Region: France > Loire
Grape type: Sauvignon Blanc
When the hail hit Gilles Guillerault's perfectly exposed Sancerre hillsides for the third time, there was nothing to do but count the losses -- and wait for the magic to begin. Every so often, a winegrower's disaster makes for a consumer bonanza. In 2009, those three storms trimmed production by a whopping 40%. The small clusters that remained in this hillside game of Survival of the Fittest were of unbelievable green apple concentration -- yet still infused with the wet stone minerality that makes these hillsides the greatest for Sauvignon Blanc in the world. read more »
Region: California > Central Coast > Santa Rita Hills
Grape type: Pinot Noir
ST 90 - Every once in a while, a great winemaker gets blindsided by Nature. And improbably, what appears to be a disaster, turns into a miracle. That?s what happened to Adam Tolmach in 2007. read more »
Region: California > Napa > Spring Mountain District
Grape type: Cabernet Sauvignon
Chad Alexander first cut his teeth on Spring Mountain while making a gorgeous, slow maturing wine for Robert Craig in 2005. These high elevation mountain Cabernets are some of the deepest and darkest of Napa -- as well as the slowest to come around, and the longest living. read more »