This opaque and dark purple colored Cabernet Sauvignon from Galerie opens with a dark chocolate, oolong tea and black currant bouquet. On the palate, this wine is full bodied, slightly acidic and round. The flavor profile is a black olive and blackberry blend with notes of cedar, crushed stone and dark chocolate. There is hints of stewed plum and black pepper towards the end. The finish is dry and its dusty tannins drift away nicely. This Cabernet would pair well with savory British beef olives.

The 12 Wines of Christmas (Part 2)With Christmas being one of the few times when few will judge you for being excessively indulgent, you definitely don’t want to scrimp and risk disappointment. For this reason, I suggest turning to Californian for its top Cabernets – wines that may be pricy, but provide reliable and instant appeal. While we have given out some very high scores for Sonoma’s great examples, (Stonestreet in particular, which I see for UK consumers available here) it’s Napa I’ve opted for in 2020. That’s because, if I look at the highest scoring wines from this year’s Cabernet Masters, coming out top in terms of points-for-the-price is the 2016 vintage of Napa Valley’s Freemark Abbey. Costing around £60 in the UK (if you can find this vintage), it’s expensive, but not by Napa standards, or compared to the great Cabs of the world, whether you turn to the Maipo, Tuscany or, of course, the Medoc. And this Freemark Abbey is a great wine, displaying the delicious hallmarks of fully-ripe Cabernet aged in new French oak, from creamy chocolate to concentrated blackcurrant, along with a touch of juicy raspberry, plums, and fine, dry, mouth-coating tannins. It’s a strong wine, but not too ripe, nor is it excessively alcoholic or sweet in character. In short, it’s a testament to the quality, richness and balance of well-made Napa Cab.

Wine Press - 12 Wines Worth Splurging On This Holiday Season2016 was an outstanding vintage for many wine regions in France. That was certainly true for the right bank in France’s Bordeaux region, where St. Emilion is located. Chateau Lassegue might not be as well known as some other famous Bordeaux wineries, but this elegant, refined wine with rich, earthy flavors more than holds its own in the crowded field of outstanding wines from this legendary wine growing region.

Wine Press - 12 Wines Worth Splurging On This Holiday SeasonI’ve long been a big fan of this venerable, older winery in California’s Napa Valley. And the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon tasted terrific this past year. Freemark Abbey’s reds tend to be big and voluptuous and this wine was no exception. Another thing I often find about younger, Freemark Abbey reds is they tend to taste even smoother and intense the second day. So don’t worry about rushing to finish this earthy, full-bodied wine.

Drink The Best Wines From 2020 And Raise A Toast To 2021Chateau Lassegue, St. Emilion Grand Cru 2017, FR: This right bank Bordeaux red blend is made primarily from Merlot. The tightly packed complexity in this wine is a result of very detailed and precise vineyard lot selections, which winemaker Pierre Seillan vinifies individually. The final blend is a composition that bursts with rich fruit, dark earth and spice. Open it an hour before serving any dish with roasted game or beef.

Drink The Best Wines From 2020 And Raise A Toast To 2021Cardinale, CA, 2017: Why is 2017 important to 2021? Wildfires. In 2017 Winemaker Chris Carpenter could tell early on that it was going to be an excellent vintage, having harvested almost 1/3 of his vineyard fruit. However, subsequent wildfires prevented him from harvesting the rest of the vintage and he was left with precious little wine—but what was left lived up to his expectations. It has a dense core of blue-black fruit layered with spice and licorice notes and it’s all wrapped around a fresh, polished wine with ethereal balance. Just sumptuous.

COMMENTARY: The 2019 Kendall-Jackson Vintner's Reserve Sauvignon Blanc is an attractive, soft-spoken wine. TASTING NOTES: This wine is bright with green apple, dried herbs, and spice in its aromas and flavors. Pair it with chicken tamales and mild salsa.

Deep garnet color, smooth, silky and juicy with sweet plum, black raspberry and cherry fruit; mellow and balanced, charming and long.

COMMENTARY: The 2018 La Crema Monterey Pinot Noir is bright and lively on the palate. TASTING NOTES: This wine offers tangy red fruit in its aromas and an excellent bite on the palate. Pair it with grilled salmon fillets.

Inky opaque garnet in the glass, this wine smells of lush cherry and cassis fruit and new oak. In the mouth, the wine is supremely juicy with cherry and cassis flavors made bouncy with excellent acidity, but the wood and its muscular tannins overshadow the fruit a bit, leaving the mouth drying out and more taste of sawdust than cherry. Polished but with too much oak for my taste. 14.5% alcohol.

This straw-colored Chardonnay opens with an oak influenced pineapple and vanilla bean bouquet with hints of lemon and honeydew melon. On the palate, this wine is full bodied and nicely balanced between its pleasant acidity and juicy fruits. The flavor profile is a tasty pear and oak blend with notes of roasted almond and baking spices. I also detected some hints of butterscotch and golden delicious apple showing up at the end. The finish is dry and its flavors fade away nicely. This Chardonnay would pair well with Lucia's butternut squash ravioli with a fresh sage and creamy parmesan cheese sauce.

