Château Rieussec Sauternes 2010
I couldn’t resist pulling one of my remaining bottles of 2010 Château Rieussec from the cellar. Burnished gold in the glass, it’s exactly as I remember the last bottle I sampled in 2014—a sumptuous mélange of dried apricots, mango, creme brûlée, cloves, acacia honey and a heady whiff of smoke and dried mint. Round, glycerol-laden […]
San Leonardo San Leonardo 2000
An unusual blend of cabernet sauvignon, carmenère and merlot—yes, in that order. The 2000 San Leonardo is built on a foundation that is squarely Italian, but there are some Bordeaux-esque elements to this profound Dolomitic red. As it evolves, black currants and plums swirl beath layers of graphite, forest floor, sweet tobacco, sandalwood, dried laurel, […]
Schäfer Riesling 2015
The Schäfer family have been organically farming their vineyard parcels in Mettenheim (Schlossberg) and Bechtheim since 1709, and really, when the wine is good, what more could the savvy wine consumer want for $13.00 per bottle? A kerosene top note leads into weighter expressions of white peach, poached pear, and lemon drop. It’s medium-bodied on […]
Cristom Eileen Vineyard Pinot Noir 2015
Eileen is Cristom’s highest elevation vineyard, a 16-acre parcel that benefits from cooling marine breezes and low fertility Witzel and Nekia type soils. Raspberry and black cherry notes glide beneath with lighter tones of fragrant roses, hibiscus tea, and exotic spice. Lifted fruit, and racy acidity lead into silken tannins perched at the front palate, […]
Domaine Bousquet Brut Rosé NV
Ninety points because I was caught quite off guard by this elegant sparkler from Domaine Bousquet. A blend of 75% Pinot Noir and 25% Chardonnay—all organic fruit grown at high elevation in Argentina’s sparce and arid Tupungato district, it’s fine-boned and as one might expect, graced with high acidity. Aromas of white peach, white flowers, […]
Angela Estate Pinot Noir 2012
Angela, sweet Angela, you sang just as I’d hoped you would…with a lovely floral countenance of hibiscus flowers, rose petal, clove and baking spice swirl above richer, denser notes of black cherry, boysenberry and forest floor. Concentrated without being heavy, these wines are a masterpiece from Ken Wright, expressing Pinot’s full range and potential. The […]
Larmandier-Bernier Champagne Vieille Vigne du Levant Grand Cru 2007
With a mousse like seed pearls embroidered on golden-threaded brocade, Larmandier-Bernier’s 2007 Champagne Vieille Vigne du Levant is precise and delicate. And while there is vinosity and weight suggestive of old vines, its luminous and filligred layers are etched with the character of ancient limestone soils found in Cramant. Crushed oyster shell, wet chalk are […]
Angela Estate ‘Abbott Claim’ Pinot Noir 2012
A blend of Pommard and clones 777 and 115, all rooted in ancient marine sedimentary soils that form the foundation and consequently the backbone of the 2012 Angela Abbott Claim Vineyard. Textbook growing conditions combined with this stellar site have yielded a wine with heady, rapturous aromas of hibiscus, musky black tea, mushrooms, truffles, smokey […]
Lingua Franca Mimi’s Mind Pinot Noir 2015
Mimi’s Mind, so named to honor the work of Mimi Casteel, and her east-facing vineyard site of Woodburn, Nekia, and Jory type soils planted in the 1970s. I am told that the vines are own-rooted and phylloxera-free, making them a rarity in the Eola-Amity Hills. The 2015, dressed in a translucent ruby robe, is poised […]
Cristom Mt. Jefferson Cuvée Pinot Noir 2015
Cristom’s 2015 Mount Jefferson Cuvée Pinot Noir combines all five of the winery’s estate vineyards, and fruit from a few, select neighboring sites. The palate is both seamless and precise in its acid balance, truly, this is where this silken cuvée shows its pedigree. Fine, sueded tannins gather and fade—a slow, amaranthine unfolding of white […]