Featured Wines - March 2007

The 2005 Cusumano Syrah is a deeply colored potion that captures the brooding pulse of Sicily. Stoic and reticent upon first meeting, the 2005 Syrah slowly gathers itself in the glass to emit a luxuriant scent of black fruits, plum, licorice, and Mediterranean herbs. On the palate, the 2005 Cusumano Syrah expands and fills the mouth with all of the enticing fruit and spice that Syrah can conjure, to which is added a soft mineral quality on the fi... Read More

The 2005 Dry Creek Vineyards Fumé Blanc is knockout Sauvignon Blanc. It combines the best of California fruit with the classic distinction of the finest Sancerre wines from France. It is no wonder that Dry Creek Sauvignon Blanc is the benchmark by which all other California Sauvignon Blanc wines are measured. Scents of melon, fig, grapefruit, herb, and fresh mown grass pour from the glass. In the mouth, this exemplary Fumé Blanc follows through c... Read More

A classic cepage of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, and Petit Verdot, the deeply colored 2003 Dry Creek Vineyards Meritage comes across the palate as one seamless garment. It blends all the traditional Bordeaux varietals into one juicy, up front, good drinking red wine, which succinctly states David Stare's case for more meritage style wines in California, as opposed to the more common, parochial approach of strict varietal bo... Read More

Remarkably consistent and utterly pleasing from vintage to vintage, the 2005 Chateau St. Jean Sonoma County Chardonnay is another notable success from Margo Van Staaveren. This most recent Chateau St. Jean Chardonnay is both creamy and brimming with tropical fruit flavors. Scents of pineapple, pear, toasted almond, and creamy vanilla all make their anticipated appearance in the wine's luscious nose, before folding seamlessly into buttered apple a... Read More

The 2004 R Paso Robles Syrah has been likened to the "life of the party," by one member of the tasting panel and "the portly gentleman with the winning smile, the gregarious manner, and the positively wicked wit," by another panel member. Indeed, Jeff Runquist's latest Syrah is one fun, but imposing statement of a wine. To begin with, it is an intensely purple, super saturated wine that could make a perfectly ripe plum look like the raw material ... Read More

Put aside all preconceived notions or previous experiences with Muscadet, favorable or unfavorable, because no other Muscadet comes close to matching the quality, individual style, or performance of the 2002 Le Clos du Château l'Oiselinière. Produced from an ancient parcel of Melon de Bourgogne vines that average more than 100 years of age, the 2002 Le Clos offers a beautiful aroma that mingles supple scents of fruit and mineral and then marries ... Read More