Featured Wines - December 2018

“Oh what a nose,” exclaimed one effusive tasting panel member to the OOH’s and AAH’s and nodding heads of the other members whose noses still lied buried in their glasses. The 2016 Domaine du Vieux Lazaret Ventoux does indeed offer up a heady aroma; the seductive scents of red berries, mostly in the form of raspberries and redcurrants, immediately greet the nose. Add touches of wild Mediterranean herbs and garrigue, the scented brush of...

In the nearly two decades since we have been tasting Stefano Massone’s Gavis, Stefano has never failed to turn in a first rate performance. For starters, the 2017 vintage in Piemonte is shy on quantity but long on quality, so to no one’s surprise, Stefano’s 2017 La Giustiniana Lugarara Gavi del Comune di Gavi is truly exceptional, adding further testimony to Massone’s acumen with the delicate Cortese variety. The La Giustiniana Lugarara embodies...

We have been impressed by every Dominio Basconcillos wine we have tasted, but Dominio Basconcillos’ 2016 Seis Meses Ribera del Duero seriously raises the bar not only for this organic estate but for all of Ribera del Duero. This certified organic offering, which earned 94 points from the Decanter World Wine Awards, emanates from selected lots of grapes grown on a mixture of gravel and clay soils, which provide superb drainage and impart...

Domaine Houchart’s 2017 Côtes de Provence Blanc embodies the best of Provence. In this rare white wine made from traditional Provençal grapes one can almost taste the Provençal sun, feel the cool breeze wafting from the Mediterranean Sea, and smell the scented fragrance of Provence’s magical landscape. Light, fresh, but full of flavor and pinpoint precision, the 2017 Domaine Houchart Côtes de Provence Blanc offers an intoxicating aroma...

An aromatic, elegant wine of bold flavor and impeccable balance, the 2013 Avignonesi Vino Nobile di Montepulciano reveals its class and noble upbringing from the moment it exits the bottle. Dressed in a regal robe of purple with deep ruby highlights, this graceful yet flavorful Tuscan red leads with an enticing aroma redolent of black cherry, forest woodlands, violets, and spice along with a pleasing hint of mineral born of Tuscan earth – all...

Domaine Yves Chaley & Fille’s Les Larets Hautes-Côtes de Nuits Pinot Gris dit Beurot is a rarity to say the least. Only in select areas of Burgundy where Pinot Beurot is indigenous, such as in Curtil-Vergy, is the grape allowed to be grown and its wine sold as Burgundy. A white mutation of Pinot Noir, Pinot Beurot sports a dark pinkish skin, which adds a rich, slightly golden color to the 2016 Domaine Chaley & Fille’s Les Larets Pinot Beurot.

The Hautes-Côtes de Nuits produces some very fine red Burgundies, especially in splendid vintages such as 2015 and 2016 when the weather shines favorably upon the undulating rows of Pinot Noir vines that cover the hills, but rarely does a wine match the quality of the 2016 Domaine Chaley & Fille Les Rousselots Hautes-Côtes de Nuits. Chaley’s 2016 Les Rousselots could easily be mistaken for a village wine from nearby Vosne-Romanée...