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Laurent Perrachon Juliénas Les Vignes Centenaires 2015

Laurent Perrachon Juliénas Les Vignes Centenaires

A bright, angular wine with an acid core that serves as the fulcrum around which other aspects of this wine flows. The 2015 Laurent Perrachon Juliénas Vieilles Vigne Centenaires displays slightly chewy tannins encasing bright cranberries and rose hips that merge with crushed watercress and chervil followed by stratified, rock strewn soil. 13.0% ABV | […]

Bollig-Lehnert Trittenheimer Apotheke Riesling Kabinett 2014

Bollig-Lehnert Trittenheimer Apotheke Riesling Kabinett 2014

Perhaps the most thrilling aspect of the 2014 Bollig-Lehnert Trittenheimer Apotheke Kabinett Riesling is the mouth-tingling interplay of salinity and acid set against a backdrop of unctuous yellow peach and apricot. It delivers the palate tension that just goes on and on, with a mouthwatering burst of lime zest and green tea. An outstanding Mosel […]

Blason-Louis Sancerre 2012 (Flacon)

Blason-Louis Sancerre 2012 (Flacon)

A new and novel offering from Blason Lewis—these flacons are the equivalent of a 3.5 oz glass. Robed in bright translucent ruby, the 2012 Blason Lewis Sancerre is fresh and vibrant, boasting aromas of red currants, raspberries, pie cherries, and damp earth. In the mouth, fine tannins and bright acidity add lift and structure to […]

Dr. Pauly-Bergweiler Dry Riesling 2015

Weingut Dr.Pauly-Bergweiler Dry Riesling 2015

Demure nose—a pretty bouquet of spring blossoms, lemon drop, and white peaches. What the 2015 Dr. Pauly-Bergweiler Dry Riesling lacks in aromatic vim, it makes up for on the palate, which full and round on entry with a surprisingly punchy burst of white grapefruit and lemon pith that ricochets through the core. Finishes with a […]

Jean-Luc Colombo Les Pins Couchés Rosé 2016

Jean-Luc Colombo Les Pins Couchés Rosé 2016

Conch shell pink, Jean-Luc Colombo’s Les Pins Couchés Rosé is a pretty blend of 67% Syrah and 33% Mourvedre sourced from Cape Bleue, a maritime-influenced site just outside Marseille. The 2016 delivers white peaches, raspberries, cherries, and line-dried linen, but what I’m most excited about what this wine does on the palate. The influence of […]

Brancaia: The Best of Both Worlds

2013 Brancaia Maremma Toscana Ilatraia

Like so many New World winemakers, Barbara Widmer’s childhood landscape wasn’t shaped by a life amongst the vines. Her parent’s journey into winemaking began, more or less, as a hobby that stemmed from the purchase of an abandoned hillside Castellina named Brancaia. “I grew up in Zurich; I had no ambition or dream to move […]

Biohof Pratsch Rotenspüllen Grüner Veltliner 2015

Pratsch Rotenspüllen Grüner Veltliner 2015

I’ve long been a fan of Biohof Pratsch—aside from their commitment to organic farming, their wines are also an outstanding value. Softly textured on the nose and palate, with gently wafting aromas of white peach, honeysuckle, wet stones and lemon curd. Medium-bodied and round, one can expect balanced acidic lift followed by a streak of […]

Taylor’s Chip Dry White Port NV

Taylor's Chip Dry White Port NV

Tasted at Taylor’s visitor’s center in Porto, the Chip Dry White carries a bit more discernible sweetness than the other dry white Ports I’d sampled that day. It’s aged for several years in casks, giving it an oxidative style and subtle nuttiness. Fresh and crisp on the palate, and laden with citrusy, notes, lemon oil […]

Didier Dagueneau Pouilly-Fumé Silex 2007

Didier Dagueneau Pouilly-Fumé Silex 2007

The best Pouilly-Fumé I’ve tasted in a long while—the 2007 Silex was indeed a special bottle, the last vintage Dagueneau crafted before a crash in an ultralight plane cut his life and career short. Full and nuanced without being weighty, ever changing and evolving in the glass. Lemon curd, apple blossom, dried honey, and dried […]

Domaine de la Mordorée Plume du Peintre Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2014

Domaine de la Mordorée Plume du Peintre Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2014

Brooding, serious and bordering on high-octane, the 2014 Domaine de la Mordorée Châteauneuf-du-Pape La Belle Voyageuse-du-Pape opens with notes of blackberry reduction, freshly turned soil, graphite and violets. A faint topnote of barnyard eventually blows off revealing a wine with lots of power and verve, firm tannins and close of Garrigue and spice. Lots to […]

CHRISTINE HAVENS
McMinnville, OR

christine@christine-havens.com