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Nick's Picks

RED WINES

The Steals (Under $12)
The greatest values in red wine right now are coming out of Spain. My top picks are Las Rocas ’04 Garnacha and Dehesa de Rubiales ’04 Alaia (a blend of tempranillo, merlot and prieto picudo). Both offer bright fruit and great concentration for the price.

The Standards ($15–$35)
Coppola ’04 Claret California • Francis Ford Coppola does a fine job with this reasonably priced cabernet. He calls it claret out of respect for the Inglenook property that he now owns — it was the name of the wine produced there in the nineteenth century.

Piping Shrike ’05 Shiraz Australia • There is a ton of great wine coming out of Australia right now, particularly the plump, juicy, dark-fruit shiraz.

Maratray-Dubreuil ’03 Chorey-les-Beaune France  Tough name, pretty pinot. The Sideways effect on pinot noir has made it tricky to find affordable wines that taste this good. The super ripe vintage of 2003 allowed the French to make fruitier wines from Burgundy.

Belle Pente ’03 Pinot Noir Oregon • This lovely pinot noir is Burgundian in nature: a small-production, elegant wine with a French oak influence.

The Splurges ($50–$75)
Corison ’02 Cabernet Sauvignon
California  •  A beautiful Napa cabernet. Not a blockbuster, over-the-top style.
A fine example of the Rutherford Dust (a phrase describing the unique qualities of wine from Napa’s Rutherford area).

Kaesler ’04 “Old Vine” Shiraz
Australia  • Old vine intensity and new French oak combine to make this complex Barossa Valley shiraz.

WHITE WINES

The Steals (Under $12)
Two Princes ’05 Riesling Germany • German wines are rebounding, in part because of wines like this that are fruity but not sweet.

Di Lupo ’05 Pinot Grigio Italy • One of many values in pinot grigio (Altanuta, Riff and Kris are a few others), this wine comes from the Grave region of Friuli. It shows the softer style of grigio, with a hint of anise.

The Standards ($15–$35)
Mount Nelson ’05 Sauvignon Blanc  New Zealand • A joint venture between the Antinori brothers of Tuscany, who acquired land in the Marlborough region of New Zealand for this citric zinger.

Catena ’04 Chardonnay Argentina • Amazing value in the big, rich, buttery style of chardonnay. You could easily pay twice as much for California chardonnay that is not this good.

Lucien Crochet ’04 Sancerre France • Crochet, as well as Henri Bourgeois and Pascal Jolivet, does a fine job with the sauvignon blanc grape in the Loire Valley of France. The style is clean and herbal with a cleansing tart finish.

Paul Hobbs ’03 Chardonnay California •  Hobbs is the original winemaker at Catena (what a coincidence). Here is a big, rich, lush Russian River Valley chardonnay.

The Splurges ($50–$75)
Pillot ’03 Chassagne-Montrachet France  •  Elegant chardonnay from a single vineyard on the slope of Chassagne.

L’Angevin ’04 Chardonnay California  • Another Russian River Valley chardonnay, this one is from two vintners with experience at a top winery in California.

BUBBLY AND DESSERT WINES

Bubbly ($15–$45)
Veuve Clicquot Brut Champagne, NV France • Every time I taste this rich, toasty bubbly, I wonder why Moët outsells it.

Westport Rivers ’02 Brut Massachusetts • A dead ringer for French Champagne, showing off the depth that most bubblies in its price range lack.

Prosecco di Valdobbiadene, NV Italy • Prosecco grapes produce refreshing bubbly in the Veneto region of Italy. Carpene Malvolti, Nino Franco and Borgo del Col Alto do a fine job at a great price.

Dessert ($10–$30)

Michele Chiarlo ’05 Moscato d’Asti  Italy • The perfect end to an indulgent evening! This wine has a cleansing spritz to it that wakes up your senses.

Cru d’Arche-Pugneau ’01 Sauternes France • A more traditional dessert wine, this one is made from grapes infected with botrytis, causing it to be viscous and sweet, with a touch of butterscotch.