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Edna Valley Vineyard Chardonnay 2016

Edna Valley Vineyard Chardonnay 2016

A veritable fruit salad, Edna Valley Vineyard’s 2016 Chardonnay is loaded with apricots, Bosc pear, yellow peaches, banana chips, vanilla, and toast. Full-bodied and fleshy, orchard fruit and tropical fruit commingle on the palate, as spiced pear, yellow apple, and papaya vie for center stage. Nice acid lift at the mid-palate lends brightness to this […]

Sybille Kuntz Riesling Spätlese Trocken 2016

Sybille Kuntz Riesling Spätlese Trocken 2016

Highly recommended, the 2016 Sybille Kuntz Riesling Spätlese Trocken slowly unfurls as it opens in the glass, revealing layered aromas Bosc pear, kerosene, stargazer lily, lemongrass, and a buoyant top note of chamomile tea. On the palate, citrus notes converge against a nervy acid spine. It reads as nearly dry, with leesy mid-tones adding texture […]

Troon Vineyard Roussanne 2017

Troon Vineyard Roussanne 2017

A tousled mix of beach sand, potting soil, pear, preserved lemon, smoky nut oil, and mango skin. In the mouth the 2017 Troon Beach Applegate Valley Roussanne offers a pure and unique textural landscape that carries with it a savory undertow—smokiness reemerges along with vivid grapefruit pith, sea salt, gunflint, and a gamey component that […]

Delas Frères Condrieu Clos Boucher 2011

Delas Frères Condrieu Clos Boucher 2011

Bright lemon yellow, the 2011 Delas Frères Condrieu Clos Boucher emits gorgeous, stratified layers of baked pear and apple, lemon curd, orange blossom, spice, and smoky minerality. It’s bright on entry—graced with both texture and depth at the mid-palate, followed by mineral-driven acidity that picks up mellifluous tones of quarry dust, lemon pith, peach pit, […]

Trimbach Réserve Riesling 2016

Trimbach Réserve Riesling 2016

The color of winter sunlight, Trimbach’s 2016 Réverve Riesling is made from old vines planted on the winery’s estate parcels notably classed as Grand Cru—these vineyards lie within ancient calcareous limestone soils studded with fossilized seashells known as “Muschelkalk.” A kaleidoscope of white peach, yellow apple, lemongrass, lemon pith, wet stone, and kerosene. In the […]

Côte Mas Blanc Méditerranée 2016

Côte Mas Blanc Méditerranée 2016

The 2016 Côte Mas Blanc Méditerranée is an inviting blend of 35% Grenache Blanc, 25% Vermentino, 25% Chardonnay, and 15% Sauvignon Blanc It’s a pretty blend with vivacious aromas of Asian pear, star fruit, lemon drop, lemongrass, and spring flowers. Round on the palate, with a core of juicy yellow fruit nicely offset by bright […]

Champ Divin Chardonnay Côtes du Jura 2013

Champ Divin Chardonnay Côtes du Jura 2013

Wild-yeast fermented and made from biodynamically grown fruit, the 2013 Champ Divin Chardonnay runs a pleasant gambit through aromas of Asian pear, yellow peach, banana cream pie, dried mint, and orange blossom. Slight oxidation on the palate, it’s medium-bodied but lithe at the same time with surging acidity that leads into an expressive, mineral-driven finish. […]

History Upland Vineyard Muscat 2014

History Upland Vineyard Muscat 2014

A rarity from Washington State’s Upland Vineyard on Snipes Mountain, these plantings of Muscat Hamburg date back to 1935, and, had I have tasted this blind, I would have pegged it as an Old World wine, given its restraint and lissome form. The color of onion skin and imbued with ephemeral, fleeting tones of stargazer […]

Bollig-Lehnert Piesporter Goldtröpfchen Riesling Spätlese 2015

Bollig-Lehnert Piesporter Goldtröpfchen Riesling Spätlese 2015

The Bollig-Lehnert Piesporter Goldtröpfchen Riesling Spätlese 2015 is pale lemon yellow, with classic Mosel aromas of kerosene and rubber pool toy followed by lemon drop and ripened pear. Medium-weight on the palate, but nicely offset by a jaunty burst of acidity, fruit emerges on the finish with yellow peach and apricot buoyantly weaving in and […]

Ancient Peaks Chardonnay 2016

Ancient Peaks Chardonnay 2016

From Ancient Peaks estate, Margarita Vineyard lies within the coastal Santa Lucia Mountains. It’s the southernmost vineyard in the Paso Robles AVA, receiving more marine influence than most, and is host to a band of calcium-rich ancient soils including the rocky alluvium in which this Chardonnay is grown. It’s crisp and aromatic, opening with pear and […]

CHRISTINE HAVENS
McMinnville, OR

christine@christine-havens.com