As with all of Xavier Arnaudin’s wines, the first thing you will notice is the beautiful packaging. This bottle is simply gorgeous. Union Sacré is a tiny winery in California. They made less than 500 cases of this wine. Gloriously ripe and rich and luxurious Chardonnay from the warm Santa Maria Valley, fermented with native yeast in 60% new French oak and then bottled with no malolactic fermentation to preserve freshness. Golden apple, pear, and lemon custard aromas and flavors pick up satisfying rich accents of coconut and spice through the mid-palate before some zippy lemon and Granny Smith Apple acids clean up everything on the finish.

Regular Price $36    
Hallsley Price $28.99

Sandro de Bruno is a small, certified organic producer near Verona Italy. The Colli Scaligeri is one of his top wines and a perfect wine for spring/summer enjoyment and Mother’s Day when something just a little bit nicer is called for. This stunning wine opens with aromas of dried fruit, vanilla and zesty candied citrus peel. The mature, medium-bodied palate offers lemon drop candy, ripe grapefruit and toasted almond. The dry finish closes on a hint of spice. 92 Points

Regular Price $25    
Hallsley Price $18.99

People always ask why everyone is so crazy about island wines and about wines from the island of Ischia. The answer is simple: Island wines are special; they’re unique. They’re completely different wines from those on the mainland. They remind people of beautiful places and magical times. Ischia is a small volcanic island located about 2 hours by ferry off the coast of Naples. Cenatimepo is the oldest winery on the island. Records indicate that Pasquale Cenatimepo’s family has been on the island for over 800 years and their cellar has been used for wine production for more than 1100 years. The Gran Tifeo Bianco is 100% Falanghina. Deep straw-yellow. Intense ripe citrus and orchard fruit aromas. Then leaner and more straightforward, displaying high acid lift to the apple and pear flavors. Finishes long and saline. It’s very difficult to get wines from Ischia: Cenatiempo wines are only available in Virigna, DC, San Francisco and around the Island. “Incredibly rich and mineral-driven in the glass, showing young peach, laced with savory herbs, as honeyed floral tones evolve. On the palate, silky textures usher in notes of ripe pear with a mineral twang, as this coasts effortlessly across the senses. The finish is long and buzzing with energy, as zesty acids and spice slowly taper off.” 91 points

Regular Price $16.99  
Hallsley Price $12.99

The storie of this Collio-region winery traces back to Carlo Primosic, who, at the end of the 19th century, supplied the merchants in Vienna with wine carried in large wooden casks. His son, Silvan Primosic, revamped the winery out of the rubble of the Second World War, and the accolades rolled in. This winery bottled the very first bottle of Collio Pinot Grigio ever produced and it sits on display at the winery still. You will not find a better Pinot Grigio.

Regular Price $22    
Hallsley Price $16.99

Montenidoli is simply one of the most famous places in Italy and not just because of the wines. The owner, Elisabetta Fagiuoli, is one of the most loved winemakers in Italy. The property is split into two portions. The lower half was under a sea for millions of years and is covered sea fossils. The upper portion was never underwater and is one of a handful of places in the world where the are Triassic Era soils are planted with vines. These soils are so full of iron that they are a bright orange color. The Rosé from Montenidoli is one of the best, most elegant Rosé wines you will taste. Less than 300 cases come to the US each year. Light orange-pink. Fresh red berries, dried flowers and succulent herbs on the perfumed, tightly focused nose. Juicy and precise on the palate, offering bitter cherry and redcurrant flavors that are given spine by tangy acidity. A mineral nuance gives energy and cut to the persistent finish, which strongly repeats the cherry and floral notes. 90 points

Regular Price $24    
Hallsley Price $18

Le Pianelle is a tiny, cult producer in Italy’s Alto Piemonte on the way to the Alps. This is the Rosé wine for people who love their powerful Cabernets and French Rhone wines. A couple thousand bottles are produced each year. We usually get 180 bottles on the east coast. This Rosé is ethereal and gracious in the glass, with precise aromatics, sculpted fruit and exceptional finesse. Deceptive in its mid-weight structure, this wine is all power, vivid and stunningly beautiful. Aging was done 90% in steel and 10% in neutral oak. 90% Nebbiolo. 93 points

Regular Price $28    
Hallsley Price $21

100% Sangiovese from Italy’s most famous appellation for Sangiovese. Brunello is one of Italy’s most famous wines and this is one of the best. The transparency of fruit to this wine is so pretty with sliced black cherries and orange peel. If you like powerful, complex Italian wines then Brunello should be in your cellar and on your table. Fresh and aromatic. Full body. Tight and polished with ultra-fine tannins and an intense and focused finish. A beauty. 93+ points

Regular Price $100    
Hallsley Price $70

Torre a Cona has a long and distinctive history. Records show the property began in 1066. Though the buildings of the property have been destroyed many times in wars, the tower, which was added in the 12th century, has remained standing. During WWII the property and buildings were used by the British as a hospital and the tower and main building were used to protect some of Italy’s greatest treasures such as statues by Michelangelo and Donatello. From the Washington Post Wine Reviewer:  Here’s a chianti to stock up on. The blend is 90 percent sangiovese, Tuscany’s landmark red grape, and 10 percent colorino, a minor Tuscan grape that has been eclipsed as wineries splash international varieties such as cabernet sauvignon into their blends. This wine is modern, in that it shows depth and extraction that suggest techniques of macerating the grapes on the skins, but, well, never mind — it’s delicious. Sangiovese’s flavors of dried cherries and cocoa powder are here, with an impressive depth and length. Enjoy this with just about anything.

Regular Price $16.99    
Hallsley Price $13.99

Torre a Cona has a long and distinctive history. Records show the property began in 1066. Though the buildings of the property have been destroyed many times in wars, the tower, which was added in the 12th century, has remained standing. During WWII the property and buildings were used by the British as a hospital and the tower and main building were used to protect some of Italy’s greatest treasures such as statues by Michelangelo and Donatello. This wine won Italy’s highest award of Three Glasses from Gambero Rosso. There are only a couple hundred wines each year that win this award out of all of the wines in Italy. Camplexity and elegance at their peaks.

Regular Price $28
Hallsley Price $19.99

Johan Vineyards is a 150 acre Demeter Certified Biodynamic winery that produces some of the best values in Oregon Pinot Noir. Farmlands is their largest production and best value wine. With almost 1500 cases produced each year we are able to offer it year round while most of their wines sell out on release and produced in quantities ranging from 50-300 cases. This one of the best values in Pinot Noir you will find. Vivid red. Fresh red berries, Asian spices and candied rose on the high-pitched, incisive nose. Tangy and light on its feet, offering zesty redcurrant and strawberry flavors plus a touch of white pepper. Closes clean and taut, with subtle sweetness and silky, harmonious tannins. This lithe Pinot is awfully easy to drink right now; it reminds me a lot of a graceful wine from Pernand-Vergelesses. 90 points

Regular Price $25
Hallsley Price $18.99