2022 Domaine Didier Fornerol Côte de Nuits Villages (France, Burgundy, Côte de Nuits) $65 Didier Fornerol returned to his family's 6-hectare estate in Corgoloin in 1999 after spending 16 years at Domaine de l'Arlot, where he held prestigious roles as vineyard manager and cellar master. His talent as a winemaker is in evidence with this “mere” Côte de Nuits Villages. This Pinot Noir is a prime example of a producer crafting classic, refined Burgundy wines that offer exceptional value and aging potential. Our first sip was a revelation; there are still great red Burgundies for reasonable prices. This elegant, forest floor, lightly spiced wine was an awakening for our senses.

2022 Two Notes Cabernet Sauvignon (Santa Ynez Valley) $34 Two jazz musicians walk into a bar…actually they walked in to Renegade Wines this past October and their names were Kristen Lee Sergeant, an extremely talented jazz vocalist and Master Sommelier, and Ted Nash, one of the most celebrated creators in the jazz world (we’re talking two Grammy Awards). The two presented their Santa Ynez Valley Cabernet named Two Notes. We tasted shyly, without expectations, and were instantly wide-eyed and smiling. This was utterly delicious. A wonderfully balanced, medium bodied red with a very attractive price tag. We ordered the wine immediately and a few days later received a long thank you postcard from the couple with an invitation to visit them next time we are in New York. Now that's class.

2021 Château Grand Village (France, Bordeaux Supérieur) $34 At $1500 we have not layed eyes on a bottle of Château Lafleur in over a decade so when a bottle of Chateau Grand Village was brought out at a tasting we vaguely recalled that the Chateau was owned by Baptiste and Julie Guinaudeau of Château Lafleur fame. The two oversee the vineyards and winemaking process for this Chateau just as they do at Lafleur. One sip and we knew. This is that sleeper of a Bordeaux that really hits. It amazing so many red wine lovers have never heard of this one. We enlightened our wine-loving community continually through the Summer and Fall of 2024. It turned out to be out #1 selling Bordeaux!

2023 Dönnhoff Weissburgunder trocken (Germany, Nahe) $26 Don't be frightened; Weissburgunder is just another name for Pinot Blanc. And what a Pinot Blanc this is! Perhaps not used by the professional wine journalists but our notes begin with the word, SCRUMPTIOUS, all in caps. Followed by citrus, apple, pear, melon, and slate (not to be confused with wet stone...kidding). All in all we are kind of obsessed with this one. There ARE other great wines besides Riesling coming out of Germany.

2022 Clusel-Roch Gamay Les Traboules (France, Rhône, Côteaux du Lyonnais) $22 This is a winemaker's wine. OK, a wine-lovers wine too. Why? We have a wine here from one of the most sought after Cote Rotie (Syrah) producers and here he is bottling Gamay from vineyards just South of Lyon. Nuts, right? But wait until you taste this gem. This is Gamay that has that Northern Rhone edge. It's deep and textured, flawlessly balanced, yet a wine so ready to drink. You can contemplate it until the cows (sheep) come home, or just enjoy it with friends around a fire pit. Tonight it's sharing the table with a filet mignon; yes, it's that worthy.

2022 Ampelos Pinot Noir Ampelos Vineyard (Sta. Rita Hills) $30 What do we have here? A Pinot Noir from from the 1st certified vineyard in the US for organic, sustainable and biodynamics. Bravo. The wine itself is like a gift. We begin with hints of Bing cherry, rhubarb and a dusting of spice. There's a tangy balance here with savory acid, and delicate rose petals; even a hint of lavender. Nothing overpowering, everything in balance, a finish that's devine.

2022 Bodegas Godelia Bierzo Godello Doña Blanca (Spain, Castilla y León, Bierzo) $26 We haven't been excited about Godello in years. The dozen or so we've tasted (looking back in our notes) were boring, flabby, rich. Not this one! Nice acidity, cool climate fruit of citrus, green melon, and there's a complexity that surprises. Throw in notes of stone fruit, elegant minerality and swift saline hints and you have one heck of a wine. Like no Godello you've ever experienced before!

Heidi Schrock Vermouth (Austria, Burgenland) $44 We ordered this on a whim. We've liked Heidi's white and red wines and here sweet wines are miraculous. So why not her Vermouth? When it arrived we chilled the bottle for about 20 minutes then poured an ounce into a rocks glass; no ice, no citrus, no bubbles. We wanted to taste a pure example of this vermouth. Taste buds were in love. Unique, generous, fun. There is not a ton of information on this one but what we found told us the vermouth included extracts of mugwort, wormwood, summer savory, marjoram, citrus peel, orange peel, cardamom. This is a vermouth not to be fussed with. A little soda water perhaps, maybe a small citrus peel if you must, but then get down and enjoy the heck out of this! An eye-opener.

2023 Domaine Saint Nicolas Vin de France Vin de Thierry (France, Loire Valley) $26 For Thierry Michon, the gregarious force behind one of the Loire’s best-kept secrets, Domaine Saint Nicolas, it’s all about the soil. Working on schist and silex a stone’s throw away from the Atlantic, Thierry is the prophet of biodynamics in this tiny viticultural area. His vineyards never see a non-organic product. He has slowly purchased buffer zones all around his property to prevent chemical products from other winemakers from seeping into his parcels. For him, biodynamics isn’t a pragmatic consideration, it’s a religion.  Domaine Saint Nicolas sits at the extreme southern end of the Loire delta, just south of Muscadet, but there is no Melon de Bourgogne planted here. Instead, Thierry works old vines of Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay, Grolleau Gris, Gamay, Pinot Noir, Negrette, and Cabernet Franc. If you think working 40 hectares biodynamically (certified by BIODYVIN & DEMETER) is easy, you’re crazy. You will not find a more dedicated vigneron in France. A blend of Chenin Blanc (60%), Grolleau Gris (40%), this wine is full of citrus and pear notes with concentrated minerality in liquid form. And an outstanding value. Stop by for this objet d'art.

2022 Paşaeli Karasakız House Red (Turkey, Ege Bölgesi) $15 It may seem a little odd but one of our best selling wines last year was this red from Western Turkey. First thing people see is the price, then a small handwritten sign explaining where the wine is from. From there a bottle is usually placed in a bag after the purchase, and the wine ends up a conversation piece over happy hour or dinner. "Turkey? Really?". But time and again people came back for another bottle; their friends came in for bottles, relatives from out of state ordered this wine and had it shipped to them. Its popularity surprised us. So while styling this write up we opened another bottle and had a glass. Just what we expected: this is one well deserving wine.

2022 Cantina Terlan Chardonnay Kreuth (Italy, Trentino-Alto Adige) $48 At one point during the cool Summer of 2024 we remarked that drinking Chardonnay was becoming a bit dull; we needed to find a new terrior that would brighten up the varietal. Coincidentally a customer emailed us looking for ‘Kreuth’ from Terlano in the Dolomite region of Italy. Knowing her great tastes in wine we ordered an extra 6-pack of what turned out to be a fascinating Chardonnay. Krueth, the vineyard, produces a very savory wine full of lush freshness, exotic fruits, yellow citrus, flinty salinity, a wily spice, with a distinctive finish. This one wine got us back on the Chardonnay Train! As for the winery, in 2024 they were named Italy’s best white wine producer. Enough said.