The Chronicle
Latest dispatches
111 results across all types
videoThe $45 Cabernet Made by the Same Team Behind $600 Wines
Anakota Cabernet Sauvignon Knight's Valley 2022 Link to Purchase Wine: https://www.spectrumwine.com/retail/wines/2035057 Join our Daily Email Offer List: https://cdn.forms-content.sg-form.com/f3da488a-d10b-11ee-94a3-62718bdc6118 What happens when the family behind some of California's most celebrated luxury wines decides to make a serious, estate-grown Cabernet Sauvignon for less than $50? You get the 2022 Anakota Knights Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, a remarkable expression of mountain-influenced Sonoma terroir from the Jackson family's extraordinary vineyards at the base of Mount St. Helena. Developed with legendary winemaker Pierre Seillan, the creative force behind the acclaimed Vérité wines, Anakota has spent more than two decades establishing itself among California's elite Cabernet producers. Its prestigious Helena Montana and Helena Dakota bottlings command roughly $180, but this Knights Valley Cabernet draws from the same estate, benefits from the same winemaking team an
videoThis Winery Disappeared. Somehow, We Found Its Wine
Domaine de Saint Dominique IGP Pays de l'Herault 2009 Let’s have an honest conversation. This remarkable 17-year-old French red comes from a now-defunct 14-hectare estate in the Languedoc, established by Bordeaux-connected wine professionals in a neighborhood known for some of Southern France's most celebrated producers. The wine itself is a fascinating marriage of Bordeaux and Rhône traditions, blending Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Carignan, Petit Verdot and Mourvèdre into something entirely its own. When the opportunity crossed our desk, curiosity got the better of us. We requested samples, opened the bottles, and immediately knew we had stumbled onto something special. What makes this wine extraordinary isn't simply its age, but how beautifully it has held together. Rather than the tired, stewed fruit and heavy tertiary characteristics you might expect from a 17-year-old Southern French red, the 2009 Saint Dominique remains remarkably fresh, focused and energetic,
videoOne of Italy’s Greatest Sangiovese Values Is Still $29.98
Petrolo Toscana Torrione 2022 Link to Purchase Wine: https://www.winex.com/petrolo-toscana-torrione-2022.html Link to Glasses: https://www.winex.com/fontaine-premier-universal-wine-glass.html Join our Daily Email Offer List: https://cdn.forms-content.sg-form.com/f3da488a-d10b-11ee-94a3-62718bdc6118 Petrolo Torrione has been one of our benchmark Tuscan values for decades, and the 2022 shows exactly why. Luca Sanjust has transformed this family estate in southeastern Tuscany into a source for some of Italy’s most ambitious wines, but all that vineyard work and attention to detail trickles down into Torrione. The 2022 is the classic blend of roughly 80% Sangiovese, 15% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon, assembled from a palette of vineyard sites and raised using a variety of vessels to create something Kyle describes as essentially Petrolo’s super-premium house Sangiovese. torrione That skill was especially important in the hot 2022 vintage, when Sangiovese could easily bec
videoThis Might Be the Chardonnay Deal of the Year
