Very pure rendition of the grape showing aromatic floral blossom and stone fruit. Peach and apricot flavours come through cleanly and with good intensity, acidity and light minerality.
There is almost a port-like quality with all the overripe plum, blackberry and cherry qualities. Add in the spice, cocoa and earth, as well as a rich texture and great length, and you have one fine bottle of Merlot, which will age gracefully over the next 5 years.
At only 7% alcohol, this German Riesling from the Mosel is a wine you can gulp down all in one sitting … and you just might do that, it’s that good. A lime bomb on the nose, with gunflint, grapefruit and white peach aromas. It dances lightly on the palate with a vibrant core of natural acidity. It’s sweet, yes, but not at all unbalanced. Hold for 5 to 10 years to appreciate the emerging petrol notes.
A pierce of piney resin, orange oil, scrubby rosemary on this unctuous golden PX, one that bathes the palate with thick marmalade and auburn maple syrup. Golden raisins and honeysuckle are flecked with walnuts and rancio notes through the exceptionally long finish. Acidity keeps this aloft, even with a staggering 435 g/l RS. This sweet, youthful wine is made with Pedro Ximénez grapes that were sundried on mats before aging in the traditional earthenware “tinajas” for at least 12 months.
My first experience with this wine was back in 2003, when I was teaching sommeliers in Chicago. Consistently, it is a wine that delivers maximum bang for the buck. Medium bodied, the dark plums, black raspberries, milk chocolate, earth and spice are all in the mix. There is excellent length and it is ready to drink.
The real deal for toasty-oak Chard lovers. After an aromatic, complex tropical fruit nose, the weighty palate is ultra-rich, ripe and mouth-coating, yet remains well-balanced and supple. Long, creamy butterscotch and nutmeg-laden finish. Unfiltered, so only chill lightly (or it’ll become cloudy if refrigerated). A prime choice to fuel wine-tasting discussions.
Bright and shining medium blush hue, this rustic and authentically-styled fuller-bodied saignée Negroamaro rosé is from the dry gravelly limestone and clay soils of Apulia. Earthy raspberry, cherry and strawberry jam make the middle, while orange-laced acidity and stony minerality brighten and season. Dry, bright and lengthy — and a welcome 13 degrees — this is a worthy pour for your best cioppino or grilled pork chops.