Best Wines I Tasted in June 2021

In June 2021, I tasted four wines that I felt were good enough to recommend. All of them I ended up rating 4 out of 5 stars on Vivino. One was a pink wine, one a white and two were red wines. Three of them happened to be of the 2017 vintage and two of these were from Napa Valley.

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1. Disko Wine Co.’s 2020 Gamay Noir from Los Olivos in Santa Barbara county – This is a bright pink, natural wine that very much surprised me in its character given the over-the-top color and labeling. But inside the bottle was a crisp, sweet and delicious wine, made for drinking with friends! This Gamay Noir retails for around $35 a bottle, which I think is a fair price for this deliciously fun wine.

• My Vivino notes: Red fruit and a ton of bubblegum on the nose. Medium plus acid, very light tannins, sweet and fruity. The bubblegum comes through on the tongue along with passion fruit, cherry and raspberry flavors. A bit of unstructured earthy complexity but a very good wine!

2. Jon Nathaniel’s 2017 ‘Bodacious’ Red Blend from Napa Valley – The Bodacious is a long time favorite in the Evans’ household, with this red blend coming out solid year after year. It has big, bold flavors and ample complexity that allows it to drink well on its own or pair nicely with so many meals. Each year the blend is made of different grapes, with 2017 being one of my favorites: a blend of Malbec, Petite Verdot and Syrah. This high quality Napa blend retails at about $60 per bottle, but you can sometimes find it cheaper through special sales from Flora Springs. I definitely recommend decanting the Bodacious wines, as it really lets them open up. This wine pairs well with anything grilled, meat or veggies, or anything fatty, think cheesy or buttery dishes.

• My Vivino notes: This one we decanted for about 40 minutes prior to drinking. It opened up amazingly. Lots of black fruit and oak notes on the nose. Medium tannins and medium plus acid. Fruit forward on the palate dark fruit persists with sweet tobacco flavors. Paired well with everything food wise.

3. Duckhorn Vineyard’s 2017 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon – This is a great wine that is a bit more accessible both in flavor characteristics and in purchasing options. It is a boldly flavored and complex wine that is not too hard on the palate, with lighter tannins than many similarly styled Napa Cabs. The flavor profile is well balanced and delicious with lots of fruit and oak based flavors throughout the wine. I think it is a great value Napa Cab, that you can purchase for around $50 and can be found in many restaurants and wine shops as well.

• My Vivino notes: A dark and complex cab. Black currant, blackberry, cinnamon and oak on the nose. Sweet flavor right off the bat. Light tannins and medium acid. Flavors of blackberry, cherry, sweet tobacco, cocoa, and vanilla.

4. Jean-Yves Devevey’s 2017 ‘Champs Perdrix’ from Hautes Côtes de Beaune – Burgundy, FR – This wine is a perfect embodiment of a French chardonnay and is so delicious. The flavor profile is NOT overly buttery or oaked like many California chardonnays are (which do have their place and can be delicious), but still has some lovely creamy characteristics from the extended time on the lees. This is wine is crisp, fruit forward and complex. The ‘Champs Perdrix’ is made from organic and biodynamically grown grapes, and with a non-interventionist winemaking philosophy. It retails for around $60, which I think is a good deal for such a high quality white burgundy. This wine is very much what high quality chardonnay could/should taste like and is well worth giving it a try!

• My Vivino notes: Lemon and stone on the nose. On the higher side for acid. Light apple, lemon peel, and peach flavors. The fruit goes along with a lot of creamy minerality and light butter notes.

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A note to put “BEST” into context: I am judging all the wines I drink based on their quality to value ratio, which is aligned with how I rate wines on Vivino.

Each wine I score is based on a 5 star scoring system, and I take into account the wine’s quality, uniqueness and deliciousness compared to other similar wines within a similar price range.

Only wines for which I have scored 4 stars or greater, and I deem worthy of sharing with others are included in my monthly favorites.

You can find all of my other monthly favorites here.

Cheers!

– Alan Evans