92 Points:
2021 Pinot Noir

92 Points for 2021 Miro Russian River Valley Pinot Noir
Wine Enthusiast Magazine logo
2021 Miro Cellars Russian River Valley Pinot Noir

Wine Enthusiast June/July 2023 Buying Guide

All tastings reported in the Wine Enthusiast Buying Guide are performed blind. Typically, wines are tasted in peer-group flights of from 5–8 samples. Reviewers may know general information about a flight to provide context—vintage, variety or appellation—but never the producer or retail price of any given selection. When possible, products considered flawed or uncustomary are re-tasted.

About the Scores
Ratings reflect what Wine Enthusiast editors felt about a particular product. Beyond the rating, they encourage you to read the accompanying tasting note to learn about a wine’s special characteristics.

When the June/July Buying Guide is published, we will share the Wine Enthusiast’s tasting notes here

92 Points:
2021 Pinot Noir

92 Points for 2021 Miro Russian River Valley Pinot Noir Wine Enthusiast June/July 2023 Buying Guide All tastings reported in the Wine Enthusiast Buying Guide are performed blind. Typically, wines are tasted in peer-group flights of from 5–8 samples. Reviewers may know...

read more

2020 Zinfandel:
Double GOLD, 96 Points

2023 North Coast Wine Challenge:DOUBLE GOLD, 96 Points for 2020 Alexander Valley Zinfandel"Purity of fruit, zesty, gutsy, feisty but polite." Here are the judges who took part in the Press Democrat North Coast Wine Challenge: Daryl Groom: Chief judge and...

read more

2021 Cuvée Sasha: 100 Points

2021 Cuvée Sasha: 100 Points2021 Chevalier Cuvée Sasha Mendocino County Best of ClassGold Medal100 Points 2023 Los Angeles International Wine Competition

read more

2019 Cuvée Sasha:
BEST OF SHOW
2021 Sunset International

Best Red and Best of Show to 2019 Miro Cellars Cuvée Sasha Grenache/Syrah in the 2021 Sunset International Wine Competition Awards Santa Rosa, Calif., — June 21, 2021—With a record number of entries, the 2021 Sunset International Wine Competition awarded Best Red and...

read more

2020 Zinfandel:
Double GOLD, 96 Points

2023 North Coast Wine Challenge:
DOUBLE GOLD, 96 Points for 2020 Alexander Valley Zinfandel

The little logo for the Press Democrat North Coast Wine Challenge
Miro Cellars 2019 DCV Zinfandel

“Purity of fruit, zesty, gutsy, feisty but polite.”

Here are the judges who took part in the Press Democrat North Coast Wine Challenge:

