JebDunnuck.com

12/23/2024

Dear Subscribers -

We've just published our Champagne coverage for the year! The report looks at current releases yet also has plenty of older vintages as well as a handful of Coteaux Champenois, or still wines from Champagne.

As Audrey Frick writes in her report, "The upcoming release of prestige cuvées from the 2018, 2019, and 2020 trilogy of vintages offers plenty to look forward to. These three vintages hold a lot of similarities: 2018 shines with its approachable, fruit-forward profile, although it occasionally borders on dilution. In contrast, 2019 stands out for its refined structure and noble character, offering wines that are both immediately appealing and built for longevity. The 2020 vintage strikes a balance between the two, blending approachability with structure. As for 2021, it remains more variable and elusive at this stage, but the top examples are proving to be both consistent and well worth seeking out."

Read the full report 👇

As we approach the final days of the holiday season and the end of the year, I want to extend a heartfelt THANK YOU. Your support means the world to us, and we couldn’t do this without you.
Wishing you joy, health, and all the best in the new year,

Jeb

With this year’s releases from Champagne, we’re starting to see a large number of the multi-vintage wines based around the 2020 and 2021 harvests. 2021 was the last recent vintage, aside from 2024, to experience real mildew pressure. While it’s too early to determine the widespread result, the...

12/12/2024

Dear Subscribers,

We’re excited to share the Top 100 Wines of 2024, a selection of the most notable wines we’ve reviewed at JebDunnuck.com over the past year. This list reflects a balance of quality, value, availability, and a touch of Wow Factor.

Our team carefully reviewed thousands of wines to compile this lineup. While the 2021 vintage from Napa Valley takes a leading role – showcasing a strong year for the West Coast – the list includes standout wines from Washington, Oregon, California, Bordeaux, the Rhône Valley, Piedmont, Tuscany, South America, Spain, and more.

This is not just a ranking of the highest-scoring wines. Instead, it highlights wines and producers that deserve attention. If a specific wine isn’t available, we recommend trying other wines from the same producer. Every producer featured is worth exploring, now or in the future.

Prices are based on estate release figures or average U.S. retail prices. While we’ve prioritized wines currently in the market, some may be harder to find.

As always, creating a Top 100 list is subjective, and many other wines could easily have made the cut. That said, these are the wines that stood out most to us in 2024, and we hope they inspire your next bottle.

Cheers,
The JebDunnuck.com Team

https://jebdunnuck.com/2024/12/top-100-wines-of-2024/

Dear Subscribers, We’re excited to share the Top 100 Wines of 2024, a selection of the most notable wines we’ve reviewed at JebDunnuck.com over the past year. This list reflects a balance of quality, value, availability, and a touch of Wow Factor. Our team carefully reviewed thousands of wines t...

12/05/2024

Dear Subscribers -

We've just published our Part 2 coverage of the 2022s and 2023s from the Southern Rhône! This report focuses on Gigondas and includes over 250 wines and close to 100 producers. We'll have additional coverage on Vacqueyras, Cairanne, Rasteau, and other appellations early in 2025.

"Gigondas spans roughly 3,000 acres nestled in the southern Rhône Valley, northeast of Châteauneuf-du-Pape and Vacqueyras and southwest of the village of Vaison-la-Romaine. The appellation’s vineyards wrap around the limestone cliffs of the Dentelles de Montmirail, the defining feature of its unique terroir. While the region features some clay and sandy soils, particularly on its lower plane, it is unmistakably limestone territory, and this is what sets Gigondas apart from the majority of the other southern Rhône appellations. Vineyards here are planted across varied elevations, with terraces reaching up to 500 meters. These higher-altitude sites, harvested two to three weeks later than those at lower elevations closer to 100 meters, yield fresher, more mineral-driven wines. In contrast..."

Gigondas spans roughly 3,000 acres nestled in the southern Rhône Valley, northeast of Châteauneuf-du-Pape and Vacqueyras and southwest of the village of Vaison-la-Romaine. The appellation’s vineyards wrap around the limestone cliffs of the Dentelles de Montmirail, the defining feature of its uni...

