A few weeks ago, renowned wine critic, James Suckling, paid a visit to the Sokolin offices as part of his Retail Tasting series on www.jamessuckling.com. If you haven't already seen the series on his site, check it out; his premise is very simple: Show him five wines we believe are worthy of 90 points or higher, for under $30. "No problem," we said.

Here at Sokolin, we pride ourselves not only on our vast inventory of fine back-vintage wines from top global regions but also on our selection of wines that are inexpensive but still super-high quality.  So we welcomed James' challenge.

James' palate is impressive.  He blindly tastes the five wines, frequently and accurately guessing region or varietal.  We selected two whites and three reds that are favorites or recent finds of ours. The results?  Five for Five!  These wines, all amazing values, were selected for a number of reasons but mostly because we knew they would hit the mark. Here's the run down:

2009 DELHOMMEAU CUVEE HARMONIE:  90 POINTS
Selected because it's a spring and summer favorite of the staff and for the $12.99 price, it's hard to beat. 

What he said: "That's beautiful! Really happening!" James Suckling

2008 DOMAINE DE ROALLY VIRE CLESSE:  91 POINTS
This is a favorite summer house wine of Dave's and we feel it drinks for twice the $21.95 price.  Many people mistake it for more expensive white Burgundies. 

What he said: "Beautiful! I love Macon!" James Suckling

2007 LA MAIALINA CHIANTI RISERVA:  90 POINTS
We discovered this riserva Chianti this year and we were blown away by its high quality at such a low price.  It's not often you find a good riserva Chianti for just $19.99.

What he said: "Whoa! That's awesome! Good call!" James Suckling

2008 TENUTA SAN GUIDO GUIDALBERTO:  92 POINTS
As the second label of Italy's top Super Tuscan, Sassicaia, this is a tremendous value that is delicious to drink now for only $29.99.

What he said: "That's a steal! That's a special price!" James Suckling

And finally...

2007 WATERSTONE: 92 POINTS
It shouldn't come as a surprise that we included Waterstone, a staple wine of Sokolin and an absolute staff and client favorite in the value category ($19.95).  This latest release literally just entered our warehouse in the days before James' visit and we were confident it would blow him away?it sure did.

What he said:  "I score much lower wines that cost 5 times the price!" James Suckling

We look forward to seeing James again in the future for another Retail Tasting Challenge.