Olivier & Lafont Vacqueyras 2015
With a nose steeped in black cherries, black raspberries, violet pastille, warm wicker, cigar box, and baking spice, Olivier & Lafont’s 2015 Vacqueyras is made from old-vine Grenache and Syrah grown on the coolest section of Gigondas’ northern slope. Silky on entry with fine fore-palate tannin accented by a nervy jolt of acidity. It’s polished […]
Côté Mas Rouge Intense 2016
An excellent choice for the value minded, the 2016 Côté Mas Rouge Intense is a classic Languedoc-Roussillon blend of 45% Grenache, 25% Carignan, 15% and Cinsault with a splash of Merlot and Syrah. Welcoming aromas of macerated strawberries, cherries, a little funk—forest floor, decomposing leaves, mushrooms, vanilla, and anise grace the nose. In the mouth, […]
Department 66 Others 2015
A sultry blend of Grenache, Carignan, Syrah, and Mourvedre Department 66’s 2015 Others red blend opens with enveloping aromas of blackberry, ripe plum, violets, and Garrigue. Plush fruit and softly-textured tannins are held in balance by a rippling chord of acidity. The close is restrained, tinged with the stony illuvium fingerprint of the Pyrénées-Orientals, a […]
Meyer-Fonné Altenbourg Pinot Noir 2015
The 2015 ’Altenbourg’ is Meyer-Fonné’s inaugural release, and the Pinot Noir used to craft it hails from winery’s Gallus vineyard, a small 0.7 ha parcel of marly limestone planted in 1996. Unfiltered and fermented with wild yeast, it’s a linear wine that delivers up a spicy mélange of brambly fruit, underbrush, dried raspberry leaf, and […]
Delas Frères Condrieu Clos Boucher 2011
Bright lemon yellow, the 2011 Delas Frères Condrieu Clos Boucher emits gorgeous, stratified layers of baked pear and apple, lemon curd, orange blossom, spice, and smoky minerality. It’s bright on entry—graced with both texture and depth at the mid-palate, followed by mineral-driven acidity that picks up mellifluous tones of quarry dust, lemon pith, peach pit, […]
Trimbach Réserve Riesling 2016
The color of winter sunlight, Trimbach’s 2016 Réverve Riesling is made from old vines planted on the winery’s estate parcels notably classed as Grand Cru—these vineyards lie within ancient calcareous limestone soils studded with fossilized seashells known as “Muschelkalk.” A kaleidoscope of white peach, yellow apple, lemongrass, lemon pith, wet stone, and kerosene. In the […]
Paul Mas Château Paul Mas Coteaux du Languedoc Clos des Mures 2016
From old vines grown in clay and limestone soils the 2016 Paul Mac Clos de Mûres is a substantive blend of 83% Syrah, 12% Grenache, and 5% Mourvedre. The rim is vibrant blue-violet, with fresh, penetrating aromas of boysenberry, wild blueberry, and plum followed by a top note of cocoa powder and black licorice. Chalky […]
Côte Mas Blanc Méditerranée 2016
The 2016 Côte Mas Blanc Méditerranée is an inviting blend of 35% Grenache Blanc, 25% Vermentino, 25% Chardonnay, and 15% Sauvignon Blanc It’s a pretty blend with vivacious aromas of Asian pear, star fruit, lemon drop, lemongrass, and spring flowers. Round on the palate, with a core of juicy yellow fruit nicely offset by bright […]
Château de la Coste Margaux 2013
A poised and polished blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 45% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc, Château de la Coste is the second wine of Château Paveil de Luze—here the Merlot shines through with abundant aromas of black cherries, plums, red currants, sweet tobacco, and dried herbs followed by classic Margaux florality—dried violets, a crowning top note. 2013 was a wet topsy-turvey vintage, […]
Boutinot Les Six Côtes du Rhône Villages Cairanne 2014
The Cairanne AOC is the Southern Rhône’s newest Cru, and the 2014 Les Six a blend of 50% Grenache, 10% Mouvèdre, 10% Syrah, 10% Carignan,10% Counoise, 10% Cinsault grown in the AOC’s classic hillside terroir of chalk and red clay. It’s a softly textured wine, on the nose and palate, with blackberries, plums, and brambly […]