Below are some of Karen’s favorite wines. Each is unique, with the story to match. No doubt you will find something of interest among these special wines that will catch your eye. Most of these wines are released only once a year and are in very limited supply. Kept under lock and key in the cellar, all of these wines are sure to please.

Ask your server or Karen about the availability of your choice.

2007 ALLEGRINI Dry Red ‘Palazzo della Torre’ Veneto Italy
Enticing scents of chocolate, espresso, dark fruit and licorice.  The fruit is delicious, as we always expect.  There is plenty of balance and elegance, which will make this wine drinkable for many years.  The 2007 Palazzo della Torre is 70% Corvina Veronese, 25% Rondinella and 5% Sangiovese. The addition of 30% dried fruit (Amarone style) adds an extra dimension of complexity.     Anticipated maturity: 2011-2017    

Rated 90 Points Robert Parker

2003 PENFOLDS Shiraz ‘Grange’ South Australia
Tremendously classy, offering smoky, earthy blackberry, plum and currant fruit that compete effectively against cedary oak on the long finish. The flavors gain with each sip, fanning out impressively. It should age beautifully. Supple, ripe and generous with its blueberry, plum and mocha flavors, riding easily over finely wrought tannins and extending into the long, expressive finish. Rich, complex and evocative, this has plenty of flavor packed into a beautifully balanced package. Drink now through 2020. 680 cases imported.

Rated 94 points by Wine Spectator Rated 92 Points Robert Parker

2008 ORIN SWIFT Red Blend ‘The Prisoner’ Napa Valley
I love what he’s done with his 2008 The Prisoner, a blend of 46% Zinfandel, 26% Cabernet Sauvignon, and the balance Syrah, Petite Sirah, Charbono, and Grenache. With over 15% alcohol, this is a big, sexy, fruit bomb boasting abundant amounts of black, blue, and red fruits along with pepper, spice box, earth, and herbs. It tastes like the unmanipulated essence of the fruit of a Mediterranean vineyard. Soft tannins, medium to full body, and a heady mouthfeel make this a seductive wine to enjoy over the next 2-3 years.

This is an innovative project from owner/winemaker Dave Phinney. The winery’s name comes from the names of his parrots.     

Rated 90 Points Robert Parker

2005 PENFOLDS Shiraz ‘RWT’ Barossa Valley, Australia
Rich, ripe and focused, with a lovely purity to the blackberry, dark plum and sweet spice flavors, playing against bittersweet chocolate notes on the long, expressive finish.

Best from 2010 through 2020. 1,500 cases imported.
Rated 93 Points Wine Spectator Rated 92 Points Jay Miller with Robert Parker 

2004 QUILCEDA CREEK Cabernet Sauvignon  Horse Heaven Hills, WA
The 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon contains 3% Merlot and 1% Cabernet Franc with the wine sourced from the Champoux, Klipsun, and Taptiel Vineyards. Velvety and generous. A supple, insinuating style, with coffee and bittersweet chocolate accents around a beautifully contained core of ripe currant, plum and cherry fruit.  It was aged for 22 months in 100% new French oak. There are 3400 cases produced, most of it sold through the winery’s mailing list and the rest in a handful of markets. Opaque purple-colored, it delivers a remarkable array of aromas including pain grille, violets, pencil lead, truffle, Asian spices, black currant, and blueberry. This leads to a lustrous, layered, velvet-textured wine with gobs of spicy, ripe black fruits and beautifully integrated oak, tannin, and acidity. The long, pure finish goes on for well over a minute.

It will evolve for a decade and drink well through 2045.

Rated 99 points by Jay Miller with Robert Parker Score: 95  Wine Spectator Designation: Collectibles

Top 100: 2007, Rank: 28

2006 QUILCEDA CREEK Cabernet Sauvignon  Horse Heaven Hills, WA
The flagship 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon comes predominantly from the famous Champoux Vineyard in which the winery is a partner. Very ripe and generous. Not a big wine, but brims with plum, currant, black olive, cedar and roasted meat flavors, all playing against crisp tannins and lingering on the tight finish. Needs time in the cellar in order to open and flourish.  It was aged in 100% new oak. It sports a deep purple-color with a captivating nose of spice box, sandalwood, truffle, Asian spices, incense, black cherry, and black currant. Opulent on the palate (but elegant as well), it already reveals serious complexity, density, and succulence of fruit. Enjoyable now but with at least 8-10 years of cellaring potential, this marvelous effort should have a 30 year lifespan.

