School of Wine & Spirits
Red Wine
142 reviews
Domaine de l'Hortus Grande Cuvée Pic Saint-Loup 2020
Domaine de l'Hortus
Domaine de l'Hortus Grande Cuvée is a masterful expression of Pic Saint-Loup — a region where the altitude and dramatic temperature swings between day and night produce wines of remarkable freshness despite the Mediterranean heat. This is serious Languedoc red at a fraction of Rhône Valley prices.
Domaine de la Côte Pinot Noir Estates 2021
Domaine de la Côte
Rajat Parr and Sashi Moorman's estate-wide blend offers a window into their meticulous Sta. Rita Hills farming without the single-vineyard price tag. It drinks like Burgundy in its restraint and transparency, proving that California Pinot Noir can whisper rather than shout.
Domaine de la Bouïssière Gigondas Les Olivets 2021
Domaine de la Bouïssière
The Faravel family farms old-vine Grenache and Mourvèdre on Gigondas's rocky Dentelles de Montmirail slopes, where low yields and extreme diurnal temperature swings build concentration naturally. Les Olivets is their flagship — a wine of real substance that never sacrifices drinkability for power. Give it thirty minutes in a decanter and it opens beautifully.
Pietradolce Etna Rosso DOC 2021
Pietradolce
Pietradolce farms some of the highest vineyards on Etna's north slope, and this entry-level Rosso punches well above its price. Nerello Mascalese shows its best here — transparent, mineral-driven, alive with tension. It's a red wine that feels like it was drawn from the rock itself.
Domaine du Cros Marcillac Lo Sang del Pais 2021
Domaine du Cros
Marcillac is one of France's most obscure appellations, tucked into the steep slopes of a former iron-mining valley in the Aveyron. Domaine du Cros is its benchmark estate, and this cuvée — named 'The Blood of the Land' — delivers exactly that: an uncompromising red shaped entirely by its vertiginous terrain and indigenous grape variety.
Fattoria di Selvapiana Chianti Rufina Riserva Vigneto Bucerchiale 2019
Fattoria Selvapiana
A quietly serious Chianti Rufina that trades power for poise; drinking well now with an hour in the decanter, but built for a decade or more in the cellar.
Domaine de la Rectorie Banyuls Cuvée Léon Parcé 2019
Domaine de la Rectorie
Domaine de la Rectorie's Léon Parcé bottling demonstrates that Banyuls — one of France's most underappreciated appellations — can produce wines of extraordinary complexity and restraint. The Mediterranean heat that bakes these coastal terraces is the same heat that concentrates the Grenache to an almost raisined intensity, which the Parcé brothers then harness with precision. This is a wine that bridges the worlds of wine and spirits.
Bodegas Muga Prado Enea Gran Reserva Rioja 2018
Bodegas Muga
Prado Enea is Muga's flagship, and the 2018 vintage delivers the kind of depth and integration that only extended barrel and bottle aging can achieve. This is traditional Rioja at its most assured — a wine that knows where it's been and where it's going. Drink now through 2038.
Domaine de la Mordorée Châteauneuf-du-Pape Rouge 2021
Domaine de la Mordorée
The Delorme family's Châteauneuf benefits from old-vine Grenache across parcels studded with the appellation's famous round stones, which absorb and radiate heat. The 2021 vintage offers a slightly fresher, more lifted expression than the scorching years — weight from the stone, lift from the season. A compelling argument for Châteauneuf as a wine of contradiction.
Domaine de la Côte Pinot Noir La Côte 2021
Domaine de la Côte
Rajat Parr and Sashi Moorman's estate bottling draws from all their Sta. Rita Hills vineyards, and it captures the region's tension between fruit and mineral with remarkable clarity. The threshold in this wine is between fruit-driven California Pinot and something more Burgundian — you feel the tug in both directions. Drink it slightly cool for maximum effect.
Graci Etna Rosso DOC 2021
Graci
Alberto Ferrandes Ferrandes Ferrandes Graci's estate sits on Mount Etna's north face, where centenary ungrafted Nerello Mascalese vines grow in black volcanic sand. This is a wine that tastes like its place — electric, mineral, alive. The heat of the volcano is in every glass.
Zuccardi Valle de Uco Malbec 2021
Zuccardi
Sebastián Zuccardi has become the leading voice for altitude-driven Argentine Malbec, and this Valle de Uco bottling is the accessible entry point to his philosophy. Vineyards planted above 1,000 meters produce grapes with natural acidity and aromatic intensity that flatland fruit cannot match. The result is a Malbec with structure and freshness rather than just fruit weight.