11/14/2024

Dear Friends,

I’m excited to introduce two exceptional talents joining the team at JebDunnuck.com: Antoine Pétrus and Birte Jantzen. Having known Antoine and Birte for over a decade, I can attest not only to their expertise and deep passion for wine but also to their unwavering integrity—qualities that make them invaluable additions to our team. Antoine will be bringing his insights to our coverage of Corsica, while Birte will focus on the Languedoc and Roussillon regions, with their first reports expected in early 2025.
You can find the full press release with additional insight into both Birte and Antoine below.

As always, thanks for reading,

Jeb Dunnuck
https://jebdunnuck.com/2024/11/welcoming-antoine-petrus-birte-jantzen-to-jebdunnuck-com/

Dear Friends, I’m excited to introduce two exceptional talents joining the team at JebDunnuck.com: Antoine Pétrus and Birte Jantzen. Having known Antoine and Birte for over a decade, I can attest not only to their expertise and deep passion for wine but also to their unwavering integrity—qualit...

10/30/2024

"This report is Part 1 of a multi-part series covering the Southern Rhône’s 2022s, now from bottle, and the 2023s, mostly from barrel. I was able to do comprehensive tastings in Châteauneuf du Pape, Gigondas, Vacqueyras, Cairanne, and Rasteau, as well as numerous estates in the surrounding Côtes du Rhône, Ventoux, Lirac, and Costières de Nîmes regions. We will be publishing these reports later this year and early in 2025." - Jeb Dunnuck

This report is Part 1 of a multi-part series covering the Southern Rhône’s 2022s, now from bottle, and the 2023s, mostly from barrel. I was able to do comprehensive tastings in Châteauneuf du Pape, Gigondas, Vacqueyras, Cairanne, and Rasteau, as well as numerous estates in the surrounding Côtes...

10/14/2024

Living the dream… 2022s and 2023s. One week down.

10/12/2024

Great article on Virginie Boone at Sean’s Northwest Wine Report!

Late last month, JebDunnuck.com announced that Virginie Boone has joined the team as senior editor. Boone will be the site’s new reviewer for Washington and will also cover a number of other regions for the publication. Boone is a wine industry veteran. She graduated from the University

09/24/2024

Dear Friends,

I'm thrilled to announce that Virginie Boone will be joining our team at JebDunnuck.com!

Virginie is a UC Berkeley political science graduate with a master's degree in journalism from Stanford University. She began her career at Lonely Planet, an experience that helped shape her unique perspective on wine criticism. She later went on to spend several years at the Santa Rosa Press Democrat, writing features and news stories about wine, food, and travel for the daily newspaper, formerly owned by the New York Times Co., and its quarterly food and wine magazine, Savor. Her work at the Press Democrat opened the door to a contributing editor and reviewer role at Wine Enthusiast, where Boone spent over a decade as the wine critic for Napa and Sonoma, responsible for over 30,000 reviews during her tenure. Additionally, Boone has written about wine, spirits, and travel for Wine Spectator, Food & Wine, Somm Journal, Tasting Panel, GuildSomm, and others.

Virginie will be in charge of Argentina and key regions in Spain and will bring additional coverage in California with designated reports on the Santa Cruz Mountains, Santa Lucia Highlands, Sierra Foothills, and Mendocino. Additionally, I will be turning over the reins for Washington state to Virginie. I continue to believe in and love Washington state wines, and I am happy to see the region pass to someone as talented as Virginie.

Audrey will continue covering Italy in addition to Sonoma, Oregon, and Champagne. Outside of Washington, my areas of coverage will remain the same.

You can find the full press release at the link below.

As always, thanks for reading,

Jeb

https://jebdunnuck.com/2024/09/please-welcome-virginie-boone-to-jebdunnuck-com/

Dear Friends, I’m thrilled to announce that Virginie Boone will be joining our team at JebDunnuck.com! Virginie is a UC Berkeley political science graduate with a master’s degree in journalism from Stanford University. She began her career at Lonely Planet, an experience that helped shape her un...

09/22/2024

Jeb Dunnuck’s recent tasting trip getting highlighted in La Provence - Vaucluse.