Sandhi Chardonnay Patterson Vineyard Sta. Rita Hills 2023 Link to Purchase Wine: https://www.winex.com/sandhi-chardonnay-patterson-vineyard-sta-rita-hills-2023.html Link to Glasses: https://www.winex.com/fontaine-premier-universal-wine-glass.html Sandhi has built its reputation on some of the most precise, compelling Chardonnay coming out of California, and the 2023 Paterson Vineyard Chardonnay might also be one of the best values we’ve encountered from them. Paterson is a special Santa Rita Hills site tucked above the legendary Sanford & Benedict Vineyard, with a cool north/northeast exposure that produces beautifully energetic Chardonnay. Sashi Moorman and Rajat Parr take that fruit in an equally restrained direction, aging it for ten months in older 500-liter French oak puncheons before another six months in stainless steel. The result is almost Chablis-like in spirit: nervy and transparent, with green apple, candied lemon peel, gorgeous aromatics and remarkable precision r
videoBuy the Vineyard, Not the Label: $250 Burgundy for $69.98
Bouchard Pere et Fils Nuits Saint Georges 1er Cru Les Cailles 2018 Link to Purchase Wine: https://www.winex.com/bouchard-pere-et-fils-nuits-saint-georges-1er-cru-les-cailles-2018.html This is one of those rare Burgundy deals where the story may be every bit as compelling as the wine. Following the 2022 acquisition of Bouchard Père & Fils by Artemis Domaines, the group behind names including Château Latour and Domaine d’Eugénie, Bouchard’s enormous collection of vineyard holdings is being reorganized. Among the parcels slated to move into the prestigious Domaine d’Eugénie portfolio is Bouchard’s Nuits-Saint-Georges Premier Cru Les Cailles, a superb site directly bordering the celebrated Les Saint-Georges vineyard. Before that transition is complete, however, we landed library stock of the 2018 Bouchard Les Cailles, aged under ideal conditions in Bouchard’s historic cellars in Beaune. Bouchard At eight years of age, this is classic Nuits-Saint-Georges beginning to hit a beautifu
videoIn 1964, Burgundy Took Away This Vineyard’s Famous Name...But Why?
Thierry Mortet Bourgogne Rouge Cote d'Or 2023 Link to Purchase Wine: https://www.winex.com/thierry-mortet-bourgogne-rouge-cote-d-or-2023.html Sometimes the most interesting Burgundy stories are hiding behind the humblest labels. This bottle may say Bourgogne Côte d’Or, but its story leads directly into Gevrey-Chambertin and a parcel caught up in a fascinating 1964 reclassification that stripped part of the vineyard of its village status. The result is exactly the kind of “secret vineyard” Burgundy we love finding: Pinot Noir from a tiny parcel with 20- and 55-year-old vines, farmed organically for decades and made in a classic, restrained style with stems and roughly one-third new oak. In the glass it’s fragrant, tender and juicy, with that cooler structural frame and deceptive complexity that immediately tells you this is far more serious than everyday Bourgogne Rouge. And at $39.98, the story gets even better. Burgundy prices continue to climb as tiny yields, difficult growi
videoScot Bilbro of Marietta Cellars: Ep. 167
Marietta Cellars has spent nearly five decades proving that great California wine doesn’t have to come with a luxury price tag. In this conversation, Kyle sits down with second-generation winemaker Scott Bilbro to explore the philosophy his father Chris established in 1978, the surprising artistry behind the legendary Old Vine Red, and the family’s commitment to historic vineyards and long-standing grower relationships. The conversation culminates with the remarkable McDowell Valley property, home to ancient field blends and what Scott describes as the oldest known planting of Syrah in California, dating to 1918. It’s a conversation about family, authenticity, old vines, and a winery that has spent 45 years following its own path while remaining one of California wine’s great value stories.
