Featured Wines - November 2002

Patience is required to fully appreciate how great this wine is,' counseled one taster. 'I love it now. I think we should open another bottle,' replied another member of the panel as he reached for the unopened bottle. 'You can't drink that wine now. That would be "infanticide." 'You wanna bet. I want it, I like it, and I'm going to drink it now! After a moment, in which the two belligerents glared at each other, the bottle in question was opene...

A racy aromatic wine, the 1999 Georg Breuer Montosa Rheingau Riesling combines precise balance with high extract and deep flavor. The product of slate soils, disciplined harvesting, and miniscule yields the Breuer Montosa tantalizes the nose with scents of pure mineral, white peach, and lemon zest. Rich, oily, and almost unctuous on the palate one braces for the sugary, sweet flavor that characterize so many other German wines, but instead a dry ...

The goodness of the 2000 Cartlidge & Browne California Chardonnay begins with a beguiling aroma of tropical fruit and exotic spice, which turns into a potpourri of ripe, round, buttery flavors on the palate. Hints of oak and pineapple infused vanilla marry to apple and lemon drop flavors in the center of this wine. And if that's not enough to tantalize the senses, a dry, utterly pleasing Burgundian-style finish begs the taste buds for an encore. ...

A deep purple robe smiles from the glass full of 2000 Sonoma Creek Merlot, indicating the natural, serious approach to winemaking at this estate. An amplifying nose laden with the scent of black cherry, cassis and just a hint of spice from a twelve month hiatus in oak barrel extends the warm welcome offered by this hand harvested Merlot. Black berry, plum and plush vanilla tones round out the palate profile of the 2000 Sonoma Creek Merlot, unders...