Featured Wines - December 2022

La Posta’s Pizzella Family Vineyard Mendoza Malbec continues to impress and over-deliver year in and year out. The recently released 2020 vintage is no exception and is once again the critics’ choice and the recipient of high acclaim (92 Points – James Suckling). Bold in flavor, yet smooth and juicy, the 2020 La Posta Pizzella Malbec offers tantalizing aromas and flavors of freshly picked blackberries, currants, and raspberries along with a delicate hint of wild violets to add to its allure. In the mouth, the...

Aia Vecchia’s 2021 Toscana Vermentino is a unique and sophisticated blend of 95% Vermentino and 5% Viognier that offers a bright sun-splashed color that radiates from the glass like the Tuscan sun. Even more gratifying is the wine’s amplifying aromatics and explosive mouth-filling flavors, which suggest ripe peaches, tangy citrus, and haunting floral tones reminiscent of acacia and spring flowers – all of which are sprinkled with a welcome touch of sea spray from the nearby Tyrrhenian Sea for...

The 2020 Taboadella Villae Dão Tinto is another splendid example of the Amorim family’s Midas touch with Portugal’s unique blend of indigenous grape varieties. The suave 2020 Taboadella Villae Tinto (40% Tinta Roriz, 20% Jaen, 20% Tinta Pinheira, 20% Alfrocheiro) sports a brilliant ruby robe, an entrancing aromatic profile, and plenty of savory fruit bolstered by bright acidity – all of which made us clamor for another glass. Cherry, plum, and ripe strawberry fruit flavors wrapped in smooth, silky tannins...

The 2017 Esterházy Leithaberg Burgenland Chardonnay (92 Points – Wine Enthusiast) is an aristocratic Burgundian style of Chardonnay that demonstrates Esterházy’s preeminence with the world’s most treasured white grape. Blessed with a brilliant sun-struck color, intriguing aromatics, and excellent concentration, there is a lot to like in this wine. An aroma replete with apple, pear, and beeswax emerges from the glass and continues to evolve as the wine opens and gradually sheds its initial chill...

Aquitania’s 2018 Lazuli Cabernet Sauvignon (94 Points – Vinous) pays homage to the finest classified red wines of Bordeaux. Elegant, sophisticated, and loaded with flavor, the 2018 Lazuli Cabernet Sauvignon sports a brilliant purple color, an elegant nose, and deep palate-pleasing flavors. Savory scents of blackberry, dark cherry, currant, and spice waft from the glass. In the mouth, silky, rich tannins carry the wine’s deep hedonistic berry flavors infused with aromatic cedar, deft touches of vanilla, and toasted...

Fermented in the bottle on its lees for a full 36 months, the light, lovely, and deliciously dry Lhuillier Brut Tradition (80% Pinot Noir, 20% Chardonnay) comports itself as a classic champagne. Displaying a pale golden color and a delicate mousse of tiny bubbles, the Lhuillier Brut Tradition attracts the eye and beguiles the nose from the first sip. In the mouth, the wine’s mousse reveals delicate apricot and peach flavors along with hints of brioche and a welcome minerality that leaves the palate both refreshed...

Harvested from the finest grapes from the estate’s 1928 vineyard and matured in French oak barrels for 16 months, the 2019 Mendel Unus (65% Malbec, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Petit Verdot) pays tribute to Mendel’s founder and winemaker Robert de la Mota’s acumen in the cellar. Big, balanced, and sporting a deep purple color, the 2019 Unus (93 Points – Wine Advocate) demonstrates that it’s a lot more than show with an aroma redolent with dark cherries, plums, cacao, and toasty vanilla. It’s equally...