Domaine de la Sangliere Côtes De Provence Rosé 2015
Domaine de la Sanglière’s basic Côtes De Provence Rosé is all nervy mineral verve, with the merest touch of tantalizing underripe melon and raspberry shining through. Fruit is nearly absent on the palate, as though it has been brushed clean, or is a layer that has been artfully peeled away. What remains in its place […]
Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Romanée-St.-Vivant 1999
Breathtaking, transcendant and pure, the 1999 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Romanée-St.-Vivant is a woven tapestry of raspberries, cinnamon bark and fresh pastry, along with subtle touches of earth, underbrush, and lilting minerality. More diaphanous than the ’99 La Tâche or Richebourg, the words that this wine conjures are vibrant, ethereal, fine-boned and mineral-edged. This is […]
Château de Roquefort Corail Côtes de Provence Rosé 2015
Château de Roquefort Corail Côtes de Provence 2015″ width=”200″ height=”200″ /></a>An old-school blend of 35% Grenache, 25% Syrah, 25% Cinsault, 5% Carignan, 5% Rolle, and 5% Clairette, Château de Roquefort’s 2015 Corail Rosé dances and shimmers in the glass with abundantly pretty notes of Queen Anne’s Cherries, market strawberries, and fine mineral nuance. It’s quite […]
Château de Berne Pur Côtes De Provence Rosé 2015
The Berne Pur Côtes De Provence 2015 is quite possibly the palest Provençal rosé I’ve seen on the market, clear at the rim with a very pale salmon hue visible at the widest part of the glass, my dinner companions and I wondered if this is because of heightened demand for very pale rosé, it’s […]
Herdade do Esporão Esporão Reserva 2013
A brawny, if slightly gamey and wild blend of Alicante Bouschet, Aragonez, Trincadeira, and Cabernet Sauvignon. The 2013 Esporão Reserva Tinto is all plums, spice, vanilla and earthiness. In the mouth, it really shows it’s heft, with equal doses of tart sour cherry and raw cranberry-esqe acidity dowsed in firm tannins and a bit of […]
Falesco Montiano Lazio IGT 2012
Subtle but not subdued, the 2012 Falesco Montiano is crafted from 100% single-vineyard Merlot. Sweet Italian plums, black cherries, underbrush, dust, worn leather, decaying rose petals and sandalwood lead into a wine that is fuller and a touch lusher than one might expect for an Old World Merlot. Fine, polished tannins aptly frame red and […]
Quinta de Gomariz Vinho Verde Grande Escolha 2015
A refreshing blend of Loureiro, Alvarinho and Trajadura, QG or Quinta do Gomarez’s Grand Grande Escolha 2015, expresses fleshy peach and pear, flavors that are brightened by leaner notes. A citrus and mineral-saline edge, especially on the finish, endows this well-crafted Vinho Verde with a more serious edge. 6.0 RS 11.5% ABV | Sample Quinta […]
Herdade do Esporão Douro Assobio Quinta dos Murças 2013
From the Douro, this classic blend of Touriga Nacional, Tinta Roriz and Touriga Franca offers up earthy, and slightly rustic with aromas of dusty earth, plums, black cherries, aged leather, and cocoa powder. Grippy tannins are the predominant feature, reigning in black fruit. The finish is long, ushered in by noticeable acidity that takes flight […]
Domaine de Marcoux Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2011
The profile of the 2011 Marcoux Châteauneuf-du-Pape screams Grenache, and so it was gratifying to read that the blend is indeed 80% Grenache, 10% Mourvedre, 7% Syrah and 3% Cincault, and the vines are old, averaging 50 years or more. The result is a wine with pronounced red fruit aromas, macerated strawberries and black cherries […]
Mas De Cadenet Arbaude Côtes de Provence Rosé 2014
I recently reviewed Mas de Cadenet’s ‘Mas Negrel’, a complex, creamy-textured Provençal rosé that is aged in oak casks. By contrast, Arbaude reads as the plucky little sister—with a peachy-pink salmon robe and the aromatics to match, it’s an elegant rosé, with genial stone fruit and raspberries, lovely florality and anise pastille. On the palate, […]