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Back Up The Truck!! - Mount Nelson Sauvignon Blanc

Sancerre is just one of those magical summer whites and for good reason: Can any other wine deliver the mouthwatering citrus-and-stone combo with such an elegant and refreshing zing?

New Zealand, as the press has pointed out over the last 10+ years, has done the "zing" part

2007 Willi Schaefer: Extreme Focus, Clarity and Concentration

We arrived at Willi Schaefer bright and early and were welcomed by Willi Schaefer himself. The first stop: A tasting room full of AM sunlight and the scents of spring flowers coming through the window. A 1975 Graacher Himmelreich Auslese sat on the table. It felt like I went from

Stadlmann Zierfandler Mandel-Hoh 2006

The reappearance of a crowned Wine of the Year!

Why this strange, earth-shaking occurrence? The fact of the matter is that we've been touting the merits of this kooky l

2007 Muller-Catoir: The Tradition Survives

"Expressiveness bordering on the super-natural." - Terry Theise

The view within the Haardter Burgergarten vineyard; the Muller-Catoir estate is visible in the dista

2007 Donnhoff: A Visit with the Master

The wines of Helmut Donnhoff have such power and complexity that their signature weightless feels seems nearly miraculous. One taste and you sense that magic. Donnhoff's wines are on par with the best of Germany in a very unique way - his sweet wines rival those of Prum and Egon Muller and the dry wines are mentioned in the same breath as luminaries such as Keller and Rebholz. Very few (any?) have this degree of versatility.

2003 Mascarello Barolo Monprivato

The estate of Guiseppe Mascarello is one of the most underrated in the wine world; Mauro Mascarello, the current head of the estate, is a Piedmont legend standing with the giants of traditional Barolo: Giacomo Conterno, Bruno Giacosa and Bartolo Mascarell

Vatan 2006

The 79-year-old Edmond Vatan has been making what is largely considered to be the world's top Sancerre for an entire generation. The Sancerres from his Clos la Neore vineyard are renowned for their purit

Schilcher Sekt! Strohmeier Sensational for Summer Sipping

Schilcher Sekt: This may be your new favorite summer wine, if you can pronounce it! Howard Goldberg of the New York Times has fallen in love - now it's your turn.

Schilcher Sekt flows liberally in Austria; the charming sparkling rose is just about the perfe

Edmunds St. John - The Controversy over California

Steve Edmunds is one of our favorite traditional California producers and his 2005 Syrah from the Wylie-Fenaughty Vineyards is superb.

It has also become somewhat of a lightning rod, illustrating the divide that exists between traditionalists and modernist

The 2008 Rose Champions! The Best-of-the-Best for Summer Sipping...

The world of rose is getting bigger, grander and more diverse than ever!

While we stock - and love - the great classic roses of southern France, there is a brave new world of exciting roses that translate the easy-going, mouthwatering and lip-smacking philosophy of

Krug's 1995 Clos d'Ambonnay

Photo gallery.

Veuve Clicquot 2002: Special Pre-Arrival Pricing

Crush is thrilled to announce special pre-arrival pricing for Veuve Clicquot's 2002 Vintage Champagne, to be released this fall.

Based on my experience with the wine at the estate earlier this year, I can confidently say that this is the best vintage Clicquot that h

California Classic: 2000 Mondavi Reserve

There is no doubt that Robert Mondavi changed the American wine psyche and in the process became one of the wine world's most powerful and controversial figures. His life, and the rise

The Vertigo-Inspiring Bremmer Calmont Vineyard

A staggering 180-degree hairpin bend by the playful Mosel River at Bremm. Visible at the lower right-hand side of the picture is the small town of Bremm; visible on the left-hand side of the picture is the jagged

Scholium Project: Dinner in New York City

I liked the wines of the Scholium Project the first time I had them. While the landscape of California (as translated through grape and wine) is so often a full-throttle world of nearly overwhelming power, the wines of Abe Schoener's Scholium Project combine a tactile (and yes, ripe) intensity wi

Dry German Rieslings at Crush: A Deep (Dry) Collection!

How happy were we to see a bottle of Hansjorg Rebholz's mind-blowing Riesling in a photo in Wednesday's New York Times! - not to mention the short but savvy article wine writer Eric Asimov penned about the great quality (and drinkability) of dry German Rieslings! 

FX Pichler's Riesling Unendlich - The Coolest Label Ever?

I love Austrian wine labels - they so often have this strange, playful modernist thing that I find really kooky and charming. Like the Bauhaus meets Playskool. Coming way out of left field then, is the label for FX Pichler's Riesling "Unendlich" - a super-rare bottling the Master puts together in

Scholium Project: Winemaking as Thinking

The following is an essay I handed out at a dinner I hosted in New York City for Abe Schoener and his Scholium Project wines in the spring of 2008. - Stephen Bitterolf

"Scholi

Kunstler - Keeping the Mighty Rheingau Flag Flying!

The Kunstler estate has recently moved into new headquarters. Well, old new headquarters. The great building on the Geheimrat-Hummel-Platz that Kunstler now calls home formerly housed the Rheingau's oldest sparkling wine manufacturer. True story. The 1837 building is considered a landmark and has

Scholium Project: Eccentric California Genius

Yes, it's time for our annual Scholium Project offering!

These selections represent this year's three greatest hits, each one riveting and uniquely expressive:
- 2005 Petit Sirah "Babylon"
- 2006 Sauvignon Blanc "La Severita di Bruto"
- 2006 Sauv

Giacomelli Vermentino: Complex Winter White from Liguria

Could this be the cruelest time of the year? The holidays have receded well into memory, daylight seems scarce, the chill is here and spring is still much too far away.

The only answer our eccentric minds could cook up was a Mediterranean-inspired meal with a couple of Vermentini

Giacomelli's Vermentino Meets Fish Stew

Vermentinos are such rich, complex whites with such big acidities that they marry very well to finessed winter fare. To plow through the winter blues, Joe, Chris and I got together last week to indulge in Giacomelli Vermentinos - both the regular Colli di Luni bottling as

Betts & Scholl "O.G." Grenache - Australian Power with Elegance

Let's speak simply here: The 2005 Betts and Scholl "O.G." Grenache is one of the best deals of this young year. With a special case-price that brings the bottle down to $25, this is a no-brainer big Aussie red that delivers power with style at a level way beyond its price-point.

Louis Boillot - Grower Burgundy with Heart and Soul

Louis Boillot crafted some outstanding wines in the more difficult 2004 vintage. As he's married to Burgundy phenom Ghislaine Barthod, this is a family that lives and breathes wine. In 2005 he has outdone himself, gifted as he was by the near-perfect fruit that has already made t