Featured Wines - November 2011

A first rate cava made entirely from Macabeo grapes that are fermented in the bottle, Torre Oria Cava offers a pretty sunshine-imbued color and a full floral bouquet of berries and wildflowers. With delicate, tiny bubbles that glide gracefully across the palate, Torre Oria offers a wealth of complex, elegant flavors: savory peach, tropical fruit and spring flower tones. Supple and medium-bodied throughout, Torre Oria exits with a long, lingering finish that makes the imbiber beg for more.

An exquisite champagne and a favorite of Queen Victoria and Edward VII, Joseph Perrier can now be found only in select restaurants and wine shops. Soft scents of acacia, daffodil, and citrus peel tantalize the nose. In the mouth, it caresses the palate with balanced precision as it offers hints of apple and hawthorn that meld imperceptibly with the savor of freshly baked bread. However, what may be most ingratiating about Joseph Perrier’s Cuvée Royale is its luxuriously crisp, but not acidic finish.

Deep in color, impressive in bouquet, and rich on the palate, Gary Wooten’s Croze Cabernet Sauvignon offers scents and savors of blackberry, cassis, chocolate, coffee, and wood smoke. Powerful but smooth, this flavorful Cabernet blooms in the glass, becoming silky and seamless while never losing its rich velvety flavors. This is an exceptional single vineyard Napa Valley Cabernet that seems to have floated under most people’s radar due to its tiny 500 case production quantity. Enjoy the 2005 while it lasts!

Though brilliant and saturated in color, Soluna’s Malbec eschews the splintery tannins that other young deeply colored Malbecs too often display, offering instead a velvety, textured body with plenty of blackberry, cassis, and plum flavors. As the wine opens, its dark berry fruit flavors yield layer upon layer of flavor; subtle chocolate, spice and smooth oak tones come quickly to fore as they meld with the fruit in this beautifully balanced, medium-bodied Malbec. A beautiful wedding of charm to power.

If you’re a fan of wimpy wines, be warned – Jeff Runquist plays hard. The 2009 “R” 1448 is big, bold, and beautiful. It’s also opaque and nearly black in color as one would expect from a wine that contains 58% Petite Sirah. Expect aromas of ripe black fruits, currant, cassis, and wood smoke, with flavors of ripe blackberry, toasted wood, caramel and chocolate tones. One might expect 1448 to carry a tannic bite, but instead it offers a smooth, textured feel as it exits with true charm and grace.

The 2008 Pasanau Ceps Nous provides the ideal introduction to the hedonistic, age-worthy wines of Priorat. Unlike some of its compatriots, Ceps Nous drinks well from the time it is released. Yet, it will improve in bottle for at least another 5 years. Redolent with the scents of berry fruits, forest woodlands, anise and spice, the 2008 Ceps Nous will dazzle the nose for hours after it is opened. Equally impressive are the wealth of plush, sophisticated, deep down flavors that make Pasanau’s Ceps Nous so enthralling.

Domäne Wachau fashions classic Gruner Veltliner. The 2010 Federspiel Terrassen glows with the glint of the sun. Moreover, it offers a light but enticing aroma of freshly picked golden apples, fennel, freshly mown grass, and liquid minerals. On the palate, Domäne Wachau’s Federspiel Gruner Veltliner offers a subtle balance of fruit and fresh, crisp acidity that leads to a racy and refreshing finish. We prefer this unique Austrian beauty chilled quite well (35º- 40º F) and in the full bloom of its youth.