Of course, I understand you may not want to open three bottles of wine tonight. However, each of these impressive red wines offers something unexpected, showing full-flavored, expressive, well-balanced character with balanced, beautiful refinement.

Cryseia stands tall as one of the premium, high-quality selections from across Portugal. The wine debuted in 2000, when the celebrated Port wine house Symington partnered with Bruno Prats, the former owner of Château Cos d’Estournel in Bordeaux. The partnership has resulted in the creation of Cryseia and sister wine, Prats & Symington Post Scriptum de Chryseia. Cryseia is a blend of Touriga Nacional and Touriga Franca, two essential varieties in the field blend of grapes used to produce Port. Instead of making the sweet fortified wine, Prats & Symington crafts a dry red wine showing refined elegance, lengthy texture, and layers of complexity.  Layers of black fruit, dusty leather, and dark chocolate mingle harmoniously together, with just the right amount of acidity to complement the tannins’ bold character. This is a Saturday night wine to sip and savor, particularly if pairing with a braised meat or short ribs.

Sister wine to the impressive Brunello di Montalcino, Castello Banfi’s Rosso di Montalcino. Where the winery’s Brunello is bold, hearty, and robust, the Rosso is softer, more supple, and more approachable shortly after release. Banfi Rosso di Montalcino hails from the hillsides of the Banfi Tuscan estate, where Sangiovese fruit thrives in mineral-rich soils. The wine ages for 12 months in French oak casks and barriques, helping round out the flavors while imparting subtle notes of spice, toast, licorice, and vanilla. These characteristics meld with the fruit’s natural black cherry, blackberry, and wildflowers, rounding out the palate to create a flavor ideal for pairing with roasted quail, Cornish game hens, or even your Thanksgiving turkey.

This year, Rioja celebrates its 100th anniversary as Spain’s first Designation of Origin region. In celebration of the region’s history, Bodega Lanzaga showcases the immense character of Rioja’s well-crafted wines, some using the traditional Tempranillo base, while others blend varieties native to the region. Winemaker Telmo Rodríguez has spent decades restoring historic vineyards around the towns of Lanciego and Labastida, dedicated to expressing the essence of the region’s terroir through each of his wines. The flagship, Lanzaga, brings together a field blend of Tempranillo, Graciano, and Garnacha that ages for 14 months in a mix of French and Austrian barriques and foudres, which are most commonly used for wine aging in parts of France and Germany. The organic wine shows rich, inviting character, proving the quality of well-made Rioja. Crushed stone minerality melds with layers of black fruit on the palate, and silky yet bold tannins call for a hearty food pairing. This is the ideal wine to drink on a cold winter’s day with a warm bowl of stew.