San Marzano Talò Negroamaro Salento IGP 2015
If I were to describe San Marzano’s 2015 Talò Negroamaro Salento IGP in a single word, it would be juicy. A plush and plump mouthful of damson plums, black cherries, balsamic, sweet tobacco, and vanilla paste set against a backdrop of velvety tannins and moderate acidity. This is a generous, easy-drinking wine, and it’s all […]
Biohof Pratsch Grüner Veltliner 2016
Biohof Pratsch is a solid producer, both in terms of the winery’s commitment to environmental stewardship and in price, it’s always an excellent value. The 2016 Grüner Veltliner is awash in billowy aromas of pear, lime blossom, and lemon thyme. In the mouth, the frame is wonderfully light and lean, minerality contributes as much to […]
Vietti Moscato d’Asti Cascinetta 2015
An affordable holiday bubbly—Vietti’s 2015 Moscato d’Asti Cascinetta has a classic profile for the varietal. Lovely notes of baked apple and poached pear lie well beneath granulated honey, star gazer lilly and chamomile. At 5% ABV, it’s quaffable and charming. — August 11, 2017 I have a weakness for Vietti’s Moscato d’Asti Cascinetta, the 2015 […]
Weingut Witwe Dr. H. Thanisch Erben Müller-Burggraef Bernkasteler Badstube Riesling Kabinett 2016
The sweeter side of Kabinett, the 2016 Weingut Witwe Dr. H. Thanisch Erben Müller-Burggraef Bernkasteler Badstube Riesling Kabinett is classic offers up notes of yellow apple, white peach, honey, and wafting tennis ball. In the mouth, it’s full and lush, unfurling at a deceptively languid place with a burst of energy and spritz at the […]
Petro Vaselo Kotys Blanc de Noirs 2012
This multidimensional, zero dosage sparkler from Petro Vaeselo winery is from an winery is the product of a substantial Italian investment in the Romania’s bucolic Recaș DOC. Composed of 100% Pinot Noir grown in clay soils banded in limestone, it spends three years en tirage. Alluring aromas of buttered scone, baked apple, and pear waft […]
Crama Aramic Piatra Soarelui Sauvignon Blanc 2016
Tasted while visiting the producer in Transylvania’s fog-shrouded countryside. What I’m finding, generally is that Sauvignon Blanc really shines here—this producer is no exception. Lean and tensile, the 2016 Crama Aramic “Piatra Soarelui” or sunstone shows a classic profile of boxwood, gooseberries and lime zest and breezy alpine air. It’s fresh on the palate and […]
Galil Mountain Winery Upper Galilee Cabernet Sauvignon 2016
An excellent value from Galil Mountain Winery—on opening, the 2016 Upper Galilee Cabernet Sauvignon expresses layered, dulcet tones of cassis, black currants, blackberries, vanilla, sandalwood, and sweet tobacco. On the palate, it’s more linear than the nose belies, furnished in fine tannins and enlivened by burst of acidity that wends its way through a black-fruited […]
Château Cantemerle Les Allées de Cantemerle 2010
Another wine tasted in Transylvania at the ROVINHUD wine show in Timișoara. Les Allées de Cantemerle is the second wine of Château Cantemerle, as such it’s a good value. The 2010 is endowed with a classic profile of cassis, black cherries, blueberries, cedar, and an alluring top note of freshly turned soil. It’s still youthful, […]
Palazzina Le Macioche Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Le Macioche 2007
The 2007 The Macioche, tasted in a vertical was the oldest vintage we were treated to a very impromptu tasting at the winery. It’s the color of brick dust, and it feels like it’s on the nose, along with layered aromas of purple, incense, anise, menthol, iron. It is quite nimble the mouth, with well […]
Château Lafite Rothschild 1999
The 1999 Lafite Rothschild, is a ruby-hued beauty with a translucent rim—this bottle was incredibly fresh and vibrant on opening. Initially, seemingly more red fruit-driven, the nose evolved into a darker expression with time in the glass. Nuanced aromas of loamy earth, rose petal, black currant, and pencil shavings led into a wine that, while […]