Wine of the WeekThis moderate priced Bordeaux is ruby red in color with ripe, red fruit flavors along with hints of spice and nutmeg. Silky smooth tannins and a long finish.

Favorite Finds: June 2021La Crema RoséI’ve been on a personal quest to find the best Rosé this summer (it’s a tough job, but somebody’s got to do it…) and La Crema’s 2019 Monterey Rosé is near the top of my list. It is deliciously smooth. Perfect for sharing with a friend on the patio, sipping poolside, or pairing with a grilled dinner. At $15-16 bucks, it’s also a great value (especially compared to the price of a glass of wine at a restaurant or bar – did NOT miss that while staying home over the past year!) La Crema is easily found in most wine/liquor stores too – give it a try!

Wine of the WeekThe aroma of this very nice Pinot Noir displays the classic Central Coast characteristics of green herbs, dried spices, and the wine has an entry that’s rich and medium bodied. The aftertaste shows good acidity.

Ripe and a touch figgy. Similar on the palate with dark chocolate bitter sweetness. Fresh but a little tough on the finish.

Silly heavy bottle. Very dark purple. Sorry but this is really most unpleasant on the nose. SO overripe! So sweet and over the top. Really I can’t see the point of coming to Bordeaux to make this sort of wine (Jess Jackson’s Bordeaux outpost). So sweet and overblown it may as well be a Russian relic. Sorry, I know this sounds harsh and I have no axe to grind but this is one of the most unpleasant bordeaux I have ever tasted.

Lustrous ruby. Hint of hemp on the nose. Not the freshest. Big and round but a little lacking real fruit concentration on the mid palate.

Food & Wine pairing recommendation

Dark ruby in the glass with a hint of garnet remaining, this wine smells of pencil shavings, cigar box, and red fruits. In the mouth, velvety and smooth, powdery tannins gently clasp flavors of cherry, pencil shavings, mulling spices, and dry earth. Wonderfully floral notes strike a perfumed tone above the mouthwatering core of the wine. Excellent acidity and seamlessness. 13.5% alcohol. Comes in a somewhat heavier-than-needed bottle that weighs 1.6 kg full.

Very dark garnet in color, this wine smells of black cherry and black currant with hints of dried herbs. In the mouth, fine-grained muscular tannins firmly grasp flavors of black cherry, black pepper, pipe tobacco, and a touch of espresso. Excellent acidity brings some freshness, with notes of dried herbs and dried fennel seeds lingering in the finish., 14% alcohol. Comes in a somewhat heavier-than-needed bottle that weighs 1.6 kg full.

Some wines to go with Father's Day barbecueMore from CaliforniaJackson Family Wines from California is also jumping on the Father’s Day bandwagon.The winery is showcasing its 2018 Kendall-Jackson Vintner’s Reserve Chardonnay and La Crema Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir 2018 as wines dads will love.Of course, that doesn’t stop moms and anyone else, for that matter, from enjoying these bottles from the Golden State.So, serve up roasted or barbecued chicken with the Chardonnay, which has a apple-and-butterscotch profile.And the Pinot Noir is a light-enough red from the cooler Sonoma Coast to pair with seared tuna or grilled salmon.

Some wines to go with Father's Day barbecueMore from CaliforniaJackson Family Wines from California is also jumping on the Father’s Day bandwagon.The winery is showcasing its 2018 Kendall-Jackson Vintner’s Reserve Chardonnay and La Crema Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir 2018 as wines dads will love.Of course, that doesn’t stop moms and anyone else, for that matter, from enjoying these bottles from the Golden State.So, serve up roasted or barbecued chicken with the Chardonnay, which has a apple-and-butterscotch profile.And the Pinot Noir is a light-enough red from the cooler Sonoma Coast to pair with seared tuna or grilled salmon.

The 42 Best Syrahs to Buy Right NowCrafted by Greg Brewer, this whole-cluster gem spent 60 days on its skins and stems, and the result is a wine of precision and definition: Notably fresh acidity brings tarragon and licorice notes to the fore, where they are joined by green peppercorns, oyster-shell minerality, and a solid core of blueberries, blackberries, and a flowers, especially on the finish. Great price for a wine this layered.

This moderately oaked Oregon chardonnay is decidedly dry, brisk with initial notes of dried grasses, lemon peel, and a sizable melon component. It’s a bit flat on the palate, with notes of gooseberry and more lemon peel, leading the way to an oddball conclusion that evokes licorice, a touch of dry leather, and a hint of petrol. The wine doesn’t offer much in the way of typical chardonnay character, finishing in notes of sesame and milk chocolate — finally showing a hint of vanilla on the fade-out.

Wine Press: 6 wines worth splurging on for Father’s DayFans of dry, austere, red wines will love this understated yet intense red wine from France’s famed Bordeaux region. Made with grapes from 40 to 50 year old vines in limestone-rich soil, then aged for in French Oak for 12 months, this wine has a flinty yet earthy finish, with notes of dried blackberries and roasted almonds as well as a slightly smoky finish and a dash of sea salt. The only problem you’ll probably have with this wine is you might be tempted to age it for another 5 to 10 years. But good luck resisting the urge to open a bottle this coming weekend with your dad.

Lifted fresh herbs on the nose which distinguished this Pinot Noir from the others and the multifaceted fresh red fruit (raspberries, strawberries and red cherries) that danced along the palate leaving a wafting aroma of freshly picked basil and ripe strawberries in one’s head.

This wine seemed to express so many facets of North Coast Pinot Noir with its gorgeous nose of wild flowers, layers of red, black and blue fruit that had hints of mossy tree bark and black tea leaves with velvety tannins. And although very complex, it had a lovely purity of expression of pristine red cherries on the finish.

Darker fruit with loamy earth and dried orange peel that had inviting juicy fruit flavors balanced by a linear body with an energetic drive.

An enchanting nose with pretty lilac notes and red cherries with an exquisitely etched tannic structure that gave a beautiful shape to this wine.

Baklava and allspice aromas with fresh apples and a creamy texture on the palate with mouthwatering acidity.

A bright nose with smoky minerality and roasted almonds that had a broad body with juicy stone fruit and expressive finish.

2 blocks, 2 clones, 1 awesome display of black raspberry and cardamom.

More rich than fresh, and wowing with lemon curd, toast, and verbena action.

The 42 Best Syrahs to Buy Right NowEstate-grown in northern McLaren Vale, this is excellent, with iron filings and black tea amped with blackberries, blueberries, and camphor. These find a counterpoint on the palate in flavors of blackberries, kirsch, seriously structuring and mineral-flecked tannins, and a finish marked by more of that camphor. Needs time, but will be wonderful. Drink 2025 - 2045+.

The 42 Best Syrahs to Buy Right NowThere is a real sense of freshness to the nose, a sea breeze character that further enlivens aromas of brambly berries and Mediterranean herbs. The palate is just as bright, with black raspberries, blackberries, and cherries, all energetic with minerality and mouthwatering with lengthy acidity, chamomile, and sweet spice. Whether you drink this now or into the 2030s, its pleasures will be substantial.

All the herbs you want with none of the green that you don’t.