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Penman Springs Vineyard Paso Robles Artisan Cuvée Meritage 2016

Penman Springs Vineyard Paso Robles Artisan Cuvée Meritage 2016

A blend of 57% Cabernet Sauvignon, 29% Merlot and 14% Petit Verdot, the 2016 Penman Springs Artisan Cuvée Meritage is aged for 18 months in American oak. Boysenberries, black cherries, dried violets, and dutch process cocoa powder make up the nose. Mouthcoating, ripe tannins neatly couch a core of densely packed, sweet black fruit that […]

Venteux Tache le Verre Alisos Canyon 2016

Venteux Tache le Verre Alisos Canyon 2016

High praise for Venteux Vineyard’s Tache le Verre. Crafted from 100% organically farmed Syrah from the renowned Alisos Canyon region of Santa Barbara, the 2016 is substantive and baritone in expression. Stratified layers of blackberries, black cherries, incense, tar, earth, smoky Pu-er tea, and violets compose the nose—a complex sensory arc that leads into a […]

Columbia Winery Cabernet Sauvignon 2016

Columbia Winery Cabernet Sauvignon 2016

Deftly balanced, the 2016 Columbia Winery Cabernet Sauvignon is a blend of 70% Horse Heaven Hills fruit with the balance coming from the Wahluke Slope AVA. This bottling is an excellent representation of tapicity for the varietal—the expression is classic Washington State Cabernet—it’s packed full of ripe blackberries, black currants, violets, mountain herbs, and dried […]

Castello di Monsanto Monrosso Toscana IGT 2016

Castello di Monsanto Monrosso Toscana IGT 2016

Like breathing in the Italian countryside in mid-summer—the 2016 Monrosso Tuscan Red Blend IGT displays dusty earth, leather, dried mushroom, and mountain herbs. Composed of 60% Syrah, 32% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Merlot, and 3% Sangiovese, the fruit notes seem rather secondary here, and emerge more on the palate than the nose—a melange of black cherry […]

LXV Kiler Canyon Vineyard Reserve Syrah 2014

LXV Kiler Canyon Vineyard Reserve Syrah 2014

Garnet robed, LXV’s 2014 Reserve Syrah is made from fruit sourced from Kiler Canyon Vineyard in Paso’s Willow Creek District and is vinified in 50% new French oak. Heady waves of Damson plums, black cherries, and blackberry pie rest beneath secondary aromas of lilacs, black olives, freshly turned soil, crushed limestone, and iron shavings. Medium-bodied, […]

Château Peybrun Cadillac Côtes de Bordeaux 2015

Château Peybrun Cadillac Côtes de Bordeaux

A blend of 80% Merlot, 17% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 3% Cabernet Franc. The 2015 vintage of Château Peybrun is generously framed in aromas of black cherries, black currants, aged leather, forest floor, menthol, and violets. It shows a degree of concentration on the palate without heaviness, with polished tannins that subside into a mineral and […]

Kin & Cascadia Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2017

Kin & Cascadia Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2017

Tortoise Creek and The Charmel, a charming, well-preserved range of sustainably farmed varietal wines that bridges two continents, with offerings from the Languedoc region and California. Translucent ruby ​​in the glass, the 2017 Kin & Cascadia Willamette Valley Pinot Noir offers a bouquet of Rainier cherries, strawberries, vanilla, and baking spice. Medium bodied and silky […]

Kin & Cascadia Cabernet Sauvignon 2017

Kin & Cascadia Cabernet Sauvignon 2017

Kin & Cascadia’s 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon is crafted from fruit sourced from the Wahluke Slope—a region that resembles an inland sandy beach, the Columbia River curls around this arid AVA. It is, for the most part, a massive alluvial fan. Sandy soils give rise to Cabernets with silky tannins, bright red berries, and savory tones—which […]

Boutinot Les Côteaux Côtes du Rhône Villages 2015

Boutinot Les Côteaux Côtes du Rhône Villages 2015

Boutinot’s 2015 Les Côteaux Côtes du Rhône Villages is a cuvée of 80% Grenache and 20% Syrah assembled from cru parcels in Sablet, Séguret, and Cairanne. The nose ripples with baritone, atramentous aromas of black cherry, blackberry, black olives, saddle leather, pain grille, savory herbs, and lilacs. Medium-bodied on the palate with well-integrated tannins—menthol, Tellicherry […]

Bodegas Riojanas Rioja Monte Real Reserva 2014

Bodegas Riojanas Rioja Monte Real Reserva de Familia 2014

Soft and seductive, this 100% Tempranillo from Bodegas Riojanas, the 2014 Monte Real Reserva slowly blooms in the glass with plums and black cherries interweaving notes of dusty earth, wet terra cotta, and mahogany wood. In the mouth, tannins are gathered at the fore and mid-palate—they’re fine, yet still tightly wound. Stewed prune and dried […]

CHRISTINE HAVENS
McMinnville, OR

christine@christine-havens.com