Featured Wines - January 2018

The 2015 Querciola Barbera d’Alba continues Sergio Gomba’s hot hand with Barbera and underscores Gomba’s ability to consistently fashion rich, velvety Barbera d’Alba that is both mouth filling and easy to drink. The 2015 vintage in Piemonte yielded exceptional Barbera d’Alba that is both rich in fruit and firmly structured. Gomba’s 2015 Querciola Barbera d’Alba expresses the sensual side of Barbera. It offers up a savory aroma that reminds...

The 2016 Secret de L’Enfer Chardonnay puts many Mâcon and New World Chardonnays to shame. It relies upon beautifully ripe Chardonnay fruit grown in a mineral rich terroir for its flavor rather than on copious amounts of toasted oak and a host of other “smoke and mirrors.” Apple, pear, and apricot scents mingled with the aroma of freshly baked bread waft from the glass. Fresh, energetic, and wonderfully varietal in flavor, the 2016 Secret de...

Wrapped in a beautiful ruby and garnet robe, the 2012 Château Argadens presents itself as the poster child for Right Bank Bordeaux. This delicious blend of 63% Merlot, 32% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 5% Cabernet Franc offers generous fruit, surprising complexity and supple balance, which have no doubt contributed to the consistently high marks this wine has earned in tastings and competitions. Enticing aromas of boysenberry, cassis (also known as...

When the sun shines in the Loire Valley and the weather cooperates from bud break to harvest, as it did in 2016, Vouvray produces some of France’s greatest white wines as well as a bevy of exceptional values. We found no better example of this quality and value in Chenin Blanc than the 2016 Domaine de la Racauderie Gautier Vouvray Sec. From Gautier’s 2016 Vouvray Sec a pale sun-kissed robe delights the eye, but what is even more striking is the...

The 2014 Château Louvie Saint-Émilion Grand Cru makes a persuasive case for the appellation’s two most prestigious grapes: Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Deep in color and rich in flavor, this juicy, velvety offering exhibits all of the attributes of the very best Saint-Émilion Grand Cru. The youthful, yet already compelling, 2014 Château Louvie combines opulence with palate-pleasing flavors. Beguiling berry, cassis, and woodland scents waft from...

The 2014 and 2015 vintages in Pouilly-Fuissé have been heralded as the finest back to back vintages in a generation, and in the case of Gilles Noblet’s incomparable 2015 Pouilly-Fuissé La Collonge it is unquestionably the finest wine we have encountered from this award-winning estate, which Wine Spectator has previously featured on its Top 100 List. Noblet himself has stated: "The 2015 Mâcon wines are the finest I have produced in 37 years...

The first impression one receives of Poggio Salvi’s highly acclaimed 2012 Brunello di Montalcino is the wine’s intense, nearly opaque ruby red color. Yet, as eye-appealing as this wine appears, it offers much more than visual appeal. Scents of wild red berries, baking spices, lavender and new leather begin to waft from the glass soon after opening. Although initially reticent like all young Brunellos, the 2012 Poggio Salvi blossoms with...