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Beckett's Picks

The Bottles Worth
Your Time

No scores. No 100-point scale. Just Beckett's honest take on what to drink, what to cellar, and what to skip. Updated weekly.

The MoveRed Mountain, Washington$32-38

Kiona Estate Red Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon 2021

The oldest winery on Red Mountain, and the Cab that proves eastern Washington has been quietly outworking Napa for thirty years.

The MoveRed Mountain, Washington$18-24

Hedges Family Estate Red Mountain CMS 2021

Biodynamic Bordeaux blend from a château on a dusty hillside in the middle of the Washington desert. Twenty dollars.

The MoveColumbia Valley, Washington$12-15

Barnard Griffin Rosé of Sangiovese 2024

The $13 Washington rosé that keeps winning double gold at competitions nobody expected it to enter. And nobody can explain it.

Worth ItSaint-Estèphe, Bordeaux, France$40-55

Château Phélan Ségur Saint-Estèphe 2020

The Left Bank Bordeaux that drinks like a classified growth and costs like it doesn't. For now.

The MoveCastiglione Falletto, Piedmont, Italy$50-65

Vietti Barolo Castiglione 2020

The entry-level Barolo from one of Piedmont's greatest estates. It will not be entry-level pricing much longer.

The MoveRioja, Spain$20-28

Bodegas Muga Reserva 2020

The $25 Rioja that tastes like it spent three years thinking about what it wanted to be. And figured it out.

The MoveSancerre, Loire Valley, France$22-30

Domaine Henri Bourgeois Sancerre 'Les Baronnes' 2023

The Sauvignon Blanc that makes Napa Chardonnay feel like a lot of noise.

Worth ItDouro Valley, Portugal$18-24

Quinta do Crasto Late Bottled Vintage Port 2019

The after-dinner bottle your cellar is missing. Every cellar needs at least one.

Cellar ItNovello, Piedmont, Italy$65-85

Elvio Cogno Barolo Ravera 2020

The Barolo that punches at the level of estates charging twice as much. And almost nobody outside Piedmont knows it yet.

The MoveLanghe, Piedmont, Italy$18-24

Produttori del Barbaresco Langhe Nebbiolo 2021

The $20 entry point to the greatest grape in Italy.

The MoveAlsace, France$20-28

Trimbach Riesling Réserve 2021

The Riesling that converts skeptics at the dinner table.

The MoveBarossa Valley, South Australia$16-22

Torbreck Woodcutter's Shiraz 2022

Barossa Shiraz that punches so far above its price it should be illegal.

Worth ItRioja, Spain$22-30

Marqués de Murrieta Reserva 2019

Modern Rioja with old-school soul. The kind of bottle that makes you rethink everything you thought about Spain.

Cellar ItSta. Rita Hills, Santa Barbara, California$75-95

Domaine de la Côte Bloom's Field Pinot Noir 2021

The California Pinot that drinks like a great Burgundy and does not apologize for it.

The MoveCôtes de Provence, France$20-25

Whispering Angel Rosé 2024

The rosé that built an empire. Still earns its spot on every patio table.

Worth ItCalifornia$18-23

Meiomi Pinot Noir 2022

The Pinot Noir that sommeliers love to hate and everyone else loves to drink.

Cellar ItNapa Valley, California$175-225

Caymus Special Selection Cabernet Sauvignon 2020

The Napa trophy. The bottle people put in the cellar and talk about at dinner parties.

The MoveMendoza, Argentina$30-40

Catena Zapata Malbec Argentino 2021

High-altitude Malbec from the family that proved Argentina could play at the top.

Cellar ItToscana IGT, Tuscany$100-140

Antinori Tignanello 2021

The wine that broke the rules and built a category. The original Super Tuscan.

Worth ItChampagne, France$55-65

Veuve Clicquot Yellow Label Brut NV

The yellow label everyone recognizes. The Champagne that proves consistency is its own kind of greatness.

The MoveMarlborough, New Zealand$12-16

Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc 2024

The best-selling Sauvignon Blanc in America. The reason is in the glass.

The MoveSonoma County, California$18-24

Duckhorn Decoy Cabernet Sauvignon 2022

The Duckhorn gateway. Real quality at a weeknight price.

Cellar ItPaso Robles, California$65-85

JUSTIN Isosceles 2021

Paso's Bordeaux blend. The wine that proved the Central Coast could go long.

The MoveColumbia Valley, Washington$8-12

Chateau Ste. Michelle Riesling 2023

The ten-dollar Riesling that has no business being this good.

The MoveCôtes du Rhône, France$18-22

E. Guigal Côtes du Rhône Rouge 2022

The gateway drug to Northern Rhône Syrah, and it costs less than lunch.

The MoveCampo de Borja, Aragón, Spain$14-18

Bodegas Borsao Tres Picos Garnacha 2022

Old-vine Garnacha from volcanic soil for the price of a movie ticket.

