Featured Wines - August 2001

There is a certain color, a regal purple robe that exudes strength, character and charm, which typifies the best Cabernet Sauvignon wines - and certainly the 1998 Casa Lapostolle Cabernet Sauvignon is no exception. To match the visual delight wrought by this wine is a whole set of olfactory and gustatory pleasures: blackberry, cedar, cassis, tobacco and spices. Packed into this medium weight Cab is a hypothetical blend of good Bordeaux and first-...

A lush, sexy wine, the 1999 Alexander Valley Vineyard Syrah is redolent with the scents and savor of black fruits, wood smoke and vanilla. Dense and masculine, this extroverted charmer is not without its feminine side. It possesses a substantial strength and tannin, but remains impeccably balanced. Happily, this Syrah's tannins are neither aggressive nor excessive. Wearing a regal purple robe and a long finish that lingers gleefully in the mouth,...

True to its breeding and very old vines, the 1999 Chateau de Chasseloir is both rich and dry. The wine possesses many layers of fruit, intertwined with mineral overtones. In the glass, this Muscadet sports a clear , vibrant robe and an amplifying nose. On the palate, the Chateau de Chasseloir is thankfully full-flavored (rather atypical for Muscadet) and it possesses subtle complexity, which lingers on in the wine's long finish. Drink this excell...

"Wine is sunlight held together by water," Galileo once stated. "Oh, but what water this is," exalted one member of the tasting panel. Whether it is the clear limpid appearance of the 2000 Fattori & Graney Pinot Grigio or simply its outstanding quaffability, one thing is certain: this wine possesses the eminent ability to please. As fresh as the alpine breezes that temper the Veneto, this Fattori & Graney combines summer sun with a bracing headin...