Rated 99 Points Jay Miller with Robert Parker
Score: 94 Wine Spectator Designation: Collectibles

2007 QUILCEDA CREEK Cabernet Sauvignon  Horse Heaven Hills, WA
As you know, the previous five vintages earned scores of 99,100,99,100 and 100 from Robert Parker et al. This wine is regarded as some of the finest cabernet produced in the world.   The Wine Advocate writes: “In 1990, in Issue 69, after tasting a complete vertical of QC cab, I wrote that the winery was producing Washington’s (and possibly America’s) finest cab. Little has changed in the intervening years. The flagship 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon contains 3% Merlot.  It is a multi-dimensional offering with an inviting bouquet of sandalwood, Asian spices, violets, truffle black currants and blackberries.  Seamless on the palate, it is impeccably balanced with plenty of fine grain tannin in the background.  It should effortless achieve it’s 30th birthday.  Truly a gem.

Rated 100 Points Jay Miller with Robert Parker Score: 94 Wine Spectator

SINE QUA NON STORY AND SELECTIONS:

Seasons is proud to be the only Durango restaurant to offer these wines!

Sine Qua Non (also known as SQN) is a California cult winery known for its Rhône style blends, a tendency to avoid repetition, and a very limited production of wine that is highly difficult to obtain. (Note: The mailing list for SQN winery is in such demand, the wait time to be added can take more than 5 years) The winery is located in Ventura County, within the Central Coast AVA.

Founded in 1994 by Manfred Krankl and his wife Elaine, he began making his own wines in 1994 to supply the restaurant Campanile.  Sine Qua Non’s Syrahs were among the first American Syrahs to create significant interest and trading volume in the worldwide wine auction market. Sine Qua Non’s winery has been described by Robert Parker as “a facility that looks like a Mad Max movie set”. Sourcing fruit from a wide variety of growers from year to year as Krankl follows his preferences, has caused the winery to never make exactly the same wine twice, on which Krankl has said, “People buy Sine Qua Non. They don’t seem to give a toot where it’s from”.

2004 SINE QUA NON Grenache ‘Into the Dark’ California
No one in the New World makes better Grenache than Manfred Krankl. The 2004 Into the Dark (a blend of 84% Grenache, 8% Mourvedre, 7% Syrah, and 1% Viognier, primarily from the Eleven Confessions Vineyard) is a knock-out effort. Its inky/blue/purple color is followed by a big, sweet nose of black currants, black cherries, chocolate, spice box, and some toasty oak in the background. Voluptuously textured and full-bodied with abundant glycerin and fruit hiding the wine’s considerable underlying structure, this is a majestic Grenache that should hit its peak in 2-3 years, and last for 12-15.  

Rated 98 Points Robert Parker

2005 SINE QUA NON Syrah ‘Atlantis’ California
Beefy, spicy, peppery aromas join dried berry and dried currant flavors that are intense and well- proportioned  is a blend of 93% Syrah, 5% Grenache, and 2% Viognier, with 25% whole clusters. This cuvee is a combination of 43% from the estate vineyard, 28% from the White Hawk Vineyard, 21% from the Alban Vineyard, and 8% from the Bien Nacido Vineyard. An extraordinarily flowery nose interwoven with scents of blueberries, blackberries, incense, and graphite soars from the glass. Although not the biggest or most concentrated Syrah Krankl has made, it is one of the most nuanced, elegant, and complex. It remains full-bodied, but builds incrementally on the palate, and comes across as elegant and delicate, especially when compared to many California Syrahs. Keeps tightly focused and turns elegant. Spicy espresso bean aftertaste. Nevertheless, the intensity is mind-boggling, and the finish lasts for nearly a minute. Drink this amazing effort over the next 10-15+ years.

