Featured Wines - April 2022

Laurent and Isabelle Coustal continue to push the envelope on quality, once again fashioning an outstanding Château Sainte Eulalie Plaisir d’Eulalie Minervois in 2020. Decadent, juicy, round, and beautifully textured, the 2020 Plaisir d’Eulalie (40% Carignan, 30% Grenache, 30% Syrah) bursts with dark berry and plum fruit flavors, all beautifully wrapped in plush tannins. Dense but smooth on the palate, the 2020 Plaisir d’Eulalie highlights the sterling quality of old vines from Minervois in the exceptional 2020 vintage...

La Cappuccina is unquestionably one of Soave’s elite grower/producers to which the estate’s 2020 La Cappuccina Soave more than ably attests. The 2020 La Cappuccina Soave bears the beautiful golden robe of the noble Garganega grape, replete with the luster of the radiant Italian sun. It offers an enticing aroma, resplendent with hints of acacia flowers and soft orchard fruit scents in the form of white peach and orange blossom. On the palate, the 2020 La Cappuccina Soave...

Despite hailstorms and unsettled weather early in the growing season, the 2018 vintage in Bordeaux is being hailed as potentially legendary and it has turned out a bevy of sumptuous Bordeaux wines at all levels, including a delightful 2018 Château Barreyre Nicolas Barreyre Bordeaux Supérieur. A bold but balanced wine that wears its 14.5% alcohol level lightly, the 2018 Nicolas Barreyre (80% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon) displays an enticing set of aromatics, offering up savory scents of blackberry, cassis, and...

The delight and pleasure in drinking good Bourgogne Blanc such as the 2020 Vignerons Réunis de Buxy Cuvée Réserve Bourgogne Chardonnay lies neither in power nor in the preponderance of new oak, rather in revealing the true character of Chardonnay. The 2020 Vignerons Réunis de Buxy Cuvée Réserve Bourgogne Chardonnay offers the ethereal charm, finesse, purity, and subtlety of flavor of Chardonnay as well as plenty of good cheer in its thirst quenching drinkability...

Aromatic, silky, and utterly seductive, the 2018 Domaine Gille Côtes de Nuits-Villages Réserve-Comblanchien highlights the Gilles’ acumen with Pinot Noir as well as the benevolence and charm of the superb 2018 vintage in Burgundy. Sporting a bright ruby robe and an intoxicating bouquet of raspberry and strawberry fruit, this wine had us at the first sniff… but that’s not all. In the mouth, the 2018 Gille Côtes de Nuits-Villages Réserve-Comblanchien carries the wine’s entrancing fruit aromas and deft touches of...

Domaine Vigneau-Chevreau’s 2020 Abbaye de Marmoutier Clos de Rougemont Vouvray provides ample evidence as to why Vouvray and the region’s illustrious Chenin Blanc are currently in vogue and why Clos de Rougemont is one of Vouvray’s brightest stars. The scion of a warm vintage, the 2020 Clos de Rougement Vouvray offers a glowing golden robe, sensuous scents, and savory flavors of baked apple, almond, quince, and dried honey. This tender Vouvray, at once round and rich yet refreshingly dry...

The deep purple, highly saturated 2015 Puccioni Old Vine Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel (90 Points – Wine Enthusiast) is delightfully aromatic and redolent with floral, fruit, and spice tones. Plump, sumptuous and brimming with cherry, blackberry, and bramble flavors, the 2015 Puccioni Old Vine Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel is an absolute joy to sniff, sip and savor. When Puccioni uses the term “Old Vines,” it’s no slick gimmick; they really mean it. The Petite Sirah (14%) in the blend dates to the vineyard’s original 1904 planting and...