videoEverything You Think You Know About Merlot Is Wrong
Giornata Gemellaia Paso Robles 2023 Link to Purchase Wine: https://www.winex.com/giornata-gemellaia-paso-robles-2023.html Join our Daily Email Offer List: https://cdn.forms-content.sg-form.com/f3da488a-d10b-11ee-94a3-62718bdc6118 Maybe it's finally time to get over Sideways. Giornata's 2023 Gemella makes a pretty convincing argument. Brian and Stephanie Terrizzi built Giornata by stubbornly pursuing something that once sounded almost absurd: world-class Italian-inspired wines from Paso Robles. Over the years the wines kept getting better, and today they're among California's most compelling specialists in varieties like Nebbiolo and Fiano. But in the long, cool 2023 vintage, the Merlot from Margarita Vineyard was apparently so good that they made a dramatic decision. Gemella, historically a Merlot-based blend that included Sangiovese, would become 100% Merlot. Only six barrels, roughly 150 cases, were produced. The result is a reminder of why Merlot became enormously popula
videoThe Sauvignon Blanc Sancerre Drinkers Are Missing
Couhins Blanc Pessac Leognan 2022 Link to Purchase Wine: https://www.winex.com/couhins-blanc-pessac-leognan-2022-pre-arrival.html If all the attention surrounding Sauvignon Blanc has you chasing Sancerre, here's a reminder that some of the world's most distinctive Sauvignon Blanc comes from Pessac-Léognan, and Château Couhins Blanc 2022 makes a pretty compelling case. This rising estate sits in the heart of white Bordeaux country, surrounded by names like Haut-Brion, Domaine de Chevalier, Smith Haut Lafitte and Pape Clément, yet this bottle costs a fraction of what the appellation's stars command. Made from 93% Sauvignon Blanc and 7% Sauvignon Gris and raised for approximately 20 months in new French oak, it combines citrus and white peach with tremendous lift, focus and energy. The gravelly clay terroir gives it that unmistakable Pessac-Léognan personality, while the remarkable 2022 vintage delivers the seemingly contradictory combination of ripe, generous fruit and vibrant fres
videoBedrock Vineyard with Morgan Twain-Peterson
Bedrock The Bedrock Heritage Sonoma Valley 2024 Link to the wine: https://www.winex.com/bedrock-the-bedrock-heritage-sonoma-valley-2024.html Join Kyle and Powell as they visit one of California's most historic vineyards along with MW and Winemaker Morgan Twain-Peterson
videoThe Bouchard Burgundy They Don't Want You to Know About.
Bouchard Père & Fils Beaune 1er Cru Les Greves 2018 Link to the wine: https://www.winex.com/bouchard-pere-fils-beaune-1er-cru-les-greves-2018.html There's Bouchard Père & Fils, the enormous Burgundy name that everyone recognizes, and then there's Domaine Bouchard Père & Fils, the wines produced from vineyards Bouchard actually owns and farms itself. That's an important distinction, especially in Beaune Grèves Premier Cru, where Bouchard owns more than six hectares. Within those holdings sits the roughly three-hectare parcel responsible for one of the Côte de Beaune's most famous red wines, Vigne de l'Enfant Jésus, a bottle that can command around $200. But Bouchard owns additional parcels within Beaune Grèves surrounding and adjoining those Enfant Jésus holdings, and that's where this 2018 Bouchard Père & Fils Beaune Grèves Premier Cru becomes so interesting. Same producer, same Premier Cru vineyard, same vintage, but roughly one-third the price. Beaune Grèves is prized for th
videoThe Pingus team saw the future of Ribera del Duero coming.
Montecastro Ribera del Duero 2022 Link to the wine: https://www.winex.com/montecastro-ribera-del-duero-2022.html Join our Daily Email Offer List: https://cdn.forms-content.sg-form.com/f3da488a-d10b-11ee-94a3-62718bdc6118 A few years ago, when Daniel and Florence Cathiard visited Wine Exchange, Florence told us they actually lost money producing this bottle, but Daniel loved rosé so much that he insisted on continuing to make it. Sadly, Daniel passed away this past year, but when we saw Florence again in Bordeaux, she told us the rosé would continue to be made in his honor. That makes a wine we've loved selling year after year feel particularly special today. The 2024 Les Hauts de Smith Rosé is made from 80% Cabernet Sauvignon and 20% Merlot from the Cathiards' own vineyards, serious Bordeaux fruit that could otherwise find its way into considerably more expensive wines. The cooler 2024 vintage gives this salmon-colored rosé terrific freshness, with juicy watermelon and stra
videoThey Lost Money Making This Rosé. He Didn't Care.
