Featured Wines - October 2013

Zinfandel has always been Pedroncelli’s claim to fame , and the fruit for Mother Clone Zinfandel is harvested from cuttings from their initial 1904 “Mother” vines along with some of the original 100+ year old vines themselves. Rich berry fruit, bramble, black pepper, cinnamon, and wood smoke permeate the nose and flavor of this complex Zinfandel. Big boned yet impeccably balanced, the 2010 Mother Clone contains fine, ripe tannins to frame its extroverted fruit and spice flavors and add to the wine’s long, lingering finish.

Beautiful, aromatic, and long on the palate, Casarena’s 2011 Estate Chardonnay delivers delicious crisp stone fruit flavors and a long, deep draught of fruit and spice. It offers elegance and complexity in its formidable flavor profile, and it evolves with time: at first the wine’s evolution in the glass is nearly imperceptible, but with just a bit of aeration the Casarena Estate Chardonnay begins to unfold and reveal more of itself with each successive sip, including a beautiful integration of oak and crisp natural acidity to balance its formidable fruit.

Richly endowed with complex, deep down fruit flavors, subtle earth tones that add complexity, and a bit of flamboyance, this Mendoza Reserva is truly enjoyable to drink. Though still a youth with its best years yet to come, it already offers up tempting scents and savory flavors reminiscent of crème de cassis, chocolate, and orange peel that make it difficult to resist. In addition, the wine is full and structured on the palate, but also nicely balanced by soft spice and vanilla tones from a year-long stay in French oak barrels.

A bright, slightly golden robe is the first sign of the aromatic, luscious, personality filled Soave that is the envy of other Soave producers. The 2012 Gini Soave Classico is scrumptiously delicious, offering a beguiling bouquet of acacia, apricot, cherry blossoms, and spring flowers. And on the palate, Gini is pure magic; its velvety fruit fills the senses while presenting subtle minerality and gentle acidity. Moreover, the 2012 Gini Soave Classico makes a charming exit with a delightful citrus twist and a dash of almond.

Awarded an impressive 94 and 93 points by Wine Spectator and Wine Advocate, respectively, the rich and highly aromatic 2004 Viña Ardanza offers the palate deep fruit flavors reminiscent of plum, cherry, and fig, along with earth and hints of coffee and dark chocolate. As it reaches a crescendo, toasty oak, laced with hints of cedar and vanilla, proudly emerges to provide backbone and structure to this elegant, yet full-flavored wine. It will also define the smooth but strong, distinctive finish that has become the trademark of a quality Rioja.

Riesling is often a sweet wine in Germany, but not so with the much drier Rieslings of Alsace, France. Emile Beyer’s 2010 Eichberg Grand Cru Riesling is a youthful, large scaled wine with an enthralling orchard fruit bouquet, deep down fruit and mineral flavors to tantalize the palate, and bracing acidity that will easily carry the wine into the next decade. This is no low alcohol wilting flower of a Riesling. As one sips the 2010 Eichberg Riesling, a wealth of laser like scents and savors emerge, including hints of apple blossom, almond, and lemon zest.

The 2010 Château Maurac Haut-Médoc captures the essence of the outstanding 2010 Bordeaux vintage. For openers, it is a deeply colored wine whose youthful bouquet provides a nice draught of blackberry, licorice, and peppermint. But it’s in the mouth that the 2010 Château Maurac truly shows its colors, offering a wealth of lush ripe black fruit flavors and great concentration. Behind the polished jammy fruit flavors lies a tannic core that will easily carry the wine into the next decade if you have the patience to lay some extra bottles down.