Edna Valley Vineyard Chardonnay 2016
A veritable fruit salad, Edna Valley Vineyard’s 2016 Chardonnay is loaded with apricots, Bosc pear, yellow peaches, banana chips, vanilla, and toast. Full-bodied and fleshy, orchard fruit and tropical fruit commingle on the palate, as spiced pear, yellow apple, and papaya vie for center stage. Nice acid lift at the mid-palate lends brightness to this […]
LXV Secret Craving 2016
LXV’s 2016 Secret Craving is nimble and nuanced, and a departure from the 2015 in that the blend is Cabernet Franc dominant—at 59%, with Cabernet Sauvignon and a splash of Petit Verdot playing supportive roles. Dried violets, sweet tobacco, balsam wood, and bay laurel are embroidered against a backdrop of Rainier cherry, red currants, and […]
Pan-Seared Ribeye featuring LXV’s Jaipur Nights Spice Blend
I’ve recently partnered with LXV to develop a series of recipes for the winery’s club members. The dishes feature spice blends that the team creates in-house. A bit of back story—LXV is the first winery in the United States owned by an Indian woman. Everything about her tasting lounge is a nod to her homeland, […]
Domaine Bousquet Orgánic Grape Rosé 2018
A blend 50% Malbec and 50% Cabernet crafted from organically farmed grapes in Mendoza’s Uco Valley. The winery is owned by the Bousquet family, fourth-generation winemakers from France’s city of Carcassone—the wines are always well crafted, as is the case with their 2018 rosé, grown at an elevation of 4,000 feet, it’s bright and fresh […]
Mionetto Il Prosecco N.V.
The color of sun-bleached straw, Mointetto’s charming non-vintage Il Prosecco is delicately embroidered with notes of granulated honey, dewy orchard pear, spring flowers, and chamomile. Expect a soft, unobtrusive mousse held aloft by a bright acid vein that courses through this crisp and inexpensive Italian bubbly. 6% g/l RS, 11.0% ABV | Sample Mionetto 88 […]
Quail in a Rose Petal Sauce featuring LXV Wine’s Jaipur Nights Spice Blend
I’ve recently partnered with LXV to develop a series of recipes for the winery’s club members. The dishes feature spice blends that the team creates in-house. A bit of back story—LXV is the first winery in the United States owned by an Indian woman. Everything about her tasting lounge is a nod to her homeland, from the […]
Château Le Doyenné Côtes de Bordeaux 2016
Delicious for its price point, the 2016 Château Le Doyenné is composed of 85% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 5% Cabernet Franc. As it evolves in the glass lifted aromas of menthol, incense, and violets swirl around darker notes of blackberry and dusky plums. It’s medium-bodied with grippy tannins at the mid-palate, and a limber […]
Trimbach Pinot Gris Alsace Réserve Personnelle 2014
The Pinot Gris for Trimbach’s Pinot Gris Alsace Réserve Personnelle is sourced from Grand Cru parcels of Osterberg situated around Ribeauville, where calcareous marl sandstone soils are studded with and bio-degraded seashell fossils called “Muschelkalk.” Fresh and mineral, the 2014 vintage is bursting with layered aromas of d’Anjou pear, and star fruit, papaya, and lemon […]
Sybille Kuntz Riesling Spätlese Trocken 2016
Highly recommended, the 2016 Sybille Kuntz Riesling Spätlese Trocken slowly unfurls as it opens in the glass, revealing layered aromas Bosc pear, kerosene, stargazer lily, lemongrass, and a buoyant top note of chamomile tea. On the palate, citrus notes converge against a nervy acid spine. It reads as nearly dry, with leesy mid-tones adding texture […]
Jean-Luc Colombo Cape Bleue Rosé 2017
Coursing minerality takes a back seat to fruit in this Provençal pink composed of 67% Syrah and 33% Mourvèdre—wet slate, ancient marine soils, limestone, chalk, and oceanic salinity surge through the nose and salmon-hued core. What fruit there is, lilts amongst the tides, wild strawberries, melon, and a touch of white peach. It’s all too […]