Les Hauts de Smith Bordeaux Rosé 2024 Link to the wine: https://www.winex.com/les-hauts-de-smith-bordeaux-rose-2024-pre-arrival.html Join our Daily Email Offer List: https://cdn.forms-content.sg-form.com/f3da488a-d10b-11ee-94a3-62718bdc6118 A few years ago, when Daniel and Florence Cathiard visited Wine Exchange, Florence told us they actually lost money producing this bottle, but Daniel loved rosé so much that he insisted on continuing to make it. Sadly, Daniel passed away this past year, but when we saw Florence again in Bordeaux, she told us the rosé would continue to be made in his honor. That makes a wine we've loved selling year after year feel particularly special today. The 2024 Les Hauts de Smith Rosé is made from 80% Cabernet Sauvignon and 20% Merlot from the Cathiards' own vineyards, serious Bordeaux fruit that could otherwise find its way into considerably more expensive wines. The cooler 2024 vintage gives this salmon-colored rosé terrific freshness, with juicy
videoOne Woman's Crazy Idea Changed This Champagne Forever
Duménil Brut Millésime 2015 Link to the wine: https://www.winex.com/dumenil-brut-millesime-2015.html Join our Daily Email Offer List: https://cdn.forms-content.sg-form.com/f3da488a-d10b-11ee-94a3-62718bdc6118 This small grower estate has roots stretching back to the 1800s, but like so many récoltant-manipulant producers scattered throughout Champagne, Duménil has remained relatively unknown in the American market. When its importer decided to move on, we tasted the wines for the first time. And immediately wondered where they'd been hiding. Today, Duménil is led by Frédérique Duménil, who unexpectedly took charge of her family's estate at just 21 years old in 2000 after her father became ill. Alongside her husband, who handles much of the viticulture, Frédérique has continued a family story that includes one particularly important decision made more than half a century ago. That decision involved Chardonnay. The family's vineyards are centered around Chigny-les-Ros
videoWhy Aren't You Drinking Mencía?
Casar de Burbia Bierzo Mencía Casar 2019 Link to the wine: https://www.winex.com/casar-de-burbia-bierzo-mencia-casar-2019.html Join our Daily Email Offer List: https://cdn.forms-content.sg-form.com/f3da488a-d10b-11ee-94a3-62718bdc6118 We have a question. Why aren't more people drinking Mencía? Seriously. It's one of Spain's most fascinating red varieties, and Bierzo is one of Europe's great places to grow it. Yet mention Mencía to many wine drinkers and they hesitate. So we're trying again. And if there's ever been a bottle capable of converting somebody to Mencía, César Márquez's entry-level Bierzo might be it. The story begins before modern Bierzo became fashionable. In 1989, César began acquiring tiny parcels around the village of Valtuille de Arriba. At the time, many growers were replacing old Palomino vineyards with Mencía. Instead of simply ripping everything out and starting over, César recognized the value of the ancient vines already in the ground.
video96 Points... and You've Probably Never Heard of It”
Domaine de Galuval Cairanne Blanc La Vallée 2022 Link to the wine: https://www.winex.com/domaine-de-galuval-cairanne-blanc-la-vallee-2022.html Join our Daily Email Offer List: https://cdn.forms-content.sg-form.com/f3da488a-d10b-11ee-94a3-62718bdc6118 A traveling French salesman walked through our door with a handful of wines we'd never tasted. We did what we always do: opened the bottles and let the wines make their case. This one made a very convincing argument. Domaine Galuval is located in Cairanne, a Southern Rhône village northeast of Châteauneuf-du-Pape and neighboring Rasteau. Once part of the broader Côtes du Rhône Villages appellation, Cairanne was elevated to full Cru status in 2016, putting it into the same hierarchy as some of the Rhône's most recognizable villages. But here's where things get interesting. This isn't the powerful Grenache-based red you might expect from the Southern Rhône. It's a serious, remarkably textured white Rhône built around Rou
videoPétrus Soil Without the Pétrus Price.