Depuis 2013, c'est lui qui donne le tempo des millésimes de la fameuse appellation en Amérique 👉 https://l.laprovence.com/yN9T

09/02/2024

A beautiful tribute to two Paso Robles Pioneers by R.H. Drexel

There will never be another JoAnn Cherry, and there will never be another John Munch. Both artists and ardent lovers of nature, they were strong-minded originals who squeezed every bit they could out of this life. May their dynamic, full lives be an example to the rest of us.   JoAnn Cherry (1966-2...

08/29/2024

Need a shopping list for Napa? Try some of these! (Free to read)

The below list is pulled from our 2021 Napa Valley coverage and features the top Bordeaux blends at $125 or less. While we’ve limited the selection to Cabernet Sauvignon-dominated releases in the past, we’ve opened it up this year, and the list includes Cabernet Sauvignon as well as Merlot, Cabe...

08/28/2024

Another one of those eclectic mixes of wines, ranging from mature First Growth Bordeaux to newly released Vintage Port! I should have broken these into individual articles, but here we are... Ridge, Avennia, Cheval des Andes, Matt Morris Wines, and a look back as some older Fess Parker releases. Happy hunting! Jeb

This latest Up From The Cellar is another hodgepodge of wines spanning from mature Bordeaux to newly released Vintage Port. New Ridge Releases This article includes a number of newly released 2022s from Ridge as well as some 2021s. In addition, it contains a review of the controversial 2020 Monte Be...

08/15/2024

Dear Subscribers -

We've just published our latest regional report focusing on California's Central Coast! While the focus is on Santa Barbara County and Paso Robles, it also includes wines from the Santa Lucia Highlands and San Luis Obispo County.

"Moving to the 2022s, this is a more challenging vintage compared to 2021, yet as this report shows, it’s a vintage filled with impressive wines. The result of a dry growing season that saw a dramatic heat wave the first week of September, followed by rain in the second half of September, the 2022s are ripe and fruit-loaded, yet not excessive, nor are they overtly structured or tannic. The best wines bring loads of fruit and texture, with accessible, elegant profiles." - Jeb Dunnuck

The report includes over 175 producers and close to 1,200 reviews.

https://jebdunnuck.com/2024/08/usa-california-central-coasts-2022s/

As always, we couldn't do this without you, so thanks for reading... and happy hunting!
Jeb

This report covers California’s Central Coast, including Santa Barbara County and Paso Robles, as well as wines from the Santa Lucia Highlands and San Luis Obispo County. While the focus is on the 2022s, the report includes numerous 2021s as well as a handful of 2023s from barrel. Readers can... R...

08/07/2024

Dear Subscribers -

We've just published our latest regional report on Oregon. The report focuses on current releases from the Willamette Valley, but it includes wines from throughout the state.

"The high-level view of 2022 is that, while it was a stressful growing season that began with an unusually cold and late start in the spring, with significant April frost, it was a vintage that produced very good to great wines. The majority of the wines I reviewed for this report displayed wonderful aromatic profiles, with structures offering lots of elegance and leaning toward having immediate appeal out of the gate." - Audrey Frick

The report includes over 100 producers and a whopping 920+ wines, easily our largest report on this region!

This report takes an in-depth look at the current releases from the Willamette Valley but also includes wines from across Oregon. While the focus is on the 2022 vintage, many new releases from 2021 are included, since numerous producers held back their wines an additional year before release. The hi...

08/05/2024

What's everyone drinking while watching the Olympics?! Here are some of Audrey Frick's top picks for you! (free to read)

While the Olympics are well underway, I, for one, am all too eager to get together with family and friends and share some bottles while watching the final week of the 2024 Paris Olympics. This year’s games have brought about a renewed energy and excitement for what these athletes bring to the tabl...

07/15/2024

It was great sitting down with MJ. Here are 1.5 hours of musings on life, wine, and who knows what else.

Listen to From Rocket Science to Wine Reviews. Jeb Dunnuck on Going from Aerospace Engineer to Expert Wine Critic from The Black Wine Guy Experience. Welcome back to another exciting episode of "Beats Vines & Life"! Today, we have the pleasure of diving deep into the fascinating journey of Jeb D...