Rated 100 Points Robert Parker    Score: 92 points by Wine Spectator

2005 SINE QUA NON Grenache ‘Atlantis’ California
Complex aromas of dried blueberry, mineral, sage and espresso. A blend of 93% Grenache and 7% Syrah. About 50% of this cuvee was produced from whole clusters, and nearly all of it came from the Eleven Confessions Vineyard. Approximately 40% new oak was utilized, and the wine is scheduled to be bottled after two years in wood. The aromas reveal a distinctive chocolaty note along with the tell-tale blackberry, cassis, kirsch, licorice, camphor, and floral characteristics. Deep, complex, and full-bodied with a roasted meat-like flavor, despite its size and richness, the overall impression is one of elegance and phenomenal definition. It should drink well for 10-15+ years. Drink now through 2012. 990 cases made.

Rated 98 Points Robert Parker Score: 90 Wine Spectator

2005 SINE QUA NON Chardonnay ‘Mr. K’ Dessert Wine 375ml California
Made from 100% Chardonnay from the Alban Vineyard, the 2005 Mr. K. The Nobleman possesses 235 grams of residual sugar per liter as well as exceptional acid levels. This incredibly rich, sweet white is almost like the Quintessence bottlings from Alsace’s Domaine Weinbach. Its mind-boggling purity, balance, intensity, and sweetness are balanced by the wine’s zesty acidity. An amazing achievement fashioned from 100% botrytised fruit, it will keep for 20 or more years.

Rated 98 Points Robert Parker

2006 SINE QUA NON Syrah ‘Raven’ California
The 2006 Raven Series Syrah, a blend of 93% Syrah, 5% Grenache, and 2% Viognier that spends just under two years in French oak.  A delightful mix of big aromas and a gentle texture.  This wine offers a dense purple color, gorgeous fruit, and a sweet perfume of graphite, blackberries, blueberries, charcoal, licorice, tar, and new oak, it is a dense, full-bodied, well-endowed, beautifully layered, pure Syrah that should drink well for 10-15 years.

Rated 96 Points Robert Parker   Score: 95 Wine Spectator    Designation: Collectibles

2006 SINE QUA NON Grenache ‘Raven’ California
The 2006 Raven Series Grenache (a blend of 90% Grenache and 10% Syrah with 25% whole clusters used) comes largely from the 11 Confessions Vineyard with a tiny dollop of Bien Nacido Syrah added to the blend. Deliciously complex, bold, rich and layered with dark berry, plum, mocha and spice.  Full bodied and mouth-coating. Having spent 21 months in barrel, it is a prodigious effort.  Meaty, bouquet garni, licorice, and pepper notes as well as loads of black cherry and blackberry fruit are present in this beauty. Silky tannins along with good structure, density, and firmness suggest another year or two of aging will be beneficial. It should evolve for 10-15+ years.

Rated 96 Points Robert Parker
Score: 97 Wine Spectator   Designation: Collectibles

2007 SINE QUA NON Syrah ‘Labels’ California
The 2007 “Labels” was released in Spring, 2010. A blend of 89% Syrah, 7% Grenache, and 4% Viognier from four separate vineyards (the estate vineyards – 11 Confessions and Cumulus, and the two vineyards where Krankl purchases fruit – Whitehawk and Bien Nacido), this dense purple-hued offering displays a beautiful bouquet of graphite, spring flowers, blueberries, blackberries, and wood spice. It possesses fabulous fruit, layers of silky tannin, and good acidity – all seamlessly melded into the wine’s structure. Already delicious, it should put on weight and add additional nuances after bottling.

Rated 98 Points Robert Parker Score: 92 Wine Spectator

2007 SINE QUA NON Grenache ‘Pictures’ California
The 2007 “Pictures” is a blend of 89% Grenache, 9.5% Syrah, and 1.5% Viognier. Its inky/purple color is followed by sweet kirsch, raspberry, pepper, spice, roasted herb, and licorice aromas. Full-bodied with beautiful richness, precision, and purity, this is another terrific effort already displaying tremendous aromatic presence as well as a freshness that is pure genius given the wine’s size and richness.  This is a bit tightly would with wild berry, black cherry, pepper and cedar notes as well.  Only 764 Cases Made.

