Featured Wines - January 2019

Appearing as a deep inky red wine, the 2012 Urlari Pervale Toscana Rosso prepares the nose and palate for its robust personality long before its aroma graces the nose or its heady elixir can touch the lips. But soon enough, sensual floral and fruit scents emanate from this comely Super Tuscan comprised of 25% Sangiovese, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Cabernet Franc, 18% Merlot, and 7% Alicante Bouschet. Draughts of dark cherry, woodland berries and wild violets...

Chappellet’s 2014 Double C Ranch Napa Chardonnay brings everything a Chardonnay lover could ask for in a wine. This is classic old-school Napa Chardonnay. It delights the nose with a bouquet of savory scents born of freshly picked apples and pears infused with delectable hints of toffee, vanilla, and spice. Juicy and silky smooth in the mouth, the 2014 Chappellet Double C Ranch Napa Chardonnay delivers pristine fruit flavors and a cornucopia of spice...

Hailing from Washington’s dry, sun-filled Columbia Valley, the 2012 Milbrandt The Estates Merlot (94% Merlot, 5% Malbec, and 1% Cabernet Sauvignon) is no innocuous commercially-made Merlot. In short, there is no wimp in this wine which has garnered 90 points from James Suckling. Weighing in at 15.5% alcohol and endowed with plenty of enticing aromas, firm tannins, and a flavor profile that boasts ripe blackberry, Bing cherries, cacao, and more, the 2012...

Aia Vecchia’s 2017 Vermentino is a sophisticated blend of 95% Vermentino and 5% Viognier that sports a bright straw color and amplifying aromatics. Lively aromas of freshly cut grass mingled with faint floral tones and a touch of sea spray from the nearby Tyrrhenian Sea provide a mouthwatering welcome. In the mouth, this Vermentino makes an even greater appeal to the senses by marrying its delightful aromatics to a round, creamy texture that...

Domaine Raspail-Ay consistently fashions outstanding Gigondas. Nonetheless, Raspail-Ay’s award-winning 2015 Domaine Raspail-Ay Gigondas appears to be this property’s finest Gigondas to date, having garnered 91-93 points from Wine Advocate, 92-94 points from Vinous, and 96 points from Decanter. The 2015 Raspail Ay Gigondas is not only highly aromatic, richly fruity, and beautifully textured; it possesses a solid core and a deep-down richness that guarantees...

The 2017 Hamilton Russell Hemel-en-Aarde Valley Chardonnay is world-class all the way, as its 93 points from Wine Spectator and huge thumbs-up from our tasting panel illustrate. Hamilton Russell’s 2017 Hemel-en-Aarde Valley Chardonnay is a vibrant, complex wine that embodies the best in Old and New World Chardonnay. Full-bodied but well delineated, this terroir-driven Chardonnay offers a superb array of apple, quince, and stone fruit flavors...

A recent visit to Burgundy confirmed just how special the 2015 vintage was in the region. The exceptional 2015 vintage in Burgundy’s Côte d’Or has yielded nothing less than a surfeit of the finest young Burgundies we have ever tasted. Although Jacques Girardin consistently fashions authentic, elegant red Burgundies, Girardin’s 2015 Savigny-les-Beaune Premier Cru Les Peuillets stands in a class by itself. It is not only the finest wine we have ever tasted from this...