It was a very emotional harvest," explains petite Andrea Leon Iriarte, winemaker and communications manager for Lapostolle winery in Chile, describing the vintage of 2010. Andrea Leon. There had just been an earthquake and the season had been wet. It was full bodied and somewhat rustic, with a clear oak influence. MORE >>

From The North Fork of Long Island, Macari produces this delicious blend of 42% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, 21% Cabernet Franc, and 7% Petit Verdot. Disclaimer: This sample was provided by Macari Vineyardsalcohol, retails for $42/bottle. MORE >>

Now that the cabernet sauvignon is ready for racking and blending I've started playing with sample blends. Petit verdot showed very nicely in 2009. Increasing the petit verdot addition to 10% resulted in a significantly less interesting wine than the 5% addition. 2) Dark fruits. 3) Mellow and round. with a 3.9 MORE >>

So here I am in Bordeaux the Sunday before the beginning of En Primeur, where journalists will sample the new 2009 vintage. At 21 hectares for red varietals, the vineyard is composed of 82 percent Merlot, 13 percent Cabernet Franc, and 4 percent Petite Verdot. Jean-Jacques & Florence Dubourdieu. I quite agree. But wait! MORE >>

Following the Cab I had a Petit Sirah and finished with an old vine Zin PORT that I REALLY enjoyed. The Zin was blended with about 7-8% Petit Sirah & a touch (about 1%) of Cab. finished with a barrel sample of their 2006 Cab which was bit tight but showed blue/black fruit and gripping tannins. Nice wines. NOT A FRUIT BOMB. MORE >>