 comes to a close, we’re taking the opportunity to reflect on the standout wines we’ve tasted this year at VinePair HQ. Here are the top 50 wines of 2024, tasted and reviewed by VinePair’s tasting panel.

Wine 135

Wine Bottling 135

Drinkhacker

MAY 6, 2024

Attems is a winery in Italy’s Friuli-Venezia region with a particular focus on white wines, plus the occasional rose. Today we look at a pair of recently released whites, both from the 2021 vintage. Seafood, too.) Enduring notes of white blossoms on the finish evoke springtime and fresh linens. A / $24 attems.it

Wine 94

Wine 94

Drinkhacker

DECEMBER 17, 2023

This pair is from the winery’s Sonoma Coast operations and both represent some of the bet value wines Chalk Hill sells. Give the wine a little time to settle down and thing coalesce a bit, though I would more foundationally suggest upgrading to one of Chalk Hill’s single vineyard releases.

Wine 81

Wine Bitters 81

Drinkhacker

OCTOBER 18, 2024

We don’t get much New York wine to sample, so I was excited to give it a whirl. A- / $35 / hillickandhobbs.com The post Review: 2021 Hillick & Hobbs Estate Dry Riesling Seneca Lake New York appeared first on Drinkhacker: The Insider's Guide to Good Drinking. Extremely versatile.

Wine 86

Wine 86

Drinkhacker

JUNE 9, 2024

While Daou ‘s lineup is increasingly ubiquitous (we just bought a half bottle of Daou Chardonnay on a recent no-frills Allegiant Airlines flight), it’s still cranking out ultra high-end wines at the top end. Soul of a Lion is its most luxe offering, and we recently sampled the new 2021 vintage release.

Wine 102

Wine Bottling 102

Drinkhacker

SEPTEMBER 7, 2024

Papapietro Perry doesn’t just have one of the liveliest company names in Sonoma, it also makes some of its best, under-the-radar wines. 2024’s releases include these two wines, both from the Russian River Valley which Pappietro Perry calls home. A spicy Korean-style burger did the trick for me.

Wine 100

Wine 100

Drinkhacker

OCTOBER 9, 2024

Davis Bynum has been a real workhorse brand in the California wine world, dating back to 1973, when the eponymous winemaker crafted his first pinot noir. B+ / $30 2021 Davis Bynum Pinot Noir Russian River Valley – While a bit flat up top, some airtime helps this wine’s inherent charms to reveal themselves more fully.

Wine 79

Wine 79

Cheers

OCTOBER 1, 2024

For our latest round of wine reviews, we asked our national wine panel to taste and rate American Wines. If you’d like to submit wines for review, please do so through our Wine Stars app. Four Stars (91-86): A very good wine and an excellent value. A wine for which customers will keep coming back.

Wine 86

Wine Bottling 86

Drinkhacker

AUGUST 25, 2024

Not to be confused with Beaulieu Vineyard’s other wine named Tapestry (a longtime favorite from the brand), the new Tapestry is also made by a winery owned by BV… though it doesn’t carry their name anywhere on the label. It’s a dense and somewhat brooding wine on the whole, but agreeable at this price.

Wine 79

Wine 79

Drinkhacker

AUGUST 27, 2024

So, interesting story behind this wine. The wine is a 100% cabernet sauvignon “sourced from two adjacent vineyards in the heart of the Rutherford AVA in the distinctive soil composition of the valley floor. The tannin has been whipped out of this relatively young wine in short order: It’s ready to drink now.

Wine 91

Wine 91

Drinkhacker

MAY 31, 2024

Check out Waypoint, from the Russian River Valley, which produces this wine from Wente clone grapes grown in an iconic single vineyard in the region and ages it for 18 months in 62% new French oak. The late-game finish evokes notes of French toast, light on the syrup.

Wine 104

Wine 104

Drinkhacker

MARCH 7, 2024

Herdade Do Esporao wines bring only positive words to the Portuguese wine conversation: they are sturdy ambassadors staying within the realm of affordability and are consistent in quality. We review the vineyard’s offerings at a near-annual rate, and today we return to enjoy its two flagship red and white offerings.

Wine 101

Wine Bottling 101

Drinkhacker

JULY 14, 2024

Two wines from Argiano, a historic winery in Tuscany’s Montalcino area that dates back to 1580 (as an olive oil producer) and which is, more recently, the first company in the area to become plastic-free. Graphite and anise provide an ample mineral-earthy quality, while the finish of brewed black tea pours on herbaceous notes.

Wine 87

Wine Bitters 87

Drinkhacker

MARCH 9, 2024

This wine from Daou — now seemingly everywhere — is a blend of 64% cabernet franc, 36% merlot. A- / $70 / daouvineyards.com [ BUY IT NOW FROM RESERVEBAR ] The post Review: 2021 Daou Seventeen Forty Reserve Paso Robles appeared first on Drinkhacker: The Insider's Guide to Good Drinking.

Wine 102

Wine 102

Drinkhacker

DECEMBER 11, 2023

Etude has earned its reputation for making excellent pinot noirs and we’ve enjoyed them in the past , so it is a pleasure to pour the newly released 2021 vintage of their Carneros Pinot Noir. This wine really shows the brand’s character. I’m a fan.

Wine 89

Wine 89

Drinkhacker

MAY 10, 2024

2021 Larkmead Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley – The 2020 vintage featured a blend that was 82% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot, and 1% Cabernet Franc. The wine is very well-structured on the palate, delivering additional notes of vanilla and mocha to cut through and add even more complexity without becoming too jammy or chaotic.

Wine 52

Wine Bottling 52

Drinkhacker

JUNE 5, 2024

Closing in on a quarter-century of existence, the La Posta program continues to partner with single-grower, single-vineyard wines otherwise lacking in scale or logistics to reach a wider audience and a reasonable price point. The violet note makes a return on the finish, where additional hints of baking spice and dark chocolate also emerge.

Wine 97

Wine 97

VinePair

NOVEMBER 20, 2024

And spending time perusing wine shop shelves while internally panicking about how you need to baste the turkey in 15 minutes is no fun. We compiled our top Thanksgiving wine picks so you can shop with ease and get back in time to “shoo” everyone out of the kitchen. Read on for the 30 best wines to drink this Thanksgiving.

Wine 105

Wine Bottling Alcohol Brandy 105

Drinkhacker

MARCH 17, 2024

The Calling was founded by Jim Nantz and Peter Deutsch, and the brand’s wines are made by veteran winemaker James MacPhail, who primarily makes Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Cabernet Sauvignon with grapes sourced from Sonoma, Monterey, and Paso Robles, California. Pouring the wine, bold Paso Robles character jumps out of the glass.

Wine 90

Wine Alcohol 90

Drinkhacker

MARCH 2, 2024

We are returning to the wines of Bryn Mawr in the Willamette Valley, Oregon to sample two recent releases we haven’t tried before: a brut rosé and a Dolcetto. For different reasons, both are rather unusual wines. This sparkling wine is not made using secondary fermentation. B / $35 2021 Bryn Mawr Dolcetto Estate – 100% Dolcetto.

Wine 87

Wine Infusions Bottling 87