Havens Logo 23 White Small

Cooper Mountain Mountain Terroir Meadowlark Pinot Noir 2015

Cooper Mountain Mountain Terroir Meadowlark Pinot Noir 2015

Black cherries comingle with briary underbrush and red berries, sasparilla, and fading heirloom roses in this swoon-worthy biodynamic red. In the mouth, the 2015 Cooper Mountain Mountain Terroir Meadowlark Pinot Noir is poised an polished, with red and black fruit in equal measure, neatly embroidered to a framework of delicate tannins. 14.3% ABV | Sample […]

Troon Applegate Valley Zinfandel 2017

Troon Applegate Valley Zinfandel 2017

Translucent garnet in the glass, the 2017 Troon Applegate Valley Zinfandel is a blend of 97% Zinfandel and 3% Petit Syrah. Made from biodynamically farmed estate-grown grapes, it’s a lighter, more delicate expression of the variety—with lively notes of black cherry, brambly red berries, brown spice, and warm wicker—in the mouth it’s round, with silky, […]

Troon Cuvée Côt Applegate Valley Malbec 2016

Troon Cuvée Côt Applegate Valley Malbec 2016

Troon’s 2016 Applegate Valley Cuvée Côt Malbec is awash in mulberries and plums along with hay, sweet tobacco and a slightly ferrous, animal energy. On the palate, it’s bright, fresh, and wonderfully complex green-tea soaked tannins offset by an energetic vein of acidity rippling through the core. The finish flirts with salinity, green peppercorn, and […]

Baileyana Stone Egg Chardonnay 2016

Baileyana Stone Egg Chardonnay 2016

Baileyana’s 2016 Stone Egg Chardonnay is the perfect balance of opulence and restraint. Enveloping aromas of apricot, peach pit, apple blossom, and dried lemon verbena spring from the glass. Luscious and full in the mouth, it’s brimming with stone fruit—fermentation and aging in a concrete egg has further graced this Edna Valley Chardonnay with dimension and a […]

J. de Telmont Cuvée Sans Soufre Ajouté Brut NV

J. de Telmont Cuvée Sans Soufre Ajouté Brut NV

A rarity in the Champagne world, J. de Telmont’s Cuvée Sans Soufre Ajouté Brut is crafted from biodynamically-grown grapes and is made entirely without the addition of sulfur—a practice that makes this former vintner a tad nervous. This bottle made its way back from Reims in my suitcase and weathered the trip well—and offers up […]

Trimbach Pinot Gris Alsace Réserve 2013

Trimbach Pinot Gris Alsace Réserve 2013

Brimming with aromas of peach pit, apricot, paraffin, pastry cream, and white flowers, Trimbach’s 2013 Pinot Gris Alsace Réserve is full and fleshy on the palate with a gorgeous, driving vein of oyster shell and saline that pulses through the core like a magnetic wave. Highly recommended. 13.5% ABV | Sample Trimbach 89 Points

Stoller Family Estate Club Exclusive Chardonnay 2016

Stoller Family Estate Club Exclusive Chardonnay 2016

Perhaps one of the most unusual chardonnays I’ve run across in Oregon—Stoller’s 2016 Club Exclusive Chardonnay is partial-malo and partly aged in stainless and in one of the winery’s concrete squares. Had I have tasted it blind, I might have pegged it as a Bordeaux blanc, the profile has a lovely herbal note to it; aromas […]

Planeta Sicilia Rosé 2016

Planeta Sicilia Rosé 2016

A straggler in my cellar, the 2016 Planeta Sicilia Rosé is a rose gold-hued blend of 50% Nero d’Avola and 50% Syrah. Light and lilting aromas of strawberry, tart pie cherry, and white peach gracefully twine spring flowers and fleeting mineral tones. It’s crisp, bright and perfect for these waning days of summer. The close […]

Onward Pétillant Naturel Malvasia Bianca Capp-Inn Ranch 2017

Onward Pétillant Naturel Malvasia Bianca Capp-Inn Ranch 2017

One of my favorite wines sampled at the My Wine Society – Feast it Forward Grand Opening, Onward’s 2017 Pétillant Naturel Malvasia Bianca is a slightly hazy shade of sunbleached straw, with a nebulous, delicate mousse as one might expect. Lemon biscuit, d’Anjou pear, yellow apple, honeysuckle, and jasmine gives way to a vein of […]

Tortoise Creek Le Charmel Côtes de Provence Rosé 2017

Tortoise Creek Le Charmel Côtes de Provence Rosé 2017

Made from organic grapes, Tortoise Creek Le Charmel Côtes de Provence Rosé 2017 is pale salmon in the glass, with lilting aromas of white peach, melon, white flowers and ladies cold crème. It’s a fairly delicate rosé, lighter in body, with vibrant mineral-tipped acidity. Nice persistence and nicely done for its price point. Sample 88 […]

CHRISTINE HAVENS
McMinnville, OR

christine@christine-havens.com