Aromas of dark fruits, light earth and nutmeg introduce this wine. It is medium plus in body with blackberry, black raspberry, baking spice, dark earth and tobacco. Although it offers density, the tannins and acid are well integrated, giving a soft and silky texture. It’s the perfect party quaffer or pair with steak, beef stew, or roasted lamb shanks, liberally involving charring, grilling or smoking. You can also enjoy this South American red with stuffed peppers, mushrooms, beans and Mexican dishes.
From the Distributor: Dark ruby red color with lovely pigment. Intense aromas of red fruits like raspberry and cherry jam with licorice complemented by toasty notes. Velvety on the palate, with exquisitely fine-grained, smooth tannins, beautifully matured in both oak and bottle.
This wine smells of blackberry, spice, coconut and leather. The palate gives chocolate covered cherries, black pepper, plum, earth and spice. The tannins in this wine are quite integrated and ready to drink now.
Between medium and full-bodied, this offering from Southeastern Spain is chock full of mulberries, cooked plums and raspberries with a sprinkling of cocoa. Baking spices and a hint of underbrush linger through the finish.
Aromas are predominantly red fruited–cherry, raspberry, plum and spice box. There’s some fresh fig as well as spiced sweet cherry. This is a seamlessly textured wine with fine tannins. It’s medium-plus in weight with raspberry and raspberry coulis along with bramble; juicy acidity keeps it balanced.
Aromas of mulling spices and Moroccan souk spices combine with dark berries, tar and smoke to entice you to this Pinot Noir. It is between medium and full bodied with considerable concentration, yet it is not heavy. Macerated red and black cherries join pressed rose, mulling spices, bittersweet cacao nibs and a note of tar. The tannins are velvety and acid is integrated. With air, spiced black currants and smoke evolve on the long finish.
Bodegas El Nido was founded in 2002 and is part of the Gil Family Estate. The vineyards are comprised of 64 acres of old vine Monastrell, and 45 acres of 2- year old Cabernet Sauvignon. It was aged in barrels for about two years. This wine is big, complex and generous.
Aromas of leather and ripe fruits such as fig and prune introduce this wine. It is medium-plus in body with morello cherry and bitter cocoa flavors. The texture is quite supple with rounded tannins and moderate acidity. Enjoy it with short ribs, hearty stews, charcuterie, or with sundried tomato pesto, lentils or black bean burritos.
Aromas of stewed and fresh blackberries, red and purple flowers, vanilla, black pepper and minerality greet you on the nose. This is medium to fuller bodied with fresh blackberry, black cap raspberry, bittersweet chocolate, tobacco and graphite. Lifting acidity and integrated acidity make this a wonderful food wine.
Aromas are of red cherry, black cherry, plum, prune, rosemary and cinnamon. The palate gives complex flavors that include black cap raspberries and blackberries, along with cinnamon and cedar spice, Italian herbs, wood notes and a sweet smokiness. The finish in this delicious "baby Barolo" is long and structured.
The nose gives aromas of red and black cherry, baked raspberry pie, cranberry, meat, garrigue and smoke. It smells Italian! The palate is medium weight with strawberries, berry seeds, violets, mineral and camp fire. It has a softer structure than you might expect from Nebbiolo, with integrated acidity and tannins. A long, balsamic finish completes the package.
The nose offers dried strawberries and cooked cherries with dried flowers and herbs. The medium-bodied palate is similar to the nose, with dried cranberries, cherries, and dried flowers. The texture is silky with very fine tannins; acidity is lifted. The wine is ripe but not overripe; it’s lightly savoury like an Italian wine but with New World fruit.
This 100% Syrah shows classic elements of black cherry, red plum, and garrigue on the nose. It is terroir-driven with sandalwood, licorice, light smoke, garrigue and amaro-esque medicinal herbs. The palate is medium weight with just-right acidity, rendering it a pleasant and easy drinking wine with nice complexity. Try with braises of root vegetables or with beans or lentils, chicken, lamb and beef dishes, or sautéed mushrooms. Add rosemary and thyme to pick up the wine’s herbal profile.
