Palazzina Le Macioche Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Le Macioche 2007
The 2007 The Macioche, tasted in a vertical was the oldest vintage we were treated to a very impromptu tasting at the winery. It’s the color of brick dust, and it feels like it’s on the nose, along with layered aromas of purple, incense, anise, menthol, iron. It is quite nimble the mouth, with well […]
Golan Heights Winery Yarden Blanc de Blancs 2009
Another jewel from Golan Heights Winery—the 2009 Yarden Blanc de Blancs is made from 100% Chardonnay sourced from the Galil (Galilee) appellation, Israel’s coolest viticultural area. Aged five years en tirage, the 2009 boasts an orchard fruit and citrus mélange of yellow skinned apples, poached pear, pineapple cake, clover honey, and a kiss of brioche. […]
Domaine Guion Cuvée Domaine Bourgueil 2015
Sporting classic Bourgueil notes of red berries, underbrush, orange pomander ball, and an ethereal top note of delicate florality. The 2015 Domaine Guion Cuvée Domaine Bourgueil is angular and tight with high-toned acidity, like crushed raw cranberry—it has a definite edge and considerable tartness, with tannins perched on the fore-palate. An earthy, mineral note emerges […]
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 […]
Palazzina Le Macioche Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Le Macioche 2011
Virtually unknown in the US, Le Macioche is in the same neighborhood as Biondi Santi—their stylish 2011 Riserva is a study in lightness and complexity. Aromas of menthol, incense, pomegranate, leather, mushroom, and forest floor give way to an understory of well-integrated, ultra-fine tannins. The acid here is quite pretty, too—it crescendos mid-palate, and softly […]
Brooks Rastaban Pinot Noir 2014
Showing beautifully, Brooks’ 2014 Rastaban is named after one of the stars in the Draco constellation, derived from an Arabic phrase “Rās al-Thu`bān, or head of the serpent. 2014 is a riper, lusher vintage than the 2011, the last I sampled under this label—this striking estate-grown Pinot Noir presents a broad sensory arc of ripe […]
Va Piano Les Collines Vineyard Syrah 2014
Another epic wine Jay shared at a recent Vivino meetup in Seattle. Va Piano’s 2014 Les Collines Vineyard Syrah is the proverbial iron fist in the velvet glove. It’s classic for Les Collines fruit, offering up caliginous tones of steeped blackberries, espresso, char, tilth and bay leaf. The palate is as earth-bound as the nose, […]
Château Auney l’Hermitage Graves Blanc 2015
Château Auney’s Graves Blanc 2015 is an elegant composition of 65% Semillon, 20% Muscadelle, and 15% Sauvignon Blanc harvested from small, organically farmed two-hectare parcel planted in gravel, clay and limestone soil. Barrel aging has graced it with softer tones of lemon curd, golden apple, and pear layered with a pinch of forest honey and […]
Domaines Schlumberger Les Princes Abbés Pinot Noir Alsace 2014
From Pinot Noir vines grown in limestone and marl, the initial impression is somewhat vegetative—dried moss and damp tilth, with a daub of iron ore. It’s a quality that burns off like morning fog. With time and air, a different suite of aromas surface, classic notes of alpine strawberries and sour cherries. It’s sweet, round […]