If you like this red…try this
As 2026 begins, are you ready to look beyond your favorite reds? Allow us to help. In this article, we highlight some of our most-loved wines and offer red wine recommendation alternatives that we’re confident will capture your taste buds.
Think of it as a fun and exciting New Year’s invitation to expand your palate while still enjoying the wines you love. We’ve done all the legwork, so all you have to do is open a bottle! We hope you enjoy our wine swaps. Cheers!
Right Bank Bordeaux
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For Bordeaux fans (and, understandably, many of you fall into this category), the Right Bank has a unique allure. Distinct clay and limestone soils nourish vineyards planted heavily to Merlot, a grape that thrives in these soils. The result is deep, textured, expressive reds that are both powerful and elegant, complex yet approachable.
A much-admired house is Pavie in Saint-Émilion, and its Merlot-led 2010 is one you enjoy for its aromas of candied violet and tapenade layered over ripe dark fruit with herbal hints. A full, velvety body and classically smooth tannins are lifted by vibrant freshness and a long, rich finish.
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Red wines from Italy’s northeastern Friuli Venezia Giulia has made a name for itself internationally thanks to the region’s Alpine breezes, Adriatic Sea influence, and mineral-rich alluvial soils. This unique terroir produces silky, fresh, structured, modern wines characterized by ripe plum, black cherry, blackberry, cocoa hints, tobacco, and herb.
Admired for its single-vineyard wines, rich soils, and low, high-quality yields, the Miani winery has produced a distinct Merlot with plush, ripe dark fruit like plum, with raspberry jam and pomegranate notes. A powerful, elegant mouth with silky tannins feature in a wine with impressive depth and terroir expression.
Why it works
While these reds hail from different soils and climates, features that are evident in varying flavors, they share a grape in Merlot, which expresses smooth, opulent bold dark fruit in complex yet seamless profiles.
Left Bank Bordeaux
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For Bordeaux aficionados, the Left Bank stands for classic structure and longevity. The region’s deep gravel soils are ideal for Cabernet Sauvignon, producing wines characterized by cassis, graphite, cedar notes, and firm tannic backbones.
This quintessential Bordeaux blend from the iconic Palmer estate is led by Cabernet Sauvignon, featuring concentrated black berry fruit with sweet tobacco tones in a full-bodied, tightly wound mouth with polished tannins. Impressive power is balanced by lively acidity
...try this
An ocean away from the Left Bank is Chile’s Maipo Valley, another wine region boasting benchmark Cabernet Sauvignon. Surrounded by the Andes Mountains and gently cooled by sea breezes, its reds display clarity, varietal expression with black fruit and a delicate herbal infusion, and freshness in a taut, finessed structure with mineral hints.
Aged in majority-new French oak for 22 months, the 2016 Viñedo Chadwick by Errázuriz is an elegantly built yet lush Maipo Valley Cabernet blend with a dash of Petit Verdot, showcasing dark and red berry fruit, cassis, and delicate herbal hints framed with satiny tannins, lively acidity, and closing in a long, refined, smoky finish.
Why it works
Both areas have distinct, masterfully-crafted Cabernet blends in common, but unique terroirs shape the expression of this varietal into unique Old and New World, yet equally top-tier styles.
Côte d’Or Burgundy
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Admired for finesse and intricate terroir expression, the Côte d’Or in Burgundy is the home to gold standard Pinot Noir. The region’s limestone and marl soils are ideal for this haunting grape variety, with age-old winemaking traditions producing complex, resonant reds marked by bright red cherry, raspberry, floral hints, mineral tones, fresh acidity, and fine tannins.
Domaine Clos de Tart, located in Morey-Saint-Denis, produces only two wines, including this monopole red from one of Burgundy’s most celebrated Grand Cru vineyards: Clos de Tart. Crafted from 60-plus-year-old vines with 55% whole clusters for concentration and depth, this wine showcases plum, cassis, sappy black raspberry, herbal tea, floral hints, and subtle oak. A dense, refined mouth and fine-grained tannins close in a well-structured, lingering finish.
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An alternative fine wine suggestion hails from the German region of Franken, famed for Silvaner bottled in trademark Bocksbeutels. The same limestone-rich soils that shape its whites also turn out refined, fresh Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir) with delicate red fruit, subtle spice, and signature earthy undertones, framed by feathery tannins. If you love Burgundy Pinot Noir, this German wine country is worth checking out.
Renowned for world-class wines, Franken Weingut Rudolf Fürst offers this classic 2023 Spätburgunder from the Grosses Gewächs (GG) vineyard, Hundsrück. In the German wine classification system, GG status equates to Grand Cru, quality you can taste in an ethereal yet powerfully earthy, silky, dense palate of fresh blackberry,cassis, wild strawberry, delicate pepper, and toasty notes with pleasing grip, tension, and slight astringency.
Why it works
Pinot Noir, the grape that many a winemaker across Old and New World regions has fallen in love with, is the common denominator in this wine swap. The similarly cool climates of each, result in elegant, precise, and complex, Pinot Noir but with varied expressions that reflect unique terroirs.
Bolgheri, Super Tuscan
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Super Tuscan wines are some of your favorites, appearing every year in our top ten sellers list. With its temperate coastal climate and gravel, alluvial soils, Bolgheri produces plush yet structured Merlot featuring ripe plum, black cherry, Mediterranean herb, cocoa hints, and polished tannins in wines with modern profiles.
Pioneering Bolgheri winery, La Macchiole is known for its pure, terroir-driven Super Tuscan wines showcasing single-varietal Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Syrah. This soulful, cult Merlot features delicate berry, cappuccino, and black olive in a full, layered palate with refined tannins all closing in a long finish.
...try this.
McLaren Vale in Australia is a source of bold yet elegant reds, made from varietals that thrive in a warm climate and diverse soils. This South Australia wine region has a worldwide name for producing plush, well-structured, and complex wine with McLaren Vale Syrahs especially admired.
Astralis Winery in McLaren Vale is renowned for its powerful, elegant Syrahs that unite the richness of old-vine Australian fruit with the finesse of Rhône winemaking traditions. Its Clarendon Hills Shiraz boasts a core of ripe dark fruit, chocolate, and seamless oak in a silky, finessed mouth with intense, pure flavors.
Why it works
Both regions were and continue to be trailblazers, unafraid to experiment varietals and wine making methods in the quest for big, bold yet refined red wines. Merlot leads in Bolgheri while Shiraz is the king in McLaren Vale, offering a choice of powerful, sun-soaked expressions of classic grapes.
So why not kick off 2026 by exploring an array of the best red wines while still enjoying your go-tos? With this in mind, we wish you many wonderful wine tastings in 2026!
Love whites? Don’t forget to check out our suggested white wine alternatives for New Year exploration available on January 15th!
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