Les Hérétiques is a rustic wine, speaking strongly of its terroir. The nose offers spice, cedar, and black cherry fruit, and touches of iron/earth. The tannins are quite present but well-integrated with more black cherries, spice and a lingering meaty quality.
Notes of earth and leather on the nose with dark berries and oak. The medium-bodied palate has juicy acidity with blackberries, smoke, earth, forest floor, black pepper, and a pleasant, woody finish.
This is classic Bordeaux with equal parts berry fruit mixing with savory, earth elements. It is medium weight wine, and the fruit is just ripe, with plenty of acidity giving the wine lift and rendering it an excellent food partner. You'll find plum, mixed cherry and tart blackberry along with notes of horse stable (suede and saddle, forest, soil). These elements are nicely intertwined on a lithe frame. You can enjoy with midweight foods such as poultry, pizza, meatloaf or mushrooms.
From the producer:
Lynch-Bages 2015 has a brilliant, deep colour with purple hues. Its nose clearly expresses aromas of cassis and dark fruit, mixed with the empyreumatic notes that come with ageing. It has a straightforward attack and a voluminous yet supple mid-palate. The wine has a marked but silky tannic structure, and a persistent finish illustrative of a particularly ripe vintage.
This cote du rhone presents aromas of smoke, dark fruit, and spice. Medium plus in body, with dark fruit, black currants, blackberries, dark chocolate, and wonderfully rounded tannins.
This co-fermented Chateauneuf is complex and appealing with scents reminiscent of potpourri, spiced plum, cassis and pressed flowers. There is a seduction about the aromas, like fine chocolate and wild animal; think truffle. It offers an opulent palate that is lovely, with blueberry, black currant, cooked plums, spice box, black tea, violets and forest floor. There are also hints of minerality and light toast joining with the ripe fruit. This full-bodied, flavorful red still offers "relief" and a sense of freshness which creates balance in the wine. It is texturally attractive and structurally balanced with medium acidity, well managed tannins and a long finish.
Opening with bright fresh red berries, red clay earth and forest floor. The palate is focused and concentrated with good depth. It is medium plus in body with moderate acidity and rounded tannins. The flavors are layered with kirsch, mixed cherries, clove, toast, vanilla and baking spice with smoke.
Aromas of raspberry, wild herbs, dried flowers, and a hint of smoke emerge from this wine. It is medium weight and boasts flavors of plum, raspberry, strawberries, and dried herbs. The soft tannins, minerality, and juicy acidity make it so quaffable. You can pair it with Mediterranean flavors such as tomato-based dishes, bruschetta with herbed olives, lamb, or pizza. Or enjoy it with sausages, burgers (including veggie) or roasted vegetables.
Bright red and black fruits with mineral and toasty-oak elements. The palate is medium plus with juicy acid and dusty tannins. The flavors include dried strawberry, black cherry, plum with touches of well-integrated vanilla and iron-like minerals. The wine is lush without being heavy offering finesse and elegance.
On the nose, this wine gives aromas of dark fruits and toasty oak. It is medium plus in body, ripe and concentrated, yet stays refined and fresh. Fruit of macerated black currants and spiced berries are joined by flavors of mocha, chocolate, toast, mulling spices, cinnamon and black pepper. It has round tannins and integrated acidity.
Brilliant ruby color with powerful aromas of raspberry, tart cherry and black
pepper. Balanced with just a touch of fine-grained tannin. A polished
example of the Southern Rhone’s varied terroir.
This fabulous Cabernet Franc exhibits everything we love about the variety: beautiful dark fruits, savory earth elements and fine, supple tannins. There's a light smokiness intertwined with mineral/iron notes amid plenty of plum, black cherry, blackberry fruit and juicy acidity to lift everything. The finish is persistent and complex.
Deep, rich color and a classic Cabernet Franc nose of cherry, spice, earth, and black pepper. Fresh black berry, blueberry, black cherry fruits with black pepper, potting soil, and light smoke are the dominant flavors. Medium to medium plus in body, tannin, and acidity.
