Winehound Hot Picks

Foxglove 2007 Chardonnay...$13.99
Wine Advocate rating:  "90...Perhaps the great value in Chardonnay in the marketplace today, this wine, made by the highly talented Varner Winery in the Santa Cruz Mountains, comes from fruit accessed in California’s Edna Valley. With malolactic blocked but with lees stirring, this 25,000-case cuvee provides terrific notes of tropical fruit and poached pear in a fleshy, medium-bodied style with obvious minerality and precision. This is a remarkable effort that is fresh, lively, and best drunk over the next 1-2 years."
 
Strong Arms 2006 Shiraz...$10.99
Wine Advocate rating:  "91...There are 12,000 cases of this remarkable value. The 2006 Strong Arms Shiraz is composed of 46% McLaren Vale, 44% Riverland, and 10% Barossa Valley fruit. It was aged in seasoned French and American oak for 12 months. Opaque purple-colored, it has a nose of cedar, spice box, and blueberry. Fruit-driven, supple-textured, rich, and easygoing, the wine has remarkable class for its giveaway price. It actually has 2-3 years of aging potential but no one that I know is going to defer their gratification." 

Consilience 2005 Syrah Santa Barbara County...$14.99
Wine Advocate rating:  "88...The 2005 Syrah Santa Barbara possesses a fat, fleshy personality that is very much in keeping with the estate's signature. Its dense purple hue is accompanied by copious quantities of black fruits interwoven with hints of new oak and char."

Vogelzang 2007 Sauvignon Blanc
(Santa Ynez Valley, California)...$27.99
Wine buyer's notes: This is one of California's finest Sauvignon Blancs, and sometimes I think I'm the only guy who knows it, but that's ok, it just means more for me. With fruit grown in the warmer climate of Happy Canyon, and the wise choice by Jim and Mary Beth Vogelzang to hire Robbie Meyer up in Napa to make the wine, this stone fruit laden, texturally extravagant, extremely concentrated Sauvignon Blanc sets a new standard for the appellation.

Razor's Edge 2006 Shiraz (Australia)...$10.99
Wine buyer's notes: Blackberry and chocolate lead the charge in this jammy, gregarious Aussie, and a dash of earthy graphite adds a note of complexity to all the mouthfilling fruit. Try this with any formidable meats hot off the grill: Italian sausages, tri tip or chorizo burgers.