Featured Wines - February 2000

The 1997 Rodney Strong Merlot wears a regal, ruby robe that portends the wines heaven scents and lush, velvet flavors. Ripe, round berry aromas, mingled with anise, spice and bark spring from the glass. Full and rich in the mouth, this Rodney Strong Merlot combines the textbook Merlot flavors of berry, chocolate and spice with the suavity of clean oak. Generous, fulfilling and a pleasure to drink, this wine puts many more expensive, big name Merl...

Sporting a forsythia yellow robe, clean, rich flavors and concentrated fruit, the 1998 Santa Barbara Winery Chardonnay is a clear stand-out from a superior growing region. Working with a harvest that was nearly three weeks later than normal, winemaker Bruce McGuire’s decision to pick each individual vineyard sight at optimum ripeness, even at the expense of his own time off, is clearly evident in this highly polished Chardonnay. Scents of acacia,...