A fragrant wine with lavender, blackberry, raspberry, warm earth, and touch of wild herbs. The flavors have classic Rhone character-- fleshy and darkly fruited with grippy structured tannins that give a root like quality. There are some mineral notes and black olives with red raspberry and smoke on the long finish.
Pretty aromas of red fruit and flowers, think of red currants, pomegranates, red cherries and violets. It has medium weight on the plate with medium acidity. The flavors are similar to the nose with pomegranate dominating with additional dried herbs, lavender and raspberry.
Aromas are minerally with red cherry and raspberry Structured with medium tannins and acid, this wine is still youthful but complex. Flavors suggest warm eath, iron, baking spice, and ripe red fruit. Pair with richer foods, decant, or cellar this delicious Tempranillo.
This is an old-school style of Rioja, offering savory blackberry and other dark fruits, chocolate, smoke and violets on the nose. Soft tannins, fine acidity, and medium-plus body support blueberries and black currants. The wine was made using carbonic maceration, so there’s the tiniest hint of effervescence in the mouth.
Big, bold, black fruit and cured meat make you think this wine is brooding. When tasted you realize it's elegance and overall well made style. It is medium plus in body with light smoke, light earth and dark juicy blackberry.
Aromas are big, smoky, and spicy with blackberry, dark chocolate, and a hint of licorice. The palate has a nice lift and acidity, with flavors that match the aromas, including the pepper and blackberry. Medium plus in body with a persistent finish. The wine spends a year in American and French oak, with a further four months in bottle.
The nose and palate of this medium- to fuller-bodied wine are similar: Brandied fruit (blackberries, black cap raspberries, cherries), rose petal, grilled nuts, garrigue, and pepper. Medium in both acid and tannin, it is supple, fresh, and easy to drink.
This lovely Sicilian in the style of a super Tuscan is brimming with dark berries and garrigue on the nose, red fruits, plums, Italian herbs. The spicy medium plus body follows with dried red fruits, hints of coffee, medium acid and tannins. A steal at the price point!
A deep and vibrant wine with an alluring rich dark fruited nose. Exuding earth, tobacco, and poppyseed, the wine is fantastically balanced between its acidity and smooth plush tannins. Dark fruits, herbal, and minerality all blend and lead to a long stunning finish.
This gives aromas of tobacco and blueberry. It is medium weight and quite dark in color for such a rainy vintage (2021). There are flavors of black currants, smoke, toast, violets and lavender. This has a bit of rusticity with tannins that are fine to medium, just lightly grainy in texture.
Aromas are of currants, cassis, black pepper and eucalyptus. This is medium plus in body with black cherry, black raspberry, red berries and integrated smoke. Juicy acidity and medium fine tannins keep the wine balanced.
Aromas of cherry, crushed raspberries, minerals and flowers, show good typicity for Pinot. The dry palate is elegant, with more cherry fruit, a bit of toast, tea leaves, smoke and meatiness. Smooth and medium-bodied, the wine has moderate acidity that complements rather than obscures the abundant cherry and black currant fruit.
The wine shows a deep purple color and features aromatics of mixed crushed red and black fruits, sweet spice, and cedar. In the mouth, it is fuller-bodied with fantastic dark fruits, excellent mid-palate depth and ripe tannins.
This 100% Tempranillo has elements of both Old and New World. Aromatically, it is dark-fruited, especially black cherry, with dried rose petals. The palate is rich and structured with dark fruit, spicy toast, oak and smoke. The tannin structure is plush and velvety with plenty of lift and integrated acidity that continues to meld on your palate.
Fresh and juicy berry aromas, blackberries and leather on the nose. The medium weight palate follows with blackberries, blackberry seed, leather, earthy medium tannins, and juicy acidity.
complex bouquet with mineral-driven red fruit, hints of iodine and pressed violet, wonderfully defined and focused. The palate is medium-bodied with a sapid entry and firm backbone, but this exudes tension and energy. Veins of blood orange run through the composed and persistent finish
This rich, plush red offers rich blackberry and currant aromas with touches of leather and tobacco. Aromas and flavors weave together seamlessly with sweet black currant, blackcap raspberry and blackberry seeds joining touches of espresso, graphite and smoke to linger on the long, ripe finish. This wine is at once brooding and accessible!