Rated 97 Points Robert Parker
Score 91 Points Wine Spectator

2004 PETER MICHAEL ‘Les Pavots’ Knights Valley
The 2004 Les Pavots is ripe and is a blend of 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot, and the rest Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. The wine exhibits notes of forest floor intermixed with chocolate, blueberry, blackberry, espresso, and spice.  There were only 2,000 cases produced of the 2004, which needs 2-3 years of bottle age and should drink well for 15+ years. This 121-acre estate with 114 producing acres of vineyard all located in Knights Valley continues to be at the top of their game and I can’t recommend the wines highly enough.  Shows complex aromas of dried currant, sage, anise and cedary oak. Very dense, balanced and concentrated on the palate, with a tight focus on the loamy currant flavors. Ends with firm, chewy tannins, but the fruit pushes through. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot.

Best from 2009 through 2019. 1,900 cases made.
Score: 94  Wine Spectator Rated 92-94 points by Robert Parker

2007 PETER MICHAEL ‘Les Pavots’ Knights Valley
The 2007 Les Pavots, a Bordeaux varietal blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Cabernet Franc, 10% Merlot, and 3% Petit Verdot, is brilliant. Its opaque purple color is accompanied by gorgeously complex aromas of melted chocolate, espresso roast, blackberries, and cassis. Full-bodied with a superb texture, a subtle note of oak, and fabulous concentration, it is more reminiscent of a Right Bank Bordeaux than one expects with this much Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend. A thirty-year wine, its impeccable balance and the sweetness of its tannins make it accessible already.

Rated 97 points by Robert Parker

2007 MOLLYDOOKER Shiraz-Cabernet ‘Enchanted Path’ McLaren Vale, South Australia
The 2007 Enchanted Path, a blend of 67% Shiraz and 33% Cabernet Sauvignon, is aged in mostly American oak, 70% new. Purple/black colored, it has a brooding bouquet of spice box, toasty oak, mineral, espresso, black currant, and blueberry. Big, ripe and focused, offering a blast of cherry and plum with a welcome floral note that lasts through the long and vivid finish.  Structured and powerful on the palate, this dense, rich effort requires 5 to 7 years of additional cellaring and will offer prime drinking from 2014 to 2028.

Rated 95+ Robert Parker Score: 91 Wine Spectator

2006 TORBRECK Shiraz ‘The Struie’ Barossa Valley, Australia
The 2006 The Struie is 100% Shiraz, sourced from cooler, hillside sites, 70% from Barossa Valley and 30% from Eden Valley with vine age ranging from 46 to 110 years. It was aged for 18 months in 20% new oak. Opaque purple-colored, it delivers a striking bouquet of lead pencil, game, mineral, blueberry compote, and blackberry liqueur. This is followed by a focused, elegant Shiraz with a plush texture, outstanding depth and grip, and 5-7 years of aging potential. It should drink well through 2026.

Rated 92 Points Robert Parker

2007 BREWER-CLIFTON Chardonnay ‘Sea Smoke’ Santa Rita Hills
White currant, honeyed citrus, creme brulee, brioche, and poached pear jump from the glass of the medium to full-bodied, light straw-colored 2006 Chardonnay Sea Smoke. Full-bodied and deep, yet stylish and intense!   Powerful and full-bodied, this wine has a nice mineral and graphite edge, along with ripe, spicy pear. This is a stunning Chardonnay to drink over the next 7-8 years.  Some of the longest-lived Chardonnays being made in California these days come from the dynamic duo of Steve Clifton and Greg Brewer. The wines only see about 20-25% new oak and are bottled without fining or filtration. While their alcohols are relatively high, the acid levels are as well balanced.  Beautiful!

