Featured Wines - November 2021

The 2017 Klinker Brick Brickmason is big, bold, and packed with fruit, as we have come to expect from Klinker Brick’s Brickmason releases, but the 2017 is also quite structured. Rich blackberry, raspberry, and plum fruit flavors mingle with savory applewood, bacon, and bramble notes in the 2017 Brickmason, reminding us of the traditional Zinfandels of yesteryear and California’s delicious field blends, whereby Zinfandel, Petite Sirah, Syrah...

The 2018 Mont-Marçal Brut Reserva (90 Points – Wine & Spirits) is another tour de force from this recently certified organic producer. Unlike most sparkling wine producers, including the finest purveyors of Champagne and Cava, Mont-Marçal vintage dates all of its Brut Reserva so that the consumer knows the age and freshness of the wine. The 2018 Mont-Marçal Brut Reserva (30% Xarel-lo, 30% Macabeo, 30% Parellada, 10% Chardonnay) resonates...

Sporting a deep garnet color, alluring aromatics, and a vibrant core of fruit, the beautifully textured 2020 Thistledown Gorgeous Grenache Old Vine Small Batch No. 1 (91 Points – James Halliday) not only sings from the glass; it warrants serving as the poster child for Grenache. Pure and juicy, this boldly flavored, impeccably balanced Grenache seduces the nose and carries its alluring aromatics onto the palate, offering a welcome draught of...

Bright, eye-catching, and thoroughly seductive, the 2020 Château Sainte Eulalie Printemps d’Eulalie (an even blend of Syrah, Cinsault, Mourvèdre, Grenache) sets the bar high for rosé. Redolent with the scents of ripe strawberries, raspberries, melons, and herbs, one is immediately enchanted. Better still, this wine offers juicy flavors and a real mouthful of wine to satisfy the palate, without sacrificing elegance or freshness. A true crowd pleaser from start to finish...

The 2016 Hawk and Horse Vineyards Red Hills Cabernet Sauvignon (93 Points – Wine Enthusiast) is endowed with deep berry aromas and imbued with savory hints of cinnamon, nutmeg, and more, which made us dive right in. And we were glad we did. Succulent ripe blackberry and black cherry flavors greet the rapacious throat, gliding on pure, silky tannins that feel like velvet. Long, lingering, and suave to the finish, the 2016 Hawk and Horse Vineyards...

Although one can always count on Gilles Noblet to fashion more than a fair share of the Mâconnais’ finest wines, the young 2019 Domaine Gilles Noblet Pouilly-Fuissé comes across as truly stunning. It is richer and more structured than normal due a warm summer, and it may prove to be the finest Gilles Noblet Pouilly-Fuissé we have tasted in the quarter of a century we have been visiting the property. The 2019 Domaine Gilles Noblet Pouilly-Fuissé...

In a magical vintage for the Russian River Valley, with near-perfect weather throughout the year, adequate rainfall and an ideal mixture of warm, sunny days and cool, foggy nights, the 2018 Freeman Russian River Valley Pinot Noir (93 Points – Wine Enthusiast; 93 Points – Vinous) can best be described as SIMPLY GORGEOUS! The 2018 Freeman Russian River Pinot Noir is seductively aromatic, racy and rich. Bright and pure black cherry, plum...