Aromas of macerated cherries and crushed rocks. On the palate, this medium-plus body wine has depth and complexity with flavors of spice, mulled berries, clove, macerated cherries and mulberries. It is slightly rustic with medium acidity and medium tannins.
Medium aromas high toned raspberry and strawberry in addition to some white and black cracked peppercorns. The palate is clean and medium bodied with red cherry, pomegranate juice, plum, and cranberry. The secondary notes exist as touches of vanilla, light earth and some higher acid in comparison to the previous vintage with medium tannin structure.
Wild red and black berries combine with light floral and bramble aromas of this rustic red. The body is medium-plus with black cherry pie notes, black olive, and subtle earthy character. Grippy tannins make this a great food companion.
Aromas of dark and red cherry with a touch of smoke, additional charming aromas of macerated black and red currants. The flavors echo the aromas with more chocolate and a touch of bark. The palate has nice round texture with soft but working tannins. The acidity is integrated with a velvety and polished finish.
Aromas are lightly smoky with black fruits and savory herbs. This wine is just over medium bodied, offering flavors of black cherry, blackberry, tea, dried herbs, black pepper, and sandalwood—interesting and different
From the producer:
The deep ruby color leads to aromas of roasted black cherry and pomegranate laced with juniper. Toasted peppercorn, a signature of Navarra Garnacha, comes through after a minutes in the glass, followed by dried thyme and cherry cola. The palate is fresh, filled with red fruit, but shows it’s serious side with an earthy mid-palate and noticeable grip on the finish. Luzador Los Andreses is fun and serious at the same time – ideally paired with fully flavored foods from the grill.
In Sheep's Clothing delivers a ripeness of fruit flavors while preserving the acidity that gives the medium to full-bodied wine a sense of freshness. With layers of cassis, blueberries, and black cherries, this wine lends to a New World style of fruit with more of an Old World structure with a hint of wood smoke. This wine fully embraces an integral part of classic Cabernet Sauvignon by highlighting a complex blend of dried herbs: anise, thyme and bay leaf.
This plush and saturated wine gives a range of purple fruits such as plums, black cap raspberries, cherries and mulberries. The fruit is joined with some baking spice, cinnamon, bramble and black tea. Structuring acidity provides framework for this medium-plus bodied wine. It ends with a cherry note on the finish.
Attractive red jam fruits are still dry in this Zinfandel-based wine which has nice purity and finesse, as well as velvety tannins. It has medium acidity or even more, giving it good balance. There's plenty of flavor here, including a little brambly note.
Exceedingly drinkable and a great value with elements of dried Bing cherry, dark cherry, and raspberry. The fruit is ripe and juicy with a touch of bramble. The texture of this wine is elegant, pretty, and supple on a medium bodied frame.
High-toned black cherry and slightly earthy aromas on the nose. The wine shows a perfect combination of fresh red fruit such as black cherries, raspberries and blackberries. Spice touches and licorice hints contribute complexity. The ageing in French oak integrates subtle vanilla and caramel nuances with dens lingering black berry on the finish.
This attractively packaged wine offers aromas of coffee, plums, and red cherries. The wine is well-balanced in the mouth, with red plum and cherry, fresh black currant and jam, and hints of black pepper and herbs. Medium in body and acidity, with fine tannins and a longer finish.
Medium aromatics offering fresh and dried herbs, cigar box, dates and dried cherries. The palate is medium bodied with very rounded but quite there tannins. Fruits are purple to black --cherries, plums, and black currant skin with light toast, earth and tobacco.