Rated 93 Points Robert Parker Score: 91 Wine Spectator

 2006 ORIN SWIFT Cabernet Sauvignon ‘Mercury Head’ Napa Valley
The color is deep dark garnet. It has aromas of wild ripe field berries, figs, dust, earth, cranberry, black cherry, spice, dark coffee, chocolate, leather, violets, and currants. The palate is also dominated by dark brooding fruit, pomegranate, plus a little root beer and licorice. It is solid with a firm chewy mid-palate. The finish is long with smooth, well integrated tannins.  The 2006 Mercury Head was aged in French oak barrels (forty percent new) for sixteen months. This wine is very drinkable now but will benefit from cellaring in the short term and could rest for up t ten years. 

2006 MERRYVALE ‘Profile’ Napa Valley
The 2006 Profile (82% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot, and the rest Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc) is a beauty. The sweet, ripe tannins nicely frame this large-scaled, full-bodied wine. Its opaque ruby/purple color is followed by a fragrant bouquet of tobacco leaf, spice box, white chocolate, black currants, and plums. Deep, full-bodied, expansive, and savory, it will be even better after several more years of bottle age, and should easily last for two decades or more.

Rated 90 Points Robert Parker

2004 PETER LEHMANN Cabernet Sauvignon ‘Mentor’ Barossa Valley, Austrialia
Ripe, fleshy and immensely appealing for its juicy black currant and dark berry flavors, wrapped in a veil of tannins that have a light grip. Hints at sage and bay leaf as the finish persists impressively.

Best from 2010 through 2016.  Only 200 cases imported.    
Score: 92  Wine Spectator

2006 CHATEAU ST JEAN Proprietary Red Blend ‘Cinq Cepages’ Sonoma
This vintage is truly more Cabernet rather than a proprietary red blend- 83% Cabernet and the rest being Merlot, Malbec, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot.  It is soft and seductive with notes of cedar, roasted herbs, licorice and both red and black currants.  There is a bit of dusty undertone to round out this exceptional bargain.  Silky and full-bodied, this will cellar well for at least a decade.

Rated 90 Points Robert Parker    Score: 88 Wine Spectator

2007 DUCKHORN Pinot Noir ‘Migration’ Anderson Valley
The product of a standout growing season, the 2007 Migration is sleek and silky, with enticing upfront aromatics and compelling dark fruit layers. The nose displays jasmine tea and flowering blackberries, alongside dusty undertones of fresh chanterelles. These aromatics are echoed on the palate and accentuated by flavors of huckleberry, boysenberry, licorice, plum, white chocolate and orange blossom, all leading to a cleansing, medium-length finish.

Only 6100 cases made.       
Rated 89 Points ‘Lines on Wine’ 

2004 OPUS ONE Red Blend Napa Valley 
Bordeaux-like in its structure and balance, showing cedary oak, dusty berry, dried currant and mineral, with hints of herb and sage. The flavors firm up on the finish, and this is rich and intense without being heavy. Needs decanting. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc and Malbec.  Deep garnet-purple color. Intense, very purely fruited nose of warm cassis, mocha, black pepper, black olives and cigar boxes. Great concentration of juicy fruit on the palate, which is well supported by a firm backbone of medium to high acidity and a medium to high, fine grained tannins. Nicely balanced with a long finish. Drink now to 2024.

Rated 93 Points Robert Parker Rated 90 points wine Spectator

2005 PAHLMEYER Red Blend ‘Jayson’ Napa Valley
All of the grapes are grown and vinified to be Pahlmeyer.  After meticulously selecting the blend for the Pahlmeyer Proprietary Red the winemaker determined the quality of the additional barrels was in a class deserving of the Jayson label.  As such, this wine is hand-crafted with the same care and attention given to all Pahlmeyer Reds.  The name Jayson comes from the owner Jayson Pahlmeyer.  Jayson Red, like a given name, is more familiar,  and like Jayson himself is fun.

Rich and a little earthy, but offers good structure and concentration, with bright blackberry, pencil lead and spice aromas and layered plum and toasty licorice flavors. Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Malbec. Drink now through 2012.

