Popular Wines
As magical and enigmatic as the world of wine can be, it’s not always easy to find your way around. Every day, inexperienced wine enthusiasts try to explore new blends and end up with a shopping list that their budget simply cannot support. Every high-quality wine is a unique, important experience, one that opens a person’s taste palate to a whole new world of flavor and pleasure. Something primal awakens within, urging you to find new and more compelling aromas and textures. But with so much to choose from, where do you begin?
When it comes to wine, popular blends are relatively common for a reason. They serve as an excellent entry point into the world of fine wine, and studying them lets you understand more obscure, complicated wines out there. A collection has to start somewhere, and these blends are often easier to get and help you develop your taste. Imagine bonding with your friends and family over a brand you’re all familiar with and able to appreciate to its fullest. Good wine offers something new, yet vaguely familiar with each glass, as your mouth picks up on subtleties in the liquid that tempt you further and inspire thought and introspection, uncorking new conversation topics and improving the mood no matter the situation.
If you’re looking for safe picks, you want to set your sights on quality brands from Italy, France, and Spain. A glass of sultry Sangiovese or Trebbiano Toscano can liven up a family meal and impress even the stuffiest guests while being a perfect partner to any traditional Italian dish you can think of. One taste of a Cabernet Sauvignon or Chardonnay is enough to let France stand out as a breeding ground of divine, elegant elixirs that can fit the taste of any enthusiast. Meanwhile, Spain offers powerful blends such as Garnacha, Bobal, or Tempranillo, helping you create memorable moments out of even the most ordinary evening. And this is only scratching the surface.
Our goal is to introduce you to popular, tested brands the same way we would introduce you to a potential soulmate. With the right mood and some good timing, you can develop a healthy, pleasurable relationship with wine that lasts a lifetime.
When it comes to wine, popular blends are relatively common for a reason. They serve as an excellent entry point into the world of fine wine, and studying them lets you understand more obscure, complicated wines out there. A collection has to start somewhere, and these blends are often easier to get and help you develop your taste. Imagine bonding with your friends and family over a brand you’re all familiar with and able to appreciate to its fullest. Good wine offers something new, yet vaguely familiar with each glass, as your mouth picks up on subtleties in the liquid that tempt you further and inspire thought and introspection, uncorking new conversation topics and improving the mood no matter the situation.
If you’re looking for safe picks, you want to set your sights on quality brands from Italy, France, and Spain. A glass of sultry Sangiovese or Trebbiano Toscano can liven up a family meal and impress even the stuffiest guests while being a perfect partner to any traditional Italian dish you can think of. One taste of a Cabernet Sauvignon or Chardonnay is enough to let France stand out as a breeding ground of divine, elegant elixirs that can fit the taste of any enthusiast. Meanwhile, Spain offers powerful blends such as Garnacha, Bobal, or Tempranillo, helping you create memorable moments out of even the most ordinary evening. And this is only scratching the surface.
Our goal is to introduce you to popular, tested brands the same way we would introduce you to a potential soulmate. With the right mood and some good timing, you can develop a healthy, pleasurable relationship with wine that lasts a lifetime.
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1964 Paul Aine Jaboulet Hermitage La Chapelle94WSA warm summer led to supple, low-acidity wines. This Chapelle reflects the vintage--smooth, silky and full-bodied. Less expressive than the '66, but tastes rounder and richer. Melt..." Learn MoreFormats Available:As low as $2,090.00 -
1989 Chapoutier Hermitage Le Pavillon100RPThe 1989 Le Pavilion is a prodigious wine. Made from yields of 14 hectoliters per hectare, this parcel of old vines (averaging 70-80 years of age) has produced an opaque black/purp..." Learn MoreFormats Available:As low as $730.00 -
1990 Chave Hermitage99JDThe 1990 Hermitage is fully mature yet holding beautifully. Perfumed notes of sweet cassis and blackberry fruits, rose hips, smoked meats, and exotic spices all flow to a full-bodi..." Learn MoreFormats Available:As low as $2,090.00 -
1990 Paul Aine Jaboulet Hermitage La Chapelle100DECJaboulet's Hermitage La Chapelle 1961, 1978 and 1990 are considered to be among the greatest wines ever made in the Rhône Valley. The 1990 was sourced from Les Bessards, Le M..." Learn MoreFormats Available:As low as $1,145.00 -
1995 Chapoutier Hermitage Le Pavillon100RPStill a youngster, the blockbuster 1995 Ermitage le Pavillon is a quintessential Hermitage in every way. Full-bodied, powerful, thick and unctuous, with tons of smoky, black, black..." Learn MoreFormats Available:As low as $2,999.00 -
