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Ask a room of wine professionals to characterize Napa Chardonnay. They’ll likely describe heavily oaked wines that smell and taste almost identical to buttered movie theater popcorn. I realized this when I sipped Eleven Eleven’s 2021 Dutton Ranch Chardonnay earlier this week. Some 20 percent of those vessels are new oak.
2025 is the year of white wine. We taste a wide variety of white wines each year at VinePair. Its an amazing category and were excited to see our wine culture lean toward the straw, lemon, and golden hues. Here are the 30 best white wines for 2025. So lets get it started right! So have a look and get ready to go shopping!
Oregon’s Compris is a new operation that produces a wide range of wines that include the standard-bearers of the Willamette Valley… plus some surprises, too. Today we look at a five-pack of wines all from the 2021 vintage, all of which are in current release and which are all fairly reasonable in price.
We always get a kick out of the unique wines coming out of Paso Robles-based Booker, and My Favorite Neighbor is invariably a worthwhile experience. This 2021 cabernet sauvignon is surprisingly light on its feet and ready to go, a stark contrast to the 2018 expression we previously reviewed.
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.
2021 Dobbes Family Estate Chardonnay Grand Assemblage Willamette Valley – A cracking chardonnay, this wine has just the right amount of creamy vanilla and coconut to provide the backbone for a rush of lemon curd, Granny Smith apples, and a pinch of cinnamon that add loads of acidity to the mix.
Though its a budget-priced bottling, the wine pours on layers of dark, black fruit, layered with spices and a late-game apple skin quality that evokes memories of mulled wine. A- / $30 The post Review: 2021 Booker Wines Harvey & Harriet appeared first on Drinkhacker: The Insider's Guide to Good Drinking.
The sky is falling , or at least that’s the sense one gets when reading wine industry news over the past year. Every morning, my email inbox cues up yet another dirge of reports on grape gluts , government bailouts , bankruptcies , and generational reckonings for wine and alcohol in general. Charles Smith Wines is an iconic brand.
For Jorge Riera , the headline-making, French-heavy wine lists he created for New York City’s Frenchette aren’t especially new—for him. To Jon Bonné, managing editor of Resy and author of The New French Wine (Ten Speed Press, 2023), the return of France as a dominant news peg in the wine world feels a little like a homecoming.
Baldacci Family Vineyards has embraced the world of Tubes with this Discovery Collection ($60) of three of its wines. The $60 set includes 100ml samples of three wines Los Carneros Chardonnay, Los Carneros Pinot Noir, and Fraternity Red Blend, all from the 2021 vintage. A bit over the top, all around.
In 2017, she founded the Hue Society to champion inclusivity in the wine industry and was named an Imbibe 75 Person to Watch in 2020. Since then, she’s continued to rack up accolades, such as VinePair ’s 2022 Advocate of the Year and Wine Enthusiast ’s 2023 Social Visionary of the Year. But it just doesn’t happen,” she explains.
The underground wine bar is located beneath the Palazzo Salato on Kent Street. The venue offers an ever-changing wine list, catering not only to wine lovers but also to food enthusiasts. The venue offers an ever-changing wine list, catering not only to wine lovers but also to food enthusiasts.
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.
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%
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.
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.
The delight found in opening an unexpected bottle of wine is right up there with stumbling across a sunsetsheer ephemeral joy. And so it was when I popped the cork on the Johan Vineyards Savagnin, a wine I knew nothing about and immediately, thoroughly, enjoyed. In 2021, Johan released their first Savagnin varietal.
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
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.
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.
When the team behind Oxalis , a Michelin-starred restaurant in Brooklyn, opened Clinton Hill wine bar Place des Fêtes in 2022, beverage director Piper Kristensen knew exactly what he didn’t want to do: re-create the same-old, same-old bistronomy-style French-heavy list. Spanish wine—even great Spanish wine—isn’t new to stateside customers.
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.
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.
Fournier has competed in prestigious events such as Heaven Hills Bartender of the Year and the Remy Martin Sidecar Competition and was named Diageo World Class US Bartender of the Year in 2021, placing in the Global Top 5. The cocktail menu at Spago is inspired by the kitchen and the restaurant’s award-winning wine program.
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.
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.
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%
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.
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.
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.
It is a collaboration between winemaker Grayson Stewart (from California’s The Wine Group enterprise) and singer/guitarist/wine enthusiast Dave Matthews, a man whose music was doubtless the soundtrack to many awkward make-out sessions and unintended pregnancies during the ’90s and ’00s.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
This Israeli wine keeps its eye on France, offering a definitively Bordelais style wine made from a blend of 55% cabernet sauvignon, 30% merlot, 5% cabernet franc, and 3% petit verdot. A light oakiness gives the finish a savory bent, chewy and mildly tannic with a brambly quality clinging to the experience. Aka Bin Nun, Bin nun.
Quest also recently opened a cocktail bar in Abidjan called BISSA , which features African spirits and wines, indigenous ingredients, and seasonal vegetation. Ankrah, who passed away in 2021, was a longtime colleague and friend of festival co-founder Asare-Appiah.
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.
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