I like good Shiraz, and I love great Shiraz that doesn\u2019t cost $45.00 a bottle, which means that Mary-Lou Nash\u2019s 2008 Black Pearl Shiraz gets my vote this month as a Top Pick.\u00a0 This wine really blew me away, but don\u2019t just take my word for it.\u00a0 John Platter (South Africa\u2019s rendition of wine critic Robert Parker, Jr.) rated the 2008 Black Pearl Shiraz four stars, and for good reason.\u00a0 Mary-Lou Nash knows how to make fine, natural wines with plenty of sensual appeal.\u00a0 Moreover, I can recall tasting quite a few perfectly good Shiraz\/Syrah wines that cost twice the price from Australia and California that can\u2019t hold a cork to Black Pearl.\u00a0 Hence, Black Pearl is hands down one of my Top Picks.<\/p>\n
Frankly, my other Top Pick is a much tougher choice, and I might as well pick it blindfolded because each of the other three features this month has merit and appeals to me.\u00a0 With that said, Domaine des Quatres Routes\u2019 2010 Muscadet is an ideal summer wine, and by June I\u2019m ready for summer and seafood.\u00a0 Having grown up on an island fishing and clamming, authentic Muscadet appeals to me for its simplicity and affinity to clams, oysters, scallops and just about anything else that crawls or swims in the sea.\u00a0 Never complex but always refreshing, good Muscadet like the 2010 Domaine des Quatres Routes reminds me of long summer days at the beach followed by plenty of clams and steamers on the half shell.\u00a0 However, in an ideal world one begins such an evening with Domaine des Quatres Routes\u2019s 2010 Muscadet and has a bottle of the 2008 Fioravante Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon open to accompany whatever\u00a0 you have cooking on the grill for a main course.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n A Votre Sant\u00e9!<\/p>\n Don<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I like good Shiraz, and I love great Shiraz that doesn\u2019t cost $45.00 a bottle, which means that Mary-Lou Nash\u2019s 2008 Black Pearl Shiraz gets my vote this month as a Top Pick.\u00a0 This wine really blew me away, but don\u2019t just take my word for it.\u00a0 John Platter (South Africa\u2019s rendition of wine critic […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":""},"categories":[5,9],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n