Featured Wines - October 2021

A small crop of the highest quality, the 2018 vintage in Bordeaux is proving to be downright delicious and the scion of many extraordinary Petits Châteaux, as this month’s feature, the 2018 Château La Gabarre Bordeaux Supérieur, will readily attest. A traditional blend of Merlot (70%) and Cabernet Franc (30%), the 2018 Château La Gabarre Bordeaux Supérieur can easily match in quality many of the much pricier wines of nearby Saint Émilion and...

Nugan continues to craft one of the finest Chardonnays in Australia, as Nugan’s 2016 Frasca’s Lane King Valley Chardonnay will ably attest. The 2016 barrel-fermented Nugan Frasca’s Lane Chardonnay first captures the eye with its beautiful sunny hue, but even more impressive is the wine’s seductive aroma, redolent with a cornucopia of scents: citrus, melon, and peach, along with delectable hints of additional tropical fruits and spices. The...

Quinta de S. Sebastião fashions a string of exceptional red wines, but none finer than the 2017 S. Sebastião TN Touriga Nacional (91 Points – Wine Enthusiast), which offers a deeply colored, eye-catching robe, a heady draught of blackberry and cherry fruit mingled with deft touches of exotic spices, and a pleasing minerality to delight the nose. Yet, it is in the mouth that this wine truly ramps up its game, offering a generous mouthful...

Although Vermentino has come of age as a varietal with increasing waves of this tasty grape variety lapping upon our shores, Sardinian wines still remain relatively unknown in America. The 2020 Surrau Limizzani Vermentino di Gallura may just be the ambassador Vermentino needs to change that. Graced with a brilliant sun-splashed color, a beguiling floral bouquet of spring and summer flowers, and bursts of mouth filling flavors girded with...

Ripe, opulent, and beautifully textured, the extroverted 2018 Château Tournefeuille Lalande-de-Pomerol (92 Points – Wine Enthusiast) presents ample evidence as to why Château Tournefeuille is one of the appellation’s stars. The wine’s deep, dark, ruby robe first catches the eye, while beguiling scents of juicy black fruits caress the nose. In the mouth, plush berry fruits infused with fine touches of sandalwood and spice delight the...

The 2020 Taboadella Encruzado Reserva is a concentrated, flavor-packed wine that’s not quite like any other white wine, which renders it both unique and especially enjoyable. The 2020 Taboadella Encruzado Reserva is a beautifully textured wine from partial wood ageing with smooth, ripe fruit flavors and a nice crisp edge. Pear, white peach, and citrus flavors imbued with a delightful spiciness greet the nose and later emerge in the mouth to woo...

Big, bold, and beautiful, the 2014 Tait Basket Pressed Old Vines (93 Points – Wine Enthusiast) is Barossa Valley Shiraz at its best. Still a deep and impenetrable purple in color, this complex, full-throttle Basket Pressed Shiraz is a tour de force in winemaking. It begins its magic with a beguiling nose of blackberry, plum, dark chocolate, and exotic spices, which on their own warrant the price of admission. And in the mouth, the 2014 Tait...