Rated 88 Points Wine Spectator

2006 HARLAN ESTATE Proprietary Red Oakville, Napa
The 2006 Harlan Estate has turned out better than I originally predicted. Its dense ruby/purple color is followed by classic aromas of creme de cassis, melted licorice, smoked meats, burning embers, and graphite. It has thrown off some of the tannic clout it displayed last year, revealing great balance. A candidate for “wine of the vintage,” this dense, full-bodied effort has 25+ years of life ahead of it.

Rated 96 Points  Robert Parker Score: 94 Wine Spectator 

THE BOND STORY AND SELECTIONS

Bond is the world-class project of Harlan Estates owner Bill Harlan. It is a simple concept – take 20+-year leases on some of the finest vineyard sites in all of Napa Valley, bring in your own winemaker (the well-known Bob Levy, along with Michel Rolland in the background), and produce these single vineyard wines, with the stuff considered not good enough culled out and blended together into their second wine, called Matriarch. All of these wines are aged for nearly two years in 100% new French oak and bottled with no fining or filtration. They are all meant for 25 or even possibly 35+ years of aging. There are now five separate vineyards in the Bond portfolio. Quella comes from a 10-acre vineyard in Spring Valley near Howell Mountain, planted on volcanic white ash called tufa. The St. Eden comes from a valley floor vineyard in the Oakville corridor. Melbury is from Pritchard Hill, overlooking Lake Hennessy, Vecina a east-facing hillside neighbor to Harlan Estate, and E Pluribus a Spring Mountain vineyard overlooking St. Helena.

2003 BOND Proprietary Red Wine ‘Vecina’ Napa Valley 
The 2003 Vecina, which comes from a site near Harlan Estate, is a firm, tannic, backward wine displaying a gravelly, scorched earth, hot rock, black currant, licorice, and herb-scented bouquet. In the mouth, it is opulent. tight, rich, and ruggedly constructed with medium to full body.  Layers of plum, blackberry and wild berry fruit that manages to straddle the line and avoid being overripe.  Rich and fleshy, yet with firm tannins and a trace of heat showing on the palate.   Benefits from cellaring, and consume it over the following 15.

Rated 93 points by Robert Parker Score: 88  Wine Spectator

 2006 BOND Proprietary Red Wine ‘Vecina’ Napa Valley 
The 2006 Vecina has turned out even better than expected last year. Graphite/lead pencil notes intermixed with hints of burning embers and charcoal, an opaque purple color, and sweet blackberry and roasted espresso notes are all present in this wine, which is masculine, muscular, tannic, but incredibly well-endowed and a potential candidate for 30 years of aging.

This wine needs 4-5 years of cellaring and should last three decades.

Rated 95+ Points Robert Parker Rated 88 Points Wine Spectator

2005 BOND Cabernet Sauvignon ‘St. Eden’ Oakville, Napa
Captivating, with extraordinary depth and palate presence is the dense ruby/purple-colored, full-bodied 2005 St. Eden. Intense and vibrant, with a tight core of spicy currant, black cherry and wild berry fruit shaded by toasty, creamy oak and ending with a nice focus on the core flavors.  It possesses the bluer, blacker fruits that seem to come from this area of Pritchard Hill in addition to extraordinary notes of charcoal, acacia flowers, blueberry and blackberry liqueur. This seamlessly constructed 2005 is a sensational effort that is displaying even greater potential than last year. It will drink beautifully for three decades.

Rated 96 Points Robert Parker     Score: 92  Wine Spectator

2006 BOND Cabernet Sauvignon ‘St. Eden’ Oakville, Napa
From the valley floor vineyard in Oakville, the 2006 St. Eden has shed some of its tannic clout of last year and taken on a generously endowed style, with stunning black fruits, roasted herbs, sweet cassis, graphite, and new oak. Fleshy and even opulent (an anomaly for a 2006), this is an impressively endowed Cabernet Sauvignon to drink over the next 25 years.

