Featured Wines - February 2010

In 2007 Bethel Heights produced one of Willamette Valley’s most successful estate grown Pinot Noirs. On a recent trip to Oregon, we tasted the 2007 Bethel Heights Estate Grown Pinot Noir and immediately fell in love. Subsequent tastings after additional time in bottle have confirmed our initial jubilation and revealed even greater charm and hedonistic pleasure. The tender, medium-bodied 2007 Estate Grown Pinot Noir offers up a fragrant bouquet of...

The 2007 Molnar Family Poseidon’s Vineyard Chardonnay is one suave, sophisticated Chardonnay with a style all its own. In fact, the Molnars make no bones about the fact they have set about re-inventing their idea of California Chardonnay. So, if you are looking for a semi-sweet, oak laden Chardonnay that claws after the first glass, we suggest you look elsewhere. However, if you are seeking something special in California Chardonnay, you will sur...

A stunning wine from a superlative vintage, the 2006 Emilio Moro Ribera del Duero opens with a superb bouquet of blackberry, espresso, roasted herbs, and wood smoke. In the mouth, this Ribera del Duero nearly explodes: it offers a boatload of rich, ripe fruit, roasted coffee tones, and toasted oak. Furthermore, all this goodness is wrapped in a firm core of well integrated tannins that assures this traditional offering a long, illustrious life. A...

The 2006 Picket Fence Russian River Valley Chardonnay embodies Old World charm as well as New World flavor. Sun kissed with a forsythia yellow robe and a soft, sophisticated bouquet reminiscent of apple blossoms, apricot, and cream, it brings a welcome smile to parched lips. In the mouth, Picket Fence caresses the palate and expands into a silky smooth, Burgundy style Chardonnay that evokes the comfort and security of home with savors of Bosc pea...

Deep, dark, and beautifully perfumed, the 2008 Venta Morales is the perfect example of how good old vine La Mancha Tempranillo can be in the hands of a master winemaker. No other wine region in Spain has so much of its land devoted to the vine. Yet, La Mancha receives so little recognition. However, we think that scenario is about to change with the renaissance of this ancient viticultural area and the presence of Jorge Ordonez and other astute i...

The cheerful, sunny robe is the first thing one notices about the 2008 Viña Gormaz Rueda. How fitting that Rueda, the finest white wine of Spain’s sun drenched northern plain, bears all the radiance of the sun. At artful blend of Verdejo (60%) and Viura (40%), the 2008 Viña Gormaz Rueda captures the palate as well as the eye. From first sniff, this wine’s heady aroma is redolent with the scents of melon, fresh squeezed lime, and spring flowers. M...

Christian Rougenet has once again created an exceptional meritage offering in the 2005 Surfrider Red. This expertly crafted wine is an artful blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Petit Verdot from Rosenthal’s own estate vineyards. Deeply colored, rich, and full-bodied, Surfrider embodies intense fruit as well as a good dose of sophistication. Blackberry, cassis, and jammy red fruit flavors almost immediately come to fore, but we suggest you g...