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Roagna Le Coste Barolo 2007

Roagna Le Coste Barolo 2007

Roagna’s Le Coste Barolo 2007 offers poise and finesse, and superb value given the quality of this producer’s wines. Opens with inviting aromas of spiced cherries, strawberries roasted in balsamic, roses, mint, and anise. Translucent towards the outer edges with an orange tinted rim, it’s nicely structured with fine, supple tannins, medium acidity, and a […]

LAN Rioja Reserva 2005

LAN Rioja Reserva 2005

Bodegas LAN Rioja Reserva 2005 is one of my favorite value wines from the region. Notes of plump, juicy black cherries, baking spices, saddle leather and dried herbs permeate the glass. In the mouth it’s silky, yet slightly rustic with nicely integrated, mouth-coating tannins. If you haven’t had LAN, buy it, put it in the […]

Suenen Champagne Extra Brut Grand Cru Blanc De Blancs NV

Suenen Champagne Extra Brut Grand Cru Blanc De Blancs NV

Suenen Champagne Extra Brut Grand Cru Blanc De Blancs is 100% Chardonnay primarily from the 2010 vintage, with 2008 and 2009 in the blend. Lean and edgy, featuring classic aromas of toast, orchard and citrus fruits. In the mouth, however, there is something of a departure from the expected, revealing a surprisingly linear, powerful, and […]

Dutch Baby with Sautéed Apples and Lemon Sugar

Dutch Baby with Sautéed Apples and Lemon Sugar

I love Sunday brunch, and a Dutch Baby is the perfect dish to serve to guests, right out of the cast iron skillet. It’s quite easy to prepare, and best of all, it puffs as it cooks. The effect is both charming and impressive. [amd-yrecipe-recipe:15]    

Claude Riffault Les Boucauds Sancerre 2013

Claude Riffault Les Boucauds Sancerre 2013

Claude Riffault’s Sancerre Les Boucauds 2013 is sourced from old vines grown in clay and limestone rich soil. Half of the wine is vinified in stainless steel, the other half in oak, and the results are rather spectacular. Les Boucauds is one of the more intense Sancerre’s I’ve tasted of late, the nose fairly explodes […]

St. Innocent Temperance Hill Pinot Noir 2012

St. Innocent Temperance Hill Pinot Noir 2012

We drank the 2005 St. Innocent Temperance Hill Pinot Noir on the same evening in order to compare it with the 2012. While the ’05 has more nuanced layers and aromatics at this stage, but the 2012 shows considerable promise. Black raspberry and black cherry aromas lead into fragrant lavender, anise and crushed stones. On […]

St. Innocent Temperance Hill Pinot Noir 2005

St. Innocent Temperance Hill Pinot Noir 2005

Some really lovely, complex secondary notes on this well-evolved St. Innocent Temperance Hill Pinot Noir 2005. Dusty earth, pie cherry, cranberry relish, and candied orange peel, and hints of dried roses. The oak has fully integrated at this point, and the balance struck by this classic Willamette Valley Pinot is rather lovely. It’s medium-bodied, with […]

Bergström Nysa Vineyard Pinot Noir 2005

Bergström Nysa Vineyard Pinot Noir 2005

I was still making wine on a commercial level in 2005, it was a warm year for Washington State, leading me to believe it was warm in Oregon, too. The 2005 Bergstrom Nysa Vineyard offers up a nose of ripe red fruit, rose hips, burnt brown sugar, and raspberry leaf. Garnet-hued with a translucent edge, […]

Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookies

Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookies

I’ve been making chocolate chip cookies for years, but when my son moved out, I wanted to modify the classic chocolate chip recipe to better suit my taste. This more grown-up version substitutes sea salt for table salt, and has a dash of cinnamon and pecans. [amd-yrecipe-recipe:16]

La Balena Cucina Toscana & Foradori Fontanasanta

La Balena Cucina Toscana

Dappled sunlight bathes La Balena’s patio in a warm and languid light, and, in spite of the fact that it’s mid-January here in Carmel, I’m regretting the jacket I’ve worn over my light cotton dress.  A nearby fountain with a salt-stained patina, seated in front of a hedge of flowering Bougainvillea, lends the atmosphere to […]

CHRISTINE HAVENS
McMinnville, OR

christine@christine-havens.com