The brothers Frédérick and François Alary are cousins to the legendary winemaker Denis Alary. Together, they represent two of the finest winemaking points of reference in the entire Southern Rhône.They are in fact the 10th generation of winemakers to tend this estate in the Côtes du Rhône over the last 300 years—with a family history [...]
Archive for May, 2009
Domaine de l’Oratoire Saint-Martin Côtes du Rhône-Villages Cairanne “Haut Coustias” Blanc 2007
Posted in France, Recommended, tagged Cairanne, Cairanne Blanc, Côtes du Rhône, Domaine de L’Oratoire, Frédérick and François Alary on May 27, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Lopez de Heredia Rioja Tondonia Rosé 1998
Posted in Recommended, Spain, tagged López de Heredia, Lopez de Heredia Rioja Tondonia Rosé 1998, Rioja, Rose on May 25, 2009 | 4 Comments »
For a hundred and thirty one years, three generations of the López de Heredia family have devoted themselves to producing unique and exceptional wines. The founder, Don Rafael López de Heredia y Landeta, a knowledgeable and enthusiastic student in the art of wine making. He fell in love with the region and especially the area [...]
Prieto Picudo Preto Rosado 2008
Posted in Spain on May 20, 2009 | 3 Comments »
Gregory Perez began his winemaking career at the venerable Cos d’Estournel. With his foundation of great training in Bordeaux, Gregory has brought the to the areas of Tierra de Castilla and Bierzo. The Preto is his new project in Tierra de Castilla, just east of the Bierzo area. Gregory features the regional specialty grape variety, [...]
Cheverny Le Petit Chambord Domaine Francois Cazin 2007
Posted in France, Recommended, tagged Chardonnay, Cheverny, François Cazin, French Wine, Loire, Louis/Dressner, Sauvignon Blanc on May 19, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
I was very excited to see this wine on the shelf and I showed great restraint by only taking a single bottle home with me. The restraint was short lived as this was opened within 24 hours of being brought into its new home. Perhaps not quite as good as the Le Petit Chambord 2006. [...]
René Rostaing Vassal de Puech Noble Coteaux du Languedoc 2007
Posted in France, Recommended, tagged Coteaux du Languedoc, René Rostaing, René Rostaing Puech Chaud Blanc Coteaux du Languedoc on May 17, 2009 | 1 Comment »
Another wine from René Rostaing, one of the great names of Côte Rôtie. He started out in 1971, with a little more than an acre of vineyards, split between the Côte Blonde and La Landonne. Since that time his holdings have expanded considerably and today his estate stands at over 20 acres of Côte Rôtie. [...]
René Rostaing Puech Chaud Blanc Coteaux du Languedoc 2005
Posted in France, Recommended, Wine Makers, tagged Coteaux du Languedoc, René Rostaing, René Rostaing Puech Chaud Blanc Coteaux du Languedoc on May 14, 2009 | 2 Comments »
René Rostaing is one of the great names of Côte Rôtie. He started out in 1971, with a little more than an acre of vineyards, split between the Côte Blonde and La Landonne. Since that time his holdings have expanded considerably and today his estate stands at over 20 acres of Côte Rôtie, including some [...]
Côtes de Tablas Creek Vermentino 2008
Posted in California, Recommended, tagged Tablas Creek, Vermentino on May 13, 2009 | 3 Comments »
The 2008 vintage of the Tablas Creek Vineyard Vermentino is their seventh bottling of this traditional Mediterranean varietal. Vermentino is a late-ripening white grape originating in or Madeira, or perhaps Portugal. It is now widely planted in Sardinia and the coastal arc running from Tuscany through Liguria and into southern France (where it is known [...]
Tablas Creek Grenache Blanc 2006
Posted in California, Recommended, tagged California Rhône, Grenache Blanc, Perrin, Robert Haas, Tablas Creek on May 8, 2009 | 4 Comments »
Tablas Creek Vineyard was founded by the Perrin family of Château de Beaucastel and Robert Haas, the longtime importer and founder of Vineyard Brands. Tablas Creek is dedicated to the production of wines made from Rhône grape varietals. All of their wines are made with grapes from their 120-acre certified organic estate vineyard. Each varietal [...]
Côtes du Rhône Maxime-François Laurent Il Fait Soif 2007
Posted in France, Recommended, tagged Côtes du Rhône, Domaine Gramenon, Il Fait Soif, Kermit Lynch, Maxime-François Laurent on May 7, 2009 | 6 Comments »
Maxim-François works with his mom at Domaine Gramenon and also produces two wines under his own label. Il Fait Soif is violet purple in color. Just the color of this wine makes an impression…and it only gets more interesting on the nose. Great aromatics — lots of sour cherry, pepper, wet leather and herbs. Candied [...]
Wine Importers You Can Trust | Slate
Posted in Reference, Wine Importers, tagged Joe Dressner, Kermit Lynch, Louis/Dressner, Slate Magazine, Wine Importers on May 7, 2009 | 2 Comments »
Great article, plus a wallet-size cheat sheet detailing some of the wine world’s most trusted importers. Two of my favorites, Louis/Dressner and Kermit Lynch, were rightfully included. Also nice to see Neal Rosenthal, Peter Weygandt and Robert Kacher on the list. Check out the article, it’s worth a read — plus these names belong in [...]
Best wines for a bad economy…
Posted in Recommended, tagged best buy wines, QPR, wine values on May 5, 2009 | 2 Comments »
Everyone is trying to get the most for the dollar given the economic environment — and wine is no exception. Where to look for the best values? The Loire Valley continues to offer wines of tremendous quality for the dollar. 2006 was a great vintage for white wine throughout much of France and there are [...]
Antinori Tignanello Toscana IGT 1998
Posted in Italy, Recommended, Uncategorized, tagged Antinori, Super Tuscan, Tignanello on May 3, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
The original Super-Tuscan, Tignanello is produced exclusively from the Tignanello vineyard, a 47 hectares (116 acres) southwest-facing, calcareous rocky-marl and limestone soil plot, planted between 1,150 and 1,312 feet above sea level at Antinori’s Santa Cristina Estate. It was the first Sangiovese to be aged in small oak barrels, the first red wine in modern [...]
Kunin Santa Barbara County Syrah 2002
Posted in California, tagged California Syrah, Kunin Wines, Seth Kunin on May 2, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Kunin Wines was founded in 1998 with wine production growing annually from 400 cases to a current 5,800 cases. Winemaker Seth Kunin produces his wines made with grapes purchased from the vineyards of the Central Coast region of California. Kunin’s varietals include Syrah, Zinfandel, Viognier and blends of Grenache, Mourvedre and Syrah. Dark violet in [...]
