Editors' Choice
Editors' Choice wines are those that offer excellent quality at a price above our Best Buy range, or a wine at any price with unique qualities that merit special attention.
San Vicente 2005 Red (Rioja)
- Editors' Choice
- $65
Talk about a wine that makes you take notice. This is simply great modern Rioja. The nose is creamy but honest, with black fruit, mocha and finely tanned leather. The palate gives the whole range of berry and tree fruits, with expansive tannins and just enough core acidity to make it stunning. Ultra stylish and delicious; another huge success for the Eguren family…
— M.S.
(12/15/2008)
Antinori 1997 Solaia Red (Toscana)
- Editors' Choice
- $115
Top-echelon, with a stunning purity and depth of layered fruit both sensuous and intellectually appealing. The dark cherry and plum core is oak-enveloped with rarely seen seamlessness, while the big but supple mouthfeel belies the wine’s profound power and structure. A classic effort marked by perfect fruit-to-acid balance, firm, refined tannins and a seemingly…
— W.E.
(9/1/2001)
Tantara 2004 Evelyn Pinot Noir (Santa Maria Valley)
- Editors' Choice
- $80
Stunning. Just magnificent. This is from Tantara’s little Bien Nacido block. It achieves wonderfully ripe fruit flavors with clean, balancing tannins and acids to produce the utmost California cool-climate Pinot Noir. Cherries, raspberries, cola, rich new oak and Asian spice flavors all flood the palate, wrapped into a dramatic silky, velvety texture. This is great…
— S.H.
(12/31/2006)
Talley 2005 Rosemary’s Vineyard Pinot Noir (Arroyo Grande Valley)
- Editors' Choice
- $70
This is a great 2005 Pinot Noir, the best ever from Talley. The wine somehow combines huge ripe fruit with delicacy. It floods the mouth with profound currant, cherry pie, licorice, cola, raspberry, cocoa and vanilla smoke flavors, yet feels light and silky, and is thoroughly dry. That’s the magic of Pinot Noir. You can enjoy this small production wine now, and it…
— S.H.
(3/1/2008)
Melville 2007 Carrie's Pinot Noir (Sta. Rita Hills)
- Editors' Choice
- Online Exclusive
- $52
Combines a delicate, floral lightness with a potent intricacy to produce a wine of vast intellectual interest. Dry and somewhat tannic, and crisp in tangy acidity, this small-production Pinot features tiers of tart red cherries, rosehip tea, cola, mint, lavender, anise and pepper, edged with the honeyed sweetness of smoky, glazed oak. A tremendous achievement, and…
— S.H.
(11/1/2009)
Failla 2010 Hirsch Vineyard Pinot Noir (Sonoma Coast)
- Editors' Choice
- Online Exclusive
- $65
This shows the trifecta of winemaker Ehren Jordan’s deft hand, the fabulous Hirsch Vineyard and the wonderful 2010 vintage. Even if you knew nothing of the wine’s pedigree, you’d be dazzled by its sheer richness of raspberry, cherry, cola and herb flavors, plus the firm, stone-driven minerality, the dryness, the feral mountain hints, the acidity and the overall…
— S.H.
(2/1/2013)
Sandrone 2001 Cannubi Boschis Nebbiolo (Barolo)
- Editors' Choice
- $135
Absolutely lovely. It starts off dense and tarry on the nose, with plum and chocolate fudge scents, then adds layers of bright floral and cherry notes with airing, while the palate is a whirl of mouthcoating flavors that never seem hamhanded despite the great intensity. Finishes with wonderfully plush tannins, making this approachable now, yet capable of evolving…
— J.C.
(3/1/2006)
Caymus 2004 Special Selection Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley)
- Editors' Choice
- $136
Beautiful wine, lush and soft in the style of this warm vintage. It’s immediately enjoyable for the wealth of cherries, blackberries and raspberries, with a decadent edge of melted milk chocolate. Oak adds extra dimensions of smoky vanilla, caramel, butterscotch and gingerbread. Those who think they don’t like red wine will enjoy. Hard to tell if it has the…
— S.H.
(8/1/2007)
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