This month offers four exciting wines from four different countries: Australia, Chile, Italy and New Zealand.  To my palate, each of the wines this month makes a compelling case for Top Pick because “there ain’t a dog in the bunch,” as the old saying goes.  For starters, Mount Fishtail’s 2013 Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc comes across as more than a cut above your typical New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc.  It’s received well-deserved accolades from the Wine Enthusiast, too, and it earned a top spot on the magazine’s list of Top Ten Best Buy New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs, so believe me, this Sauvignon Blanc is no pretender.

Bisci’s 2013 Verdicchio di Matelica is another winner.  I have always loved this wine for its elegance and depth of flavor.  Frankly, Verdicchio doesn’t get any better than Bisci, and the 2013 from Bisci can charm a crowd.  And then there are the reds.  Casas del Bosque’s 2012 Reserva Carmenère is simply delicious.  A better wine for the money would be hard to find.  Besides, I love Carmenère and everywhere I have shown this wine, it is the first wine to disappear off the tasting table.  It’s hard to argue with personal preference or success.  And we still have Tait’s 2012 Wild Ride to consider, a smooth satisfying Shiraz, Grenache, Mataro blend that over delivers in every way.

So, this month’s Top Pick?  Despite some misgivings and a dose of guilt, I have to go with the 2012 Casas del Bosque’s Reserva Carmenère because you can’t argue with preference and success, and as cooler weather is around the corner, I tend to drink more reds.  Moreover, this Carmenère truly merits the 90 point score it received from Stephen Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar and then some.  Enjoy!

Salud!
Don

I like to see producers step out of their comfort zones.  I also love white wines from Italy’s Campania, so I am conflicted about this month’s Top Pick.  Gabriella Ferrara is one of Campania’s finest wine makers.  She makes exquisite Greco di Tufo, Fiano di Avellino and Taurasi working out of what is little more than a garage.  She is a strong gracious woman who loves her work, and I love her wine.  For this reason, this month’s Top Collector Series Pick goes to Benita Ferrara’s 2012 Greco di Tufo.

Though after we’ve finished the Greco di Tufo, I would love a glass of Pietra Santa’s first Signature Selection Pinot Noir, a beauty of a Pinot, followed by a glass or two of the Mr. Riggs 2011Montepulciano d’Adelaide Hills.  Kudos to Ben Riggs for not only stepping out of his comfort zone, but doing so with gusto.  This rare limited offering from Ben Riggs is a real beauty.  Enjoy!

Salute!
Don

Determining this month’s Top Pick really depends upon where I am, how hot it is and what I’m eating, as each of this month’s Premier Series wines shines, but for very different reasons.  If I’m indoors and meat is on the menu, my Top Pick has to go to Pietra Santa’s 2010 Cienega Valley Merlot.  Why?  Because it’s darn near impossible to find Merlot this good for under $30.00 per bottle, and this Pietra Santa Merlot is a winner, so it easily earns my Top Pick.

However, if I am looking for an aperitif or I’m outside at a party, I want something that’s light and gratifying and that would be Raza’s 2013 Vinho Verde.  It’s a light deliciously thirst quenching Vinho Verde,  one of Portugal’s gifts to the wine drinking world, especially on a hot day, so it gets a nod too.  With that said, another of this month’s selections is Gini Soave, one of my personal favorites.  The 2013 Gini Soave is another beautiful effort, so no slight intended. The same can be said for Dei’s wonderful 2012 Rosso di Montepulciano.  This Rosso is the best in a long series of fine offerings from Dei, the fabulous producer of Vino Nobile.  If pasta or almost anything Italian is on the menu, give me the Dei to enjoy!

Salute!
Don

July’s Collector Series Top Pick belongs to a Spanish wine.  Although choosing July’s Collector Series Top Pick proved to be another tough choice, especially in light of the two outstanding offerings from the great Provencal estate of Chateau Margui, I have to go in favor of Spain’s Terrer d’Aubert.  Terrer d’Aubert’s 2010 profound Cabernet Sauvignon from Taragona garners this month’s Top Pick.  Why?  It’s rare to see Cabernet Sauvignon in Tarragona and such a brilliant Cabernet Sauvignon at that.  Deep, lusty and full of everything good about Cabernet, it earns this month’s Top Pick.  However, you may not want to like Terrer d’Aubert too much.  Only 400 cases made it to our shores, so enjoy this beauty while it lasts.

Salute!
Don

For me June’s Collector Series Top Pick is tougher than usual.  We are offering three distinctly different wines this month with little in common, except quality.  Variety is after all the spice of life and quality wines are exactly what most avid wine drinkers spend endless hours searching for as if shopping for wine were a quest for the Holy Grail.   Even though I am enamored of all three wines for different reasons, a choice has to be made.  So this month’s Top Pick goes to Thomas Alexander’s 2010 Le Tigre, a rare California blend of Syrah and Grenache of just 175 cases that was bottled un-fined and un-filtered.  This is a wine that manages to deliver rich California fruit along with the finesse and charm of Châteauneuf-du-Pape.  In short, this wine’s quality, singular expression and scarcity earn it this month’s Top Pick.   Taste and see for yourself!

Cheers!
Don