Szent Tamás Teleki 1088 Palack Tokaji Késői Szüretelésű 2012
I suspect, giving this wine’s lushness, this is Hárslevelű or a blend of Furmint and Hárslevelű. Lemon yellow in the glass with opulent notes of apricot and ripe mango, honeysuckle and a classic botrytised nose. It’s full and viscous on the palate with plump apricot at the core followed by cardamom and Seville orange marmalade. […]
Herdade Do Esporão Monte Velho Tinto 2014
An open-knit blend of 40% Aragonez, 35% Trincadeira, 20% Touriga Nacional, and 5% Syrah, this extraordinarily budget-friendly Portuguese red from Monte Velho offers pungent aromas of tart red berries, cranberries, earth and a sort of feral edge usher in a wine with brightness…red berries carry through until they crescendo, revealing an understory of fine tannins, […]
Veuve Clicquot Champagne La Grande Dame Brut 2006
Named after the venerable Widow Clicquot herself, La Grande Dame Brut 2006 is a blend of 53% Chardonnay and 47% Pinot Noir. The nose is expressive—bioche dipped in honey, baked apple and a whisp of smoke hanging above richer aromas. The attack is deep and vinous, and there is a lovely creaminess at the center. […]
Veuve A. Devaux Champagne Sténopé 2008
Champagne Sténopé 2008 sports telltale braille on it’s packaging, a giveaway that Michel Chapoutier has a hand in this particular bottling as well as Champagne Devaux. According to the winery, they never “discloses the blend,” that said, it’s the color of sun-bleached straw, with earthy overtones lending a serious edge to notes of lemon pith […]
Louis Roederer Champagne Cristal Brut Millésimé 2002
As stately as I expected it to be (can one really expect anything less of a wine as legendary as Cristal in one of Champagne’s most celebrated vintages?) glinting pale gold, the color of a freshly-minted coin. The 2002 Champagne Cristal Brut Millésimé is imbued with soaring notes of pear and smoke, brioche and chalk. […]
MÁD Tokaj Dry Furmint 2012
One of the bottles I brought back in my luggage, the 2012 MÁD Tokaj Dry Furmint is exactly as advertised, bone dry. Furmint is a non-aromatic white, in this style what shines through is complexity and minerality. Nuanced aromas of walnut skins, burnished pear, golden apple and a sort of golden-hued, bordering on oxidative noblesse […]
Szent Tamás Tokaji Nyulászó 2013
More Hungarian splendor—the 2013 Szent Tamás Nyulászó boasts a wonderful inner luminescence. Quietly elegant notes of bosc pear, almond, orange marmalade, and quince are the hallmark of this single vineyard designate. Nyulászó is one of Tokaj’s grand crus, and the vines are seated in brick-hued volcanic soils rich in zeolite, at the crest of the […]
Aphros Vinhão Tinto 2013
Sauvage is the word that comes to mind when describing this singular and biodynamically farmed, wild ferment Vinhão. Aromas of smoky plum and earth are rendered more complex by a sort of feral, animal quality that persists on the palate as well. A bold streak of acidity creates a sense of tension to sour cherry […]
Quinta do Noval Porto Colheita Tawny 2000
The 2000 Quinta do Noval Porto Colheita Tawny is superb, showing warm and welcoming notes of caramel, dried fruit, honey, sultana along with a pinch of toast. The mind immediately jumps to pairings like stilton, Roquefort, or dried fruit, though, surprisingly the staff at Noval recommend trying it with fresh carrot, unpeeled. I love the […]
Szepsy Tokaji Szent Tamás Furmint 2013
What a tremendous gift to taste the legendary Szepsy wines with István Szepsy Sr., while visiting the Tokaj region last week. The wines are impeccable, as is the case with the Szent Tamás Furmint 2013. Pungent aromas of quince and orange, one might call this wine pretty, were it not for its serious underlying structure. […]