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Tendril Wine Cellars Saffron Fields Vineyard Pinot Noir 2013

Tendril Wine Cellars Saffron Fields Vineyard Pinot Noir 2013

Hitting its stride, the 2013 Tendril Saffron Fields Vineyard Pinot Noir from winemaker Tony Rynders offers up an alluring bouquet of Dalmatia Sour Cherry Spread, black raspberry, sous bois, decaying rose petal, Asian spice, and crushed stone. It’s supple and pliant on the palate, a dark fruit core tidily wrapped in buoyant acidity with impressive […]

Clos des Lunes Lune Blanche 2014

Clos des Lunes Lune Blanche 2014

Clos des Lunes, as the name implies, is limpid, yellow moonlight buckled in and braced by moderate oak. Bosc pear, baked apple, fading prairie flowers, and lemon curd permeate the nose. In the mouth, texturally, there is a suggestion of skin contact in addition to light toast—vibrant acidity gives it lift, freshness and a touch […]

Trivento Reserve Malbec 2016

Trivento Reserve Malbec 2015

The 2016 Trivento Reserve Malbec delights sports velvety, plush tannins suspended by a bright acid backbone. The profile brims with plums, mulberry, vanilla, cedar, and on the finish a pleasant herbaceous streak of bay leaf and dried herbs and an intriguing meaty rare lamb tone. Great QPR in this bottle. 12.5% ABV | Sample Trivento […]

Château Léoube Rosé de Léoube 2016

Château Léoube Rosé de Léoube 2016

Oh, the sweet promise of summer, Château Léoube Rosé de Léoube hints at ripe melon and fleshy, fuzzy-skinned peaches from the market, a whisper of minerality and jellied raspberries adds layered complexity. It’s light and lean, with a well-formed mineral backbone that chaperones what fruit there is from start to finish, unfurling in a final […]

Beaux Frères Zena Crown Pinot Noir 2014

Beaux Frères Zena Crown Pinot Noir 2014

Diurnal flux, and cooling marine breezes can be felt in the 2014 Beaux Frères Zena Crown Pinot Noir. The wind-driven terroir of the Eola-Amity Hills AVA has graced it with a degree freshness—vivid red and blue fruit rest beneath a garland of crushed lavender, exotic spice and freshly grated nutmeg. The palate delivers focused acidity, […]

Beaux Frères Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2015

Beaux Frères Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2015

A vivid spectrum of red fruit and spice, Beaux Frères Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2015 is awash in plump Rainier cherries, raspberries, rose hips, Christmas spice, and cola. On entry, it’s silky, sexy—delivering nuance and power, finesse and fine tannins that lend structure—guardrails on something that could quite possibly break free, such is its exuberance. […]

Besserat de Bellefon Champagne Cuvée des Moines Brut NV

Besserat de Bellefon Champagne Cuvée des Moines Brut NV

The color of onion skin, Besserat de Bellefon’s Cuvée des Moines Brut is offers decadent creaminess on the interior. The aromatic profile is decidedly autolytic—freshly churned butter, almonds, baked apple, pear skin, chalk and a trace of white wild flowers. In the mouth—focus and energy, as pent-up acid courses through a rich orchard-fruit-laden core. Ultra-fine […]

Château de l’Aumerade Côtes de Provence Cuvée Marie-Christine 2016

Château de l'Aumerade Côtes de Provence Cuvée Marie-Christine 2016

An eponymous rosé, for me at least, not the winery—as I’ve been given that most pedestrian 1970s middle name of Marie—pale salmon in the glass, Château de l’Aumerade’s 2016 Cuvée Marie-Christine is awash with yellow plums, peaches, salmon berries, and wet pomace. It’s clean on the palate, prominently featuring blithe acidity and a texture infused […]

Knudsen Vineyards Dundee Hills Chardonnay 2016

Knudsen Vineyards Dundee Hills Chardonnay 2016

Textbook Willamette Valley Chardonny from the Dundee Hills AVA—I have toured the vineyard more than once, a parcel planted in 1995, with French Dijon clones—the vines sit in brick-hued volcanic soils at elevations between ranging from 710-650 feet. Purity reigns here—a kaleidoscope of crisp Opal apples, pears and lemon curd sink beneath a dusting of […]

Producer Profile: The Expressive Wines of Erste+Neue

Weingut Kaltern

Located in Caldaro, a storybook village on Alto Adige’s breathtaking wine road, the Erste+Neue cooperative winery was established in 1986 following the merger of the Erste Kellerei (founded in 1900) and the Neue Kellerei (founded in 1925). Translated, the name First + New reflects the winery’s nod to tradition while embracing experimentation and an openness […]

CHRISTINE HAVENS
McMinnville, OR

christine@christine-havens.com