Rated 94 Points Robert Parker     Rated 90 Points Wine Spectator

2006 BOND Proprietary Red Wine E Pluribus Napa Valley
The 2006 E Pluribus, like all of these Cabernet Sauvignons, is youthful, with an opaque purple color and a big, sweet nose of blueberry mixed with spring flowers and wet rocks.  Full-bodied, powerful, with formidable structure.  This wine can be cellared for 4-5 years easily, but will no doubt continue to be very good over the next 25 years.

Rated 94 Points Robert Parker Rated 90 Points Wine Spectator

2004 VERITE Propietary Red Blend ‘Le Muse’  Sonoma
The inky/ruby/plum/purple-tinged 2004 La Muse, primarily Merlot with a bit of Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon from Bennett Valley, Alexander Valley, and Knight’s Valley, is meant to be a Pomerol-styled effort. Notions The Old and New Worlds meet in this massively structured yet agile and balanced blend, which shows aromas of black currant, fresh earth and leather, with lean flavors of blackberry, cedar and mineral that finish with chewy tannins.  Abundant spice, subtle notes of French oak, and a full-bodied, fleshy personality result in an enjoyable as well as accessible wine to drink over the next 12-15+ years.

Rated 93 Points Robert Parker Score: 87  Wine Spectator

2007 PETER MICHAEL Pinot Noir ‘Le Caprice’ Reuling Vineyard  Sonoma
The 2007 Pinot Noir Le Caprice (all from the Reuling Vineyard) is a dark ruby/purple color with notes of forest floor, roasted herbs, underbrush, black currants, and sweet cherries. The wine is already delicious!

This winery continues to go from strength to strength despite a succession of winemakers over the last decade. Their consistency seems to come from their access to top vineyards and the carte blanche given by the proprietor to the talented winemakers who have come through, such as Mark Aubert, more recently Luc Morlet, and now his brother, Nicolas Morlet. They seem to do whatever is necessary (keeping yields low, having the best barrels, sorters, and vats) to produce the wines of extraordinary quality that have made Peter Michael a true world-class producer of unbelievable Chardonnays as well as Pinot Noirs and a Bordeaux-blend proprietary red wine. Nearly every Chardonnay here is of grand cru quality, and all are based on specific vineyard sites sprinkled in Knight’s Valley and the Sonoma appellation.

Rated 92 Points Robert Parker

2006 GERARD TREMBLAY Grand Cru Chablis Vaudésir, Chablis, Burgundy, France
Gerard Tremblay and his wife, Helene, oversee a domain that has been in their family for five generations, showcasing outstanding ‘premier cru’ and ‘grand cru’ appellations. Their list of Chablis is amongst the most prestigious in the region. Vaudésir belongs to the 7 jewels (Grands Crus) of Chablis.

It is the most feminine of all Chablis and is famous for its clarity.  This wine has power, with a hint of lemon and exotic dried fruits.  Medium yellow. High-toned aromas of spices and lavender. Densely packed and youthfully tight, with citrusy high tones, solid minerality and good floral lift. Creamier on the back half, with more flesh.

Rating: 90+ Stephen Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar

2005 JIM BARRY Shiraz ‘The Armagh’ Clare Valley, Australia
Jim Barry’s flagship is the famous Armagh Shiraz. The 2005 Armagh was sourced from a vineyard planted in 1964 on its own roots. It spent 18 months in French and American oak and was bottled without fining or filtration. It has an alluring bouquet of cedar, Asian spices, pepper, boysenberry, plum, and blackberry. This leads to a full-bodied yet elegant Shiraz with a velvety texture and impeccable balance. It offers up gobs of ripe fruit flavors, serious depth and concentration, and a very long finish. It will continue evolving with an additional 6-8 years of cellaring and drink well through 2035.

Rated 96 Points by Robert Parker; Score: 95 Wine Spectator

2007 BEAUX FRERES Pinot Noir Ribbon Ridge The Beaux Frères Vineyard Oregon
Light and fragrant with a silky core of raspberry and strawberry.  Earthy and loamy as you would expect from the Ribbon Ridge area. Drink now through 2013.  Produced by Robert Parker and friends as his own project.  Parker did not rate this wine-understandably.

Rated 91 Points Wine Spectator