Featured Wines - May 2004

Charming, elegant, and impeccably balanced, the 2000 Vina Sastre Roble is pure charisma in a glass, and a veritable crowd pleaser, too. Exhibiting a seductive array of beguiling scents and flavors, the Vina Sastre is eminently drinkable and just about impossible to resist. Ripe current fruit, an expressive cigar box scent, and that oh so much more the French refer to as je ne sais quoi make this medium-bodied, unfiltered, purebred Tempranillo a c...

Fresh as a summer breeze, the 2002 Domaine Cheval-BlancSigné caresses the nose and palate with a bracing freshness and the light but haunting waft of pineapple, melon, and grapefruit married to the alluring scent of the sea. In other words, the 2002 Domaine Cheval-Signé is white Bordeaux at its best. It combines delicacy and ethereal charm with plenty of flavor. Light to medium bodied, this dry white knows how to charm…. and does it ever go down ...

The 2001 Tim Gramp Watervale Riesling is perhaps the ultimate expression of noble dry Riesling in South Australia. A pale but luminescent robe catches the eye but hardly prepares the taster for the multitude of scents and savors that emerge from this beautifully made wine. A squeeze of lime, citrus oil, along with traces of exotic fruits caress the nose, while a long textured center blossoms with prolonged airing and hints of minerals, spring flo...

The 2002 Lanzerac Stellenbosch Chardonnay is a classic Burgundian- style Chardonnay that offers a beautiful deep straw color, a wonderfully rich nose, and oodles of flavor. Citrus, vanilla cream, and dry butterscotch flavors caress the nose and palate where they mingle with a light, lovely cachet of spice that spells breed. No doubt, the Lanzerac is one sophisticated Chardonnay; each sip reveals another flavor or subtle charm that has unobtrusive...