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Domaine Trouvère Bricolage Rouge 2012

Trouvere Bricolage Rouge 2012

Oxblood red, the 2012 Domaine Trouvère Bricolage Rouge offers up an expressive, slightly rustic nose of leather, freshly turned tilth, dried mint, dark chocolate shavings, and a touch of balsam wood. Seven years on, the tannins are fully integrated—fine and sueded, they house dark fruit tones of plum and roasted black cherries—their pitch and amplitude […]

Grizzly Peak Cabernet Sauvignon 2013

Grizzly Peak Cabernet Sauvignon 2013

Beautifully developed and opaque as a starless night, the 2013 Grizzly Peak Syrah offers up cascading layers of blackberries, marionberries, and dusty plums that rest beneath lighter notes of violets, preserved meat, and freshly turned tilth. In the mouth, it’s round and fleshy, with velvety tannins lending structure to a baritone and black-fruited core, leaving […]

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 […]

Aberrant Cellars Sidecar Off the Wagon Claret 2016

Aberrant Cellars Sidecar Off the Wagon Claret 2016

A whorl of dark, concentrated aromas of cassis, blackberry, plums, dark chocolate, sandalwood and cedar, Sidecar’s Off the Wagon Claret is plush and deeply layered. A new label for Aberrant Cellars, the winery calls its Sidecar Wine Trials line an “exploratory search engine into the diverse varietal wonders outside Pinot Noir.” The 2016 Off the […]

Troon Vineyard Estate Tannat 2013

Troon Vineyard Estate Tannat 2013

At this stage in its development, it’s quite brawny, and by that, I’m referring to the sheer depth and concentration on the nose which is shows more earth than fruit—a stratified mix of freshly turned tilth, wet terra cotta, forest floor, and black truffle over an underlayment of plums. In the mouth, smoked meat and […]

Troon Vineyard Whole Grape Ferment Riesling 2017

Troon Vineyard Whole Grape Ferment Riesling 2017

Limpid, shimmering copper in the glass, 2017 Troon Vineyard Whole Grape Ferment Riesling is a fabulous orange wine—a delicious romp through ripe apricots, orange zest, almond paste, linden blossom, and dried honey. In the mouth, skin contact lends textural dimension, there are beautiful oxidative tones offset by pink grapefruit infused acidity. All in all, Troon […]

Ledger David Rogue Valley Southern Oregon Sangiovese 2014

Ledger David Rouge Valley Southern Oregon Sangiovese 2014

A well-made Sangiovese from Southern Oregon’s Rogue Valley—an appellation that shows great promise, turning out Spanish and Italian varieties of focus and depth. The 2014 Ledger David Sangiovese offers up a sumptuous bouquet of black plums, and blackberries, all resting beneath a garland of violets. In the mouth, it’s plush and open knit with black […]

Ledger David Rogue Valley Southern Oregon Tempranillo 2015

Ledger David Rouge Valley Southern Oregon Tempranillo 2015

Ledger David’s 2015 Red Valley Tempranillo displays some hard angles on opening, especially in terms of acid balance. It’s much better on the second day, yielding soft aromas of plums, bing cherries, cedar, and violets. Medium bodied, and tightly-wound, with powdery tannins and a spicy hit of black pepper that charges in the back palate […]

Ledger David Rogue Valley Southern Oregon Sauvignon Blanc 2016

Ledger David Rouge Valley Southern Oregon Sauvignon Blanc 2016

This is my first experience tasting David Leger wines, and I am absolutely blown away by their 2016 Rogue Valley Sauvignon Blanc. It opens with eccentric rings of guava, kiwi fruit, juniper berry, and chervil. On the palate, it’s an acid metronome—an electric, energetic pulse that flows in and out of a tropical and orchard […]

Troon Blue Label Longue Carabine 2014

Troon Blue Label Longue Carabine 2014

A bit of a kitchen sink blend, reminiscent of some of the complex whites I’ve run across from South Africa—Troon’s Longue Carabine 2014 is composed of 43.81% Marsanne, 27.35% Viognier, 12.65% Vermentino, 8.79% Riesling, 5.0% Roussanne, and 2.4% Sauvignon Blanc, all from the Applegate Valley—offers cadence in its aromatic range. Bruised pear, yellow apple, star […]

CHRISTINE HAVENS
McMinnville, OR

christine@christine-havens.com