Featured Wines - May 2020

After falling in love with the outstanding 2016 Diaz Bayo Ribera del Duero Roble, we could only hope that one day we would find another vintage of Diaz Bayo Roble as astounding as their 2016. It didn’t take long. Although the 2017 vintage in Ribera del Duero was one of the most difficult due to spring frosts and drought conditions, which reduced yields, the result was outstanding quality and the 2017 Diaz Bayo Ribera del Duero Roble being every...

From the wine’s crystalline sunlit hue to its graceful exit down the throat, the 2017 Sherwood Waipara Valley Pinot Gris brings a cheerful welcome that is sure to elicit a smile. An ethereal aroma of ripe apples, pears, and spring flowers wafts from the glass. In the mouth, Sherwood Estate’s Waipara Pinot Gris glides across the tongue, delivering a smooth, sensuous texture along with beautiful orchard fruit flavors. Infused within the wine’s...

Mary-Lou Nash continues to work oenological magic with her 2018 Black Pearl Oro, a blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon and 50% Shiraz that emanates from her pristine vineyard located in Paarl, arguably the most beautiful wine country on earth. Deep in color, concentrated in flavor and beautifully structured, Oro is Black Pearl’s flagship offering and nothing short of liquid gold. Mary Lou picks the grapes by hand for Oro, ferments them in an open...

Casas del Bosque continues its “hot hand” with its premier Chardonnay offering, the 2017 Casas del Bosque Gran Reserva. Born in Chile’s cool Casablanca Valley, this recently released Gran Reserva Chardonnay offers a striking pale straw color and plenty to admire in both aroma and flavor. The nose provides an enticing cornucopia of tropical fruits, quince, vanilla and spice. In the mouth, the wine enlivens the palate with bright, creamy fruit...

The 2016 vintage may be the finest vintage in the Southern Rhône in the last quarter century, and Domaine du Vieux Lazaret’s 2016 Châteauneuf-du-Pape more than reflects the bounty of the vintage, having garnered 92 points from James Suckling and 93 points from Wine Spectator. Purity, beautifully ripe fruit, and exceptional energy are the hallmarks of the vintage and all are front and center in Domaine du Vieux Lazaret’s 2016...

One can always count on Gilles Noblet to fashion one of the appellation’s finest Pouilly-Fuissés. “Consummate, incomparable, exceptional” are just a few of the adjectives used to describe Domaine Gilles Noblet’s delicious Pouilly-Fuissé. With that said, in 2018 Gilles Noblet appears to have turned out his finest Domaine Gilles Noblet Pouilly-Fuissé to date, even eclipsing his exceptional 2015 Pouilly-Fuissé. The 2018 Domaine Gilles Noblet...

Ripe, sensuous and already eminently drinkable, the 2015 Château Rocher-Bonregard provides the ideal introduction to the wines of Pomerol. Deep ruby in color and highly aromatic, the 2015 Château Rocher-Bonregard offers ample evidence of the supremacy of the much lauded 2015 vintage in Bordeaux, especially in Pomerol, by offering up savory scents of blackberry, cassis, cedar, and loamy earth coupled with a velvety mouthfeel. On the palate...