Featured Wines - Sept 2009

The 2008 Pedroncelli Dry Creek Valley East Side Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc is bright and crisp and as fresh as the morning sun. It also carries a subtle, refreshing minerality that speaks favorably of the East Side Vineyards’ terroirs. Light floral and citrus aromas perform a fine duet as they waft from this dazzling, straw colored wine. Embracing and downright huggable, the fruit of this bracing Sauvignon Blanc mingles deliciously around the pala...

One taste of the 2008 Domaine du Grand Chemin Duché d'Uzès is all that is needed to invoke vivid images of Southern France, with its blue, wind-swept skies and scintillating countryside. In fact, this charming Grenache/Syrah blend reminds us of all that is inherently beautiful and enduring about rural France. It recalls the best of Provence and the undulating Midi – a land of scented hillsides, delectable meals, and delicious, quaffable country w...

Smooth as silk and long on flavor, the 2006 Picket Fence Russian River Valley Pinot Noir is a ruby-hued gem of a wine. Made in small lots by Don Van Staaveren (only 274 barrels were produced in 2006 from a single vineyard on Westside Road), this elegant, sophisticated, fruit driven Pinot Noir offers a luxurious nose of ripe cherry fruit, spice, and toasted oak. In the mouth, the wine melts into pure velvet, with a brilliant intensity of flavor an...

The 1997 Santa Monica Private Reserve Tierra de Sol Cabernet Sauvignon is the progeny of one of Chile’s finest vintages. It is also the personal favorite of Don Emilio, and we can see why. We have tasted this Cabernet many times in the last five years and it always amazes us how charming and youthful it remains. Since its inception it has been stored in the cool, subterranean cellars at Santa Monica, and it remains deep in color and imbued with a...

Zaccagnini Lacrima di Morro d’Alba is one of Italy’s most unique wines, and that says a lot: Italy grows more wine and possesses more indigenous vines than any other wine producing nation. Grown by a long-time family vintner on hillsides where wine has been produced for thousands of years, the 2007 Zaccagnini Lacrima di Morro d’Alba is a superb example of its D.O.C. appellation and the rare Lacrima di Morro d’Alba grape. Produced in a very limite...

Hans Herzog’s wines have always been in a class by themselves, but his 2007 Hans Marlborough Viognier truly ranks as one of the top five Viognier wines made anywhere in the world. It is the ultimate expression of the varietal and a tribute to its creator, as well as the fabulous terroir of Marlborough. The wine is intense, balanced, and as perfect an example of Viognier that we have ever had the pleasure to drink. Mesmerizing scents of pear, apri...

Light, lovely, and brimming with fresh floral flavors, the 2008 Flying Fish Riesling is testimony to how far Washington State’s Columbia Valley has come with Riesling. By blending grapes from different vineyards, Gordon Hill has crafted an off-dry Riesling with pure fruit flavors, crisp acidity and perfect balance. Apple, peach, and apricot flavors, threaded with a subtle minerality and imbued with a citrus twist, provide a very pleasing mouthful...