This final The Dozen of 2024 has a wine for most tastes and most budgets – your choice. Next up – 2025.
2016 Umani Ronchi “Plenio” Castelli di Jesi Verdicchio Classico ($38). Although it has pleasant notes of dried apple and cask flavors that comes with aging, this white still has good freshness and acidity with a light body.
2022 Umani Ronchi “Vecchie Vigne” Castelli di Jesi Verdicchio Classico Superiore ($40). Crisp, green-fruit flavors with a touch of creaminess, moderate weight and a hint of tannins.
NV Barons de Rothschild “Concordia” Champagne Brut ($85). Very rich in intensity, with metallic minerality and flavors of dried apples and macadamia nuts – a lovely bubbly more rounded in structure than linear.
2014 Barons de Rothschild “Rare Collection” Champagne Blanc de Blanc ($224). You probably won’t find an expression of Chardonnay any more delightful than this rich, lightly tangy, light minerally, Champagne with some finishing notes of brioche and dried fruits.
2023 Brotte Laudun Cotes-du-Rhone Villages ($13). Lively blackberry fruit, almost juicy without being sweet.
2019 Gigondas La Cave “Signature” Gigondas ($18). This Grenache-heavy Rhone blend has somewhat gamey flavors of black raspberry with light creamy notes in the finish.
2022 Brassfield High Valley Pinot Noir ($32). From the steadily emerging Lake County area north of Napa, this is a lean Pinot with lots of gamey and brandied cherry fruitiness – long on the palate.
2021 Brassfield High Valley Cabernet Sauvignon ($35). Very nice, especially for the price, the wine has dark berry flavors with lots of dark chocolate and tannins – let it open for a while before drinking.
2020 Les Beaux Jours “Levant” Laudun Cotes-du-Rhone Villages ($38). Good, rich raspberry flavors with moderate weight and length.
2019 Umani Ronchi “Cúmaro” Conero Riserva ($43). From the mountains of Marche, this wine has flavors of lightly aged red fruits – very straightforward.
2019 Enrico Serafino “Monclivio” Barolo ($53). Tart but very rich dried-fruit flavors with a solid finish.
2019 Umani Ronchi “Pelago” Marche Rosso IGT ($58). An interesting blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Montepulciano and Merlot, this red has dark yet mellow cherry fruitiness with some pleasant bitters and light tannins at the finish.
Prices listed are generally SRP or from wine-searcher.com.
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