Quinta de Covela Escolha Branco 2013
Tasted at Covela’s historic estate—a Renaissance manor that sits frozen in time, poised at the mouth of the Douro Valley, along a southern-facing amphitheater robed in lush greenery. The 2013 Escolha Branco is a blend of Avesso and Chardonnay, with a few years of age, offers perfumy aromas of dried honey and orange blossom. Barrel […]
Quinta do Noval Quarenta Anos 40 Year Old Tawny
Sampled at Noval’s tasting room in Porto, the Noval ‘Quarenta Anos’ 40 Year Old Tawny is translucent and brickish, replete with developed notes of dates, Dalmatia fig spread, dried apples, aged leather, and warm wicker. In the mouth it’s viscous and full, more so than Noval’s Colheita, it’s the acidity that really brings this Port […]
Aldelsheim Breaking Ground Chehalem Mountains Pinot Noir 2014
Intensely perfumed, Aldelsheim’s commemorative 2014 Breaking Ground Pinot Noir is composed entirely of Chehalem Mountain Pinot Noir, 12% of which is from the winery’s estate. Sumptuous black cherries, black raspberry, underbrush, earth, and heirloom roses grace the nose. It’s ruby-hued and more opaque than is typical for Oregon Pinot—hinting at this wine’s concentration and depth. […]
Seed Paraje Altamira Malbec 2014
Luscious steeped blackberries, marionberries, and dusky Italian plums lie well beneath lighter, more enigmatic aromas of violets, dust, and dark chocolate shavings. Seed’s 2014 Paraje Altamira Malbec is mulberry-hued at the rim, and deliciously fresh. The nose echoes the palate, with saturating black fruit at the core, neatly hemmed in by mouth-coating, ripe tannins. It’s […]
Domaine Lafond Roc-Epine Lirac 2014
Generous, layered black fruit on opening: black cherries and blackberries held aloft by underbrush, anise and baking spice aromas. Composed of 70% Grenache and 30% Syrah, Domaine Lafond’s 2014 Lirac Roc-Epine is softly textured, a deep plunge into black fruit and velvety tannins—it’s entirely voluptuous, with no-hard edges, save for spice notes on the finish, […]
Domaine de Boède Les Grès 2009
Succulent notes of smoky plums, marionberries, figs, and camphor with perhaps more ethereal notes of incense, iron, and game. Given the nose, one expects this Langedoc blend of Mourvedre, Grenache, Syrah, and Carignan to be big-boned and brawny on the palate—it comes across as mid-weight, a good thing, I think, tempered by a healthy of […]
Seed Red Wine 2014
Pronounced, layered aromas of blackberries, plums, lavender and lilac, the 2014 Red is Seed Wine’s inaugural release and is composed of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Malbec and 10% Cabernet Franc. Aged for 16 months on new French oak, this polished Argentine red exhibits fabulous purity of fruit at the core, cradled in fine, velvety tannins. […]