Featured Wines - February 2021

The 2017 Montaña Rioja Crianza emanates from a traditional blend of 97% Tempranillo and 3% Graciano from the estate’s old vines, many of which date to the immediate post-phylloxera period. Aged for a full 12 months in small oak barrels, Montaña’s 2017 Rioja Crianza drinks like a young Rioja Reserva, offering up Rioja Alta’s freshness, warmth and precision in a velvet glove. Ripe blackberry and cassis aromas infused with touches of vanilla and...

The 2017 Downes Family Vineyards Sanctuary Peak Sauvignon Blanc is Sauvignon Blanc the way we like it. Moreover, it is no ordinary Sauvignon Blanc. Along the lines of chateau-bottled white Bordeaux, it contains 10% Semillon, which is fermented with wild yeasts and aged three months in new French oak. It also emanates from no less than seven different blocks of Sauvignon Blanc planted on soils rich in mineral quartz crystals. The result...

Artesana has hit a home run with its recently released 2018 Tannat Reserva, earning 92 points from Wine Enthusiast. The 2018 Artesana Tannat Reserva offers an impenetrable robe of the deepest ruby, and in the hands of Artesana’s two highly skilled women, Analía Lazaneo and Valentina Gatti, this 100% Tannat Reserva weds a cornucopia of deep down flavors to tremendous power. With a bit of aeration, the 2018 Artesana reveals an impressive array...

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, pear, 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...

Sensuous and inviting with a powerful bouquet of black cherry, rose petals, and bergamot, the 2016 Shea Wine Cellars Shea Vineyard Pinot Noir (93 points – Wine Enthusiast, 92 points – Wine Spectator, 92 points - Vinous) is enticing from the moment the nose comes in contact with the wine. Supple and silky with ripe, well-integrated tannins, the 2016 Shea Vineyard Pinot Noir caresses the mouth and ingratiates the palate with a complex array of...

Hamilton Russell has made world-class Chardonnay for some time, but the 2019 Hamilton Russell Hemel-en-Aarde Valley Chardonnay (garnering 95 points from Tim Atkin, MW and 93 points from Decanter) appears to be this remarkable estate’s finest effort to date. Once again, Hamilton Russell has fashioned in their 2019 Hemel-en-Aarde Valley Chardonnay a vibrant, complex wine that embodies the best in Old and New World Chardonnay. Medium to full-bodied...

Complex and built to last, the deeply robed 2015 Carpineto Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Riserva (92 points – Wine Spectator) makes quite a statement from the moment it is poured. Savory notes of violet, blackberry, and toasted oak greet the nose. In the mouth, this wine delivers an ever expanding array of ripe berry, forest woodland, and loamy earth tones that broaden and deepen with each sip, making a seamless statement that is distinctly...