Marsau Cotes de Francs 2019 Link to the wine: https://www.winex.com/marsau-cotes-de-francs-2019.html Join our Daily Email Offer List: https://cdn.forms-content.sg-form.com/f3da488a-d10b-11ee-94a3-62718bdc6118 Some Bordeaux discoveries come and go. Château Marsau has been part of our story for nearly three decades. We've followed this little estate since the early days of Wine Exchange, sold thousands of bottles across multiple vintages, visited the property ourselves, and watched bottles from the late 1990s and early 2000s mature far beyond what their modest price tags ever suggested they should. And after all those years, the fundamental reason we've believed in Marsau hasn't changed. It's the dirt. Château Marsau sits in Francs Côtes de Bordeaux, just east of Saint-Émilion, where the vineyard possesses an extraordinary combination of blue and black clay soils ideally suited to Merlot. It's the same basic geological story that has made clay-rich sites elsewhere
videoDrinking a Lost Piece of Napa Valley History
Voces Petite Sirah Napa Valley 2013 Link to the wine: https://www.winex.com/voces-petite-sirah-napa-valley-2013.html Join our Daily Email Offer List: https://cdn.forms-content.sg-form.com/f3da488a-d10b-11ee-94a3-62718bdc6118 Every once in a while, somebody walks through the door with a bottle that makes us stop and say: What the hell is that? That's exactly how we discovered the 2013 Voces Cellars Napa Valley Petite Sirah. A broker friend pulled it out of his bag during a recent tasting. We'd never seen the label before, but three things immediately caught our attention. It was Petite Sirah from Napa Valley, it was from the outstanding 2013 vintage, and it already had 13 years of bottle age. Then we started digging into where it came from. That's when this became a much bigger story. Voces is the personal label of Fernando Candelario, a veteran Napa winemaker whose career began at Robert Mondavi in the 1990s before working alongside Greg Brown at T-Vine Cella
videoSometimes the best Puligny-Montrachet doesn't say Puligny-Montrachet.
Olivier Leflaive Bourgogne Blanc Oncle Vincent 2023 Link to the wine: https://www.winex.com/olivier-leflaive-bourgogne-blanc-oncle-vincent-2023.html Join our Daily Email Offer List: https://cdn.forms-content.sg-form.com/f3da488a-d10b-11ee-94a3-62718bdc6118 The bottle says Bourgogne Blanc. The glass says something entirely different. When this wine was first poured for us, our immediate reaction was simple: "Wait... what is this?" We already knew and loved Olivier Leflaive's outstanding Les Sétilles, one of our longtime favorite white Burgundy values. Then we discovered Oncle Vincent, and suddenly everything changed. The importer smiled and simply told us, "It's the better Bourgogne Blanc." After one sip, we understood exactly what she meant. The difference begins in the vineyards. While Les Sétilles draws fruit from villages throughout the Côte de Beaune, Oncle Vincent comes entirely from eight carefully selected parcels in and around Puligny-Montrachet, Burg
videoOne of the world's greatest wine values just got even better.
Juan Gil Monastrell Jumilla Silver Label 2023 Link to the wine: https://www.winex.com/juan-gil-monastrell-jumilla-silver-label-2023.html Join our Daily Email Offer List: https://cdn.forms-content.sg-form.com/f3da488a-d10b-11ee-94a3-62718bdc6118 Most wineries face a simple choice. Raise the price. Or improve the wine. Somehow, Juan Gil has managed to do the second without doing the first. For well over a decade, the Silver Label has been one of the world's great everyday wine values. Vintage after vintage, it has delivered remarkable concentration, old-vine character, and unbelievable consistency at a price that almost seems impossible in today's market. But something interesting has happened over the past few years. The wine has quietly evolved. And it's better than ever. The Juan Gil family has always had one tremendous advantage. Their vineyards. These organically farmed old-vine Monastrell vineyards, many planted 30 to 60 years ago, sit in the rugged, high-altitude l
videoOne of Napa's Best Vineyards. One Incredible Secret.