  • Daryl Groom: Chief judge and owner/winemaker, Groom Wines, Healdsburg
  • Chelsea Barrett: Winemaker, Matterra Cunat Family Vineyards in Napa. She launched Aviatrix of Napa with her mom, winemaker Heidi Barrett, and sister Remi Barrett, Calistoga.
  • Heidi Barrett: Winemaker for Barrett & Barrett Wines, Calistoga
  • Tim Bell: Winemaker, Dry Creek Vineyards, Healdsburg
  • Dan Berger: Master sommelier and wine journalist, Santa Rosa
  • Scot Covington: Winemaker for Trione Vineyards and Winery, Geyserville
  • Traci Dutton: Sommelier, wine and beverage judge and manager of the Public Wine and Beverage Studies at the Culinary Institute of America, Napa County
  • Ziggy Eschliman: Radio and TV personality and wine blogger, Sonoma County
  • Nick Goldschmidt: Winemaker and consultant, Goldschmidt Vineyards, Healdsburg
  • Bill Hayes: Wine category manager, BevMo!, U.S. West Coast
  • Barry Herbst: Wine director, Bottle Barn Liquors, Santa Rosa
  • Kady Kahale: Head of wine buying, Naked Wines US; wine consultant and winemaker, Napa
  • Jesse Katz: Winemaker, Aperture and Devil Proof Vineyards, Healdsburg
  • Ellen Landis: Certified sommelier, certified wine specialist and wine educator, Windsor
  • Jon McCarthy: Certified sommelier, wine and beverage director for The Matheson, Healdsburg
  • Peg Melnik: Wine critic, The Press Democrat, Santa Rosa
  • Chris Munsell: Director of winemaking, E&J Gallo Winery, Sonoma County
  • Linda Murphy: Contributing writer, Sonoma Magazine and The Press Democrat, Healdsburg
  • Laura Ness: Wine journalist, columnist and judge, Bay Area
  • Erik Olsen: COO, Fetzer Vineyards, Hopland
  • Alexandria Sarovich: Sommelier at the three-Michelin-star Single Thread Farm, Restaurant & Inn, Healdsburg
  • Christopher Sawyer: Wine writer and “Sommelier to the Stars,” Sonoma
  • Mick Schroeter: Director of winemaking, Sonoma-Cutrer Vineyards, Windsor
  • Elizabeth “Liz” Thach: Master of wine, professor of wine, professor of management, author
  • Greg Urimi: Production manager, Paul Hobbs Wines, Sebastopol
  • Larry Van Aalst: Radio host of “The Sonoma Wine Report,” CRN Digital Talk Radio, Santa Rosa
  • Wilfred Wong: Chief storyteller, wine.com, San Francisco
  • Debbie Zachareas: Wine expert and lecturer, Napa County

In stock

92 Points:
2021 Pinot Noir

92 Points for 2021 Miro Russian River Valley Pinot Noir Wine Enthusiast June/July 2023 Buying Guide All tastings reported in the Wine Enthusiast Buying Guide are performed blind. Typically, wines are tasted in peer-group flights of from 5–8 samples. Reviewers may know...

read more

2020 Zinfandel:
Double GOLD, 96 Points

2023 North Coast Wine Challenge:DOUBLE GOLD, 96 Points for 2020 Alexander Valley Zinfandel"Purity of fruit, zesty, gutsy, feisty but polite." Here are the judges who took part in the Press Democrat North Coast Wine Challenge: Daryl Groom: Chief judge and...

read more

2021 Cuvée Sasha: 100 Points

2021 Cuvée Sasha: 100 Points2021 Chevalier Cuvée Sasha Mendocino County Best of ClassGold Medal100 Points 2023 Los Angeles International Wine Competition

read more

2021 Cuvée Sasha: 100 Points

2021 Cuvée Sasha: 100 Points

Gold Medal Best of Class LA Fairplex

2021 Chevalier Cuvée Sasha Mendocino County

Best of Class
Gold Medal
100 Points

2023 Los Angeles International Wine Competition

2019 Miro Zin Wins
PLATINUM Medal
in the 2021 Critics Challenge Intl. Wine Competition

2019 Miro Zin Wins PLATINUM Medal in the 2021 Critics Challenge Intl. Wine Competition

2021 Critics Choice Platinum

The 2021 Critics Challenge International Wine & Spirits Competition received over 1000 wine entries that were evaluated by the judges in a blind tasting in San Diego, CA.

A total of 74 wines were designated platinum.

Miro Cellars 2019 DCV Zinfandel

Out of stock

2019 Zinfandel Dry Creek Valley: Platinum; 94 points
“Spicy briary black cherry and red plum, olive skin. Really nice. Focused, great melding of oak and fruit. Dusty and fine-tannined, warm, generous, firm but warm tannin.” —Patrick Comiskey

Judges

Michael Franz Michael Franz, Chief Wine Judge
Michael Franz is Editor of the acclaimed online publication WineReviewOnline.com (1.4 million visitors/year). Michael has been covering the wine scene for more than 20 years, including a long stint as wine columnist at The Washington Post. Michael organizes the annual Wine for Oysters wine competition in Washington, D.C., and is a frequent judge at major wine competitions internationally.