A visit to Lokoya’s winery, perched snuggly upon the hills of Spring Mountain, is one of the key reasons we fell in love with Napa. Cabernet Sauvignon is their icon, and they produce award-winning style from all corners of the region – Spring Mountain, Diamond Mountain, Howell Mountain and Mount Veeder. Today, we focus on the latter. Dark cherry, blackcurrant, demerara sugar and black liquorice evolve into blackberry and stewed raspberry. The robust tannins within this beauty pave way to a long dark chocolate and tobacco finish, held together with a beautiful texture and mouthfeel.

The Jackson Family have been making wine for as long as we can remember and the beautiful thing about each and every one of their estates is that quality is never compromised for scale.This hefty Bordeaux blend (largely Cabernet Sauvignon with some Merlot) is produced in limited quantities and is well worth the money. Showcasing rich flavours of cassis, mint and raspberry with a moreish earthiness thanks to its incredible terroir, this wonder adds an extra layer of comfort to the cold winter air. This is another highlight and a testament to the stunning wine that calls Napa Valley its home.

The best wines to gift at every budgetThis wine calls for food in a way most California Chardonnay does not. Delicious styling and ready to drink.

Soft supple Merlot with a kiss of oak is balanced by the lean pepperiness of Cab Franc. This is a great example of how the Right Bank of Bordeaux rolls. Its power is in its, calmness with great acidity lifting the plush depth on the palate. This wine would be great on its own or with some seriously legit artisan cheese and cured meats.

In praise of half bottles - excellent.

In praise of half bottles - excellent.

In praise of half bottles - excellent.

21 Gifts For Divalicious Holidays 2020 What To Drink!La Crema Winery. Who doesn’t love a glass of pinot noir on a cold winter’s night? La Crema Winery‘s fantastic Pinot Noir was the featured “Drink of the Day” on the latest episode of Sexy Is Timeless Talks. See how the ladies rave about their new favorite red wine!

Holiday Wine Pairing GuideRosé is not just for sipping in the summertime, and these pairing recommendations from Chef and Cheese Specialist Tracey Shepos Cenami prove just how versatile the trendy French wine can be during colder months. "My favorite cheeses with rose are goat cheese, like a Chevre style. I love Laura Chenel Cabecou, which is a marinated goat cheese—it's not only delicious and a bit more luscious because of the oil marinade, but also super pretty on a cheeseboard. Most cured meats will be great with rose, but my personal favorite is dry Spanish chorizo, smokey with a tiny kick of heat that really highlights the bright fruit in Rose. Baked ham is a tradition for Christmas dinner and pairs well with rose, especially with a cranberry glaze or sauce." She recommends the 2019 La Crema Monterey to make your holiday charcuterie dreams come true.

Gift Guide: 10 Best Sonoma & Napa Pinot NoirsThis very special bottle from La Crema, one of Sonoma’s most highly regarded bigger wineries, was crafted to celebrate the property’s 40th Anniversary. It is, indeed, the culmination of the best of the Burgundian style La Crema is known for, with elegant muddled raspberry and cedar forest notes. Made under the direction of head winemaker Craig McCallister, it’s a splurge at $100 — but absolutely worthy of your own special occasion.

As we near 2021, it's time to break out the bubblyGran Moraine Brut Rose—vibrant, mouth-watering Oregon blend.

The 12 Wines of Christmas (Part 1)On the subject of price, if you are happy to spend more, and almost five times the sum of the Greek recommendation, then this year’s star drop was Capensis 2016 – the relatively new top-end white from the Western Cape, made by California’s Chardonnay experts, Jackson Family Wines. It’s outstanding, mixing creamy, toasty oak, peach and apple fruit, with the perfect Chardonnay texture: it’s soft and rich as it hits the tongue, zesty and bright as it slips down the throat, with a lovely lingering note of freshly roasted nuts.

The 6 Best Wines to Gift This Holiday SeasonFor the library wine lover, this wine is an American legacy in a bottle. It’s dark and brooding, with dense aromas built into the wine. Smells of mocha and blackberries waft into your brain, along with a whiff of white and black pepper. Its rustic edge is still doing the work to soften the tannins a bit, but in another year or so it will be amaze with the just-right acidity keeping the weight in balance.

The 2016 Cardinale Red Wine is a thrilling blend of 89% Cabernet Sauvignon and 11% Merlot crafted by superstar winemaker, Chris Carpenter. The wine was aged in 100% French oak (93% new) for twenty months before bottling. The stunning aromatics almost catch you off guard. Deep aromatics of creme de cassis, graphite, creosote, and blackberry compote all come together seamlessly in the glass. The freshness and intensity of the wine is gorgeous, as the silky mouthfeel makes the wine effortlessly glide across the mid-palate. Deep dark fruits collide with chocolate covered espresso bean, tar and anise flavors all marvelously sing in unison on the palate. A truly stunning heavyhitter of a wine, the 2016 Cardinale Red Wine will be very long-lived. Drink 2022-2050.