Top 10 wines in the US press

Bill St John recommends a French red blend that is “overwhelmingly captivating”, while Dave McIntyre picks a “lush and dense” Spanish wine.

Writing in the Chicago Tribune, St John investigates France’s Languedoc-Roussillon winemaking region. He said: “During the past 30 years, no winemaking area of France has transformed itself as much as Languedoc, the fertile crescent of vineyards stretching along a third of the country’s western Mediterranean coastline.”

He added: “No one thought highly of the wines; they were that felicitous but sorry combination of cheap and rough. In the 1980s, however, imaginative winemakers from inside and outside Languedoc took stock of the native promise of Languedoc – older vines, copious sunshine and a nourishing climate – and forever changed winemaking there.

“Today, Languedoc’s wines are polished versions of what they were always: wines with a lot of flavour for not a lot of money.”

In the Washington Post McIntyre recommends to his readers that they “splurge on a wonderful California Chardonnay”.

Click through the following pages to find out which wines these and other wine writes have recommended in the US press over the last week.

Terra di Seta Chianti Classico Pellegrini Della Seta 2008

Writing in the New York Times, Eric Asimov recommends kosher wines for the Seder table. He wrote: “Terra di Seta claims says it is the only completely kosher winery in Tuscany.

“This Chianti is very good, with dry, dusty flavours of bitter cherry. If it seems a bit austere, perhaps that’s the effect of 5% Cabernet Sauvignon, blended with 95% Sangiovese.”

2011 Owen Roe Sinister Hand Columbia Valley Red

Jon Bonné in the San Francisco Chronicle recommends this wine, about which he wrote: “This ever-popular blend from Oregon’s David O’Reilly shows a freshness and twang of the cooler year. “Sinister Hand is always a big wine, but here the blowsy berry flavours are reined in by watermelon, green olive and a quiet aniseed spice.”

2006 Robert Mondavi Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve

Fred Tasker in the Miami Herald comments on a range of different vintages of Mondavi’s Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve. He described the 2006 as having: “Ultra-dark hue, bursting with black raspberries and bittersweet chocolate, big but ripe tannins, youthful and concentrated.”

Mark DeVere MW, who represents the Robert Mondavi Winery, told Tasker: “By this time Mondavi was using its new fermentation facility, with oak fermentation tanks that softened the tannins but kept the powerful fruit.”

2010 Domaine Zind-Humbrecht Pinot Blanc

In the LA Times, S Irene Virbila, recommends this Pinot Blanc as a “perfect white for everyday drinking.”

She added: “Scented with flowers and peaches, it’s crisp yet with ripe fruit and a thrilling complexity. Versatile with food… it has a special affinity for Asian and fusion cuisines and the crazy quilt of flavours that make up California cuisine.”

2009 Leon Barral Faugeres Jadis

This is the red wine recommended by Bill St John in the Chicago Tribune.

He wrote: “This blend of half old-vine Carignan, 30% Syrah and 20% Grenache is simply overwhelmingly captivating; you’ll swoon over its dense, layered flavours of dark red fruits and come-hither scents of chocolate, espresso and brown spice; a true sense of terroir comes through as the result of all-biodynamic farming.”

Bodega Pulenta La Flor Malbec, 2012

Writing in the LA Daily News, Michael Petersen recommends this as his “red wine of the week”, writing: “This Malbec from Mendoza, Argentina, has powerful flavours of black cherry and plum on the palate with some vanilla and liquorice on the nose. Pairs well with empanadas or anything off the barbecue.”

Sandhi Chardonnay 2010 Sanford & Benedict Vineyard

Dave McIntyre gave this wine three stars (out of three) in the Washington Post. He wrote: “This mouth-filling Chardonnay exhibits the magic combination of a prime hillside vineyard in a cool maritime climate and skilful winemaking that lets the fruit shine with an impeccable balance of acidity, oak influence and alcohol. Bravo.”

Dehesa Gago 2011

McIntyre also recommends this Spanish wine from “star Spanish winemaker Telmo Rodriguez”. He added: “This sensuous red from old-vines Tinto de Toro, the local name for Spain’s flagship Tempranillo. Fermented in concrete and stainless steel, this unoaked wine is lush and dense, almost chewy in texture. Any restaurant with a charcuterie plate should carry this bottle.”

2011 Rancho Zabaco Heritage Vines Zinfandel

Sandra Silfven, in the Detroit News, wrote: “This label is famous for its big Zins crafted off Dry Creek’s Frei Ranch, Stefani Ranch and Chiotti Ranch vineyards. It’s a brooding Zin with intense flavours of dark berries, cherries, thimbleberries (these tiny shriveled bits of skin, pulp and juice grow in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula) and dried cranberries. And it gets an extra kick of dark color and backbone from a small amount of Petite Sirah.”

Shafer Relentless 2009

North of the border in Canada, Beppi Crosariol of The Globe and Mail, recommends this Californian wine, writing: “Blended from 82% Syrah with tannic Petite Sirah, it’s as luscious as they come, with well-integrated 16.5% alcohol and notes of plum, dark chocolate, white pepper and leather. Hermitage American-style. Cellar it for up to 10 years.”