Michael Cervin, Chief Spirits Judge
Michael Cervin is author of 11 books on wine, spirits, and other topics.  As a critic and journalist, his wine and spirits articles have appeared in Robb Report, Forbes, Wine & Spirits,  Vivino, The Hollywood Reporter, Fine Wine & Liquor (China), Decanter (London), Wine Enthusiast, Liquors Magazine (Netherlands), SOMM Journal, Draft, The Tasting Panel, and many other publications.

Michael Apstein is a James Beard Award-winning journalist, and columnist and wine reviewer for WineReviewOnline.com. As a freelance writer, he wrote over 300 wine columns for The Boston Globe newspaper. His writing has also appeared in a variety of U.S., Canadian, and U.K. publications, including Decanter, Decanter Premium, Quench Magazine, The San Francisco Chronicle, Boston Magazine, Wine and Spirits, The Wine News, and The Tasting Panel Magazine. He is a recipient of Les Grands Jours de Bourgogne Press Trophy and is a past nominee for the prestigious Cordon Bleu World Food Media Awards. Dr. Apstein judges frequently at international and national wine competitions.
Wayne Belding, MS, has written about wine for over 30 years for local and national publications.  In 1990, he became the 13th American to pass the Master Sommelier Diploma examination, passing all three parts of the exam on his first attempt.  Wayne is a frequent wine reviewer, competition judge and speaker at wine events.  He is a partner at Wine Ring, the leading AI-driven personalization software for the wine and spirits industry – changing the way people discover, evaluate, buy and share wine. He is also the author of “Diving Into Wine,” a guide for wine consumers.

Patrick Comiskey holds the position of Senior Editor for Wine & Spirits Magazine and is a former columnist with WineReviewOnline.com.  He contributes regularly to the Los Angeles Times as chief wine columnist for the Food Section, and has been published in various periodicals including the San Francisco Chronicle, Food & Wine and Bon Appétit.  He is the author of “American Rhone: How Maverick Winemakers Changed the Way Americans Drink Wine” (2016).

Michael Dunne is a freelance wine and travel writer who divides his time between Sacramento, California and San Jose del Cabo in Baja California Sur, Mexico.  For 30 years he was a staff writer with The Sacramento Bee, retiring as food editor, restaurant critic and wine columnist.  In addition to continuing to provide articles for various publications and platforms, he is a frequent judge on the wine-competition circuit.  During downtime during the Covid-19 pandemic he used his isolation to write a book with the working title “The Signature Wines of Superior California: 50 Wines That Define the Sierra Foothills, the Delta, Yolo and Lodi.”  He anticipates publishing within the year.

Allison Levine is owner of Please The Palate, a marketing and event planning agency for the wine and spirits industry. She holds a Master’s degree in International Communications, as well as wine-and-spirits certifications from Wine & Spirits Education Trust, North American Sommelier Association (Italian wine specialist), and BarSmarts Wired. She contributes regularly to the Napa Valley Register, Alcohol Professor, Monarch.wine, California Winery Advisor, and Beverage Industry News. Allison hosts the podcast WineSoundtrack USA, reviews wines in one-minute videos for the Wine Weirdos and hosts a weekly wine chat on Crush On This.

Rebecca Murphy was the first female wine steward in Texas and went on to found and produce The Dallas Morning News and TexSom wine competitions.  As a wine writer, she has contributed a weekly feature to The Dallas Morning News for many years, is a regular contributor to WineReviewOnline.com, and has written for Wine Business Monthly and Wines & Vines.  Rebecca also furnished entries for The Oxford Companion to Wine and the sixth edition.

Laura Ness’s wine obsession started with a visit to France shortly after college and eventually led her from high-tech communications in Silicon Valley to the wine industry.  She is the wine columnist and regular contributor to Edible: Monterey, Wine Industry Advisor, Spirited and Los Gatos magazines, as well as the San Jose Mercury News and The Livermore Independent.  She judges wine competitions throughout California and has a corkscrew in every purse.

