Featured Wines - October 2001

Lush, succulent and pleasantly sweet, but not cloying, the 2000 Cantine Aurora Tortona Piemonte Moscato embodies all that nature in its infinite fecundity can provide. Capturing the essence of a Bacchanalian harvest: the ripe sensuality of fruit hanging on the vine, the golden rays of an autumnal sun, and the freshness of an October breeze, this Moscato begs to be savored, yet pleads to be guzzled. Low in alcohol (only 5.5%, but long on flavor, t...

Plush, opulent and delicious, the 1998 Chateau des Annereaux has been dubbed “the most elegant wine of the year,” by several members of the tasting panel and “the quintessential dinner party wine” by others. Supple, fruity and easy to drink, it would be easy to dismiss this wine as a lovely, round claret for early consumption. However, as a result of centuries of cultivation at the same site, the presence of natural wild yeasts on the grapes add ...

Lush! Lush! Lush! The 1999 Lawson’s Dry Hills Marlborough Chardonnay is about as hedonistic as dry white wine gets. Loaded with the scents of pineapple, mango and assorted tropical fruits, this wine is a feast for the senses. In the mouth, this delicious Chardonnay is so fat and long that it drips with butter, ripe exotic fruit, and a lovely cachet of spice that adds complexity and depth to its buxom beauty. And if all the essence of Chardonnay a...

A port-like nose underscores the ripeness and weight inherent in the 1998 Domaine Martin Cotes-du-Rhone. Plum, anise, black fruits and the peppery scents of Grenache dominate the aroma and flavor of this plush Cotes-du-Rhone. Rich in fruit, lush and hedonistic, this wine is ample proof that the Rhone Valley of France continues to turn out some of the world’s most pleasurable, user-friendly wines. A gold medal winner at the prestigious Paris Conco...