1995 Chave Hermitage Cathelin98JDThe 1995 Hermitage Cuvee Cathelin is another magical wine from this family estate that’s drinking brilliantly today. Its vivid ruby, semi-opaque color (classic mature Hermita..." Learn MoreFormats Available:As low as $9,885.00 -
1998 Chave Hermitage Cathelin Cuvee98+VMReticent, minerally nose hints at great sweetness and ripeness; notes of blackberry and tar emerge with aeration. Round, rich and layered in the mouth; still quite closed but the w..." Learn MoreFormats Available:As low as $9,885.00 -
2000 Chapoutier Hermitage L'Ermite99RPI grossly underestimated the 2000 Ermitage l’Ermite from barrel. This wine, which emerges from largely pre-phylloxera vines planted on the dome of Hermitage, adjacent to the ..." Learn MoreFormats Available:As low as $1,275.00 -
2000 Chave Hermitage Cathelin Cuvee97AGChave’s 2000 Cuvée Cathelin was monumental. It was a privilege to taste, but also a shame to open so early. If the 1991 seemed young, the 2000 came across as a veritab..." Learn MoreFormats Available:As low as $6,749.00 -
2005 Chapoutier Hermitage L'Ermite99+RPLastly, from the very dome of the granite hill of Ermitage is the 2005 Ermitage l’Ermite. An extraordinarily powerful wine that probably needs 10-15 years in the bottle (last..." Learn MoreFormats Available:As low as $2,475.00 -
2006 Chapoutier Hermitage Le Pavillon98RPShowing more minerality than the le Meal, yet more plushness and sexiness than the l’Ermite, the 2006 Ermitage le Pavillon is a tour de force that gives up sensational notes ..." Learn MoreFormats Available:As low as $530.00 -
2009 Chapoutier Hermitage Le Meal Rouge100RPEven inkier in color than the 2010, the 2009 Ermitage le Meal is as good as Hermitage gets. Locked and loaded with phenomenal notes of jammy black raspberries, creme de cassis, cru..." Learn MoreFormats Available:As low as $665.00 -
2009 Chapoutier Hermitage Le Pavillon100RPA perfect wine, the 2009 Ermitage Le Pavillon (1,093 cases) boasts a black/purple color as well as an extraordinary bouquet of acacia flowers, blackberries, blueberries, roasted me..." Learn MoreFormats Available:As low as $489.00 -
2010 Chapoutier Hermitage de L'Oree100RPThere are 716 cases of the 2010 Ermitage de l’Oree. I have been following this cuvee since its debut vintage and this 100% Marsanne possesses more richness than most Burgundy..." Learn MoreFormats Available:As low as $675.00 -
2018 E. Guigal Ermitage Ex Voto Blanc100JDBuilt for the long haul, the 2018 Ermitage Ex Voto Blanc is a majestic, noble white that could only come from this incredible, south-facing hillside in Hermitage. Revealing a light..." Learn MoreFormats Available:As low as $199.00 -
2018 Paul Aine Jaboulet Hermitage La Chapelle98+JDAs I wrote last year from barrel, the 2018 Hermitage La Chapelle is a backward, primordial Hermitage built for the ages. Incredible crème de cassis, blueberries, scorched ea..." Learn MoreFormats Available:As low as $199.00 -
2019 Delas Hermitage Domaine des Tourette Blanc95+RPThe star of the Delas whites is the 2019 Hermitage Domaine des Tourettes Blanc, based on Marsanne from L'Ermite, Le Sabot (the bottom portion of Les Bessardes) and La Tourette. Bar..." Learn MoreFormats Available:As low as $69.99 -
2019 Domaine des Remizieres Hermitage Blanc Cuvee Emilie96RPA massively rich effort, the 2019 Hermitage Cuvee Emilie Blanc—made almost entirely of Marsanne from the Maison Blanche lieu-dit—boasts scents of crushed stone, pencil ..." Learn MoreFormats Available:As low as $64.99 -
2019 M. Chapoutier Ermitage Le Pavillon100JDThe star of the show as well as one of the wines of this great vintage, the 2019 Ermitage Le Pavillon comes all from broken granite soils of the Bessards lieu-dit and was all deste..." Learn MoreFormats Available:As low as $345.00
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2019 M. Chapoutier Hermitage Le Meal Blanc100JDThe richest and most fruit loaded of the trio is the 2019 Ermitage Le Méal Blanc, which comes from a warmer terroir. This killer Hermitage Blanc has a vivid gold hue as well..." Learn MoreFormats Available:As low as $209.00
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2019 Paul Aine Jaboulet Crozes Hermitage La Mule Blanc92JDA blend of equal parts Marsanne and Roussanne, the 2019 Crozes-Hermitage Domaine Mule Blanche Blanc has a rounded, medium-bodied, nicely textured style that carries plenty of pear,..." Learn MoreFormats Available:As low as $33.95 -
2019 Paul Aine Jaboulet Hermitage Chevalier Sterimberg95JDAs with the 2018, the Marsanne-dominated 2019 Hermitage Le Chevalier De Sterimberg Blanc includes 30% Roussanne. Lots of buttered citrus, toasted bread, white flowers, and a touch ..." Learn MoreFormats Available:As low as $56.95 -
2019 Paul Aine Jaboulet Hermitage La Chapelle98+RPLast year, I giddily speculated whether the 2019 Hermitage La Chapelle would warrant a 100-point score. While close—and I wouldn't completely discount it reaching that pinnac..." Learn MoreFormats Available:As low as $799.00 -
2020 M. Chapoutier Ermitage Le Meal Blanc100JDI was blown away by the 2020 Ermitage Le Méal Blanc, which is certainly the finest vintage of this cuvée I’ve tasted. From the pure south-facing Méal lie..." Learn MoreFormats Available:As low as $235.00