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Domaine Dublère Corton-Charlemagne 2005

Domaine Dublère Corton-Charlemagne 2005

Enjoyed on the Brooks winery patio on a warm not-quite summer’s eve, the 2005 Dublère Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru followed a lithe Muscadet and oysters. Graced with pretty notes of apple tartin, yellow flowers, lemon curd, graphite, and spice, it’s full and round and richly buttery on the palate, with ample intensity and good acidic cut, […]

Mirabeau Côtes de Provence Rosé 2015

Mirabeau Côtes de Provence Rosé 2015

Mirabeau’s 2015 Côtes De Provence is a convivial Provençal pink, expressing red summer berries, blood orange, brisk alpine air and talcum powder. As the nose suggests, Mirabeau is light and spritely, with lifted citrusy acidity and lithe minerally backbone. The finish goes on and on, limestone, seafoam, wet pomace, far more mineral expression than fruit. […]

Kindzmarauli Marani Rkatsiteli Dry White 2014

Kindzmarauli Marani Rkatsiteli Dry White 2014

From the foothills of Georgia’s Caucus Mountains, is this softly-hewn Rkatsiteli. Interestingly, this is a variety that was planted in my former estate vineyard, in a single test row. Kindzmarauli’s interpretation of this ancient, indigenous white brings back memories. Bruised pear, dried orange peel and wild prairie flowers. Full and round in the mouth, like […]

Domaine Vacheron Sancerre 2014

Domaine Vacheron Sancerre 2014

Stunning and vivid, Domaine Vacheron’s 2014 Sancerre is golden-robed and inlaid with lemongrass, lemon blossom, kaffir lime, banana creme pie, lychee, smoke and a nuanced herbal edge. Texturally round and lush on the palate, gloriously disrupted by a piercing vein of white grapefruit and chalky minerality that carries from the attack to a meandering, mouthwatering […]

Thierry Germain Domaine des Roches Neuves Clos De l’Echelier Saumur Blanc 2014

Thierry Germain Domaine des Roches Neuves Clos De l'Echelier Saumur Blanc 2014

Sourced from a small horse-plowed, biodynamically farmed two-hectare site, Clos de L’Echelier is blended from just two oval casks. The vines are seated in Turonian limestone, which gives Saumur Chenin’s their characteristic minerality, which this bottle certainly has, though less pronounced than some I’ve tasted. The nose is endowed with expressive aromas of ripe pear, […]

Falesco Tellus Merlot 2013

Four stars (or ~8.9) because Falesco’s Tellus Merlot 2013 is a great value, velvety and sumptuous, it retails for less than $15 in the US. From vineyards in Montecchio, in the heart of Umbria, the Merlot sourced for Tellus is grown in clay and calcareous soils. It’s an open-hearted wine, and softly focused with lush […]

Taylor’s Late Bottled Vintage Port 2011

Taylor's Late Bottled Vintage Port 2011

Taylor’s Late Bottled Vintage Port remains in wood for four to six years, as such, it is concentrated and intense, round and deliciously full-bodied. 2011, for me, has been one of the most exciting vintages I’ve tasted, it’s one I’m collecting and cellaring, though the ’11s are certainly enjoyably now. Taylor’s 2011 LBV is totally […]

Château de Camensac Haut-Médoc Grand Cru Classé 2011

Château de Camensac Haut-Médoc Grand Cru Classé 2011

The acidity in this wine is searing, a pity given that Carmensac is a Grand Cru Classé. I can only guess that it’s one of the 2011 vintage that didn’t fare well. Aromas of blackberries, black currants and black cherries are bolstered by vanilla and cedar. It’s quite thin and tight on the palate, lacking […]

Quinta de Covela Reserva Branco 2013

Quinta de Covela Reserva Branco 2013

Kissed with honeysuckle and orange blossom, Quinta de Covela’s 2013 Reserva Branco is an elegant cuvée of Avesso, Arinto, Chardonnay, and Viognier. Fermented at low temperatures in French and Austrian oak barrels for 14 months, this wine receives lees contact and it’s nicely integrated, lending body, soft texture and balance. Mineral and saline notes gracefully […]

Taylor’s 10 Year Old Tawny Port NV

Taylor's 10 Year Old Tawny Port NV

Delicate. Taylor’s 10 Year Old Tawny proved to be more reticent than other Tawny’s I’d sampled while in Porto. On the palate, it’s medium bodied and inlaid with dried fruit notes, a touch of caramel seamlessly interlaces dates, figs, and dried cherries in a silky embrace. There is, at times discernible heat, especially on the […]

CHRISTINE HAVENS
McMinnville, OR

christine@christine-havens.com