Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais Nouveau, Beaujolais 2003 Price $9.99 Rating 89 "After weeks of sampling some 300 bottles a day I am able to confirm to you that the 2003 vintage will be as prestigious as 1929, 1947 and 1976.
Beaujolais Nouveau will be full-bodied, delicious, powerful and seductive.
It will display a beautiful, intense color with aromas of flowers and complex fruit. It exudes scents of rose and violet with raspberries, ripe strawberries and black currants. With fresh and elegant tannins, Beaujolais Nouveau 2003 is particularly long on the palette and promises to be an unforgettable vintage," says founder Georges Duboeuf. This simple, but fun red wine deserves equally fun food. Pizza, chips and dips, whatever is near at hand. Don't study this wine, just enjoy.

Carmenet Sauvignon Blanc "Hanson Vineyard", Lake County 2002 Price $8 Rating 88 Winemaker Ron Goss says that he makes this wine in an "intentionally European style, being dry, less oak-driven and more vertically-structured than other white wines in this category." This white wine is well suited for many food combinations, being well balanced and very approachable. There are pleasing notes of citrus and mineral joined with delicate spice notes like nutmeg. For over twenty years, Carmenet has been making appellation and vineyard designated wines throughout Sonoma County and the North Coast of California. In the fall of 2002, Carmenet was acquired by Beringer Blass Wine Estates. For more information, visit www.carmenetwinery.com.

Carmenet Old Vine Zinfandel "Evangehlo Vineyard" Contra Costa County, 2001 Price $22 Rating 93 Evangehlo Vineyard is on a hundred foot deep sand bar where the San Joaquin River meets San Francisco Bay. The vines are over 110-years-old and are gnarled, spreading out roughly over the ancient, alluvial soil. "They look like stooped beggars searching for coins in the soil," observes winemaker Ron Goss. The old field blend contains 13% Carignane grape, contributing a blueberry pie, ripe plum, and Bing cherry aspect to the rich and lusty wine.
There are a myriad of spice notes sprinkled within this jammy, concentrated red.

Carmenet Cabernet Sauvignon "Snow's Lake Vineyard" Lake County 2001 Price $25 Rating 90 This red captures the true spirit of cabernet sauvignon fruit. There are aromas of blueberry and rosehips/floral, then flavors of chewy black fruit jam and fresh plum flavors. "Snow's Lake Vineyard is one of the most beautiful vineyards I've ever seen," boasts winemaker Ron Goss. "When standing in the middle of it, you feel like you are on top of the world with the vineyard rolling out below you and only the open sky above you."
Situated at over 1,000 feet above sea level, the warm, radiating sun exposure ripens the grapes to perfection.

Morgan Chardonnay "Rosella's Vineyard" Santa Lucia Highlands 2001 Price $30 Rating 96 I tasted this stellar chardonnay with an open-minded winemaker, having important Carneros roots. He told me that this is the chardonnay style that he attempts to capture. The balance of ripe fruit to reserved oak is nearly perfect. Apples, subtle vanilla and spice, roasted hazelnuts and yeasty complexities pull this full-flavored white wine together.
Morgan focuses on Burgundian varietals from Moneterey's Sant Lucia Highlands. For more information, visit www.morganwinery.com.

Spalletti Chianti, Tuscany 2001
Price $9.99
Rating 89
Aromas of beautiful violet and floral are followed by flavors of bright, jammy fruit with anise and subtle Asian spice nuances. This red coats the palate like paint and sings for full-flavored food pairings. For more details, visit www.kobrandwines.com.

In 1936, the Counts of Spalletti acquired the panoramic estate of Poggio Reale in the Rufina zone. With their long-established estate of the Fattoria di Cologone, also in the Rufina denomination of origin, the Spalletti name became firmly established, formalizing the brand's association with Chianti Rufina. The first vintage of Spalletti Chianti Poggio Reale was released in the late 1930s.
Founded in the late 1800s, the Fattoria di Colognole in the Chianti Rufina zone is the principal estate of the Spalletti brand. The 1912 vintage was the first to bear the Chianti Spalletti label, which soon acquired a reputation for classic Tuscan wines typical of the Rufina zone. The philosophy behind the brand is based on a harmony between the original typicity of the wine and an approachable, elegant style.