Featured Wines - May 2023

Quinta de S. Sebastião fashions a string of exceptional red wines, including the thoroughly gratifying 2020 S. Sebastião Vinho Regional Lisboa Syrah/Touriga Nacional Reserva, which offers an inviting, deeply colored robe, an engaging set of aromatics, and plenty of smooth, satisfying red and black fruit flavors. Black cherry and woodland berry notes infused with hints of exotic spices and a refreshing minerality delight the nose and...

As any serious wine drinker knows, one can’t drink a label, nor should one purchase wine based on the attractiveness of a label. With that said, the label on Protea’s 2022 Chenin Blanc certainly caught our attention for its beauty. Moreover, it made a fine introduction to Protea’s pure, simply beautiful Chenin Blanc. The 2022 Protea Chenin Blanc offers a fresh, in your face, fruit driven nose, which made us want to dive right in. A delightful...

As any serious wine drinker knows, choosing a wine by its label is a risky proposition at best and more often than not the road to disappointment. Occasionally, an extremely attractive label does accurately portend a wine of equal stature, and such is the case with Protea’s 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon. Deep in color and resplendent in aroma and flavor, the 2020 Protea Cabernet Sauvignon offers instant gratification. Savory dark fruits in the form...

The best of the Old World and New World meet in the racy, complex 2021 Rustenberg Stellenbosch Chardonnay. This balanced and nuanced Chardonnay sports a brilliant sun-struck color and offers enticing aromas of yellow apple, apricot, coconut, and orange peel, all imbued with a hint of spicy oak. In the mouth Rustenberg’s 2021 Chardonnay is equally gratifying as it expands on the palate to satisfy the senses with a delicious mélange of fruit...

Drought comes as a curse to farmers, but it can be a boon to the quality of a wine as drought has the propensity to limit the quantity but raise the quality. Such was the case in 2019 in Northern California as the concentrated, bold-flavored 2019 Obsidian Ridge Estate Red Hills Cabernet Sauvignon (93 Points – Wine Enthusiast) aptly attests. This wine is another outstanding effort from this prized estate. From this deep purple potion springs

Riesling is unquestionably one of the world’s finest grape varieties, yet Riesling is likely the most misunderstood grape varietal in the United States, due at least in part to the predominance of inexpensive, low alcohol, sweet Rieslings from Germany that pervaded the American market for decades. However, not all Rieslings are created equal, nor are all Rieslings sweet. Alsace Rieslings such as Emile Beyer’s 2020 Grand Cru Eichberg Riesling...

Superbly crafted from four traditional Portuguese varietals, namely 45% Trincadeira, 15% Alfrocheiro, 22% Alicante Bouschet, and 18% Aragonês (Alicante Bouschet is considered a traditional Portuguese varietal on account of its ancestry and introduction into the Alentejo soon after its appearance), the 2019 Herdade Aldeia de Cima Serra do Mendro Alentejo Reserva Tinto (92 Points – Wine Enthusiast) cuts a fine figure with its brilliant deep ruby...