AMERICAN WINO (.com)
Your shopping guide for World Wines, Accessories, and Wine Gifts from the leading suppliers! TOP RATED WINES Some of the top rated wines, available from Wine.com.
Click on each link for winemakers' notes and availability.
Caution: Prices may be volatile; please click on the links and verify price and availability. This list is only a small part of the top-rated wines available. See Top Rated Wines at Wine.com also.
Red Wine by Alto Moncayo from Spain. Dark purple. The nose offers surreal, room-filling perfume of ripe raspberry, blackberry, incense, vanilla and dried flowers. Shockingly understated on the palate, with vibrant red berry, smoked meat and baking spice flavors, silky tannins and crisp mineral bite. There's no excess fat or sweetness here. Finishes with palate-staining intensity and superb focus. I'd love to see this lined up with some mega-bucks Napa cult wines costing twice the price of this admittedly luxe-priced bottle. If you play in this sandbox, you'll flip. -International Wine Cellar The 2005 Aquilon has a splendid perfume of slate, violets, and cherry compote. There is beautiful integration of oak, tannin, and acidity, a smooth texture, layers of flavor, and exceptional length. There is enough structure to support 6-8 years of cellaring and it will provide pleasure through 2030. -Wine Advocate
Dessert, Fortified & Fruit Wine by Chambers Rosewood from Victoria, Australia. My notes essentially read the same every year, even though the bottlings are non-vintage and I taste the most recent releases. Consistency and greatness are the norm at this Rutherglen winery. The average age is 7-10 years for the regular cuvees, about 70 years for the grand cuvees, and the ancient rare cuvees date back to soleras from 1890. It is redundant to keep repeating the same tasting notes, so readers will have to take my word for it. this is one of the world's most remarkable dessert wines, and is worth every effort to latch on to a half bottle or so. - Wine Advocate
Red Wine by Chateau Leoville Las Cases from St-Julien, France - Bordeaux. Chateau Leoville Las Cases is one of the largest and oldest classified growths in the Medoc region of France. The fruit is harvested by hand. The fermentation vessels include a fascinating mix of wooden, cement and stainless steel vats. When finished the wine is pumped to the barrel cellar. Here it is transferred into oak barrique, between 50% and 100% new for the grand vin, depending on the vintage.
Non-Vintage by Champagne Krug from Champagne, France - regions. Krug Grande Cuvee is as a symphony, a composition where the instruments all play together, complementing each other in total harmony. -Henri Krug. The flagship of the house, Grande Cuvee is imposing in character from the first moment in the glass. The birth of Krug Grande Cuvee, through its first fermentation exclusively in small oak casks, ensures the unique personality and dimension that is the Krug Style. The composition of the cuvee is a stunning mosaic of flavors where the three champagne grapes, 20-25 growths and 6-10 different years, combine to give Krug Grande Cuvee its complexity, elegance and consistency year after year, blend after blend. To maintain this consistency, Krug reserves a large selection of unblended still wines from previous vintages blending them with the youngest crop to create a fully balanced taste. These reserve wines may represent between a third and a half of the cuvee. The bouquet is wonderfully creamy, leading to magical combination of weight and balance on the palate. The long, lingering finish is both nutty and toasty, ending with a final flourish of freshness, leaving one longing for more.
Vintage by Veuve Clicquot from Champagne, France - regions. Blend: 64% Pinot Noir, 36% Chardonnay La Grande Dame 1998 has a pale gold color with jade glints. The wine is crystal clear, with unbelievably fine bubbles. On the first nose, typical Chardonnay characteristics come to the fore, with the arrival of floral and mineral aromas (acacia, ferns, chalk). By agitating the wine, scents of candied fruit (citrus fruits, apricots, quince) and sweet almond emerge, to reappear later in the mouth. After rotating the wine for a few minutes more, rare notes such as peaty malt, tobacco and delicate herbs, are gradually unveiled. This aromatic, impressively complex bouquet is confirmed in the mouth. On the palate, the wine is clear-cut and pure, perfectly balanced with a delightful silky smoothness. La Grande Dame 1998, with its lace-like construction, has a long, lively, and structured finish. This wine has unbelievable aging potential. The 1998 vintage of La Grande Dame, the quintessence of the Veuve Clicquot style, reaches a peak of refinement, without losing its legendary strength produced by a blend including nearly two-thirds of Pinot Noir.
