Featured Wines - November 2016

For centuries France dominated the production of world-class Pinot Noir. Burgundy and Champagne were the only games in town until California and Oregon got in the act, followed by Tasmania and others. Now, it is Chile’s turn. Casas del Bosque has fashioned a riveting Pinot in their 2015 Casas del Bosque Reserva Pinot Noir from Casablanca Valley. Medium to full-bodied, this 2015 Pinot offers a savory nose along with plenty of juicy cherry and...

Krone’s 2015 Borealis Vintage Cuvée Brut is a real star. It shines and sparkles with Champagne flavor and style. Not only is Krone’s Borealis Vintage Brut comprised of Champagne’s traditional cépage of Chardonnay (60%) and Pinot Noir (40%), whereby only free run juice makes it into the cuvée, the Borealis Vintage Cuvée is totally bottle-fermented Méthode Cap Classique (MCC) in the time-honored Champagne tradition of production. The wine...

Zinfandel is California’s own special variety and there is no better place to find exceptional Zinfandel than in California’s Russian River Valley. The 2013 Cambridge Cellars Elsbree Vineyard Russian River Valley Zinfandel provides ample testimony to support that claim, as it is deeply colored, beautifully balanced, vibrant and rich in flavor. One hardly notices the wine’s 14.9% alcohol as it delivers up an enticing bouquet of blueberry and...

The 2015 Cantarutti Collio Orientali Ribolla Gialla offers a rich, eye-catching color and a harmonious aroma redolent with the scents of stone fruits and minerals along with hints of exotic spices. On the palate, the 2015 Cantarutti Ribolla Gialla reveals fine, textured fruit flavors, which give it a more luxurious feel than the more familiar Pinot Grigio and other lighter white wines from northern Italy. Medium-bodied and pleasantly dry...

The 2012 vintage smiled upon Châteauneuf-du-Pape and the southern Rhône Valley, and Jerome Quiot has taken advantage of nature’s bounty in fashioning a smooth, stylish 2012 Les Combes D’Arnevel Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Sporting a beautiful ruby robe that lends eye appeal to the wine’s gustatory pleasures makes this Châteauneuf-du-Pape delightfully easy to drink. Savory scents of black cherry, spring flowers, and Provençal herbs dominate the...

Dampierre’s specialty is this month’s feature, the Dampierre family’s traditional, non-vintage Comte Audoin de Dampierre Grande Cuvée Brut, a serious complex Champagne that offers a delicate and persistent mousse, exquisite texture, and delicious fruit: apple and toasted pear flavors infused with pinpoint minerality render Dampierre’s Grand Cuvée irresistibly delicious. Both zesty and compelling in aroma and flavor, the Dampierre Grande Cuvée...

The 2013 Shatter Côtes Catalanes Grenache tops out at 15.6% alcohol, but one wouldn’t know it from tasting it… that is until one had consumed a good bit of it. Rich, robust, but smooth on the palate, the opaque, nearly black 2013 Shatter offers up an enticing aroma of dark cherries and ripe plums infused with a light pleasant herbal quality. In the mouth, Shater is unctuous, rich, and robust. The wine’s opulent fruit comes front and center...