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We at Sokolin pride ourselves on bringing you not only the most sought-after and well-known wines, but also less-familiar, hidden gems from across the world. Today’s wine, the 2007 Bisceglia Gudarra Aglianico del Vulture Riserva, is one example. Hailing from Basilicata, Robert Parker’s “favorite underdog Italian region”, this wine is one defined by its terroir. Produced on Mount Vulture, an extinct volcano, the vines dig deep into the thick ancient ash to produce wines of incredible depth. To taste this wine is to experience both a far-away place and an ancient time. “Wine has given me the ability to bring a little piece of Basilicata to countries all over the world,” says owner Mario Bisceglia.

The grape itself, Aglianico, also has a long history. The longest, perhaps, of all commercial wines according to Denis Dubourdieu, who points to the

While the Garden of Eden might be known for its apples, California drinkers know that Mount Eden means grapes and seriously good wines, such as today’s 2013 Mount Eden Estate Chardonnay.  

Far from the bucolic greenery of the biblical pastures, the Mount Eden vineyards are located high in the Santa Cruz Mountains on rocky shale soils. Nearly 1000 feet above the fog line on east-facing hills, the vines receive ample sunlight, dry weather, and cool, consistent temperatures that help the grapes reach optimum ripeness year after year. The area, the first mountainous zone to be made an AVA in 1981, has been making extraordinary wines for years. In fact, two Santa Cruz Mountain wines, a Chardonnay and a Cabernet, were featured in the famed Judgement of Paris wine competition. 

Consistency and pedigree are key with this producer. Mount Eden has been producing Chardonnay

All good things must come to an end, it seems. Gone is the unseasonable warm weather we’ve been enjoying, and here comes the snow. To combat these dark skies, today we’re tasting a brighter wine—the 2014 Domaine Terres Dorees Jean Paul Brun Bourgogne Pinot Noir. 

Burgundy, or Bourgogne in French, is broadly split into two parts—Burgundy proper in the North, where you’ll find names such as Corton, Chambertin, and Romanee Conti, and in the South, the area of Beaujolais. Beaujolais is best known for its young, playful Gamay-based wines which, while highly drinkable, often lack individual character. Jean Paul Brun, however, has decided to turn that idea on its head. 

Making wines around the village of Charnay since 1977, Brun has been at the forefront of a trend to bring serious and seriously tasty terroir-driven wines to Beaujolais.

With the clock falling back this week, we fall back on one of our favorite Thanksgiving varietals—Pinot Noir. This is a grape that was seemingly designed for cool weather. Its warm, elegant fruitiness makes it a great companion to the hearty foods and chilly air of autumn. Even in the vineyard, Pinot is a grape that produces its most profound expressions through colder climes, such as today’s wine, the 2013 Melville Pinot Noir Estate Santa Rita Hills. 

When you think of the world’s great Pinot Noir sites, Burgundy of course jumps to mind along with Oregon and perhaps the up-and-comer of New Zealand. But California should be on the savvy wine-drinker’s radar. While generally too hot for the finicky Pinot, there is one area where geology has come together to offer an especially ideal spot for its growth—the Sta. Rita Hills. Only 10 miles from

« Qui boit du Meursault ne vit ni ne meurt sot »

This play on words is the unofficial slogan of the village of Meursault and might be roughly translated as “A person full of Meursault is no fool at all”. A fitting phrase for today’s wine, the 2014 Patrick Javillier Meursault les Tillets, which you’d be a fool not to taste! 

The town of Meursault has been synonymous with rich, oak-driven white Burgundies since nearly the time of its first winegrowers, the Cistercian monks. Les Tillets, the vineyard name, hearkens back to the fragrant linden trees planted by these monks to surround the vines. 

