Havens Logo 23 White Small

Spring Valley Vineyard Frederick 2013

Spring Valley Vineyard Frederick 2013

A Bordeaux-style blend of 57% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Merlot, 22% Cabernet Franc, 5% Petit Verdot, 3% Malbec, the 2013 Spring Valley Vineyard Frederic offers sumptuous fruit on the nose and palate. Twenty months in new French oak has further graced it with a balanced, well-integrated toast profile of vanilla and pencil shavings lending structure to […]

Yves Cheron Les Dentelles Côtes du Rhône 2015

Yves Cheron Les Dentelles Côtes du Rhône 2015

I wanted to find a little more concentration of fruit at the core of this otherwise easy-drinking blend of 65% Grenache and 35% Syrah from Yves Cheron. The 2015 ‘Les Dentelles’ sports a classic Southern Rhône profile of plums and blackberries couched in garrigue, warm spice, and dried violet. It’s bright on the palate, not […]

Knudsen Vineyards Pinot Noir 2015

Knudsen Vineyards Pinot Noir 2015

Established by Cal and Julia Lee Knudsen in 1971, Knudsen Vineyards had long been a primary supplier of fruit to Argyle. The family’s second generation, Page, Colin, and David Knudsen were determined to make their own wines from the estate. The 2015s mark their fourth vintage, and the wines are still vinified at Argyle. The […]

Wijngaard Klein-Amerika Cuvée Bosrand 2009

Wijngaard Klein-Amerika Cuvée Bosrand 2009

Sampled at a recent #winelover hangout in Bucharest, the 2014 Wijngaard Klein-Amerika Cuvée Bosrand is a blend of Regent and Cabernet Colonjes—which appears to be a hybrid cross of between Cabernet Sauvignon and, as far as I can tell, an unknown mold-resistant variety. At any rate, it’s a tart, tightly-wound wine, with a modest dollop […]

Spring Valley Vineyard Sharilee Petit Verdot 2012

Spring Valley Vineyard Sharilee Petit Verdot 2012

Aged 19 months in 100% neutral oak, the 2012 Spring Valley Vineyard Sharilee Petit Verdot is within it’s drinking window, the nose a confluence of fleshy plum and ripe blackberries underscored by spice and a subtle top note of wild fennel. On the palate, the structure is particularly lovely—velvety tannins frame out a plush, black-fruited […]

San Marzano 62 Anniversario Primitivo di Manduria Riserva 2014

San Marzano Primitivo di Manduria riserva Anniversario 62

From San Marzano, the 2014 62 Anniversario Primitivo di Manduria Riserva is made from 100% head-trained Primitivo grapes grown in highly weathered, calcareous soils rich in iron oxides. Opaque quinacridone violet in the glass, the nose explodes with blackberries, plums, black cherry, anise, candied violets, and sweet tobacco. It’s supple and smooth on entry, with […]

Simonsig Tiara 2010

Simonsig Tiara 2010

A smoldering Bordeaux-blend, the 2010 Simonsig Tiara is a gripping tale—with rising, writhing notes of singed black cherries, mulberries, and blackberries couched in gamey, meatier tones of bacon fat, creosote, scorched earth, and wind-blown dust. It’s terroir-driven, an expression that can only be South African—that captivating wildness that explodes and yet, has a kind of […]

Tenuta San Guido Le Difese Toscana IGT 2014

Tenuta San Guido Le Difese Toscana IGT 2014

The third wine of Sassicaia, Tenuta San Guido Le Difese 2014 is a blend of 70% Cabernet and 30% Sangiovese. Aged for twelve months on French and American oak barrels, it’s a medium-bodied, fairly liner Tuscan red bedecked in plums, pie cherries, cassis and mint. In the mouth, firm tannins and high-acid and youthful energy […]

San Marzano Talò Negroamaro Salento IGP 2015

Cantine 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 […]

Ellipsis Red Hills Lovett Vineyard Petite Sirah 2014

Ellipsis Lovett Vineyard Petite Sirah 2014

Lake County wines are admittedly a new discovery for me. Thus far, the feeling is that the appellation deserves more attention than it currently sees, at least outside of California. Known for it’s high-elevation mountain vineyards with predominantly volcanic soils, the wines from the AVA are graced with intensity and poise. The 2014 Ellipsis Red […]

CHRISTINE HAVENS
McMinnville, OR

christine@christine-havens.com