Featured Wines - February 2020

Tridente first captured our tasting panel’s attention a decade ago with their 100% Vino de la Tierra de Castilla y León. The consensus then, as now, is that we would drink Tridente Tempranillo de la Tierra de Castilla y León with almost anything or nothing at all, and that sentiment continues to hold true with the truly exceptional 2016 Tridente Tempranillo. If rich, robust reds are to your liking, you will want nothing except another glass...

David Finlayson’s 2018 Stellenbosch Chardonnay is simply superlative, having been awarded 91 points by Tim Atkins, MW. It’s a truly classic Chardonnay and a stunning value as well. Pure, fresh, and only lightly oaked, David Finlayson used only wild yeast during fermentation for this Burgundian-styled Chardonnay, and the results are top notch. Pretty floral scents stream from this bright, sunshiny Chardonnay. Scents of apple and almond blossoms...

The deeply colored 2016 Centonze Cerasuolo di Vittoria DOCG provides more than a glimpse of Sicily’s viticultural renaissance and why Cerasuolo di Vittoria is Sicily’s first and only DOCG. For starters, Centonze’s 2016 Cerasuolo di Vittoria offers a deep bright purple color and a tantalizing aroma of bright, fleshy fruit, which follows through on the palate in the form of dark cherry, pomegranate, and plum. Add a muscular well-toned structure...

The 2015 Santo Aspa is an artful blend of Santorini’s prodigious white varietals, most notably Assyrtiko, which are vinified on their skins before being barrel aged. Sporting a clear, luminous lemon color and proffering enticing floral and fruit aromas, the 2015 Santo Aspa lures the taster much as the sirens of old seduced weary sailors. In the mouth, delicate fruit flavors caress the palate, while crisp acidity and a light veneer of oak from...

The 2016 Dominio Basconcillos Viña Magna Crianza bursts with flavor and personality, impressing our tasting panel and the wine press, as well, having garnered 93 points from both Wine Spectator and the Decanter World Wine Awards. It also exhibits all of the beauty of the magnificent 2016 vintage and Basconcillos’ deft hand with Tempranillo – Spain’s most illustrious grape variety. The wine displays deep ruby and violet tones, which foreshadow...

We have admired Girardin’s very limited production of Les Terrasses de Bievaux Santenay for more than a decade. A tiny production from the southern flank of the Côte d’Or, this Chassagne-Montrachet look-alike constitutes the finest value in white Burgundy, yet it remains one of Burgundy’s best kept secrets. Jacques Girardin’s 2018 Terrasses de Bievaux Santenay is a supremely elegant white Burgundy with a caressing aroma, juicy flavors, and...

Big, beautiful, opaque in color, and boasting 93 points from Wine Enthusiast, the 2015 Château Coutet Saint-Émilion Grand Cru makes a bold statement from the moment it is poured. Endowed with rich blackberry, cassis and raspberry fruit, tremendous depth and complexity, and the potential to age gracefully with supreme elegance, the 2015 Château Coutet makes a great case for this certified organic property and the quality of the outstanding 2015...