Golan Heights Winery Mount Hermon White 2016
Breezy notes of orange blossom, white peach, and Opal apples. It’s crisp and fresh on the palate, with a burst of lemon-tinged acidity that promises springtime as it gracefully unwinds to a leisurely finish. Lots of drinking pleasure in this modestly-priced white blend of Muscat Canelli, Sauvignon Blanc, and Viognier from Galilee. 13.5% ABV | […]
Murrieta’s Well The Spur 2014
Better on the second day, I recommend decanting on opening — a ripe blend of 48% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Petite Sirah, 18% Merlot, 8% Petit Verdot, and 6% Cabernet Franc from Livermore Valley — the 2014 Murietta’s Well ‘The Spur’ opens with notes of blueberry, black raspberry, black cherry, and blackcurrants couched in dark layers […]
Larmandier-Bernier Champagne Longitude Premier Cru NV
Pierre Larmandier’s wines are pure and terroir-driven. This superb bottling of the Longitude Premier Cru Extra Brut is composed of 100% Chardonnay sourced from Vertus, Oger, Avize, and Cramant, with 40% of the blend coming from 2010 reserve. Poached pear, baked apple, lemon sorbet, and chalk are slowly released by a clinquant mousse. In the […]
Cantine Umberto Bortolotti Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore Brut NV
Umberto Bortolotti’s exquisite line of Proseccos, their non-vintage Valdobbiadene Brut is the sweetest of the line, all have feature attractive creaminess at the core and a mousse that is notably finer than most Proseccos I’ve tasted. It opens with a garland of white flowers, acacia honey and honeydew melon. Here, the creaminess is upfront, gradually […]
Cantine Umberto Bortolotti Rive Di S. Stefano Montagnole Valdobbiadene 2016
Umberto Bortolotti’s stylish 2016 Rive Di S. Stefano Montagnole Valdobbiadene qualifies as one of the best Proseccos I’ve had in recent memory. Aromas of fresh Williams pear, green apple, and white grapefruit pith are held aloft by ultra-fine, diaphanous bubbles. At 2 g/l residual sugar, it feels perceptibly dry and crisp. Calcium-rich marl limestone soils […]
Cantine Umberto Bortolotti Piai Alto Valdobbiadene Rive Di Rolle 2016
From a single 2.65 ha parcel on the steep slopes of the Rive DOCG, the 2016 Umberto Bortolotti Piai Alto Valdobbiadene Rive Di Rolle is awash with delicate, tender aromas of acacia flowers, acacia honey, that swirl ’round white peach and Asian pear. It’s round and creamy upfront, with a delicate honeyed character that can […]
Col Solare Cabernet Sauvignon 2014
2014 marked Col Solare’s 20th vintage, giving the winery ample reason to celebrate the enduring partnership between Chateau Ste. Michelle and Marchesi Antinori. A warmer, riper vintage than 2013, this memorable Red Mountain Cabernet is all about power and sinewy concentration, with black cherry, cassis, blackcurrant, dark chocolate shavings and espresso rippling across this wine’s […]
Potato Leek Soup
This is the classic recipe for Potato Leek soup, or the closest I could find to it, keeps a minimum-a-but-lovely quintet of Yukon gold potatoes, leeks, garlic, butter and chicken stock. Contrast the silkiness of this soup with topping of smoked bacon applewood, prosciutto, crème fraiche, Parmesan crisps or truffle oil. Pair with a moderately […]
Domaine La Tour Vieille Rimage Banyuls 2012
‘Tis the season for fortified dessert wines, and Banyuls is, of course, no exception. This budget-friendly Kermit Lynch import from Domaine La Tour Vieille offers up a welcome bouquet of plums, prunes, sultana, and dark chocolate shavings. Composed of 45 year-old Grenache and Carignan vines grown in schist soils, it’s full-bodied and somewhat one-dimensional on […]
Domaine de Roche-Guillon Fleurie 2014
Crushed raspberries, pie cherries, cranberries, and underbrush waft from the glass. Beguiling secondary notes of dried violets, lilacs and potting soil lend perfumy complexity. It’s a light, nimble Gamay—classic Fleurie—with lifted red fruit tightly wound round a mineral vein of iron ore followed by loamy soil, and bay leaf. 13.0% ABV Domaine de Roche-Guillon 8.8 […]