The MoveCentral Otago, New Zealand$20-25

Mt. Difficulty Roaring Meg Pinot Noir 2023

Central Otago Pinot that drinks like a $40 bottle and argues with Burgundy.

The MoveWillamette Valley, Oregon$16-20

Erath Oregon Pinot Noir 2022

The founding estate of Oregon Pinot, and it still costs less than a decent burger.

Worth ItRías Baixas, Galicia, Spain$30-38

Do Ferreiro Albariño 2023

The benchmark Albariño. Saline, mineral, and the reason you rethink Spanish whites.

Worth ItChâteauneuf-du-Pape, Southern Rhône, France$95-110

Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2022

The undisputed king of Châteauneuf, and the 2022 might be the best in a decade.

Worth ItDundee Hills, Willamette Valley, Oregon$42-50

Domaine Drouhin Oregon Pinot Noir 2021

Where Burgundy meets Oregon. Literally. Four generations of Drouhin winemaking in Dundee Hills soil.

Worth ItSonoma Coast, California$45-55

Ramey Cellars Sonoma Coast Chardonnay 2022

The Chardonnay for people who say they do not like California Chardonnay.

Worth ItValpolicella Classico, Veneto, Italy$85-105

Allegrini Amarone della Valpolicella Classico 2019

Dried grape drama. One of Italy's most powerful wines, made with more finesse than you expect.

The MoveRibera del Duero, Spain$30-38

Tinto Pesquera Crianza 2021

The Pétrus of Spain — Parker's words, not mine — and it is $35.

Worth ItCôte des Blancs, Champagne, France$50-60

Pierre Gimonnet et Fils Blanc de Blancs Cuis 1er Cru Brut NV

The grower Champagne that embarrasses most grande marque NV bottlings at half the price.

Cellar ItPauillac, Bordeaux, France$135-165

Château Lynch-Bages 2020

The poor man's Mouton that scored 99 points and was #3 on Wine Spectator's Top 100.

Cellar ItCôte-Rôtie, Northern Rhône, France$90-110

E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie Brune et Blonde 2020

The next step up the Guigal ladder. And the bridge to understanding why Northern Rhône Syrah is different from everything else.

Cellar ItEden Valley, South Australia$850-1,000

Henschke Hill of Grace Shiraz 2018

Australia's answer to DRC. Single-vineyard pre-phylloxera Shiraz from vines planted in the 1860s.

Cellar ItNapa Valley, California$225-275

Joseph Phelps Insignia 2021

America's first proprietary Bordeaux blend, fifty vintages deep, and the 2021 may be one of the best.

The MovePaso Robles, California$22-28

DAOU Cabernet Sauvignon 2021

The Paso Cab that keeps showing up in every serious cellar I walk into.

Cellar ItRioja, Spain$40-55

López de Heredia Viña Tondonia Reserva 2012

The bottle that made me stop underestimating Rioja.

Cellar ItAlsace, France$55-70

Domaine Weinbach Riesling Grand Cru Schlossberg 2022

The white wine that changed my mind about white wine.

Worth ItBekaa Valley, Lebanon$30-40

Château Musar 2017

The wildest bottle under $40 that nobody in your circle has tried.

The MoveChampagne, France$50-60

Billecart-Salmon Brut Réserve NV

The Champagne sommeliers open for themselves when nobody is watching.

Cellar ItSanta Cruz Mountains, California$180-220

Ridge Monte Bello 2019

The California Cabernet that competes with first-growth Bordeaux and does not care if you believe it.

Cellar ItPriorat, Spain$65-85

Clos Mogador 2020

Schist and Garnacha and a winemaker who treats the vineyard like a church.

The MoveMarlborough, New Zealand$18-24

Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc 2023

The gateway drug. The bottle that turned an entire generation into wine drinkers.

The MoveRhône Valley, France$12-16

E. Guigal Côtes du Rhône Rouge 2021

Twelve dollars. Southern France. No excuses.

Worth ItCentral Otago, New Zealand$45-55

Felton Road Pinot Noir Bannockburn 2022

The southern hemisphere answer to Burgundy. Closer than you think.

The MoveMontalcino, Tuscany$35-45

Biondi-Santi Rosso di Montalcino 2020

The little sibling of the most legendary Brunello on earth. Half the price, most of the magic.

Cellar ItChampagne, France$180-220

Krug Grande Cuvée 171ème Édition

The greatest non-vintage Champagne on earth. Not an opinion. A fact the industry agreed on decades ago.

Worth ItSouth Australia$35-45

Penfolds Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz 2021

They call it Baby Grange for a reason. The most reliable Australian red under $50.

The MoveBandol, Provence, France$30-40

Domaine Tempier Bandol Rosé 2023

The rosé that made me stop making fun of rosé.

Cellar ItMosel, Germany$55-75

Egon Müller Scharzhofberger Riesling Kabinett 2022

The most pure expression of Riesling on the planet. Featherweight. Devastating.

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