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Peter Zemmer Pinot Grigio Alto Adige 2016

Peter Zemmer Pinot Grigio Alto Adige 2016

Straw yellow in the glass, Peter Zemmer’s 2016 Pinot Grigio from the verdant storybook commune of Cortina, in the Südtirol/Alto Adige region of South Tyrol. A semi-alpine microclimate lends lightness and lift. Aromas of emerging spring flowers, fresh herbs, soft alpine breezes, white peach, and pear waft from the glass. Blithe acidity wends through the […]

Alvear 3 Miradas Vino de Pueblo 2016

Alvear 3 Miradas Vino de Pueblo 2016

I’m well acquainted with the excellent range of Fino, Amontillado, and Oloroso wines Alvear produces from the Pedro Ximénez grape. 3 Miradas Vino de Pueblo 2016 is a new endeavor for the winery, fermented under the veil of “velo de flor,” and aged in tinajas, traditional concrete tanks for eight months, it’s a dry wine […]

Paul Blanck Pinot Blanc Alsace 2016

Paul Blanck Pinot Blanc Alsace 2016

A wonderful value, Paul Blanck’s 2016 Pinot Blanc is a limpid, slightly burnished gold in the glass. Crafted from 100% Pinot Blanc grown in gravel, sand and clay-limestone soils on south-facing slopes, it is a terroir-driven, elegant wine replete with notes of yellow apple, d’Anjou pear, underripe pineapple, line dried-linen, and catmint. There’s weight on […]

Albert Boxler Pinot Blanc Reserve 2014

Albert Boxler Pinot Blanc Reserve 2014

From 50+-year-old vines grown in low-fertility, highly weathered granitic soils, Albert Boxler’s Pinot Blanc Reserve is a treasure trove of ripe pear, apricot kernel and those jarred spiced apple rings that make their appearance during the holidays. Heady spice notes lead into a wine with a story to tell—a vein of quartz wending through a […]

Gramona Cava III Lustros Gran Reserva Brut Nature 2011

Gramona Cava III Lustros Gran Reserva Brut Nature 2011

Very pleased to taste this exquisite biodynamic Cava from Gramona after having visited the winery last year. Pale straw, the 2011 III Lustros Brut Nature is a blend of 75% Xarel·lo and 25% Macabeu. Seven years en tirage has graced it with a degree of depth that’s hard to find in most wines from this […]

Finca Viladellops Penedès Xarel·lo 2016

Finca Viladellops Penedès Xarel·lo 2016

Located in the Garraf Massif, a rugged mountain massif that extends to the Mediterranean Sea, the soils found throughout Finca Viladellops’ 60 ha estate are low-fertility limestone-based soils studded with marine fossils and sediment. Aged in stainless tanks on fine lees, the 2016 Xarel·lo offers lilting, subtle aromas of pear and apple, prairie flowers, apple […]

Finca Viladellops Penedès Garnatxa 2016

Finca VilaDelloPs Penedès Garnatxa 2013

A mineral-infused spine creates palate tension as it ripples through the juicy core of this 100% Garnaxta. Inviting aromas and flavors of roasted strawberries, cherry compote, warm raisin bread, loamy soil, and iron shavings wink in and out of an agile profile. On the palate, it’s medium bodied, and yet it feels light on its […]

Biohof Pratsch Rosé 2017

Biohof Pratsch Rosé 2017

I come back to Pratsch year after year—the estate is relatively small, comprising thirteen blocks planted on glacially formed hills overlaid in alluvial soils in Austria’s lower Niederösterreich appellation. The 2017 Pratsch Rosé is crafted from 100% organic Zweigelt, the profile is exactly as I remember it, a lilting burst of alpine strawberries, tart pie […]

Marchesi Mazzei Belguardo Rosato Toscana IGT 2017

Marchesi Mazzei Belguardo Rosato Toscana IGT 2017

This charming salmon-hued rosado from Mazzei, a winery that’s been around since the Early Renaissance, is a blend of 50% Sangiovese and 50% Syrah, all from Maremma. Orange blossom and pie cherry waft from the glass. On the palate, it’s light and welcoming with a delicate core of mandarin oranges and salted yellow peach. 13.8% […]

Château Léoube Rosé de Léoube 2016

Château Léoube Rosé de Léoube 2016

Oh, the sweet promise of summer, Château Léoube Rosé de Léoube hints at ripe melon and fleshy, fuzzy-skinned peaches from the market, a whisper of minerality and jellied raspberries adds layered complexity. It’s light and lean, with a well-formed mineral backbone that chaperones what fruit there is from start to finish, unfurling in a final […]

CHRISTINE HAVENS
McMinnville, OR

christine@christine-havens.com