Bluebird Hill Cellars Trilogy 2016
Densely packed aromas canned pear, honeydew melon, thai coconut custard are the welcome tones that lead into a palate that is surprisingly more taught than the nose belies. Bluebird Hill Cellars’ 2016 Trilogy is an undisclosed blend of three white varieties sourced from the Willamette Valley, displaying predominant orchard fruit flavors embroidered against a backdrop […]
Adega da Cartuxa Évora Colheita Tinto 2013
Ruby hued, the 2013 Cartuxa Évora Colheita Tinto is, at least for this writer, more expressive on the second day, and is deeply perfumed with notes of Japanese plums, blueberries, balsam wood, and exotic spice. Softly textured on the palate with lovely purity of fruit, couched in black tea tannins, this traditional Alentejo blend of […]
Aubert Sonoma Coast Chardonnay 2007
Now a decade on, the 2007 Aubert Sonoma Coast Chardonnay slowly unfurls to reveal lemon curd, poached pear, and baked apple notes, couched in mellow and toasty tones of salted butter, brioche, caramel, and vanilla. Nice delineation on the palate, where voluptuous spiced orchard fruit is neatly intersected by a firm acidic spine and beautifully […]
Charles Smith Eve Chardonnay 2015
Crafted with native yeast, 20% of which goes through malolactic fermentation, the 2015 Charles Smith Eve Chardonnay is uniform and varietally correct on the nose and palate with attractive aromas of bosc pear, yellow apple, and banana cream pudding. Crisp and bright on the palate, the acidity is slightly softened by six months of aging […]
Talbott Kali Hart Chardonnay 2015
A suffusion of smokey minerals, creme brûlée, toasted coconut flake, mandarin and grilled pineapple. Talbott’s 2015 Kali Hart Chardonnay is made from the winery’s Sleepy Hollow estate vineyard, a hillside parcel that is relatively close to the Pacific Ocean—where cool maritime breezes lend a moderating effect. The effect of this microclimate on the palate is […]
Château des Fougères Graves Clos Montesquieu 2014
An excellent Bordeaux value that will offer drinking pleasure over the next decade or so—this opaque beauty, the 2014 Château des Fougères Graves Clos Montesquieu, is richly perfumed with blackcurrants, blackberry jelly, cedar, juniper berry, crushed lavender, and dried mint. Grippy tannins gather at the fore-palate like storm clouds on the horizon, then dissipate, neatly […]
Domaine Amido Lirac 2014
A splendidly perfumed nose that is so classic of Grenache: raspberry pastis, market strawberries, forest floor, black licorice candy, violets, and warm spice. The 2014 Domaine Amido Lirac is fresh and vibrant on the palate, with a sweet-fruited raspberry turnover core supported by ultra-fine tannins. The finish, while not lengthy, offers bay leaf and spice. […]
Alain Voge Les Vieilles Vignes Cornas 2014
Crafted from 60 year-old biodynamically farmed Syrah, Alain Vogue’s Les Vieilles Vignes Cornas 2014 is expressive, yet restrained. Blueberries and blackberries wind ’round earth, black olive, and pink peppercorn. As its opens, secondary aromas emerge: clove, cinnamon bark, cardamom, lanolin, spice, violets, incense. It’s poised, with all of the power Syrah commands, but there is […]
Bluebird Hill Cellars Willamette Valley Chardonnay 2016
A classic Chardonnay profile of orchard fruit, yellow apple, and bosc pear with gently warming tones of vanilla paste and baking spice. Bluebird Hill Cellars 2016 Willamette Valley Chardonnay shows a degree of freshness on the palate—50% of the fruit undergoes malolactic fermentation while the other half does not—and lees aging has added body and […]
Bluebird Hill Cellars Walnut Ridge Pinot Gris 2016
From 15 year-old grown in Bellpine soil, the 2016 Bluebird Hill Cellars Walnut Ridge Pinot Gris is a pale sunbeam in the glass with soft aromas of apple yellow, cantaloupe, and dried mint. In the mouth, the perception of softness continues with generous layers of fruit that relaxes a pleasant burst of acidity tinged with […]