Very Special Red Wines For Winter

Very good wines are abundant from every continent save Antarctica, but some are very special because of the way they express a balance of varietal character, terroir and a knitting together of fruit, acid and tannins in a way distinct from others of their kind. When it comes to red wines, the options are legion these days, but here are some new to the market, even though from older vintages, that strike me as everything a red wine should exemplify.

CHARLES KRUG GENERATIONS 2019 ($85). Dating back to 1861 and long within the Peter Mondavi family estate holdings, Krug has had an indelible imprint in Napa Valley. This limited production Family Reserve blend of 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Merlot, 6% Petit Verdot is very much a Bordeaux-style red, aged in French oak. You might be put off by a 15.1% alcohol level, but four years of aging has tamed down the tannins and given the wine a bold complexity that should only improve over the next half decade.

SAPAIO VOLPOLO BOLGHERI 2021 ($40). The wines of the Bolgheri region within Tuscany are prestigious for producing red wines outside the formulas mandated for DOCG Tuscan wines, like Chianti Classico and Brunello di Montalcino. Owner Massimo Piccin founded Podere Sapaio in 1999, with 62 cultivated acres that grow grapes for 25 wines that he blends into two wines using Bordeaux varietals of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Petit Verdot. The Volpolo is made from 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot and 15% Petit Verdot, aged for 16 months in new and used French oak barriques, then in larger casks before aging for four months in bottle. It definitely tastes like an Italian-style Bordeaux, though it is more fruit forward and denser, and a couple more years can only improve it.

ARNIONE CAMPO ALLA SUGHERA BOLGHERI SUPERIORE 2016 ($41). While we’re on the subject of Bolgheri, co-owner and geologist Isabel Knauf, together with winemaker Stéphane Derenoncourt, makes superior wines from the region by the shoreline and sells them at remarkably good prices. A Bordeaux blend, it was established in 2001, this vintage released in 2019 and still available, showing maturity and the elegance that these Tuscan Bordeaux-style reds can achieve. The name Arnione refers to a kind of alabaster used in plaster production. Perfect with pastas of any kind of meat sauces or funghi porcini.

MIRTO RAMÓN BILBAO RIOJA 2004 ($82). In the last century you never really knew what you got, or where the grapes came from in Rioja, but stringency of rules and individuality have made wines like Mirto Ramon’s outstanding examples of modern Iberian viniculture. Remarkably, you can still find this twenty-year-old vintage, which was considered one of the best of the decade, and it has fully matured and is fresh, vibrant and distinctive, with 14% alcohol, made from Tempranillo and Tinto Fino grapes in Ábelos and Alavesa. Their flagship wine, Mirto, was first made in 1999, always aiming for a fruitier profile than other Riojas. They are not filtered or clarified, giving them richer body.

VIÑA SAN PEDRO CABO DE HORNOS 2018 ($80). This Chilean wine from Cachapoal Valley is named after the explorers who discovered Cape Horn. The grapes grow at 500 meters altitude in volcanic soil at the foothills of the Andes. Winemaker Gabriel Mustakis allows the Cabernet Sauvignon to ripen slowly, and it shows how far Chilean wines have come since this winery opened in 1985. At 14.5% alcohol, it is very velvety and the tannins have loosened, while still holding a grip that makes it ideal with chargrilled meats.

VALDEMAR ESTATES WALLA WALLA CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2020 ($70). In 1889 Joaquin Martínez Bujanda began making wine in the northern Spanish town of Oyón, and his son Jesús and grandson Don Jesús Martínez Bujanda founded Bodegas Valdemar in the 1980s, now led by fifth generation Jesús Martínez Bujanda, current CEO, and his sister, Ana Martínez Bujanda, COO. While a student at the University of Washington, Jesús came to believe that the Walla Walla Valley would be perfect for winemaking, so they moved there to create Valdemar Estates with his sister, and winemaker Devyani Isabel Gupta, to produce their Cabernet Sauvignon, planted in solid basalt rock that provide small clusters of grapes, 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot, 12% Malbec, spending 19 months in 25% new and 75% used French Oak, emerging at a hefty 14.7% alcohol.

JOSEPH PHELPS NAPA VALLEY CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2021 ($100). If any California winery can be said to make classic red wines, it is certainly Joseph Phelps, whose winery dates to the mid-1970s with his Insignia label that has long distinguished Napa viniculture. Insignia is priced at $300, but this second label, for $100, is a stellar blend of 92% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Petit Verdot, 2% Cabernet Franc, 1% Merlot and 1% Malbec, all of which provide nuance to the brawny Cabernet Sauvignon from a mild vintage year. It is aged in French and American oak for 16 months to really mellow out, and it’s ready to drink now or for the next five years.

QUIVIRA BLACK BOAR ZINFANDEL DRY CREEK VALLEY 2020 ($55). To drink a powerful Zinfandel like this you should plan on serving food that will hold up to it, from a thick ribeye to chile-seasoned Mexican dishes, especially pork. Quivira makes several from 2020, including Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel ($28), Anderson Ranch ($50) and this mighty Zin that mixes wines from both those ranches. Wild boars actually do roam the valley, hence the name. It’s a blend of 78% Zin with a big dose of 22% Petite Syrah that ups the jam-like fruitiness. The grapes were not crushed but transferred to open-top fermenters or closed-top stainless steel for 3-7 days of cold-soak followed by 7-10 days fermentation, basket pressed, then finished in French and American oak for 18 months. I really like to drink it as I would Port or Madeira, with chestnuts and cheeses.