Like the Cistercians, today’s winemaker, Patrick Javillier, mixes instinct and an innate respect for the land with years of intense study to practice his craft. With his winemaking father, Javillier spent his youth in the

In France, wine’s most dynamic successes are the result of tradition meeting innovation. This couldn’t be more clear than in Burgundy’s most recently created appellation—Viré-Clessé (veer-AY cluh-SAY). Often overshadowed by its more famous Mâcon neighbors of Pouilly-Fuissé and Saint-Véran, the area of Viré-Clessé, classified in 1999, has nonetheless been known by wine fans as a source of rich, great valued wines for centuries. 

The name of the village of Viré itself (or Viriaco as it was known) means “grape-growing” and has been producing wines since the ninth century. One thousand years later in 1868, Jules Guyot would be quoted as saying that Viré-Clessé wines are “always agreeable, always healthy, and what’s more, at more than reasonable prices”. If Monsieur Guyot were here to taste today’s wine, the

“If you can still find them, 2001 is a mythical vintage in many Spanish viticultural areas.”

Robert Parker wrote this over a decade ago and based on my recent tasting of Rotllan Torra’s 2001 Tirant, it still holds true.

According to the Catalunya website, Jordi Rotllan Torra and his family founded the Torroja del Priorat winery in the early ‘80s. Supposedly the small mountain village was a popular vacation destination for the wine distribution family from Penedes when Jordi was young. When they realized the amazing potential of the region, they purchased the vineyards and the facility built in the 17^th century by Carthusian monks of Scala Dei in a Renaissance style with Cistercian influences. “From the start it was designed as a cellar, with an enormous capacity of one million litres of wine.” Dug into the ground with stone and mortar, allowing for constant temperature and humidity

From picking fruit in Bordeaux during the 70s to producing music videos that earned him a Grammy nomination, Scott Palazzo clearly has the “midas touch”. He’s now the rock-and-roll winemaker who’s crafting world-class wines in Napa Valley. He produces three cuvees, all well-known among wine insiders, but probably not getting the notice that they merit! Thomas Keller, owner of The French Laundry, was so impressed by Palazzo’s wines that he asked Scott to create an exclusive wine to serve in all his restaurants.

Last night, I was happy to be pulling the cork on his 2010 Palazzo Wine Proprietary Red Right Bank. Predominately Merlot with a dollop of Cab Franc and Cab Sauv for good measure, this gem is just beginning to show its legs. It was dense and powerful, yet contained a silkiness that tamed its youthfulness. I shared it with a couple of close friends over

When I saw the 98 point score that James Suckling awarded the 2013 Le Pupille Saffredi, I knew I had to experience it for myself. My excitement led to an unexpected tasting with a few family members who shared my level of eagerness to try this well-known Super Tuscan.  As we were not planning to open the bottle that evening, we were not prepared to pair it with a fitting meal. Instead, the 2013 Le Pupille Saffredi was paired with laughs and conversation.

The nose was rich with dark fruits, leather, tobacco and spices. The 2013 Saffredi is full bodied with smooth yet firm tannins.  Dark cherry, pepper and licorice really stood out in the glass. It is delicious now, but will get better with time. 

The 2012 Saffredi was scored the perfect 100 points from Suckling. In July, 2016, the 2013 was upgraded from 96-Points to 98-Points. Suckling claimed that the 2013 is… “A slightly

The Lisini estate, situated on the southern side of Montalcino very near Sant’Angelo in Colle, dates back to the 16th century and some buildings are over 700 years old. To say that this is a property and family steeped in history and tradition would be an understatement! Their more recent past includes charter membership in the Brunello Consorzio, one of only 25 producers at the time, and the family matriarch, Elina is a past president. She was a fixture in Montalcino her entire life and with her family, was dedicated to the production of the highest quality Sangiovese Grosso.

Lisini is known to produce beautiful Brunellos even in difficult vintages, so what would they do in a stellar one? I could not wait to find out when I opened the first bottle from our cellar on a recent summer evening, including a variety of pizzas on our patio with family and friends. I wanted to give the wine plenty of time to open up and planned to decant but temptation took over – I did