Mike Stepanovich has been writing about wine since 1985. His work has appeared in national and international publications such as the International Wine Review, Wine News, and Wine Business Monthly.  His wine column, “Life is a Cabernet,” ran for 34 years.  Currently living in Las Vegas, Mike is active on the judging circuit at such venues as the American Wine Competition, San Diego International Wine Competition, Florida International Wine Competition, Pacific Rim International Wine Competition, San Francisco International Wine Competition, Los Angeles International Wine Competition, Central Coast Wine Competition, and Long Beach Grand Cru.  An avid wine collector, he served as managing director of the Bakersfield Wine Society for more than 20 years and teaches wine history, wine appreciation, and wine-and-food-pairing.

92 Points:
2021 Pinot Noir

92 Points for 2021 Miro Russian River Valley Pinot Noir Wine Enthusiast June/July 2023 Buying Guide All tastings reported in the Wine Enthusiast Buying Guide are performed blind. Typically, wines are tasted in peer-group flights of from 5–8 samples. Reviewers may know...

read more

2020 Zinfandel:
Double GOLD, 96 Points

2023 North Coast Wine Challenge:DOUBLE GOLD, 96 Points for 2020 Alexander Valley Zinfandel"Purity of fruit, zesty, gutsy, feisty but polite." Here are the judges who took part in the Press Democrat North Coast Wine Challenge: Daryl Groom: Chief judge and...

read more

2021 Cuvée Sasha: 100 Points

2021 Cuvée Sasha: 100 Points2021 Chevalier Cuvée Sasha Mendocino County Best of ClassGold Medal100 Points 2023 Los Angeles International Wine Competition

read more

2019 Cuvée Sasha:
BEST OF SHOW
2021 Sunset International

Best Red and Best of Show to 2019 Miro Cellars Cuvée Sasha Grenache/Syrah in the 2021 Sunset International Wine Competition Awards Santa Rosa, Calif., — June 21, 2021—With a record number of entries, the 2021 Sunset International Wine Competition awarded Best Red and...

read more

2019 Cuvée Sasha:
BEST OF SHOW
2021 Sunset International

Best Red and Best of Show to 2019 Miro Cellars Cuvée Sasha Grenache/Syrah in the 2021 Sunset International Wine Competition Awards

Sunset International Wine Competition medal image
2019 Miro Cellars Cuvee Sasha Grenache Syrah Blend

Out of stock

Santa Rosa, Calif., June 21, 2021—With a record number of entries, the 2021 Sunset International Wine Competition awarded Best Red and Best of Show to a standout blend of Grenache (85%) and Syrah (15%) from Mendocino made by winemaker Miro Tcholakov of Miro Cellars and Trentadue Winery. At $26, this accessible wine exemplifies why blends are so popular with wine consumers. It may prove the perfect Sunset backyard getaway wine, pairing well with everything that brings joy.

To win Best Red of Show, the Miro Cellars Grenache-Syrah Cuvée had to best a field of 14 other reds in the Red Sweepstakes round, including a Trentadue Sangiovese, also made by Tcholakov. In the first round of voting, the Cuvée Sasha had stiff competition from the 2018 Domaine Carneros Estate Pinot Noir with 15 votes, followed by the 2017 Garré Cabernet Franc from Livermore and the 2017 Rapp Ranch Cutter’s Reserve Bordeaux style blend from Napa, both of which earned 11 votes. The Miro Cellars Cuvée Sasha prevailed in final voting, with 18 votes, while the Domaine Carneros Pinot Noir received 8.

In the final sweepstakes round for Best Of Show, the Miro Cellars Cuvée Sasha won handily over the Best White, Best Rosé, and Best Dessert contenders in a landslide, with 20 votes out of a possible 26. The Rosé scored 3, the Sauv Blanc 2 and the Late Harvest Gewürztraminer, 1.