Madcap Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve Jericho Canyon Vinyeard 2023 Link to the wine: https://www.winex.com/madcap-cellars-cabernet-sauvignon-jericho-canyon-vinyeard-2023.html Join our Daily Email Offer List: https://cdn.forms-content.sg-form.com/f3da488a-d10b-11ee-94a3-62718bdc6118 Every once in a while, a wine comes along that asks you to trust your palate more than the label. That's exactly what's happening with the 2023 Madcap Cellars Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon. Here's what we know. The fruit comes from Jericho Canyon Vineyard, one of Napa Valley's most coveted Cabernet Sauvignon sites, tucked into the rugged hills just north of Calistoga. Over the years, this remarkable vineyard has supplied fruit to elite producers like Ramey and Rudd, wines that routinely command $200 to $300 per bottle and have earned some of Napa's highest critical acclaim. Here's what we don't know. Who's actually behind this bottle. Because of a strict non-disclosure agreement,
videoThe Vintage That Changed the Loire Forever
Domaine FL Anjou Rouge Le Cochet 2018 Link to the wine: https://www.winex.com/pujanza-rioja-finca-valdepoleo-2018.html Join our Daily Email Offer List: https://cdn.forms-content.sg-form.com/f3da488a-d10b-11ee-94a3-62718bdc6118 Some of the best wines we sell were never on our shopping list. That's exactly what happened with the 2018 Domaine FL Anjou Rouge. When we traveled to Wine Paris, we weren't looking for mature Loire Valley red wine. We were hunting for older Rhône, Bordeaux, and other classics. Then someone poured us this bottle, and within minutes, we completely changed our buying plans. Sometimes the wine finds you. Most wine lovers know Domaine FL for its exceptional Chenin Blanc. Founded by Philippe Fournier Longchamps, the estate was created after he acquired two historic Loire Valley properties in 2006 and 2007, combining them into one of Anjou's benchmark biodynamic domaines. While the whites have long earned international acclaim, tasting the reds remind
videoTwenty years later, modern Rioja has become classic Rioja.
Pujanza Rioja Finca Valdepoleo 2018 Link to the wine: https://www.winex.com/pujanza-rioja-finca-valdepoleo-2018.html Join our Daily Email Offer List: https://cdn.forms-content.sg-form.com/f3da488a-d10b-11ee-94a3-62718bdc6118 For years, Rioja has been divided into two camps. Traditional producers embraced long aging in American oak, creating wines layered with cedar, dill, tobacco, and spice. Then came a new generation determined to modernize the region with French oak, single-vineyard bottlings, and a greater emphasis on pure fruit expression. Carlos San Pedro never believed you had to choose between the two. When he left his family's historic winery in the late 1990s to found Pujanza, he wasn't trying to reject Rioja's past. He simply wanted to show what 100% Tempranillo from exceptional vineyards could become when the focus shifted toward terroir, precision, and thoughtful use of French oak. More than twenty-five years later, that vision has matured beautifully.
videoThese 100-Year-Old Vines Found Their True Calling
Bodegas Muga Rioja Rosado Flor De Muga 2025 Link to the wine: https://www.winex.com/bodegas-muga-rioja-rosado-flor-de-muga-2025.html Join our Daily Email Offer List: https://cdn.forms-content.sg-form.com/f3da488a-d10b-11ee-94a3-62718bdc6118 For generations, the Muga family knew of a collection of extraordinary old-vine Garnacha vineyards scattered throughout the Najerilla and Oja Valleys of Rioja Alta. The vines were magnificent, many planted between 1927 and 1947, but they shared one frustrating trait. At their lofty elevations, they often struggled to achieve the ripeness needed for truly great red wine. Then someone asked a simple question. What if these vineyards weren't meant to make great red wine? What if they were destined to make one of the world's great rosés? That decision changed everything. Instead of forcing these ancient vines into something they weren't, the Muga family embraced what the vineyard naturally wanted to become. Today, those same 80 t