A new month awaits, which means a new batch of wines for me to share with you for my Best Bottles: September Edition. If you miss the IG Live, don’t fret, all the wine details are below. You can re-watch it on Instagram. In my line of work, I taste a lot of wine. And I found that a lot of wines slipped through the cracks. I couldn’t possibly cover every single wine in a blog post or on social media, so I came up with the idea to highlight the ten “Best Bottles” that I drink every month. Without further ado, I bring to you my best bottles for the month of September! From No. 1 Family Estate in New Zealand, this Blanc de Blancs was made with 100 percent Chardonnay grapes. It was held on the lees for two years, meaning you’ll find those rich, Champagne-like characteristics. That time on the lees results in nutty, brioche-like flavors. It’s beautifully toasty with layers of stone fruit and citrus for balance. Gorgeous! BUY NOW Scharffenberger has been making premium sparkling wine in Mendocino since 1981. This is a great area for sparkling wine because of the cool coastal influences of the Pacific Ocean. The cool temps help keep the grapes cool and help them retain acidity, which is key to making a premium sparkling wine. A really yummy “berry”ful sparkling rosé. Pretty much everything I would want in this style of wine at this price point. Grab it! BUY NOW (this is for the Brut, not the rosé) This is an exciting one to share, as I will be visiting this winery in Italy in the next couple of weeks! Zenato actually has two properties. One in Valpolicella and the other in Lugana. I’m lucky to say that I will be visiting both properties on my trip! The Zenato legacy of winemaking spans over 60 years starting with the family’s patriarch Sergio and continuing today with his wife Carla and their children Nadia and Alberto. Turbiana is the white grape used to make Lugana wine, a refreshing and dynamic white from a Lugana DOC near Lake Garda. When I tasted the wine, the first thing I wrote on the tech sheet was “jesus that’s good”. I get aromas and flavors of lemon and lime zest, peaches, and majorly high acid, almost mouth puckering. I had this with some homemade elote and it was incredible. BUY NOW This wine from Domaine Anderson is rich and full, yet bright and clean. How do they do that? I actually have no idea! But I do love that juxtaposition, and that tension in wines. There’s a beautiful salinity also that cuts right through the middle. Mouthwatering acidity. As the wine came up to temperature, I got a really nice tart apple note. BUY NOW A very special wine from Cattleya Wines. This wine is a singular clone of Chardonnay (clone 76) from one vineyard site on the Sonoma Coast. This is definitely a terroir driven wine, but with a lot of winemaking behind it. Technique: grapes were hand harvested and hand sorted before being gently pressed and transferred to tank for overnight cold settling. Juice was in racked into French oak barrels, 60% new. Indigenous yeast carried out a slow fermentation over a four-month period, preserving the purity of fruit. 17 months undisturbed aging. No fining, no filtration. An incredibly rich and opulent Chardonnay but with major sophistication. Like Shaggy says: smooth, just like a silk a… BUY NOW Fun fact: I actually have an article coming out next month all about Bouchaine Vineyards in the Carneros area of Napa Valley. Bouchaine has a cool story starting with the great niece of Composer Sergei Rachmaninoff and the fact that they have an all-female run enterprise. From the owner, the winemaker, the winery crew, and the vineyard crew. All women! Quite incredible! The difference between vin gris and rosé is slight. In both cases we’re talking about a pink colored wine made from red grapes. The only difference is that a vin gris is very very light in color. This is due to the fact that there is almost no contact between the grape juice and the skins, which is what gives a wine it’s color. A really pretty wine full of red fruit notes (strawberries and watermelon) plus white flower notes. BUY NOW Let’s hear it for cheap and cheerful! And before we delve into what’s in the bottle, let me tell you a little bit about District 7 Wines. District 7 is under the Scheid Family Wines label, long time growers in Monterey County. Their vineyards are 100% certified sustainable and the winery is 100% powered by wind. How cool is that!? For the record, I thoroughly enjoyed this wine slightly chilled. BUY NOW Some say that making a value priced Cab Sauv in Napa is impossible. I’m here to disagree! You can find it, you just have to look hard. Luckily, I’m saving some time by giving it right to ya! This wine is easy-drinking and approachable upon release! Dark ripe fruit notes plus layers of tobacco and sweet spice permeate the palate. A touch of Petit Verdot and Zinfandel add richness and round it all out for this crowd pleaser of a red! BUY NOW (10-20% discount at the link, depending on how many bottles you buy) Castello di Fonterutoli is a historic property just south of Castellina in Chianti in the heart of Chianti Classico. The Mazzei family has been making wine on this property for 24 generations. This is their flag ship wine. Showing beautiful floral notes of violets and lavender, plus red fruits and black cherries. 100% Sangiovese. 100% perfection. BUY NOW Ehlers is a beautiful estate up in Napa Valley that I visited years ago. They have a historical barn on site, which I believe is where the tasting room is located. Quite beautiful. This Napa Cab is their best-selling SKU across the nine wines they make. The nose is showing big juicy dark fruit. And on the palate I get dusty tannins, minerality, and stunning balance. BUY NOW (plus, it’s on sale!) No. 1 Family Estate Cuvée Méthode Traditionnelle NV $33 (New Zealand)
Scharffenberger Brut Excellence Rosé $29 (Mendocino, CA)
Zenato Lugana DOC San Benedetto $19 (Lugana, Italy)
Domaine Anderson 2019 Estate Chardonnay $35.99 (Anderson Valley, CA)
Cattleya Cuvée Number Five 2020 Chardonnay $55 (Sonoma Coast, CA)
Bouchaine 2021 Vin Gris of Pinot Noir $29 (Carneros, CA)
District Seven 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon $20 (Monterey, CA)
Oberon Wines 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon $25.99 (Napa County, CA)
Castello di Fonterutoli 2017 Chianti Classico Gran Selezione DOCG $74 (Tuscany, Italy)
Ehlers Estate 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon $77 (Napa Valley, CA)