"Plump blackberry, blueberry and maraschino cherry flavors are ripe, smooth and juicy, with plenty of dark chocolate, spice and toasted coconut accents that linger effortlessly on the velvety body. Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Drink now through 2027." - Wine Spectator (March 2018)
This wine begins with dark, steeped berries encircling fireplace and pine forest aromas. in the mouth, it is creamy and full-flavored, exhibiting wild black currant and dark chocolate flavors mixed with sweet tobacco and black cherry candy. The wine envelops your whole mouth and glides down the throat, leaving a hint of smoke and mocha. First rate and drinking beautifully now, but will age through 2028.
This aromatic, aged wine offers delicious and complex aromas of ripe black cap raspberries, plums, cassis, dark chocolate, espresso, woodsiness and earth. The palate gives some tertiary flavors of balsamic, fall fruit compote, prunes, espresso, black pepper, tobacco, forest floor, black trumpets, worn leather, and pastry crust; dusty tannins provide structure.
Open knit and elegantly expressive, featuring red currant and spiced cinnamon flavors that linger toward sleek tannins. Drink now through 2027. – Wine Spectator, 90 Points
The nose offers both fruit and savory notes. Fruits include cassis, black cherry, ripe blackberry, and plum skin. Light touches of smoke and earth make up the savory components. In the mouth, this wine is pleasantly herbal; fruits echo the aromas, adding a touch of raisin. The medium-plus-bodied palate has tobacco, earth, clove, and black pepper, supported by moderate acidity.
From the producer:
A bowl of summer fruits including sweet blackberries, raspberries, black olives and pomegranates which are highlighted by black pepper, violets and fresh green olive scents that develop and evolve with air. Vivacious and bright in the mouth with real density of flavor and concentration from the long cool growing season.
Both aromas and flavors are smoky. The nose offers stewed red fruit (raspberry), black fruit (black raspberry and cherry), and cured meat. The attack is juicy, with black fruits, meatiness, spices, black pepper and a slightly rustic note. Tannins are fairly fine, the body is medium to more, and the finish is long.
This appassimento wine uses dried grapes to concentrate the flavors. It is soft and supple in texture with velvety tannins on a medium frame. Stewed black and red fruits are accompanied by light tobacco and spice and a touch of smoke. Notes of blackberry, black cherries, and dates follow through to spices and dried herbs on the finish.
Aromas of blackberry jam, black currant skin, bramble and scorched earth cue up this wine. The palate offers juicy black fruit, integrated smokiness, dark chocolate and savory and spicy notes of forest floor and tree bark. It is medium plus in body with a few years’ age evident in its silky and plush tannins.
Ripe black and red fruit including plum and raspberry on the palate. Tannins are medium plus but well integrated, showing aging potential. Fruit, bramble, and spice notes mingle to create a well-balanced wine.
Good richness in the glass with aromatics of dark berries, toast, and chocolate. The palate is concentrated but refined in quality and texture with classy oak use and moderate – albeit appropriately – grippy tannin structure. This wine is polished with plum fruit, smoky bacon, and vanilla notes lingering through the finish.
Lovely aromas include raspberry, cassis, and black caps with touches of violets, leather and spiced plum. The mid-weight palate features juicy red and black berries and fruit leather supported by light sandalwood and floral-violet notes. Additional flavors of white pepper and smoke are framed around the lingering black cherry notes of this wine. Tannins remain smooth and acidity fresh. An excellent value wine!
This lighter-bodied wine begins with a classic Pinot Noir nose—rose, cherry, red currant plum, raspberry and dusty earth—leading to a juicy palate with fresh acidity. Raspberries and their seeds join touches of herb, a lightly fleshy texture, and a savory finish. Approachable for light to medium weight foods and even spicy dishes.
This has been aged in newer oak, dill and coconut aromas mingle with stewed mixed fruit. This smells classic; old world spice, dried rose petals, touch of earth. The palate delivers olive tapenade, black pepper, tobacco and mixed red and black berries. The structure is medium plus in body, with just right tannin structure that could age longer, but is drinking well right now.
This ripe and fruit forward wine is juicy with black pepper, dark plums, chocolate-covered cherries and rose peppercorns. This palate is rich and round with cherry pie notes and some good oak influence, especially offering baking spices and mocha.
