Featured Wines - June 2001

An intriguing concoction of Grenache, Shiraz, Mourvedre and Touriga (the deeply colored intensely flavored port varietal), the 2000 St. Hallett Barossa Gamekeeper's Reserve is a superb Rhone-style red. Deeply colored and amplifying in bouquet, the St. Hallett Reserve is thankfully one more successful vintage of the "Gamekeeper" from this great Barossa estate. Scents of cassis, kirsch and eucalyptus permeate the nose, while the mouth reveals a rip...

A gorgeous ruby red robe sets the tone for the 1997 Lorinon Crianza from Bodegas Breton. A warm, amplifying, almost huggable bouquet follows, conveying scents of red current, cassis, tobacco, spice, and of course, plush, sweet oak. On the palate, this Crianza is silky, smooth and flavorful. Like all Breton offerings, it finishes quite dry, aptly expressing the natural apple-like acidity for which this estate is revered. Allow the wine at least an...

The 1999 Tolloy Pinot Grigio is a bracing, fairly full-bodied Pinot Grigio. The wine's lightly straw colored robe hardly prepares the taster for the true telltale flavors of Alto Adige Pinot Grigio: slate, mineral, almond and lemon zest. This is a more serious, traditional style of Pinot Grigio - not a modern fruit bomb. The Tolloy fills the mouth with a dry, pungency that follows all the way through to the finish. Serve this Pinot Grigio moderat...

The 1997 Ca Dei Frati Lugana "I Frati" floored us. Nothing had quite prepared us for this delightfully full, yet very fresh and stylish wine. Wearing a rich, lightly golden robe with a Chablis-like hint of green, the "I Frati" more clearly resembles a fine white Burgundy than a northern Italian white wine. A beguiling scent of flowers, fruit and cheese dominate the heady bouquet, while textured fruit in a satin wrap caress the palette. Concentrat...