This is a fantabulous wine, and of Surh Luchtel's three wines, it qualifies as WoW's value pick. It isn't cheap, but does taste a lot more expensive than it is.

Perhaps most impressive is how well this HUGE wine goes with food. Most wines of this size and alcohol level (15%+) overpower whatever you eat with them. Not this one. It's so well balanced, and the flavors are so finely integrated (fruit, oak, acidity, spice), that it's definitely food-friendly!

The cabernet sauvignon is just hedonistic. The color is almost purple, and it's consistent right to the edge of the glass. Dark chocolate and coffee blend beautifully with black cherry and oak in the nose and on the palate. The flavors last long enough to let you forget how much you spent on the bottle. At $40 (gasp!), this is an expensive wine even for WoW's splurge category. But, when you consider that this is a Napa cab made from sensational grapes (that likely cost a pretty penny themselves), the price tag becomes a bit more justified (if not more affordable).

But, none of this fawning over Surh Luchtel wine does any good if you can't find it, right? Well, I did say I'd help with that. Call Surh Luchtel at 1.800.810.WINE to order any of the above wines and have them shipped to you (so long as you live in a land that allows that sort of thing).

Quite a love letter, eh? Like I said, it takes quite a lot for WoW to review wines outside its strict tenets. Surh Luchtel's wines are quite a lot, and this time I'm not talking about price. When its wines are coveted by collectors, and selling on auction for the cost of a condominium, you'll thank us for telling you about them today. I'm serious.

Cheers,
TSW

* - WoW's Nectar of the Gods designation is given only to those rare wines that are so great, price becomes (almost) a non-issue. These are wines you'd step in front a moving bus to remove safely from the street. These are wines you don't forget.

Affordability is one of the key tenets of WoW, so it takes a lot for us to write up a wine over $20. Accessibility is another, so if it can't be found "wherever fine wine is sold," it must be pretty impressive to be found here.

So, for these $23+, hard-to-find wines from Surh Luchtel to make the WoW cut, they must be freakin' amazing!

They are!

Besides, we can help with the "accessible" thing, but more on that later. First, a bit about this winery that may be new to you.

Surh Luchtel is celebrating its 10th anniversary, but the current releases (1999 vintage) are its first commercial offerings. I don't know what they were doing with the great wines they were making before now (including syrah, sangiovese, pinot noir and cabernet sauvignon), but here's to spreading the love!

Mosaique is the name of Surh Luchtel's Bordeaux-blend red that certainly holds its own at its $23 price-point. It has soft, full cherry and berry flavors, along with touches of herb and bell pepper. If you see it on a restaurant wine list (and it's being featured at more and more eateries), treat yourself!

The zinfandel (pictured) will kill you. I'm serious. For $27 it's a steal, however ridiculous that sounds. Chic zinfandels are getting more and more expensive ($40+), and Surh Luchtel's Napa Valley zin makes most of them look silly. It's one of the best zinfandels I've had, and earns WoW's almost-never-given, not-to-be-thrown-around-lightly, Nectar of the Gods designation*.

The zin is smoky and spicy - ah! Tons of raspberry fruit that's followed by mocha - oh! If it sounds like I'm gushing, I am.