A medium bouquet of red currants and cherries with cooked or concentrated raspberries and earth. The palate is sleek and supple with cherry, soil and plum. This wine is super fresh and yet deep with very fine and complex tannins and structure.
One of the leading domaines in Bandol, Domaine Tempier is, without a doubt, the most visible producer from the appellation in the U.S. marketplace today. I think this is well-deserved (and a good thing for Bandol), as the wines are at the top of the hierarchy in terms of quality. The estate has been in the Peyraud family for generations and has a long, storied history that’s beautifully documented in Kermit Lynch’s newsletters and book, Adventures on the Wine Route (an absolute must read for any wine lover). The family is still going strong today, yet the wines are now made by Daniel Ravier. -Wine Advocate
Slightly floral aromas mix with dark cherry, chocolate cake, oak, and cedar on the nose. The extra time in the barrel has softened this lovely Chianti Classico. The palette is pleasingly dense with Old World flavors, nicely ripe and fruity with soft but present tannins and juicy acidity.
Rich, dark aromas of cooked cherries and forest underbrush on the nose. This fuller-bodied wine offers black currants and black cherry on the palate. The fruit is ripe to support it's richness and fine tannins with touches of minerality and dark chocolate on the finish.
This wine is complex with rich aromatics of raspberry, red cherry, a touch of sassafras with old oak and pie crust. The aromas continue with forest floor, vanilla and cedar. The palate is equally attractive showing black pepper, dark earth, strawberry seeds and red peppercorns. This wine has lovely texture that is medium plus in body with slightly grippy tannins and a silky finish that has a hint of pressed flowers. This is tasty, pleasing and would make a wonderful gift.
Dark chocolate mingle with dark berries and aromas of toasted oak. The tannins are round and soft with the rustic wood quality delivering cigar box and forest floor with black plum, juicy blueberry and chocolate.
This deeply colored wine offers powerful aromas of mulberry, mocha, sweet wood, and damson plum. In the mouth, it is juicy with moderate plus acidity. The aromas are echoed in the flavors—plum, dark chocolate, smoke, mulberry, and sweet wood. Tannins are fine-grained and nearly invisible, but they provide just enough structure. It is medium plus in body and length.
This wine is from phylloxera-free vineyards with unirrigated grapes, giving it a pronounced personality. Fresh red and cooked cherries, spiced plums, and light balsamic notes characterize the aromas. The palate is medium to medium plus in body with macerated cherries and raspberries, plum molasses, and some vanilla and cinnamon. This wine has a level of minerality that reflecting its volcanic soil but is balanced with round tannins and a long finish.
This is quite aromatic, offering sweet wood, dark fruit--blackberry, blueberry, spiced cherry, plum--and cedar, all nicely integrated, with each sniff providing something more and different. The palate is equally integrated and complex. The fine tannins and moderate acidity are lovely, supporting and melding with the fruit. The fruit itself is dark berries, patient and thorough, subtle and a real presence. This is a wine one wants always on the wine rack to be enjoyed again and again. Medium bodied with a longer finish.
Spicy/floral aromas of dried rose petal, cinnamon and dried cherries. Ripe red and black fruit on the palate that remains balanced by soft, integrated tannins. Toasty vanilla and caramel notes linger on the longer finish.
Warm, dusty and spicy dark fruits emerge from the glass with baking spices and mulberries featuring prominently. It is medium plus in body with raspberry and plum fruit, dusty tannins and moderate acid.
Wine Spectator, 94 Points: A bright yet firmly structured Chianti Classico, with iron, leather, almond and floral accents surrounding a core of cherry fruit. Sleek and intense, with a lingering finish echoing cherry, red berry and mineral notes. Best from 2024 through 2040. 4,500 cases imported.
Smoky, silky elegance with scents of dark berries, flowers, herbs, pepper and anise. Exotic and textured, this is a deep, complex and rich wine with wild fruit (black and red raspberries and plums) along with black pepper and a long finish with great tannins.
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