Bodegas Aalto 2021
Aalto
Founded by the legendary Mariano García after his decades at Vega Sicilia, Aalto represents Ribera del Duero at its most concentrated and serious. The 2021 vintage delivers the density and structure the label is known for, with enough freshness to drink now or cellar confidently for a decade.
Sottimano Barbaresco Currà DOCG 2020
Sottimano
Sottimano's Currà vineyard sits on the steep hills of Neive, and the 2020 vintage gave wines of concentration and poise. This Barbaresco balances power with precision — the Nebbiolo tannins are present but polished, and the floral aromatics lift what could easily be a brooding wine. Drink now through 2035.
Niepoort Charme Douro DOC 2020
Niepoort
Dirk Niepoort has spent decades proving the Douro can produce world-class table wine, not just port. Charme is his flagship argument — a blend of old-vine indigenous grapes that captures the Douro's schist-and-altitude terroir with precision. This 2020 is taut, layered, and built for years of evolution.
Clos Erasmus Priorat 2019
Clos Erasmus
Daphne Glorian's Clos Erasmus remains one of Priorat's most profound wines. The 2019 vintage captures the tension between the region's extreme heat and the llicorella slate soils that force the old Grenache and Syrah vines to dig deep. It's a wine of fire and stone — powerful but breathtakingly precise.
Domaine du Vissoux Moulin-à-Vent Les Trois Roches 2022
Domaine du Vissoux
Pierre-Marie Chermette's Les Trois Roches is Gamay at its most serious — a Moulin-à-Vent that demonstrates why this cru has historically been compared to Burgundy. The 2022 vintage delivers concentration without sacrificing the energy and transparency that define great Beaujolais.
Château Sociando-Mallet Les Landes de Sociando 2020
Château Sociando-Mallet
This second wine of the celebrated Sociando-Mallet estate delivers a striking amount of the grand vin's character at a fraction of the price. The 2020 vintage's warmth gave the fruit extra concentration without sacrificing the property's signature freshness. It drinks well now but has the tannin structure to reward three to five years of cellaring.
Girolamo Russo Etna Rosso 'a Rina 2021
Girolamo Russo
Girolamo Russo is among the finest interpreters of Etna's Nerello Mascalese, and 'a Rina captures the north slope's unique combination of altitude, volcanic soil, and old-vine intensity. This is Burgundian in structure but unmistakably Sicilian in soul — a wine shaped by difficulty, grown in soil that resists easy cultivation.
Domaine de la Mordorée Châteauneuf-du-Pape Rouge Cuvée de la Reine des Bois 2020
Domaine de la Mordorée
The Cuvée de la Reine des Bois consistently stands among the top cuvées of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, and 2020 is a great vintage for the southern Rhône. The wine has the concentration and structure to age for two decades, but its balance makes it approachable now with a proper decant. This is Châteauneuf that knows what it is.
Giacomo Conterno Barbera d'Alba 2021
Giacomo Conterno
From one of Barolo's most venerated estates, this Barbera proves that so-called secondary wines from top producers can be among the most rewarding bottles in a lineup. Roberto Conterno treats his Barbera with the same seriousness as his Barolo, and the result is a wine of focus and vibrancy that punches well above its classification.
Domaine de la Bouïssière Gigondas La Font de Tonin 2021
Domaine de la Bouïssière
The Faravel family farms old Grenache vines on the clay-limestone slopes beneath the Dentelles, and their La Font de Tonin cuvée captures the best of Gigondas: power with elegance, fruit with earth. This 2021 is drinking well now but will reward five to eight years of patience.
Marchesi Antinori Chianti Classico Riserva 2020
Marchesi Antinori
Antinori's Chianti Classico Riserva is the definition of reliable excellence. Vintage after vintage, it delivers the Sangiovese character the region is known for — bright acid, savory complexity, food-friendliness — without the price tag of the family's more celebrated bottles. The 2020 vintage benefits from a warm but balanced growing season.
Tenuta delle Terre Nere Etna Rosso DOC 2021
Tenuta delle Terre Nere
Marc de Grazia's estate wines from Etna's northern slopes have done more than almost anyone to redefine Sicilian wine's identity. This base Etna Rosso—from vines at 600–900 meters on volcanic soil—delivers a clarity of fruit and terroir that many wines at three times the price can't match. Nerello Mascalese proves once again it belongs in the conversation with Nebbiolo and Pinot Noir.