Featured Wines - March 2009

In the days before pretty wine labels came into vogue, with pictures of exotic animals, flowers, and the inventive wares of well-known artists to adorn the bottle, there was a saying among wine lovers: “The simpler the label, the better the wine.” In the case of Eidos de Padriñán, the adage still holds true. As a classic wine of Spain, the Eidos de Padriñán Albariño sports the simplest of labels, but what rests within is not simple at all, nor ...

From the moment the cork exits the bottle, the 2005 Carmen Reserve Carmenere Cabernet Sauvignon fills the room with its breath. At first sniff, it is all Carmenere one breathes with its earthy, berry spice coming to fore; but after fifteen minutes or more in the glass, a second seductive wave caresses the nose. A potpourri of blackberry, wild blueberry, bramble, and roasted coffee well up in this wine to complement Carmenere’s forward thrust. On ...

Suave, sophisticated, and smooth as satin, the 2005 Trinchero St. Helena Napa Valley Estate Reserve Cabernet Franc makes most other New World renditions of this glorious varietal look crude and uninteresting. Furthermore, Trinchero’s Estate Cabernet Franc blows away a goodly number of St. Emilion Grand Cru and Pomerol offerings, too. It hails from a tiny plot of just three acres at Trinchero’s Main Street Vineyard, located just behind the winer...

Another brilliant effort from Bodegas Borsao, the 2007 Monte Oton offers tremendous eye appeal, incredible structure, and a wealth of seductive flavors. Deep ruby red with purple highlights, the 2007 Bodegas Borsao Monte Oton paints a portrait of hedonistic pleasure, which it aptly displays with bright fruit-laden aromas that pour forthrightly from the glass and beg to be inhaled. Cherry, berry, cola, and spice all make their appearances and af...

Excellence and consistency go hand in hand at Domaine de la Collonge. Gilles Noblet’s 2007 Macon-Fuissé is a bright shimmering wine in both color and flavor. With every sip of this racy white wine, one sees and tastes the golden clusters of Chardonnay grapes that mature gently and slowly under the Maconnais sun. What's more, the 2007 Domaine de la Collonge Macon-Fuissé exhibits as much flavor as Noblet’s elegant, seductive Pouilly-Fuissé. On the ...

The 2007 Zemmer Alto Adige Pinot Grigio is another outstanding example of the Zemmer style. This is bright, clean, full-bodied Pinot Grigio that amplifies both the grape varietal and the mineral-rich style of Pinot Grigio for which Alto Adige is renowned. Zemmer has once again hit the mark with the 2007 Pinot Grigio, demonstrating why Alto Adige remains Italy’s premier DOC for Pinot Grigio. Wrapped in a sunny yellow robe, Zemmer’s exemplary 2007 ...

The 2005 Casa Silva Carmenère Microterroir de Los Lingues is, by all accounts, the ultimate expression of Chile’s finest and most emblematic red grape. Furthermore, winemaker Mario Geise’s reputation as the “King of Carmenère” is no doubt solidified and enshrined for posterity with this wine, the estate’s first release of Microterroir. A saturated purple color, a staggering perfume of blue and black fruits that fill a room with its breath, and ...