93pts Parker SAVE 35%

For well over a decade we have worked with Jean-Marc Lafage at his estate in the Roussillon, and across the border in Spain where he consults on several projects. As good as his wines were, when we first met him, they only get better with each vintage. An incredible value from Jean-Marc Lafage is the 2015 Tessellae Old Vines Grenache Syrah Mourvedre, which is 50% Grenache, 40% Syrah and 10% Mourvedre from 70-year-old vines and brought up all in concrete tank. A ripe, expansive, full-bodied and undeniably sexy red that has beautiful notes of kirsch liqueur, blueberries, pepper and violets, it has ripe and present tannin, straight up fabulous purity and a great finish. This is another one of those wines where you just have to tell yourself you spent more than you actually did. The wine really is this good.

Robert Parker said "As of now, Dave Phinney might be my “value winemaker of the year” candidate... If there are better wines for under $20 a bottle in the world today, please share that information with The Wine Advocate.

Dave Phinney of Orin Swift Fame has taken the wine world by storm. Phinney is undoubtedly one of the great young creative minds in all of wine. Many of you will know him from the hugely successful wine Orin Swift The Prisoner. Phinney is not only making some of the finest in California but is also making wine all over the world with huge success. The man has the Midas touch when it comes to blending wine and the guy is fanatical when it comes to quality declassifying vintage after vintage if he is not happy. He makes big, rich, hedonistic style reds of the highest order.

Todays wine the Orin Swift, Locations E Red has received 93pts by Parker and can be had for $14.99 per. Parke flipped for this Spanish blend saying "Majestic, soaring black fruit aromas intermixed with forest floor, white flowers and kirsch emerge from this full-bodied, opulent, voluptuously textured red along with stunning richness and depth." The wine is a blend of Spain’s leading red wine regions focusing on Priorat, Jumilla, Toro, Rioja, and Ribera del Duero. Specific vineyard sites are chosen for super concentrated fruit from old vines with low yields with a judicious oak program that rounds out and balances the wine. This is a great buy by the case, pop and pour no-brainer.

93pts Parker

"If you judge wines on how they taste and the degree of pleasure they offer, they are all incredible efforts. The three new cuvees I tasted are among the finest wine values one could hope to find. Moreover, there are 50,000 cases of each, no easy feat given the grapes Phinney has accessed and the quality he has turned out. As of now, Dave Phinney might be my “value winemaker of the year” candidate. P.S. It’s too expensive for this report, but I am including it as a homage to what Dave Phinney has achieved. If there are better wines for under $20 a bottle in the world today, please share that information with The Wine Advocate. "

Wanamaker’s Notes: An alluring cast of blooming crimson and deep red shades are immediately present in the glass. Complementing the appearance is an impressive intensity on the nose with elevated dark cherry and exotic spice notes. The entry is rich with youthful berry compote, floral, and plum flavors, complimented with bright acidity. The finish is expansive and pleasing with a persistent mocha tinge and silky tannins.

93+pts Parker’s WA

Parker’s WA Comments On This Wine And We Totally Agree, “The price is just unbelievable.”

The 2013 Vintage For Mendoza Is Spectacular. Steve Tanzer, “The 2013s are all about finesse and the results are fresh, often floral wines with sound acidity, vibrant fruit, medium body, considerable aromatic complexity, and good aging potential. They are as likely to seduce as to overwhelm—and how often can that be said about Argentina’s biggest reds? This should turn out to be Mendoza’s finest and most complete vintage of the 21st century to date.”

Based in the province of Junín, east of Mendoza; Bodegas y Viñedos Niven is producing wines that offer wine lovers extraordinary value for their money. The estate was built in 1890, with the vineyards being planted ten years later. The property was purchased in 1980 by the Niven Family and today is run by third generation winemaker, Lucas Niven.

Although Lucas grew up surrounded by vineyards and bottles at his parents’ estate, he never considered pursuing a career in winemaking; this happened accidentally. Back in early 2000’s Lucas took his sister for a job interview at the prestigious Catena Zapata; with the harvest approaching, extra hands were needed so Lucas was asked if he would like to apply for a summer job at the estate. Lucas did and the rest is history. After an eight year stay at Catena Zapata he was appointed assistant winemaker, where him and Alejandro Vigil, (Argentina’s most notable winemaker) led Catena Zapata achieve the “New World Winery of the Year” award in 2010 given by Wine Enthusiast Magazine.

Niven eventually came back to his family’s estate with one thing in mind; to produce world-class wines and put his family’s winery on the map. He picked his best terroirs and is currently working with only 30 hectares out of the 120 the estate owns.

Today’s wine is their top bottling, 2013 Pala Corazon Malbec Gualtallary. The wine is sourced from a miniscule 1 ha vineyard planted at 1,600 meters above sea level in the Uco Valley. Vines really struggle here since there is no irrigation, and annual rainfall is under 5 inches. Soils are composed of 90% sand and 10% limestone and are planted on their original rootstocks.

Harvest is done by hand. Grapes were destemmed, fermented in concrete eggs for three weeks to preserve freshness and fruity notes. After fermentation was completed, the wine aged in neutral French oak barrels with only 10% of them being new.

93 + pts Parker’s WA : It was produced with grapes from a head-pruned, dry-farmed vineyard in Gualtallary totaling one hectare of vines planted at 1,500 meters altitude. Here I notice the oak a little bit, but only because the rest of the wines are unoaked, but it would go unnoticed elsewhere. The nose has beautiful floral aromas and an electric, lively palate, with great chalky minerality and a tasty, long finish. The price is just unbelievable. Only 250 cases produced.

93pts Parker

2017 was a very unusual year in Bierzo, and here they started harvesting the 21st of August, when they had never started harvesting in August. There are more white grapes in the 2017 Pétalos del Bierzo, almost 10%, not because they wanted to lower the alcohol, because the alcohol was similar to 2016, but because the white grapes achieved perfect ripeness (Ricardo Pérez Palacios told me he's never seen such beautiful white grapes). The wine had been bottled the day before I tasted it, so they also showed me a tank and a barrel sample they had saved for the purpose of comparison. However, the bottled wine, the first produced at their new facilities, was really singing and didn't show any fatigue. The palate was vibrant, with acid strawberry flavors. It is very immediate, approachable, round and juicy, perhaps not with the depth and longevity of the 2014 but really pleasant and drinkable.

93pts Wine Spectator Free Case Shipping

Bold and expressive, offering cherry pie, currant, leather, tobacco, earth and iron flavors, supported by a tightly woven matrix of tannins. This lingers with an aftertaste of pure fruit and graphite. Best from 2022 through 2040.

"Intense ruby color with lighter highlights. Fine and intense aromas of blueberry with subtle hints of vanilla. Dry taste, fresh tannins, full-bodied a wine of character. Perfect with red meat, or with a plate of aged cheese or your favorite Tuscan antipasto, the subtle character of the Chianti Classico goes great with a diverse range of foods.: -The Winery

93pts Parker

This classy high-altitude Malbec boasts fully ripe, nuanced aromas and flavors of dark berries, minerals, mocha, bitter chocolate, pepper and menthol. Wonderfully pliant and refined, it displays subtle inner-mouth lift and restrained sweetness and a suavely tannic, slowly rising finish.