Featured Wines - November 2009

A big, stunning wine for sure, the 2006 Hewitson Ned & Henry’s Barossa Shiraz (92% Shiraz/ 8% Mourvedre) reminds us of young Hermitage – the Rhône Valley’s greatest red. Although this rich, polished Barossa beauty has already begun to strut her stuff, she remains a sleeping giant. The 2006 Hewitson Ned & Henry’s Shiraz is packed with character, flavor, style, and plenty of ripe tannins, which most assuredly will pay added dividends if one can all...

Cécile Grongnet’s Blanc de Blancs is soft, gentle, aromatic Champagne, a wine that emanates elegance and style – the very hallmarks of the finest sparkling wines of Champagne. Sporting a bright, cheerful champagne-colored robe and exhibiting a very tiny, delicate perle or bubble, the Grongnet Blanc de Blancs radiates charm and sophistication. The wine’s cachet is light and lovely, an infusion of white fruits and freshly baked bread that is hard t...

As a traditionalist, Alfio Cavallotto’s Bricco Boschis Barolo nearly always offers Barolo aficionados one of the truest reflections of the muscular, deep down, traditional style of Barolo for which the village of Castiglione Falletto is renowned, and thankfully the 2003 Cavallotto Bricco Boschis does not disappoint; it lives up to its well-deserved reputation and more. Always one of the deepest hued wines of Barolo, the 2003 Bricco Boschis is nea...

A crowd pleaser and one of the most complete white wines we tasted on a recent trip to Oregon, the 2008 Bethel Heights Eola Amity Hills Pinot Blanc offers outstanding aromatics along with a deep draught of flavor. The delectable scents of ripe golden apples, peach, minerals, spice, and wet stones all come to fore. On the palate, the wine is lively, fresh, and spicy. It possesses long rich fruit flavors, without a hint of sweetness. And with a goo...

The 2007 Canneto Rosso di Montepulciano is traditional Rosso di Montepulciano: it is deep purple in appearance and from all indications a wine produced for the discriminating palate. Earthy, flamboyant, juicy, and highly scented, Canneto’s 2007 Rosso di Montepulciano qualifies as hedonism in a glass. However, like all fine, young Tuscan reds, this wine begs for time to breathe. Allow it thirty minutes or more to open and gather its forces. With t...

The folks at Folie à Deux have once again fashioned a classic Napa Valley Chardonnay in 2008. The 2008 Folie à Deux Chardonnay offers up a beautiful, sunshiny robe, an amplifying nose, and a cornucopia of flavors. Pure Chardonnay fruit redolent with the scents of acacia blossoms, golden apples, pears, butter, toasted oak, vanilla, and spice underscore the aromatic profile of this delicious, easy to drink Napa Valley Chardonnay. Imbued with ample ...

Gouguenheim’s 2008 Valle Escondido Malbec benefits from a high altitude terroir, meaning the wine is more refined than rustic Although neither bold, nor muscular, it rather discreetly, but generously, offers its charms to the beholder. It is deeply colored, medium-bodied, and less overtly tannic than most of its compatriots. However, this is no wimp of a wine: Patricio Gouguenheim’s Valle Escondido Malbec provides the imbiber plenty of upfront ch...