Featured Wines - June 2003

Chandon Riche is indeed luscious and well endowed. It exhibits an entrancing floral bouquet that is followed by just a whisper of ripe, exotic fruit. Rich, honeyed fruit flavors accompany a soft velvety texture. A blend of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Pinot Meunier, and a hint of Muscat, Riche offers up ripe peach and white nectarine flavors; yet, it never crosses the boundary into real sweetness despite the wine's persistent, long layered finish that...

Classic Cotes du Rhone is one way to describe the 2000 Guigal Cotes du Rhone Rouge. Simply delicious is another and, perhaps, more apt description of this especially deep colored, well endowed Cotes du Rhone. With approximately 50% Syrah as the wine's base, it should come as no surprise that black fruits and rich creme de cassis scents and flavors emerge from this hedonistic potion. What is even more impressive is the hint of Asian spices and the...

The lively, fresh 2002 Casa Lapostolle Sauvignon Blanc sports a lovely yellow and green-tinged robe. Its nose is equally intense and aromatic, offering a seductive dollop of citrus, melon, tropical fruits and grapefruit, which intertwine with smoky flint tones. On the palate, the Casa Lapostolle Sauvignon Blanc explodes with both a ripe juiciness and a mélange of crisp acidity, making it a perfect foil for spicy foods. A crisp, racy finish pleasa...

Terry Speizer's 1999 Domaine Alfred Chamisal Pinot Noir has not only heart and soul, but great body, too. Rich in robe, with a regal purplish hue, this Pinot is deliciously packed with the haunting aromas and flavors of red cherry, raspberry and cola. Scented woodlands and Asian spices emerge in the nose and on the palate, too. Each sniff and subsequent sip of this noble Pinot reveals another dimension, adding meaning to the word complexity. Bott...