J. de Telmont Brut Champagne O.R. 1735 2002
One of the more intriguing Champagnes I had the pleasure of tasting while in Champagne is J de Telmont’s 2002 Brut Champagne O.R. 1735. A delicate mousse preceded by lemon curd that unfolds to something more distinctive, like Meyer lemon and a very pretty top note of white flowers, chervil and chalk. Telmont uses natural […]
Szent Tamás Teleki 1088 Palack Tokaji Késői Szüretelésű 2012
I suspect, giving this wine’s lushness, this is Hárslevelű or a blend of Furmint and Hárslevelű. Lemon yellow in the glass with opulent notes of apricot and ripe mango, honeysuckle and a classic botrytised nose. It’s full and viscous on the palate with plump apricot at the core followed by cardamom and Seville orange marmalade. […]
Herdade Do Esporão Monte Velho Tinto 2014
An open-knit blend of 40% Aragonez, 35% Trincadeira, 20% Touriga Nacional, and 5% Syrah, this extraordinarily budget-friendly Portuguese red from Monte Velho offers pungent aromas of tart red berries, cranberries, earth and a sort of feral edge usher in a wine with brightness…red berries carry through until they crescendo, revealing an understory of fine tannins, […]
San Simeon Paso Robles Cabernet Sauvignon 2012
A well-crafted Cabernet from Paso Robles—a region that has yet to explode in popularity, thus, there are interesting values to be had. San Simeon is a brand owned by San Antonio Winery, which still maintains an urban tasting room in Los Angeles. The winery has been in operation since 1917. Sumptuous aromas and flavors of […]
Brooks Winery | Storyteller Wine Pinot Noir 2014
From Portland’s iconic Storyteller Wine Company, this 2014 Storyteller Eola-Amity Hills Pinot Noir, the fourth and final label to emerge from an intensive two day blending session at Brooks winery last fall. Michael Alberty’s blend is imbued with the fragrance of pure, ripe strawberries, so much so, that it reminds me of making strawberry jam. […]
Argyle “The Art of Sparkling” Trio — Christin Engelberth Label
Argyle’s new Art of the Blend series is stunning. The wines are sold as a trio, with each bottle featuring an artist chosen from a juried competition. From the winery’s website: “After nearly thirty years of growing and making World-class wines in the Willamette Valley, we have opened the Argyle House to our Community to interpret […]
Veuve Clicquot Champagne La Grande Dame Brut 2006
Named after the venerable Widow Clicquot herself, La Grande Dame Brut 2006 is a blend of 53% Chardonnay and 47% Pinot Noir. The nose is expressive—bioche dipped in honey, baked apple and a whisp of smoke hanging above richer aromas. The attack is deep and vinous, and there is a lovely creaminess at the center. […]
Veuve A. Devaux Champagne Sténopé 2008
Champagne Sténopé 2008 sports telltale braille on it’s packaging, a giveaway that Michel Chapoutier has a hand in this particular bottling as well as Champagne Devaux. According to the winery, they never “discloses the blend,” that said, it’s the color of sun-bleached straw, with earthy overtones lending a serious edge to notes of lemon pith […]
Louis Roederer Champagne Cristal Brut Millésimé 2002
As stately as I expected it to be (can one really expect anything less of a wine as legendary as Cristal in one of Champagne’s most celebrated vintages?) glinting pale gold, the color of a freshly-minted coin. The 2002 Champagne Cristal Brut Millésimé is imbued with soaring notes of pear and smoke, brioche and chalk. […]
MÁD Tokaj Dry Furmint 2012
One of the bottles I brought back in my luggage, the 2012 MÁD Tokaj Dry Furmint is exactly as advertised, bone dry. Furmint is a non-aromatic white, in this style what shines through is complexity and minerality. Nuanced aromas of walnut skins, burnished pear, golden apple and a sort of golden-hued, bordering on oxidative noblesse […]