Featured Wines - August 2020

The 2019 Areyna Vallee de Cafayate Torrontes, awarded 91 points by James Suckling and 90 points by Descorchados, is one of the finest Torrontes we have ever tasted. Beautifully perfumed and sporting a snappy pale golden hue, one would be hard pressed to find a more sensuous white wine. A seductive aroma resplendent with the scents of pink grapefruit, lychee fruit, and rose petals beguiles the nose. Even better, the wine’s intoxicating fruit and floral scents re-emerge...

Lithe, lush, and full of energy, the 2018 Garofoli Farnio Rosso Piceno DOC practically leaps from the glass. A gloriously ripe vintage in 2018 has endowed Garofoli’s 2018 Farnio Rosso Piceno with amplifying aromatics, smooth ripe fruit flavors, and exceptional purity. Savory scents of black cherry and mulberry greet the nose and tantalize the palate. In the mouth, the wine’s gorgeous fruit mingles with a subtle but endearing draught of forest woodlands and a gentle minerality...

Energetic, juicy, and fruit-forward, the 2018 Pedroncelli Signature Selection Dry Creek Valley Chardonnay, which has garnered 90 points from James Suckling, comes across as both refreshing and immensely interesting. It is not an ordinary California Chardonnay, nor is it an over-oaked fruit bomb. Rather, the wine’s amplifying fruit-filled aroma of pineapple, peach, and pear is immediately appealing but not at all sweet or cloying. In the mouth, the 2018 Signature Selection...

From vines in excess of 60 years of age, the 2017 Pedroncelli Family Vineyards Dry Creek Valley Petite Sirah is yet another bold flavored, lip smacking Petite Sirah from this remarkable Sonoma County family. Petite Sirah is known for its profoundly purple color and delightful aromatics, and Pedroncelli’s 2017 Family Vineyards Petite Sirah over-delivers on both counts. From start to finish, juicy blueberry, black cherry, cacao, and exotic spice tones delight the nose and grace...

The 2018 Francine Bachelier Réserve du Sanglier Chablis pays tribute to the reputation of Chablis and the appellation’s renowned terroir. Redolent with the soft scents of acacia and apple blossoms as well as a gentle minerality, the 2018 F. Bachelier Réserve du Sanglier Chablis begins to seduce the nose from the minute it is poured. And unlike many New World Chardonnays in which the preponderance of oak tries to smother the fruit and obliterate the distinctive characteristics...

Dustin Pfaff began crafting his Bernier Vineyard Petite Sirah in 2013. From the beginning, Pfaff has fashioned knockout Petite Sirah, but the 2016 D. Pfaff Bernier Vineyard Dry Creek Valley Petite Sirah truly pushes the envelope, integrating suavity and texture into his Petite Sirah’s abundance of bold, dark fruit flavors. From the Berniers’ dazzling, head-pruned Dry Creek vines emanate a Petite Sirah with energy and panache. Crafted by Dustin at Talty with 90% Petite Sirah and 10% Zinfandel...

Deep, effusive, and beautifully rendered, Jimena Lopez’s 2017 Graffito Cabernet Franc exhibits rich, complex flavors in a supremely balanced format. Awarded 93 points by James Suckling, it captures the finest attributes of both New and Old World Cabernet Franc with heady aromatics and luscious raspberry, cherry, and sweet pepper flavors, all endowed with tremendous energy and vivacity as well as a delightful herbal component reminiscent of the finest Right Bank Bordeaux...