Debra Del Fiorentino, President of Wine Competitions Production & Management (WCP&M), who owns and operates the Sunset International Wine Competition, said, “Once again, we are grateful for the support of the local county Health Department in allowing us to safely run this competition for the past two years. We are also very appreciative of all the wineries that entered wine from all over the globe. This year, there were 52 new wineries participating. We noticed an uptick in entries in both the rosé and unoaked Chardonnay categories, as well as in blends of all kinds.  The judges had some very difficult decisions to make when faced with those final 33 entries!”

  • Best of Show and Best of Show Red: 2019 Miro Cellars Cuvée Sasha, (Grenache/Syrah), Chevalier Vineyard, Mendocino, $25, 97pts

92 Points:
2021 Pinot Noir

92 Points for 2021 Miro Russian River Valley Pinot Noir Wine Enthusiast June/July 2023 Buying Guide All tastings reported in the Wine Enthusiast Buying Guide are performed blind. Typically, wines are tasted in peer-group flights of from 5–8 samples. Reviewers may know...

read more

2020 Zinfandel:
Double GOLD, 96 Points

2023 North Coast Wine Challenge:DOUBLE GOLD, 96 Points for 2020 Alexander Valley Zinfandel"Purity of fruit, zesty, gutsy, feisty but polite." Here are the judges who took part in the Press Democrat North Coast Wine Challenge: Daryl Groom: Chief judge and...

read more

2021 Cuvée Sasha: 100 Points

2021 Cuvée Sasha: 100 Points2021 Chevalier Cuvée Sasha Mendocino County Best of ClassGold Medal100 Points 2023 Los Angeles International Wine Competition

read more

2019 Cuvée Sasha:
BEST OF SHOW
2021 Sunset International

Best Red and Best of Show to 2019 Miro Cellars Cuvée Sasha Grenache/Syrah in the 2021 Sunset International Wine Competition Awards Santa Rosa, Calif., — June 21, 2021—With a record number of entries, the 2021 Sunset International Wine Competition awarded Best Red and...

read more

90 Points and GOLD:
2019 Cuvée Sasha

2021 Orange County Wine Competition Awards Gold Medal and 90 Points to Miro’s 2019 Cuvée Sasha

Orange County Wine Society Logo
2019 Miro Cellars Cuvee Sasha Grenache Syrah Blend
The 45th Annual OC Fair Commercial Wine Competition was held June 5th and 6th, 2021. Competition organizers, volunteers, and judges were thrilled to return after the pandemic caused the 2020 competition to be cancelled.

The OC Fair’s competition is the largest and most comprehensive judging of California wines in the world. The competition attempts to judge every grape wine made in California that is commercially available in Orange County. All wines were judged by professional winemakers and/or winery principals.

Out of stock

92 Points:
2021 Pinot Noir

92 Points for 2021 Miro Russian River Valley Pinot Noir Wine Enthusiast June/July 2023 Buying Guide All tastings reported in the Wine Enthusiast Buying Guide are performed blind. Typically, wines are tasted in peer-group flights of from 5–8 samples. Reviewers may know...

read more

2020 Zinfandel:
Double GOLD, 96 Points

2023 North Coast Wine Challenge:DOUBLE GOLD, 96 Points for 2020 Alexander Valley Zinfandel"Purity of fruit, zesty, gutsy, feisty but polite." Here are the judges who took part in the Press Democrat North Coast Wine Challenge: Daryl Groom: Chief judge and...

read more

2021 Cuvée Sasha: 100 Points

2021 Cuvée Sasha: 100 Points2021 Chevalier Cuvée Sasha Mendocino County Best of ClassGold Medal100 Points 2023 Los Angeles International Wine Competition

read more

2019 Cuvée Sasha:
BEST OF SHOW
2021 Sunset International

Best Red and Best of Show to 2019 Miro Cellars Cuvée Sasha Grenache/Syrah in the 2021 Sunset International Wine Competition Awards Santa Rosa, Calif., — June 21, 2021—With a record number of entries, the 2021 Sunset International Wine Competition awarded Best Red and...

read more