Featured Wines - April 2008

The 2004 vintage in Tuscany enjoys a great reputation, and the wine wares of this vintage are indeed proving to be as fine as the initial reports. More importantly, the 2004 Giacomo Mori Riserva Castelrotto Chianti is an outstanding Chianti Riserva and one of the great successes of an exemplary vintage. However, patience will be required, and we would like to add more than justly rewarded. Mori's Castelrotto is always a staggering statement when ...

The 2007 Sandalford Margaret River Estate Reserve Sauvignon Blanc Semillon is a knockout blend of Bordeaux's two finest white grape varieties and further evidence of the Margaret River's supremacy in crafting superb wines from traditional Bordeaux varietals. This most recent Estate Reserve Sauvignon Blanc Semillon from Sandalford is an intense white wine that marries tremendous flavor to supreme balance, a beautiful texture, and an incredible fin...

For more than three decades Alejandro Fernández has been dazzling the world of wine with an unbroken string of savory, sophisticated Tinto Pesqueras. However, never have we tasted a finer young Tinto Pesquera than the 2004. A great wine from an outstanding vintage, the 2004 Tinto Pesquera is world-class wine that takes its rightful place among the very top echelon of wines produced anywhere in the world. Deep purple in color, this super saturated...

The 2006 Wieninger Nussberg Grüner Veltliner offers up a bewitching nose and an equally exciting palate profile. The essence of pure September fruit, citrus zest, liquid stones, and an entrancing cachet of spice are just some of the amplifying scents and savors that one can discover in this electrifying wine. Bold, beautiful, and 100% Grüner Veltliner, the 2006 Wieninger Nussberg is no wilting flower or semisweet Rhine style knockoff. Rather, Wie...

The 2006 Costantini Massarosa Lazio Rosso is a bright, tasty red wine that just bursts with flavor. It is both lithe and satisfying, which makes it go down ever so easily. It offers an enchanting nose and a distinctive flavor that mirror dark ripe cherries, summer fruits, and woodland violets. The Massarosa Rosso is neither complex nor complicated, but it captures every bit of the glorious sun-drenched terroir from whence it comes. Like the Alban...

The 2006 Cavalchina Bianco di Custoza is as limpid and refreshing as a mountain stream. One panel member went so far to remark that "the 2006 Cavalchina Bianco di Custoza tastes like a cold draught of alpine spring water, with minerals and lemon zest." Indeed, this Bianco di Custoza weds quench ability to a host of distinctive, satisfying flavors. Bright, tangy, and brimming with nuanced flavors as well as more than a little bravado, the Cavalchi...

In Italian Terra d'Oro means "Land of Gold," and there is no doubt that Montevina's 2004 Terra d'Oro Amador County Syrah is the property's reserve Syrah and nothing short of liquid gold. Although wonderfully consistent from year to year, the 2004 Montevina Terra d'Oro Syrah is a special wine in its own right. It radiates all the voluptuous charm of Amador County: a lush scent and oodles of decadent fruit. Yet there is a European sensibility about...