Herb's Top RED Wine Choices

UNDER $15
2005 Cycles Gladiator Pinot Noir
This is a well made Pinot Noir that tastes significantly more expensive than its price.   You’ll find dark, red fruit aromas that are followed by dark red fruits and hints of spice on the palate.  It has a lot of flavor and has balanced acids as well.  This wine has a silky mouthfeel and wonderful body and concentration.  I’ve been disappointed in the less expensive Pinots lately, until I found this stunning value. 

2002 Rodney Strong Sonoma Zinfandel
This is a great value Zinfandel from Sonoma County. It sees 8 months of oak aging, which adds a pleasant spiciness to the wine. On the palate you’ll find slightly jammy fruit flavors. It has a medium-body and good acidity. This Zinfandel has excellent balance given its price – good berry fruit, jammy, but not overripe, and acidity throughout. This is a great everyday drinking wine.

2004 Dancing Coyote Petite Sirah
I’ve always been a fan of Petite Sirah. I find it’s hedonistic style irresistible. This one has great aromatics – liqueur-like black fruits with spice notes. This medium-bodied offering is smooth on the palate with luscious brambly fruit and balanced acidity. The finish is slightly dry with integrated tannins and lengthy black raspberry and spice flavors. This is an excellent example of the varietal and a tremendous value as well.

2005 Banfi Chianti Classico
This wine completely surprised me. I guess it’s a testament to the winemaker and the vintage. It has a lovely aroma of ripe cherry fruit, spice, and mineral. This Chianti is very smooth on the palate with dark cherry and tobacco flavors. The mid-palate shows dried fruit flavors, but still maintains a smooth mouthfeel. The acids are balanced throughout and the tannins are well integrated with more cherry on the finish. This is a great example of an everyday Chianti. 

2004 Zolo Malbec
All this complexity in a drink now wine at this price is Christmas come early. This beauty from Argentina has cocoa, mineral, and dark berry aromas. Lovely fruit fills the palate with fresher blackberry flavors and hints of earth and mineral.  This clean offering has good acid balance throughout and lighter tannins with a bright berry finish. Enjoy!

2004 Chateau Saint Sulpice Bordeaux
This Merlot based Bordeaux is a great value because it has balance. There’s always a funky/earthy component, but it needs to be balanced with fruit. This example has aromas of coffee and dark berry fruit. You’ll find a bit of earthiness on the palate and then the cherry fruit emerges. There’s a herbaceous note on the mid-palate that leads to a pleasant brightness leading up to the dry finish with big tannins and lengthy bing cherry fruit.

2003 Chateau Guirard Cheval Blanc Cotes du Bourg
This wine is from the Cotes de Bourg, a right bank sub-appellation directly across the river from Margaux. It’s a Cabernet Franc/Merlot blend from the outstanding 2003 vintage. It has aromas of earth, roasted fruits, and tobacco. It’s surprisingly smooth on the palate, almost lush, with ripe dark cherry fruit, more tobacco, and spice notes. This finish is slightly dry with medium tannins and a nice finish. This wine is the epitome of elegance – ripe fruit and structure. When the weather cooperates wines from Bordeaux are fantastic.

2004 Pesquie Terrasses
"A blend of 70% Grenache that is 60 years old and 30% Syrah that is 30 years old, all aged in barrel, is an amazing wine for an astonishingly low price. Deep ruby/purple with notes of truffle, tar, blackberry, and cassis, the wine is vibrant, full-bodied, lush, and ideal for drinking over the next 4-5 years. It is nearly too good to be true, and many people familiar with wine in that price range will be absolutely amazed by its sheer concentration and character, so be prepared. Chateau Pesquie certainly ranks among the top two or three estates of the Cotes du Ventoux. The quality appears spectacular, at least for American consumers who have access to a more personalized style of wine from this brilliant importer."
The Wine Advocate - 90 Points!

2003 El Coto Crianza Rioja
I’ve always thought this Rioja offers an exceptional value. This year’s version is no different. The aroma is intriguing with ripe berry fruit coupled with earth and spice. On the palate you’ll find a smooth mouthfeel and dark cherry fruit, spice, and earth. The mid-palate is elegant, yet shows great concentration. The finish is very lengthy with bright cranberry fruit and more spice. This is exactly what I look for in a Rioja, balance. New World fruit balanced with rustic Old World flavors. It’s no wonder that this is the #1 selling Rioja in Spain.

2005 Vinedos de el Seque Alicante
"The 2005 Vinedos de El Seque is composed of 80% Monastrell, 10% Syrah, and 10% Cabernet aged 4 - 6 months in French oak. Opaque purple-colored, it offers a superior nose of graphite, truffle, mocha, blueberry, and blackberry liqueur. Full-flavored and supple on the palate, its personality is formed by gobs of sweet, ripe fruit with all components in balance. There is enough structure to support several years of bottle age but who will be able to resist it now? it is a sensational value worth buying by the case." The Wine Advocate - 90 Points!

Herb's Top Red Wines OVER $15