Château Angélus Saint-Émilion Premier Grand Cru Classé 1995
Lovely and accessible, the 1995 Angélus shows off its pedigree and high percentage of Cabernet Franc with only minimal decanting. A slightly woodsy bouquet of black currants, plums, cedar, forest underbrush, spiced orange pomander, dried lavender, and incense. On the palate, poised supple tannins and a fine acid backbone underpin steeped blackberry, crème de cassis, […]
Patricia Green Cellars Estate Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc 2016
These notes, posted in honor of Patricia Green—her untimely passing was announced on the winery’s website today. I enjoyed this elegant 2016 Sauvignon Blanc only a few days ago. Glinting lemon yellow in the glass, with heady tropical notes of kiwi fruit and papaya rendered more complex by lilting herbaceousness. It’s generous in the mouth, […]
Yarden Golan Heights Winery Odem Organic Vineyard Chardonnay 2014
Lemon Yellow in the glass and medium-bodied without perceptible heaviness. There’s an air of restraint to this Israeli Chardonnay from Golan Heights Winery—yellow apple skin, white peach, poached pear, lemon tart, and a nuanced whiff of white flowers and toast. In the mouth, it’s focused—a textbook Chardonnay profile, and really nicely done. Perched acidity hits […]
Caol Ila 12-Year-Old Single Malt Scotch
Crafted from 100% malted barley and aged in used bourbon barrels and sherry casks, Caol Ila’s 12-year-old single malt scotch is a fine example of of Islay peat, offering up a smokey melange of wet fall leaves, rich, freshly turned tilth, and peat moss clinging to damp stones. It’s satisfyingly round in the mouth with […]
Waters Loess Vineyard Syrah 2012
Co-fermented with 4% Viognier, Waters 2012 Loess Syrah is crafted from fruit sourced from Leonetti Cellars estate vineyard. Earth, Italian plum, and blackberry reduction weave through seductive notes of brûléed turbinado sugar, earth, and charcuterie. It’s a sumptuous, well structured wine, framed in moderate toast with enough acidic lift to maintain balance. A meandering, lengthy […]
Figgins Walla Walla Valley Estate Red 2011
While the exquisite 2010 Figgins Estate Red merited points well above 95, and the 2012 showed off its pedigree and sumptuous velvety elegance, the 2011 vintage is a good effort in one of the more difficult recent vintages in Walla Walla Valley. As expected, the profile is lighter and leaner on the nose and palate. […]
Canvasback Red Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon 2014
Canvasback is Duckhorn Vineyards latest project in Washington State. The winery has partnered with legendary Washington vineyard manager Dick Boushey in sourcing some of Red Mountain’s best fruit, certainly, the results speak for themselves. Seductive aromas of blackcurrant, cassis, blueberry pie, and anise slowly unfurl. In the mouth, even distribution of fine tannins and sweet […]
Champagne Drappier Rosé Brut Nature Dosage Zero NV
In honor of #ChampagneDay, though really isn’t every day well suited for a bubbly pink such as this? Drappier’s Brut Nature Rosé is a merry kaleidoscope of red berries, blood oranges, pink grapefruit, wet chalk, and oyster shell. There’s no dosage in this bottle and, of note, it’s unfiltered—the sort of deep pink that is […]
Côté Mas Sud de France Rouge Intense 2016
Emblazoned with a sticker that proudly states 33% more, and it is indeed a larger than the average 750ml, though I failed to check the exact ml, it’s at a midway point between a standard bottle and a magnum. A blend of 45% Grenache Noir, 25% Carignan, 15% Cinsault, 10% Merlot, and 5% Syrah that […]
Aberrant Cellars Philtrum Pinot Noir Blanc 2015
Pearlescent and ethereal, Aberrant Cellars 2015 Philtrum Pinot Noir Blanc is a delicate shade of honey alabaster and imbued with peach pit, golden raspberries, white flowers, and a breezy top note of line-dried linen. In the mouth it’s fine boned and linear, there is much to be said about the texture—fruit at the core is […]